Yeah the iOS keyboard compared to Gboard is not as good. I’m not a big fan of Apple’s key flicks. I also like Google’s Live Wallpapers. I currently have the spinning Globe and it changes depending on the time of day.
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Diehard Nexus/Pixel user goes 12 Pro Max
- Thread starter Tig Bitties
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iPhone 13 Pro versus Pixel 5 camera comparison
I have 3 phones currently, the iPhone 12 Pro Max, Pixel 5a, and Pixel 4 XL, and for still shots and portrait mode, it's not even a contest, both Pixel phones destroy my 12 PM. For some reason my iPhone 12 Pro Max always shoots washed out and too bright pics, where both Pixel's are very detailed and have great color. I thought I had a wrong setting or a broken camera or something on my iPhone, always wondering why my photos looked so crappy, where that never happens on any Pixel phone I've had. I actually find my 12 Pro Max camera to be pretty bad, like some 5 yr old OnePlus garbage camera.
Now videos is a whole different story, the 12 PM wins in that category, no contest, but whatever, I never shoot videos. I only use my camera for still portrait shots. And the Pixel owns the iPhone.
Watching the video comparison here, even the 13 Pro Max looks to take rather poor photos, way too washed out with light bleed.
On portrait photos I have to agree.
The portrait shots of my pooches come out pretty decent on my 13 Pro but they're not even close to how good they are on my Pixel 4a imo.
General photography
the 13 Pro definitely takes it though.
One gripe I have with the iPhone is the terrible voice to text transcribing compared to my Google Pixel’s. And keyboard not auto spelling correctly.
The iPhone is pure garbage when tapping the mic button on the keyboard to use your voice to text a message. It screws it up all the time every time. Where all my Pixel’s are almost perfect in doing voice to text.
Is it because the Gboard downloads the language to the phone itself and does it instantly? Where the iPhone needs to use the WiFi or network to spell check? It’s night and day better on the Pixel.
I would say the iPhone is 60% to 70% accurate with voice to text. And the Google Pixel 95%.
The iPhone is pure garbage when tapping the mic button on the keyboard to use your voice to text a message. It screws it up all the time every time. Where all my Pixel’s are almost perfect in doing voice to text.
Is it because the Gboard downloads the language to the phone itself and does it instantly? Where the iPhone needs to use the WiFi or network to spell check? It’s night and day better on the Pixel.
I would say the iPhone is 60% to 70% accurate with voice to text. And the Google Pixel 95%.
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Or is it because of Google's AI? I've never owned an iPhone but I demoed the Pixel Call Screener feature to a former coworker. I asked him to call my phone and start speaking when the call screener says so. He was standing next to me talking into his phone as I showed him my Pixel 4a transcribing everything he said 100% accurate. He was calling me from a Samsung S10+. He even said "this is nutty" and the P4a picked it up as well.
Another one is the gesture navigation UI between both systems.
I find the Pixel gesture navigation to just be clearly and comfortably better to use than the iPhone navigation.
Specifically being able to swipe back using the right side. Meaning on the far right side of the screen, just swipe your finger or thumb towards the left and you go back. But the iPhone doesn’t allow that or do that function. Which to me makes the phone much more one-handed friendly. And makes the iPhone a little frustrating to use.
And keeping with the gesture swiping. Swiping down anywhere on the home screen to bring down the notification screen or pull down texts to do a quick reply. I LOVE this gesture on Android, been using it for years. But on the iPhone when you swipe down some strange search thing comes up. Seems like an old relic feature from ten years ago to swipe down and pull up a weird search menu thing. That just feels so wrong and out of place. I much prefer swiping down to pull the text conversation down to make a fast reply one-handed.
And lastly notifications in general are still way behind on the iPhone. I noticed when my daughter text me yesterday, she sent three texts before I replied, but on the Lock Screen I saw three separate text bubbles from her, not just one grouped up together.
As far as notifications are handled I find Android does it way better.
I find the Pixel gesture navigation to just be clearly and comfortably better to use than the iPhone navigation.
Specifically being able to swipe back using the right side. Meaning on the far right side of the screen, just swipe your finger or thumb towards the left and you go back. But the iPhone doesn’t allow that or do that function. Which to me makes the phone much more one-handed friendly. And makes the iPhone a little frustrating to use.
And keeping with the gesture swiping. Swiping down anywhere on the home screen to bring down the notification screen or pull down texts to do a quick reply. I LOVE this gesture on Android, been using it for years. But on the iPhone when you swipe down some strange search thing comes up. Seems like an old relic feature from ten years ago to swipe down and pull up a weird search menu thing. That just feels so wrong and out of place. I much prefer swiping down to pull the text conversation down to make a fast reply one-handed.
And lastly notifications in general are still way behind on the iPhone. I noticed when my daughter text me yesterday, she sent three texts before I replied, but on the Lock Screen I saw three separate text bubbles from her, not just one grouped up together.
As far as notifications are handled I find Android does it way better.
But the thing is, I do like this iPhone 12 Pro Max. The build quality is super high end. The beautiful display great. The smoothness of the UI is very fluid. The battery life really good. It’s an excellent smartphone no doubt.
But maybe it’s just me with iOS and so used to the Nexus / Pixel UI smartphone. I’m just so comfortable running stock Android and iOS feels outdated or frustrating to use at times.
Sorry I’m just rambling now ?
But maybe it’s just me with iOS and so used to the Nexus / Pixel UI smartphone. I’m just so comfortable running stock Android and iOS feels outdated or frustrating to use at times.
Sorry I’m just rambling now ?
For me the selling point for Android is Google’s call screener. There is nothing else like it. I don’t think there is a paid app on Apple store for that, though I could be mistaken.
As a small business owner, Google’s call screener is an invaluable piece of tech, not wanting to be bothered with robocalls or trying to determine if it is a robocall. I can manually press the call screener button and off it goes.
I’m getting a big itch to try a Android again. What would you guys recommend coming from a 12PM? I need to have a screen size at least 6.5 inches.
First off without a doubt the brand new upcoming Google Pixel phone, no other brand. The Pixel 6 will be a 6.4" screen, and the higher end Pixel 6 Pro will have a 6.7" display.
They get announced officially on Oct. 19th, and released a week a later.
Here's a good preview of them;
This is the Pixel 6, Google’s take on an ‘ultra high end’ phone
It has a new, Google-designed SoC called Tensor.
What about the S21 ultra? How it the navigation compared to 12pm?First off without a doubt the brand new upcoming Google Pixel phone, no other brand. The Pixel 6 will be a 6.4" screen, and the higher end Pixel 6 Pro will have a 6.7" display.
They get announced officially on Oct. 19th, and released a week a later.
Here's a good preview of them;
This is the Pixel 6, Google’s take on an ‘ultra high end’ phone
It has a new, Google-designed SoC called Tensor.www.theverge.com
Love the Pixel line and vanilla Android. My 4XL battery is horrible though. I’ll try the 6 Pro or whatever the biggest one is, and see though. Hopefully it’s good.
Haven't used a Samsung Galaxy since the S8+. But I believe the UI gesture navigation is very similar to the Pixel, if not the same? But really don't know.
I would honestly wait for the upcoming Pixel 6 line, it's only a few weeks away, and from the early buzz will be THE smartphone of 2021.
The early rumors are the new Pixel 6 phones will have very good battery life. Google themselves have said both new Pixel phones will have "All day battery life". Plus the new custom processor is said to be very efficient and battery friendly.
Pixel 6 Pro has a 6.7" QHD screen, with a 5,000mAh battery and 12GB RAM
Pixel 6 has a 6.4" 1080p screen, with a 4,614mAh battery and 8 GB RAM
I will say Google finally got battery life going very well with last years Pixel 5, my son has it, and he easily gets like 7h SoT. I recently bought the Pixel 5a ( which I will give to my Wife ) and that 5a gets amazing battery life, OUTSTANDING of like 9h to 10h SoT, almost double what my 4 XL gets.
I still have my Pixel 4 XL and it's like a 5.5h SoT phone. Not terrible battery, but not great either, it's just ok. But both our Pixel 5 and 5a have significantly better battery life. Hopefully Google keeps this going with the new Pixel 6 line.
I still have my Pixel 4 XL and it's like a 5.5h SoT phone. Not terrible battery, but not great either, it's just ok. But both our Pixel 5 and 5a have significantly better battery life. Hopefully Google keeps this going with the new Pixel 6 line.
So I've been swapping SIM's between my Pixel 5a and iPhone 12 Pro Max, last couple weeks. But one major reason why I'm sticking with Pixel's is the camera. The 12 Pro Max camera is just garbage for Portrait shots or photos at night, like really bad. My Brother has a 12 Pro and I had him take some pics too, and same thing lots of light bleed, photos look washed out and blurry almost. Where the Pixel 5a took Portrait shots that looked AMAZING at night, very clear and detailed, not blurry at all, crisp and sharp pics.
No joking, the 12 PM seems like a camera from 2015 or so, and the 5a camera a current 2021 flagship type camera almost.
And then the display, I'm actually shocked how good this Pixel 5a screen is, it gets very bright outdoors, but even better the blacks and vibrant colors looks very good, where the 12 PM looks a bit washed out, and the screen is great, but just doesn't seem amazing great, if that makes any sense.
Thing is, I do love the build quality on this iPhone 12 Pro Max, so nice and high end, and the UI is very fluid and super smooth, and apps with dark mode on are just fantastic on this phone. But the camera blows, and iOS is still a bit dated and wonky feeling to me.
No joking, the 12 PM seems like a camera from 2015 or so, and the 5a camera a current 2021 flagship type camera almost.
And then the display, I'm actually shocked how good this Pixel 5a screen is, it gets very bright outdoors, but even better the blacks and vibrant colors looks very good, where the 12 PM looks a bit washed out, and the screen is great, but just doesn't seem amazing great, if that makes any sense.
Thing is, I do love the build quality on this iPhone 12 Pro Max, so nice and high end, and the UI is very fluid and super smooth, and apps with dark mode on are just fantastic on this phone. But the camera blows, and iOS is still a bit dated and wonky feeling to me.
Not suprising. My Pixel 2 XL goes toe to toe with my 12 pro max for still shots.
The Samsung Galaxy s21 Ultra has an S Pen that some people find really handy. It’s a unique selling point. But One UI, while a really excellent environment, adds a layer of complexity that a lot of iOS users sometimes don’t like.
I’d personally wait and find out what the Pixel 6 Pro is offering. We are just a week away from their launch. The still camera is likely to be a lot better. Samsung video is good. I like the audio on Samsung’s videos.
If you wait, you can get a better idea of pricing and deals. Samsung is also doing an event one day after Google. I don’t know what they might announce though. It’s kind of unexpected.
Beyond Samsung and Google, I don’t know if there are any serious contenders. The support just isn’t going to be there. Samsung has vastly improved support and speed of software updates. I’ve not heard good things about OnePlus and the other Chinese brands.
Most of you know me as an anti iPhone guy, or mostly anti iOS, which I am. But, why is my SIM card back in my 12 Pro Max for a week now?
My other phones I have are the Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 5a, which I just gave the 5a to my Wife, she previously has the Pixel 2 XL, she really likes the 5a, mainly the battery life and brighter screen.
Anyways, there something about this iPhone 12 Pro Max, that keeps drawing me in;
- High end build quality, feels so nice, and the FLAT screen and squared edges just look great.
- With dark mode on, and apps set to Nighttime or AMOLED Black settings, it completely hides the notch, and makes the phone screen look like it goes edge to edge. Plus just in general the dark mode is black, unlike Android's dark grey, and just looks beautiful.
- Apps like Twitter and Reddit just seems more polished or better on iOS, and again with dark mode enabled look amazing. I like how apps seem to have a few additional settings options, where in Android they don't, specifically font size can be adjusted per app.
- Safari with the Dark Reader extension set to black again hides the notch, and makes web pages look super cool, plus I just find Safari set to 125% font easier to see and looks so clear. This is a big deal to me, Safari with Dark Reader and the browser set to 125% is PERFECT. The browsers on Android I use, Brave or Chrome always look too small or harder to read even with the font increased to 200% in settings, it doesn't seem to always change it on most sites. Not sure why, but I find Safari the most comfortable and easy on the eyes browser to use. Plus with AdGuard Pro ZERO ads.
My other phones I have are the Pixel 4 XL and Pixel 5a, which I just gave the 5a to my Wife, she previously has the Pixel 2 XL, she really likes the 5a, mainly the battery life and brighter screen.
Anyways, there something about this iPhone 12 Pro Max, that keeps drawing me in;
- High end build quality, feels so nice, and the FLAT screen and squared edges just look great.
- With dark mode on, and apps set to Nighttime or AMOLED Black settings, it completely hides the notch, and makes the phone screen look like it goes edge to edge. Plus just in general the dark mode is black, unlike Android's dark grey, and just looks beautiful.
- Apps like Twitter and Reddit just seems more polished or better on iOS, and again with dark mode enabled look amazing. I like how apps seem to have a few additional settings options, where in Android they don't, specifically font size can be adjusted per app.
- Safari with the Dark Reader extension set to black again hides the notch, and makes web pages look super cool, plus I just find Safari set to 125% font easier to see and looks so clear. This is a big deal to me, Safari with Dark Reader and the browser set to 125% is PERFECT. The browsers on Android I use, Brave or Chrome always look too small or harder to read even with the font increased to 200% in settings, it doesn't seem to always change it on most sites. Not sure why, but I find Safari the most comfortable and easy on the eyes browser to use. Plus with AdGuard Pro ZERO ads.
Yes, apps definitely look better on iOS generally. I have to agree using this 5a for a few weeks.
But I far prefer how Android UI operates, to me it's a better OS and design. Themes are nice, but not critical. The back gesture is so much better on Android, going from the right side of the screen, swiping left goes back = genius on Android. AoD ( Always on Display ) holy cow this is a big deal, come on Apple. Notifications LOL no comparison, Android destroys iOS on this, plus neat things like Smart Reply are helpful. Or Google's Screen Call to take and handle phone calls for you is amazing. Voice to text on Android is darn near perfect on the Pixel's, whereas voice-to-text on the iPhone blows, and is terrible. Google Assistant compared to Siri LOL HA no contest, Siri is useless and I have not used once in 10 months, whereas saying "Hey Google" to ask anything quickly about the weather or sports score, or make a phone call and have the Pixel AI schedule an appointment for me without me talking.
Man I'm torn LOL. I love the build quality and beautiful design of the iPhone, but stock Andorid is just superior in so many ways..
Man I'm torn LOL. I love the build quality and beautiful design of the iPhone, but stock Andorid is just superior in so many ways..
Agree with you. If Apple gives up on CSAM, while I would keep my Surface Pro over Mac, I might be sucked back into an iPhone...it is tough.
Camera's is another one. Both my Pixel 4 XL and 5a take far better still shots comapred to my 12PM, Portrait shots on my Pixel's are look years ahead better than the iPhone's. My iPhone 12 Pro Max camera seems like some old budget phone camera from 2015 with it's washed out blurry Portrait shots. Where the Pixel's are sharp, clear, and colorful.
WOW. I just purchased Dark Reader for Safari on my phone, what an incredible extension. I have it set to auto to match my day / night mode settings and have it set to black background. All websites so far look perfect. Thanks for mentioning this one.
Agree re: the flat screen and square edges, I love the build quality of my 13 PM. This is what is keeping me from getting a Pixel 6 Pro, I need the flat screen. Will maybe consider the regular 6 but I'd like the larger battery on the Pro.