What phone are you using?

I have a Pixel 7, Obsidian Color

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

I love the phone. Its my first non low-end android, and I can’t see myself going back to an iPhone. I love the assortment of emulators available for Android, and the pixel 7 main camera is very good. The selfie camera could use some work, but picture taking is not what I got this phone for anyway.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

My previous phones were an iPhone 11 and an iPhone 5C before that. I have a Moto G pure (low end android) for a little bit, although it was more of a secondary phone instead of something to switch to, as it is very sluggish to use. The iPhone 11 was a good phone, the selfie camera is still better than my current pixel phone. I definitely craved the feeling of freedom I got from my Motorola though, despite its shortcomings. So I went ahead and got my pixel.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone? Very rarely, I might be upgrading more often now though due to pixels having shorter security update Windows than iPhones.

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

None at the moment, although I am planning on getting Pixel buds.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

For now I am android all the way. I have a Lenovo Thinkpad with Windows 11 on it, I have tried to switch to Linux but my laptops display needs fractional scaling as the dimensions of the screen are different from the resolution. So until fractional scaling gets better on nvidia cards I’ll have to stay with Windows.

Dang I wrote a lot 💀

Pixel 7 Pro, Android 14 Beta. It’s sooooo broken. Pixel Launcher doesn’t work, so the app switcher won’t open. Crashes constantly. Debated buying something else.

Pixel 7 Pro w/GrapheneOS. Being able to control what my phone is sending or not sending + the battery life gain from everything not phoning home is amazing.

Im on my Pixel 6 with calyxOS, which is really great. I really like the fact that i can use android without a google account.

Pixel 6a. Was using pixel 4 before I washed it with my trouser, best phone I have owned. I miss headphone jack. I don’t have any Apple products other than a iPad.

Samsung galaxy S21. I really enjoy it and has worked perfectly. I like Samsung rendition of Android, I feel like it gives me a larger overview of settings and so forth. I’ve had an iphone 6 and Huawei Mate 20 lite. My problem with the iphone was that i didn’t really understand it, and the app library was limited. The Huawei became slow fast, but that might just be because of it being the lite edition. In edition to the Samsung S21 i also own a Samsung galaxy watch 5 and a pair Samsung buds 2. Both these works great, and i really enjoy Samsungs health app wich is how the watch connects to the phone. The buds are even compatible with my windows computer :)

Currently, I’m using a Motorola moto g100 and I’m happy with it. Good battery life, nice big screen, much improved performance compared to my last phone. Best phone I’ve ever owned. The main inconvenience is the location of the fingerprint sensor: I’d have preferred if it was on the front of the device somehow (definitely not on the back – I often have it lying flat on the table).

I also dislike the fact it can only remember five fingerprints while I have 10 fingers. Who thought that was a good idea? :þ

Previously I had a Moto G5+ and a Moto G. I guess you could say I enjoyed the quality and relative lack of bloatware of these Motorola phones, while being more affordable than some of the alternatives I was considering at the time I bought them.

Going further back, I had a HTC Desire Z (with a slide-out physical keyboard). I picked it as my first smartphone because I was hesitant to get rid of physical keys, but as it turned out I hardly ever used them. Looking back, this one was clearly the worst value for the money.

Since I switched to smart phones I’ve been upgrading every 3 or 4 years.

Before the smart phone era, I had an Alcatel device (can’t remember the exact model). I used that tiny near-indestructable thing for over a decade, only charging it about once a week. It was mostly an “in case of emergency” though, not nearly as heavily used as later phones, because it wasn’t really usable as a miniature pocket-computer (like smart phones are). Still, I was pretty happy with it at the time: the only reason I got rid of it was because the ‘0’ button broke, and in my country all phone numbers start with 0.

I also have an LG G Watch (Wear OS). A relative worked at Google when these were handed out to employees but didn’t actually want it, so I got it as a gift. It’s pretty old now: I’ve replaced the bands a few times and it won’t charge past 70%, but it still mostly works and the battery still lasts all day. I’m not sure if I’ll get another smart watch if and when this one finally breaks, though.

No Apple products, and my laptop runs Linux Mint. These days, I only use Windows at work or when helping relatives with tech problems (sigh).

I’m currently running the Pixel 6 Pro with Graphine OS.

Worst thing about this phone is the curved display. Everything else is good enough for me, which is saying a lot. I’ve had many phones over years and only a few have really been awesome.

In no particular order:

• HTC EVO Shift, EVO 4G LTE, EVO 3D
• Some ZTE Phone with android 2.2
• Oneplus One, 3T, 6T
• Pixel 4, Pixel 6 Pro
• Nexus 4, 5, 5x, 7
• iPhone 4, SE, 7, 12

Edit: format and a device

What phone are you using?

Galaxy S23 Ultra.

Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?

Absolutely love it. It’s only the second Galaxy model to be sold with the Snapdragon chip in 🇦🇺 Australia, after the S22. I had an S21 Ultra (Exynos) and decided to wait for the S23, because of the rumours that the cameras would be improved.

Glad I waited, and also very glad to have an included stylus, because I’m a photographer and designer, so the stylus is bloody useful!

I honestly can’t think of an downsides to this phone, I’m so damn satisfied with it.

Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?

As noted above, I had the S21 Ultra previously. I actually bought a Pixel 7 Pro when it was released, but after about a month I decided that while it was a great phone with some clever new features, I still preferred my S21 Ultra — so I sold the Pixel 7 Pro and went back to my Samsung!

Other previous phones, let me think… First modern smartphone was the iPhone 3G, followed by iPhone 4, iPhone 5S, HTC Desire, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, Sony XPeria V, LG Nexus 5X, Google Pixel, Google Pixel 2, iPhone 11 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S10, iPhone 13 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra, S23 Ultra.

Not sure if that order is exactly right… haha.

How often do you upgrade to a new phone?

Usually every year, to be honest, which obviously isn’t super responsible either financially or in terms of e-waste, but it really is my number one addiction. 😂

What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.

Galaxy Watch 4, Pixel Watch, Galaxy Tab S4 (now my son’s), Galaxy Tab S6 Lite (now my daughter’s), and a Galaxy Tab S8.

Oh, and the Chromecast with Google TV.

Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)

I have an iPad Pro A12X (pre-M1, annoyingly) for drawing with Procreate, and I still have my iPhone 13 Pro — mostly just for shooting videos for work, since phone gimbals integrate better with iOS than they do with Android (or maybe just Samsung). I also have a work-supplied MacBook Pro 14" M1 Max.

Lastly, I also have a pair of AirPods Pro that I bought for my iPhone but now mostly only use with my Macbook, and a pair of Beats Fit Pro that I absolutely love using with my S23 Ultra. I was tempted by the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro, but I really prefer buds with winglets for a more secure fit.

• S23 Ultra
• Best is everything, worst is size.
• Xiaomi and Samsung. I can’t compare since they were at completely different price brackets.
• Usually every 3 years.
• Watch, buds.
• Windows but i miss linux

I have a Pixel 4a because I refuse to spend more than $200 on a phone. The battery is starting to not last very long so either I am going to replace the battery or get a Pixel 6a for $200. I’d really prefer to not need a new phone because I like the headphone jack.

Pocophone f1 and I have a xiaomi note 8 as a backup ; because I tend to drop my phone due to carelessness (¯ ¯٥) i have had my screens change twice this year.

S10. It’s older, bought refurbished, but probably technically the “best” phone I ever had and it’s all I really need tbh.

LG v60.

I’m still headphones gang, may be the last phone of its time tho

OnePlus 7T

I love this phone. I thought it’d take longer than it actually did to get used to not having a home button anymore, but I adapted in less than an hour. Love how OxygenOS is very close to stock Android. The glass on the back is super slick. Everything is super slick to me. My hands are chronically dry. So I hate all these glass-backed phones.

I’ve previously used a OnePlus 3, OnePlus One, Samsung Galaxy S4, Motorola Photon 4G, and a Motorola RAZR ve20. I loved my Galaxy. It was my first OLED experience. My OnePlus One felt like kind of a downgrade, but it also allowed me to stop having to sign contracts to get an affordable phone in 2015. Plus, back then, it felt like being a part of something new and exciting. Man I miss Cyanogenmod.

I upgrade basically whenever I need to. The phone I have now is ~3½ years old. The back glass is busted and the battery is starting to lose its life. They will repair it and so I’m thinking of sending it in. I can picture myself using this phone on another 3-4 years barring some kind of carrier stupidity.

No other Android devices. I’m an otherwise Windows/Ubuntu person. Started trying Mint recently. I do have a Fitbit.

I used to have a 4th gen iPod Touch circa 2011 before I got my Photon 4G. iOS 6 ran like crap on it and I was around the corner from building my first PC. I had started using my Android phone for my games and music and such so I just didn’t have a use for it anymore. Sold it off and I haven’t owned an Apple product since.