Why I am a Pixel guy

I’ve been an Android guy for 15 years. Fun fact: I have never owned an iPhone. I’ve been on Team Android since day one, and over that decade and a half, I’ve used phones from nearly every major brand you can think of — Samsung, LG, OnePlus, and more. But for the past few years, I’ve been all-in on one brand: Google Pixel.

My current daily driver is the Google Pixel 9 Pro, and whenever I need to use another phone for work, I immediately find myself missing it. But what is it about this phone, and the Pixels that came before it, that keeps me so locked in? After a lot of thought, I’ve realized it comes down to a few key areas where Google consistently gets it right for me, even if it gets a few other things wrong.

I take smartphone design very seriously. I realize that’s not common. Most people tell me they don’t even care what a phone looks or feels like, because it’s “just going to go into a case,” which I can’t argue with. However, I will always be obsessed with the designs of phones because that’s what creates (or, more often, doesn’t create) my emotional attachment to it.

With Pixels, I’ve almost always been a fan of the way Google designs them. Sure, there have been some missteps — the bathtub-sized display notch on the Pixel 3 XL comes to mind — but overall, I think Pixels have consistently been some of the best-looking phones out there. Since the Pixel 6, Google has leaned into its camera bar design, which is not only a bold and distinctive visual statement but also wonderfully practical. In a sea of phones that look frustratingly similar, the camera bar is instantly recognizable. Better yet, it prevents the phone from wobbling when I lay it on a table — a pet peeve of mine that drives me crazy with other devices.

The Pixel 9 Pro, specifically, has become my favorite design yet, mainly because it’s a powerful phone in a manageable size. I know plenty of Android fans love massive phones, but the Pixel 9 Pro hits the sweet spot for me. It’s comfortable to use one-handed, which has been a game-changer for my daily use and has made me feel more connected to the phone. It just feels right in a way no other device has.

Best of all, I don’t feel like I’m making a sacrifice for this smaller size. Ignoring a slight difference in battery capacity, the Pixel 9 Pro is virtually identical in specs to the larger, more expensive Pixel 9 Pro XL. You get the same performance, the same display quality, and the same versatile cameras. Right now, no other Android phone truly offers that top-tier, no-compromise experience in this form factor. In other words, the Pixel 9 Pro is the Goldilocks phone: just right.

If you follow the smartphone world at all, you’ve heard this a thousand times: Pixel cameras are fantastic. A huge reason for their success is how easy Google makes it to get a great shot. You don’t need to be a professional photographer; you can just point, shoot, and be confident you’ll get a photo that looks somewhere between pretty good and absolutely amazing.

While most flagship phones can take great pictures these days, they often come with frustrating trade-offs. Samsung’s phones, for example, are notorious for shutter lag — a delay between pressing the button and the photo actually being taken. We’ve tested this extensively at Android Authority, and it can mean the difference between capturing a perfect moment with a fast-moving pet or kid — or missing it entirely. Samsung also tends to oversaturate colors, making photos vibrant but unrealistic. iPhones, on the other hand, often ship with weaker camera hardware compared to similarly-priced Android phones. No matter how much software magic you use, larger sensors and better lenses will almost always produce more detailed results.

What it all comes down to is trust. When I’m capturing a precious memory I can never get back, I don’t want to worry about whether the phone will nail the shot. I want to point, shoot, and get back to living my life. I trust Pixels to do that more reliably than any other phone.

At the top of that list is how it manages my phone calls. I hate talking on the phone and will avoid it if I can. Features like Call Screen, which has Google Assistant answer calls from unknown numbers for me, are invaluable. I can see a live transcript of the conversation and decide if it’s important enough to take over. Similarly, Hold for Me is a lifesaver. It waits on hold for me and plays an alert when a real person is finally back on the line. These aren’t gimmicks; they are practical features that make my life easier.

Another feature I can’t live without is the advanced voice typing in Gboard. While Gboard is available everywhere, the experience on a Pixel is on another level. It’s far more accurate, automatically adds punctuation as I speak, and lets me seamlessly switch between typing and talking. It even understands when I want to add an Emoji and can send a message when I’m done, making it truly hands-free. For someone who uses voice-to-text constantly, there’s simply no going back.

And of course, there’s the major perk of getting the latest version of Android on Day One and knowing that I have support for up to seven years. As an Android enthusiast, I always want the newest features as soon as they’re stable, and owning a Pixel is the only way to guarantee that — without becoming an unpaid beta tester for another smartphone company, anyway.

OK, so this whole article is just me praising Pixels, but I’m not blind to their flaws. The Tensor processor, while fine for everyday tasks, can’t compete with high-end Snapdragon chips in raw performance and efficiency. That’s undeniable. Pixels also tend to run warm under heavy use and have slower charging speeds than many competitors. Pixels are expensive from a spec-to-value ratio, and they aren’t available in as many countries as competitors. There are tons of issues that I can’t deny.

But I’m comfortable with these trade-offs for two main reasons. First, no phone is perfect. Every single device has its own set of compromises. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra is a beast, but it’s also massive and expensive. The OnePlus 13 is also great — I even think it might be the best of 2025 — but its camera system isn’t quite as consistent as Pixels or even Galaxy phones. It also comes in only one size throughout most of the world: gigantic. The fact that Pixels aren’t perfect isn’t a dealbreaker because they consistently deliver on the things that I personally care about most.

Second, and more importantly, after investing deeply in Pixels and the wider Made by Google ecosystem, I’m not trapped. Apple is obviously the worst offender with this and its so-called “Walled Garden,” but Samsung is guilty of engineering customer lock-in as well. Unlike other ecosystems, Google hasn’t locked me into its world. If I wanted to buy a OnePlus 13 tomorrow, my smartwatch would still work, my smart home devices would still be controllable, and my digital life would carry on almost unchanged. The moment Google does something I don’t like, I can leave without a second thought. Ironically, that freedom from lock-in makes me even more loyal to the Pixel world, because I know I’m there by choice.

Ultimately, being a “Pixel guy” isn’t about believing Google has created the objectively perfect device, because no such thing exists. It’s about choosing the phone that consistently nails the features that matter in the real world — the camera I trust with my precious memories, the software that makes my day genuinely better, and designs that feels tailor-made for how I actually use the product. Other phones may win on benchmarks or being better from a cost/value perspective, but the Pixel wins my loyalty by getting the human element right. And in a world of walled gardens designed to trap you, there’s a certain power in sticking with the ecosystem that’s confident enough to let you leave. For me, that makes the choice clear. Now, bring on the Pixel 10 series!