> If I could get a pure Google experience on Samsung-quality hardware, I'd go for that every time.

"I'm always here when you need me", moped the lonely Sony Xperia in a distant corner of the room.

The annoying thing is - the Pixel software experience is just really good. I love the call interception feature, the photos are uniformly great, all the Google-y AI stuff is somewhat useful.

I can't get that on any other Android phone, and this year's Pixel seems good but not top-of-line. Honestly I wouldn't upgrade unless otherwise incentivized, but I'm making the switch to iPhone for the first time. This is a bummer since Android is finally a great platform.

I just think Google is making the baseline phones to remove worse phones out of the market. If you want better experience, there are other Android phones.

I have a one plus phone and it is exactly what you describe. I'm very happy with it