I kinda fear that Apple might turn evil and start banning apps from the app store
I don’t know what rock you’ve been living under, but I’ve been using iOS since day one and Apple has been banning apps left and right this entire time. Most just don’t make it on in the first place. Sometimes they sneak hidden features in though like so: imore.com/game-boy-emulator-sneaks-app-store-disg…
It more like I bought into the peer pressure of getting Apple devices so I started looking past their unethical practices. The apps they ban weren't really the type of apps I'd use. What I'm concerned is that Apple one day just start banning ad-blockers, maybe ban VLC and cite piracy as a justification, banning encryption apps like signal, or banning VPNs (which they did in China, but I don't live there so I kinda ignored it). They hadn't done any of that yet so I just didn't think too much about it, but now I kinda randomly started thinking about it and I switched to Android.
Why would Apple ban ad blockers? They’re the ones who pride themselves on privacy, introduced an ad blocking infrastructure to iOS and are continually improving on anti-web surveillance techniques used by advertising companies like, er, Google. Who actively do ban ad blockers on YouTube (source) and are working to thwart them in Chrome (source).
That's just not true. Firefox Focus has built-in ad-blocking for one (and you can even use its engine as a Safari plug-in). There's Orion which lets you use Chrome and Firefox extensions including ad-blockers. There are also things like 1Blocker which lets you remove ads inside applications. I'm sure I've forgotten as much as I remembered here.
Got the regular Pixel 6 here. Can I ask what made you go for the Pro? I went from a Pixel 2 XL to this and I have never once wished I'd splashed for the Pro. Curious as to what you think
Mainly for the larger and faster screen, this is also the first real high-end phone google made, I just wanna check out what they can achieve and I’m definitely satisfied.
Larger and faster screen here too. I wanted the higher than 60hz refresh rate. I believe it's 120hz adaptable display. It's just a beautiful screen. I wanted there to not be a big dropoff in quality when I went from my PC monitor to my 4k tv then to my 2k android phone.
Fairphone 4 because I like the idea of a repairable, sustainable phone. Microg LineageOS because want to avoid google as much as I can (within reason).
iPhone 13 Mini (iOS). Chose it because it currently (Q2 2023) is the only truly small smartphone which is not an AliExpress gadget device. Use to be on Android before but changed to iOS for this particular phone. The only thing I miss is USB-C charging. I really hope it lasts a long time because 6" phone are not for me. I am also quite hesitant to be reliant on apple services so I run my own IT infrastructure. I bought my own domain a few years ago and I'm using:
Hosted WebDAV drive as replacement for iCloud
Hosted EMail server with IMAP access
Self-hosted CalDAV and CardDAV using Baikal on NGINX
Overall I pay $3 per month for all that and then $25 every 2 years for the domain. Having changed from Googleverse to Appleverse recently I was surprised how much more open Apple is to 3rd party solutions. IMAP works flawlessly in the stock Mail app. Photo upload to WebDAV instead of iCloud works and I can configure my own calendar and contact right in the system settings menu. On Android I had to rely on 3rd party apps for all of that which had wayy worse user experience.
TL;DR Using Apple HW and OS but slef hosting all services. Surprisingly those integrate way better with Apple than Google
Android, because a) I planned to do some app programming and b) I didn't want to step into Apple's walled garden and Microsoft couldn't be relied upon to stick with it (and didn't).
Samsung because it's pretty much the only player that isn't a Chinese company.
This phone is an overall excellent value in the US. A drawback to some is the paucity of Android updates, but the new restrictions present in Android 14 have me relieved that I bought a phone that will never “upgrade” to that OS.
Every time I’ve had to get a new phone, I’ve gone on GSMArena and to me it always seems Motorola’s midranges have the best bang for your buck, at least in my price range. I kinda don’t like how they promised Android 12 and didn’t deliver, but I’ve heard some things that make me think that’s a blessing in disguise. Even if I could go iPhone, I wouldn’t, I like having control that Apple won’t allow me. I probably wouldn’t go more expensive if I could either (there’s a part of me that wants a Razr for coolness reasons, but I know foldables are still super fragile)
I don't really love Samsung. I've had it for maybe 2 years now, I think? But it stutters at times and I feel sometimes is slower that it should be.
But I went with it because of price + 5G + NFC. Poor battery, but has fast charge and I no longer have a need for prolonged periods without charging. Kinda satisfactory phone, tho.
Pixel 6. I wish it had a print reader on the back. I really would love to have that feature back since the under-screen readers are bad on every phone I have ever tried. I get dirty hands at work every day so I have to use a screen protector and even without the protector the print reader is mostly useless. I will not buy a Chinese phone to get it so I have drawn a line somewhere I guess.
Likewise. The Pixel 4a was peak for me because of how cheap it was, the size, the headphone jack, and back fingerprint reader. And the pixel's consistent photos.
But the Pixel 6 just feels cumbersome. The reader and double-tap in the back to pull the notification shade feels too deliberate and weighty given the size (This is supposed to be the smaller one). Compare that you could do unlock and pull the notification shade with the back reader and size made it feel great.
I've changed to Niagara launcher which has made it feel better but my next phone is definitely having a proper scanner.
Galaxy S23+ here, had the S10 and S7 before that. Great cameras (it matters to me) and very durable phones once you put them in a good case. The S23+ is easier on my old eyes and I easily get 3+ days battery life out of it. Samsung has also done a nice job slimming down the UI but I use the Nova launcher anyway.
Oneplus Nord, about to swith to Xiaomi 12 or 13 or Pixel 7 Pro, as soon as I find out what’s better for me (feel free to give advice and IRL experience!)
I use OnePlus 7t. I got it because OnePlus’s good lineageos support. However OnePlus 7t is particular is buggy in lineage, and their Oxygen OS (reads “color os”) is a pure piece of shit and it is getting more and more irritating by the day.
If it is not the fact that most electronic waste are terrible for the environment, I would stab it with a thousand knife, and throw it to a rock near the river and get a pixel.
I would get a fairphone, but they don’t ship where I live, unfortunately.
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