I'm a 36 year old, and have seen my fair share of phones both on Android and iOS. I keep switching between the two ecosystems when I get bored with a particular OS. In the recent past I've owned the Samsung Note 9, the Samsung Galaxy S20 and S21, and have looked at the Pixels this year. On the iOS side, I've owned the XS most recently. In the past I've owned many Sony Ericsson devices because they were well built. I owned the OG Sony Ericsson Xperia X1 (with the slide out keyboard). That was a day one purchase for me, and I loved it until I cracked its screen playing air hockey, and it cost almost the price of the phone to replace it. I've also own multiple Samsung devices like the S3, the Notes, Xperias, LG G3 and many others. On the iOS side, I've owned the 3G, the 6 Plus, the 8, and always had an iPad. I have a 11 Pro now, and proclaim myself neither an Apple or an android fanboy. If anything, I was a Sony Ericsson fanboy back in the day.
I've always found the Android devices I owned good value for money until recently, but they never had the best of materials. Even if they were glass, they still had a kind of a plastic feel to them. They always were pushing the edge of innovation, but never following up on the features in terms of software updates, or sticking to them in the next generation of devices. But I believe that they pushed the envelope far enough for Apple to follow suit, and perfect each feature they decided to adopt. I'm not a electronics engineer and cannot make an informed decision, but I always felt that the hardware under the hood was also not functioning to its rated potential. The Android devices were worse at holding cell tower signal compared to an iPhone at the same location. I am a heavy bluetooth use in the car, and I always felt the sound quality and call quality over bluetooth was better on the iPhone compared to even a next generation Android device.
But I've always loved the perfection of the materials of the iPhone. Even if I didn't like the design, the materials used were always top notch.
I didn't like the XS because of the rounded corners. Always used to slip out of the hand, and this was something I always hated about the iPhones I owned. (I didn't own the 4, but I loved the design). I wanted to try the 12 since the brought back the squared off design, but couldn't.
Eventually, here I am, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Since my first impression, I have this thought always in my mind about how perfect everything seems to be put together. There's no flex, no bend gate, and the stainless steel edges though shiny, add to a premium feel. It fits perfectly in my hands' contours with no risk of falling down. The size is not that huge to me compared to a few other Note devices I've held in the past. The weight is heft enough to be considered "premium", and I love how the weight is evenly balanced.
The cameras at the back are humungous, but there doesn't seem to be any rocking with light touches when it's face up. The screen is gorgeous, and the OLED blacks stand out. I've seen Samsung OLEDs in the past, and this one is on par if not better. The fonts somehow seem crisper (maybe it's the font used?). Yes the colours on camera photos are not out of the world like a Samsung's, but they they sure are consistent, and vibrance can be added post. And the bluetooth sound quality and music quality over CarPlay are excellent. The haptic feedback motor and its implementation is so new to me, and I love the feel of some one tapping you rather than an electric razor going off in your pockets.
And on the software side, they've added a lot of nifty tweaks and ease of use intuitive things that I've not seen since my 3 year hiatus to the Android side. Things like grouping of notifications, the widgets, clearing up the home screen if you don't want any icons etc. are a step in the right direction, and makes the use of the device less of a chore.
TLDR: Seen a lot of phones in the past, but the 13 Pro Max seems like a lot of good things have come together to create the best device I've ever had the privilege of holding.
I've always found the Android devices I owned good value for money until recently, but they never had the best of materials. Even if they were glass, they still had a kind of a plastic feel to them. They always were pushing the edge of innovation, but never following up on the features in terms of software updates, or sticking to them in the next generation of devices. But I believe that they pushed the envelope far enough for Apple to follow suit, and perfect each feature they decided to adopt. I'm not a electronics engineer and cannot make an informed decision, but I always felt that the hardware under the hood was also not functioning to its rated potential. The Android devices were worse at holding cell tower signal compared to an iPhone at the same location. I am a heavy bluetooth use in the car, and I always felt the sound quality and call quality over bluetooth was better on the iPhone compared to even a next generation Android device.
But I've always loved the perfection of the materials of the iPhone. Even if I didn't like the design, the materials used were always top notch.
I didn't like the XS because of the rounded corners. Always used to slip out of the hand, and this was something I always hated about the iPhones I owned. (I didn't own the 4, but I loved the design). I wanted to try the 12 since the brought back the squared off design, but couldn't.
Eventually, here I am, with the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Since my first impression, I have this thought always in my mind about how perfect everything seems to be put together. There's no flex, no bend gate, and the stainless steel edges though shiny, add to a premium feel. It fits perfectly in my hands' contours with no risk of falling down. The size is not that huge to me compared to a few other Note devices I've held in the past. The weight is heft enough to be considered "premium", and I love how the weight is evenly balanced.
The cameras at the back are humungous, but there doesn't seem to be any rocking with light touches when it's face up. The screen is gorgeous, and the OLED blacks stand out. I've seen Samsung OLEDs in the past, and this one is on par if not better. The fonts somehow seem crisper (maybe it's the font used?). Yes the colours on camera photos are not out of the world like a Samsung's, but they they sure are consistent, and vibrance can be added post. And the bluetooth sound quality and music quality over CarPlay are excellent. The haptic feedback motor and its implementation is so new to me, and I love the feel of some one tapping you rather than an electric razor going off in your pockets.
And on the software side, they've added a lot of nifty tweaks and ease of use intuitive things that I've not seen since my 3 year hiatus to the Android side. Things like grouping of notifications, the widgets, clearing up the home screen if you don't want any icons etc. are a step in the right direction, and makes the use of the device less of a chore.
TLDR: Seen a lot of phones in the past, but the 13 Pro Max seems like a lot of good things have come together to create the best device I've ever had the privilege of holding.
