Vlad Savov at The Verge perfectly summed up something I’ve been feeling for a long time, but have struggled to put into words.
Whatever it is, I’ve been gripped by a fever of indecision caused by comparing Apples iPhone X and Google’s Pixel 2 XL side by side.
Yep.
Later, he gets into what I think is the real crux of the problem — that, aside from all the ecosystem arguments and camera comparisons, actually using the iPhone X, with its gesture-based interface is such a great experience.
There is pure kinetic joy in swiping up from the bottom of the phone to summon the home screen, or sideways to switch between apps. I marvel at the fluidity and beauty of this human-machine interface. It’s fast, unerringly smooth, and unfailingly satisfying to use.
His experiences are also similar to mine in the advantages of the Pixel: its battery life1 and its camera.
. . . the iPhone doesn’t match the Pixel 2’s camera, and in my experience it’s not even close.
My experience has been the same. Chalk it up to personal preference — I’ve seen all the great comparisons people have posted online and the difference is much less clear in that context — but in my use, the Pixel 2 XL’s camera is head and shoulders above the iPhone X. For me, this is the single reason that it’s hard to switch. I have a 6-month old son, and the photos that I have routinely captured with the Pixel 2 XL are just so good. Far better than what I expect to capture with my smartphone. The iPhone X similarly does a great job, but the photos look like really good smartphone photos rather than really good photos. Aside from all the other conveniences of the iPhone — the ecosystem, third party apps, iMessage, AirPods, etc.—this is the one reason that I’m having a hard time really making the switch.
But, like Savov:
. . . as soon as I was back on the Pixel, tapping the multitasking button like some 20th century plebeian, looking at the less impressive display, listening to the less stellar speakers, swiping through the Twitter app with the buttons at the top instead of the bottom… I started feeling sad.
Finally, he sums it up perfectly with this line:
The iPhone (X) is every Android fan’s worst nightmare: the outsider that shows you how nice life could be.
- Who knows how long this will actually last, but for now, while my Pixel is still relatively new, it’s great. ↩︎