[kipple]

I agree, and I think there's another aspect too: the fragmentation of Android.

The "true Google" phones (Pixel) with their "true Android OS" are great. But there's so many other manufacturers, and so many other flavors of Android, that it can't help but feel like an ocean of knockoffs.

Apple feels so pure and clean in comparison.

[kyriakos]

Imo the knockoffs from Samsung, oneplus, xiaomi etc are better than pixel phones. Latest model 7,has some serious hardware issues (falling volume control buttons, exploding camera lens cover, mediocre battery life) and its considerably less premium looking than the android competition. It has a clean android but that is not without problems e.g occasionally dialed numbers in dialer history appear as private numbers, an issue that existed in pixel 6 and still exists on 7. And finally its ironic that google offers updates for shorter than competition.