Samsung makes nice telephones, however I might solely purchase a Google Pixel

Earlier than I joined Android Authority, the telephone in my pocket was completely as much as me. For the higher a part of a decade, I modified manufacturers every time I purchased a brand new one, going from HTC to LG and later from Apple to Samsung, all as a result of I at all times wished to strive one thing new. Then, once I put the Galaxy S10 in my pocket, I made a decision I’d stick round for some time. It was such a monumental change from the tiny, rigid iPhone 7 that I figured I may be a Samsung fan for all times — proper up till I smashed it into the sidewalk whereas out for a run. All of the sudden, I had the selection to both pay a hefty restore invoice or scratch my itch to strive one thing new as soon as once more. I headed to Greatest Purchase, grabbed the Google Pixel 5, and haven’t seemed again since.

If I needed to make that call over again, I believe I’d make the identical one, and right here’s why:

Within the grand scheme of issues, a telephone’s look might be the final motive to purchase it. In spite of everything, you’ll spend extra time its show than its digital camera bump or whichever colourful end you fastidiously chosen — particularly when you put it in a case. Nevertheless, I can’t assist however decide a e-book by its cowl. If you happen to give me one telephone that appears prepared for a gathering in a boardroom and one other that appears like a personality from Star Trek, I’ll attain for the latter each time. As you may need guessed, Samsung’s present crop of Galaxy units is the previous, whereas each Pixel for the reason that Pixel 6 Professional is the latter.

In fact, it wasn’t at all times this manner. I preferred the Galaxy S10 a lot as a result of it felt quirky and completely different — sort of like a contemporary Pixel. Samsung stretched its trio of cameras horizontally throughout the rear glass, chosen colourful finishes that will change primarily based on the lighting, and even supplied a porcelain model when you had been keen to spend just a little extra. It was so reverse of all the pieces I’d gotten used to on the iPhone 7 that I sat down and ordered mine whereas out at a bar with pals in school.

Now, nearly each piece of that quirky design is gone. Samsung’s horizontal strip of cameras has turn into a boring set of cutouts within the nook, its non-obligatory porcelain has turn into Gorilla Glass — albeit glorious Gorilla Glass — and its slimming waterfall show has turn into a flat, clean panel (which is an efficient factor, really).

Google, alternatively, took its Pixel design via an reverse journey. It started with a easy, easy digital camera bump within the prime left nook of its first 5 generations, solely to ditch it in favor of a now-iconic digital camera bar I’ve cherished since day one. The break up created by the digital camera bar opened the door for Google to reintroduce two-toned finishes, a selection that made the Pixel 6 and Pixel 7 sequence really feel each recent and enjoyable. Google’s styling has since advanced once more, swapping the visor-like digital camera bar for extra of a digital camera island that feels each extra sturdy and extra mature to match its ninth-generation flagships — even when it’s not aesthetically as a lot enjoyable.

Maybe extra importantly, Google has raised its construct high quality to match its extra refined design. Its aluminum frames, whether or not shiny or satin, really feel glorious in hand, and so they supply simply sufficient of a curve on the back and front so you possibly can attain throughout the show with out unintentional presses. I in contrast the Pixel 9 Professional XL to my favourite iPhone ever, and I’ll stand by the truth that it feels as sturdy and dependable as Android’s largest competitor.

Additionally, I do know that appears aren’t all the pieces whenever you’re shopping for a telephone. With that in thoughts, I’d nonetheless give Google the benefit. Once I reviewed the Galaxy S24 Extremely again in early 2024, I barely used the S Pen. In doing so, I used to be basically ignoring one of many crucial items of the telephone’s design — a characteristic that all the pieces else was just about centered round. In spite of everything, the flat prime and backside edges, the huge physique of the telephone, and the comparatively sharp corners are all there to make sure the built-in stylus has sufficient room to function with out squeezing the battery capability or rearranging the digital camera setup. Sadly, the end result is a big, highly effective telephone that simply seems like an excessive amount of for me to make use of — not to mention stuff right into a pocket.

Google, alternatively, has fully gained my coronary heart with its smaller Pixel 9 Professional. It’s all the pieces I waited for in a comparatively small Android telephone, packing a pro-level battery and a trio of highly effective cameras into a tool the identical measurement as the bottom Pixel 9. Consider Google’s rounded corners and gently curved body, and it feels even smaller within the hand, which is nice information for me. The Pixel 9 Professional is just about geared up to compete with the Galaxy S24 Plus however is sized just like the Galaxy S24, which brings again fond recollections of toting across the Pixel 5 again within the day.

It’s not simply Google’s {hardware} that I choose, both — I’ll take Pixel UI over One UI each time I’m given the prospect. One of many first issues I do when switching to a Samsung gadget for an prolonged interval is to swap from its default One UI launcher to Lawnchair, just because it makes me really feel extra like I’m nonetheless on a Pixel gadget. I’m not alone in my choice for Google’s mild, clear (however not inventory) Android expertise, both — my colleagues agreed after we put Pixel UI atop our rating of the finest Android skins in the marketplace. Don’t get me unsuitable, we put Samsung’s One UI in second place, however the two experiences are as completely different as may be.

I like that Google’s software program design follows its {hardware} — it’s quirky, colourful, and customizable sufficient with out feeling overwhelming. Once I leap into a brand new Pixel, I do know I can simply set it up simply as I’m used to, with an app drawer organized alphabetically, apps that color-coordinate to my wallpaper, and a lock display screen that options a number of interchangeable clocks. And sure, possibly that sounds easy, however I’ve by no means been one to overcomplicate my private gadget. I’d a lot fairly know the place all the pieces is and that it really works once I count on it to than dig via a mountain of menus to construct an ideal routine for each state of affairs.

On prime of that, Pixel UI is Google all the way in which down. What I imply is that there’s no bloat, no pointless duplicates (lookin’ at you, Samsung Messages and Samsung Web), and all the widgets default to in-house apps like Google Images and Pixel Climate. Principally, it means I don’t have to consider a lot past which apps I would like on my dwelling display screen and which widgets I’ll use. In some methods, that most likely makes me sound like I’d be an iPhone consumer in one other life, and possibly that’s true. Nevertheless, Apple’s present degree of customization leaves quite a bit to be desired, particularly whenever you color-match your app icons solely to seek out out that they’re nearly invisible towards the default darkish grey background.

Alternatively, one UI would fairly give me granular management over each little piece of my structure. It has an almost infinite internet of settings menus, a number of app shops, and experimental options tucked away underneath the Samsung Labs menu. You possibly can even obtain Good Lock so as to add extra wrinkles and issues to your Galaxy gadget, together with the power to open extra apps on the quilt display screen of the Galaxy Z Flip 6. It’s sufficient to make your head spin, which isn’t what I would like once I change telephones and redo the method each few weeks.

Granted, some individuals will love the prospect to make their Galaxy telephone really feel extra like their very own. I do know a couple of Android followers who swear by completely different launchers and have tuned their telephones to the purpose the place I barely know use them for the primary couple of minutes, nevertheless it’s simply not the expertise for me. I’d fairly have all the pieces I want come on my telephone by default than obtain an app and reference a information I wrote a yr previous to make my $1,000 flip telephone compete with one other gadget just like the Motorola Razr Plus.

Oh, after which there’s the bloatware. I hinted at it by mentioning that Samsung has a couple of duplicate apps, nevertheless it additionally slaps you with a number of others like International Targets, Galaxy Wearable (which you gained’t want when you don’t have a Galaxy Watch or Galaxy Ring), and a enterprise suite of LinkedIn, Microsoft 365, and OneDrive. Possibly they’re useful for some individuals, however I’d fairly decide into them than delete them after setup. Of Samsung’s social extras, I solely saved Spotify however instantly ditched each Fb and Netflix.

To Samsung’s credit score, although, it matches Google by way of flagship updates, providing seven years of assist throughout each the Galaxy S24 sequence and Galaxy Z Flip and Fold 6. So, when you choose Samsung’s taste of Android, a minimum of you’ll be capable of hold it present lengthy after you’ve paid your gadget off.

What introduced me from Samsung to Google for the primary time had nothing to do with the design of both telephone. It didn’t must do with what the widgets seemed like or the place I may put them, both. As a substitute, I used to be drawn in due to Google’s fire-and-forget digital camera setup. It didn’t want you to be an skilled in digital camera settings, nor did it want to present you three digital camera sensors to play with, you simply lined up your shot, pressed the button, and let Google do the remainder. For years, that processing was sufficient to maintain the Pixel digital camera among the many finest you might get on an Android telephone. That’s how a smartphone digital camera ought to be: Let me seize the second, however let me hold going whereas I achieve this.

Truthfully, capturing a photograph with the Google Pixel 9 or Samsung Galaxy S24 is sort of a small reflection of the general expertise. Google will provide you with just a little steering in serving to you degree your shot or hint from dot to dot when taking a panorama, however then it lets the Tensor G4 take over. It’ll right your colours, apply movement results like lengthy publicity, or select parts it thinks you may need to erase, all with out you lifting a finger. It’s a big evolution over the expertise I first had with the Pixel 5, but I can see traces of what Google has been constructing through the years.

Alternatively, Samsung has at all times leaned closely on guide management, letting you fine-tune all the pieces out of your publicity to your white stability to your shutter velocity earlier than you snap a photograph. In some methods, that is nearer to the expertise you’d get on a mirrorless digital camera, however it may possibly additionally take among the punch out of Samsung’s highly effective sensors when you’re not completely snug with the publicity triangle.

Maybe one of the best ways to elucidate the distinction between utilizing a Google Pixel digital camera and a Samsung Galaxy digital camera is to inform individuals to go out and use their respective astrophotography options. Final summer time, my dad put his Galaxy S21 Extremely up towards my Pixel 7 Professional, and solely certainly one of us got here away genuinely impressed. We each walked out to the center of the identical darkish subject and pointed our cameras on the identical starry night time, however all I needed to do to seize the sky was press my shutter button and wait. He, alternatively, needed to head to Skilled RAW, open one other menu for Astrophotography, and choose the period of his publicity earlier than he may prop his telephone up and hope for one of the best. His remaining end result was good, however I’m unsure everybody could be as keen to leap via the identical hoops.

Typically, when individuals need to say that they don’t like one thing with out explicitly saying so, they’ll go, “It’s not dangerous, simply completely different.” I’d say the identical about Samsung’s present crop of Galaxy units, however this time, I imply it. There’s quite a bit to love about shopping for a Samsung Galaxy gadget, from the extremely sturdy supplies to the infinitely customizable software program to the highly effective, manually managed cameras. I’d argue that any a type of issues is motive sufficient to spend your cash with Samsung, and it’s all sufficient to make the Galaxy S24 sequence one of many finest Android telephones in the marketplace. Nevertheless, the sum of these elements doesn’t give me the Android expertise that I like finest.

As a substitute, I’d fairly have Google’s quirky, colourful, sometimes flawed Pixel expertise. I don’t thoughts letting my telephone do the considering for me as a result of Google and I are on the identical wavelength about when to make use of my telephone and when to go away it in my pocket. I’d fortunately take a hotter, barely much less highly effective Tensor chip if it meant I’d have Google’s no-brainer picture processing. Give me Gemini over Bixby, Chrome over Samsung Web, and aluminum over titanium as a result of I like the way in which that all of them add up. I would like my telephone to really feel like a bit of know-how that I take pleasure in fairly than a software that I merely use in my day-to-day life.

In fact, I haven’t had to purchase a telephone in a very long time. As a reviewer, they simply present up at my door occasionally, giving me an opportunity to leap from one to the subsequent and keep on prime of all the US-based flavors of Android. It signifies that though my very own cash isn’t behind both Google or Samsung (or Motorola or OnePlus, for that matter), my experiences actually are. I’ve had hands-on expertise with issues I like and don’t like from each main model, and I’ve had the liberty to vary between them at any time. However, regardless of all that freedom, I simply hold coming again to the consolation of a Google Pixel — and I hold telling my family and friends members to do the identical.