When you use the same hardware and software for long enough, you overlook the shortcomings you're constantly working around.
Avoiding this sort of technological tunnel vision is one reason I regularly switch between Android and iOS for my primary mobile device. Earlier in 2021, I realized I had been using an iPhone for nearly two years (with a fairly recent iPhone 12 upgrade) and was overdue for a check-in with the latest Android device.
Google's introduction of two new Pixel phones in mid-October was the perfect excuse to switch back. I pre-ordered my Pixel 6, in Stormy Black (to be honest, it looks gray to me) with 256 GB of storage. After a few minor hiccups with shipping (Google was apparently overwhelmed by demand), I received it on October 30 and have been using it as my primary mobile device ever since.
This isn't the first Pixel I've owned. With one early Pixel model, I spent weeks navigating Google support, eventually reaching the upper ranks. I wound up getting a full refund for that device after they were unable to resolve a particularly gnarly networking bug.
My colleague Jason Perlow had a singularly negative experience with his Pixel 6, calling it a "device support experience from hell."
Given that background and my less-than-stellar experiences with those older devices, I was dutifully skeptical about this one. So I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the Pixel 6 is well built and has performed without any issues since the day I unboxed it.
In fact, it's such a pleasure to use that I've decided to keep using it as my primary mobile device for at least a year.
I did not expect Google to assemble a combination of hardware and software that is, arguably, better than Apple's flagship phones. Consider these six examples of features that just work better on the Pixel 6 than on iPhone.
We're nearly a quarter of the way through the 21st century, and yet Apple is still sticking with its proprietary Lightning connector technology.
Wait, let me take that back. Apple is stubbornly staying with that aging connector on the iPhone, even as it has adopted the more modern, exquisitely interoperable USB Type-C connector on every other product in its line. iPad? USB-C. MacBook Pro? USB-C. Even the MagSafe chargers for Apple Watch and AirPods are USB-C.
But not the iPhone.
Anyway, I love the fact that the Pixel 6 powers up and connects to external devices using a standard USB Type-C connection. That means when I leave home, I can bring a single charger and a single cable to charge my Pixel 6, iPad Pro, a laptop, and a pair of headphones -- without having to remember that one extra Lightning cable that works with a single device.
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