this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2023
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Android is struggling to keep its market share in the United States, as Apple continues to take over in the market. But, despite Android as a whole losing ground, Google Pixel phones are becoming a bigger slice of the US market.

Counterpoint Research reports that, in Q2 2023, US smartphone shipments dropped by 24% year-over-year. That includes both iPhones and Android phones, and virtually every brand saw a drop in shipments. Samsung saw US shipments drop by 37% while Motorola saw a 17% drop. TCL saw the biggest decline at just shy of 70% year-over-year, and even Apple saw a 6% drop.

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[–] ScrivenerX@lemm.ee 74 points 1 year ago (24 children)

I use a pixel and I have a hard time justifying a different phone.

Maybe things have changed but the last Samsung I had was an S7 and I didn't like it. It suffered from bloat and didn't last all that long. Battery issues and the screen started to lose sensitivity.

I've used iphones and they aren't bad, but I really dislike apple's app store and effort to control everything on my phone. Also everytime a new phone came out my old phone became next to unusable for a month.

I got a pixel 3 and loved it, now I have a pixel 6 and don't see changing my phone any time soon or going to a non-pixel phone. They last a long time, they work well with everything and the camera is excellent.

[–] lowleveldata@programming.dev 26 points 1 year ago (5 children)

I have a hard time justifying a different phone

A pixel doesn't have SD card slot or 3.5 mm jack. My Xperia 1V has both. There. Justified.

[–] smeeps 24 points 1 year ago (15 children)

I mean most consumers don't care about those πŸ€·β€β™€οΈ

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[–] Coeus@coeus.sbs 13 points 1 year ago (1 children)

While I understand the appeal, those are 2 features that I don't need. Having the option would be nice though.

[–] DuncanTDP@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago

I think more people should have this kind of view, and less of an all or nothing approach.

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[–] Azzu@lemm.ee 17 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (11 children)

I've used https://shop.fairphone.com/ for a while now, a bit less slick and more expensive, but I'm very satisfied. I already degoogled completely, can't have a Google phone now :D

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[–] crab@monero.town 44 points 1 year ago (8 children)

GrapheneOS is what keeps me from switching from Pixel.

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[–] ocassionallyaduck@lemmy.world 43 points 1 year ago (20 children)

Google keeps locking tons of Android features away behind their own privatized software stack.

Better for Google, but they are cutting their nose to spite their face here, as Android as a whole suffers for it.

Stuff like call screening in the android dialer would be possible on any brand of device. But no, pixel only.

The pixels have the very best android experience. It comes close to iPhone. But pixels aren't the whole market. Overall Google is trying to claw back control of the entire platform and I hate it.

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[–] fische_stix@reddthat.com 39 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Samsung and major carriers are shooting android in the foot with the bloatware. There are less and less viable android models that aren't half filled with carrier or manufacturer specific apps that can't be deleted. The pixel might be a tool of the Google devil but at least it provides the illustration of customization. iPhones are still Iphones. People they phone is pretty much the same butvthe hardware gets slightly better. Combine all that with messaging on Iphones essentially excluding android and ut becomes though to stick with anything but a Pixel or iphone. If I didn't have lots of Google stuff setup for work I might reconsider iphones, but the pixel really has made my life easier via Google big brother. If work used apple big brother I would switch.

[–] Saneless@lemmy.world 19 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

At this point google is pretty much the only company providing an Android experience that isn't shit

Anyone I've met that hasn't liked it has used a Samsung. They try so hard to be apple but they don't understand the parts that work and just create an overall bloated and shitty experience

Doesn't help that they have overpriced everything

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[–] Hazdaz@lemmy.world 37 points 1 year ago (3 children)

It's still 45% marketshare Android vs 55% iOS. With the way the title reads, you'd think Android was down in the single digits and barely hanging on.

Personally I just don't see how anyone uses iOS. The iPhone I have is just awful. The UI is clunky and I'm absolutely baffled why this stupid phone weighs so much. That's not a good thing, damn it. My Samsung is infinitely better device in my opinion. But I'd still love to see a third player come in. I was sad when Microsoft killed off their phone OS. It might not have been great at the time, but more competition is always better. And then if course there's also PalmOS. So sad to see such a cool OS die off.

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[–] ArcaneSlime@lemmy.dbzer0.com 22 points 1 year ago

Thanks grapheneOS!

[–] HRDS_654@lemmy.world 22 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (8 children)

I feel like Google really hit their stride with the Pixel 6/7 series. The 7 series especially is just such a nice phone to use and doesn't feel as cheap as previous iterations of the Pixel. It's also great value for the money. I went with the Pro and would recommend against it honestly, because while I like the extra camera and the bigger screen it really doesn't fit great in the average persons hand and the features don't really justify the cost. If I had to do it over again I would get the 7 or 7a.

[–] sloonark@lemm.ee 16 points 1 year ago (13 children)

I honestly think the Pixel 5 is the best phone I have ever used. I have the P7 and I kind of wish I had stuck with the P5.

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[–] Anticorp@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 year ago (1 children)

As someone who switched to a Pixel from an iPhone, I'll tell ya that I think the Pixel is a better phone. The only things iOS has going for it that are better is tap to scroll up, swipe to go forward, and a slightly better camera. Everything else works better on my Pixel.

[–] Astroturfed@lemmy.world 13 points 1 year ago

The camera is a bit subjective and varies by generation. The tech and algo on the backend has more effect on the pictures than the camera on most pictures these days. I think the pixel does much better wide angle and scenic type photos.

[–] Coeus@coeus.sbs 19 points 1 year ago (8 children)

A pixel with custom firmware that removes the Google is my preferred phone choice.

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[–] Whirlybird@aussie.zone 18 points 1 year ago (3 children)

When you've got a miniscule market share it's much easier to increase it than it is when you have a much larger market share.

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[–] Gleddified@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 year ago

Can't wait for the entire cell phone market to be a monopoly...

[–] Transcendant@sopuli.xyz 16 points 1 year ago (2 children)

I got a pixel 7a about 6 months ago. It's a brilliant phone, once you remove all the google shit / bloat and block all the trackers.

[–] iturnedintoanewt@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (5 children)
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[–] CatBusBand@beehaw.org 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It would be nice if they didn't limit the countries you could buy them from.

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[–] basuramannen@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 1 year ago (16 children)

Is there an Android phone that supports dual boot? I would like to have that so can use Lineage or something similar and only boot into Google android when I need to use banking app or government ID that requires the safetynet antifeture. This would free me from carrying two phones. But I suppose a locked down bootloader can not support dual boot and an unlocked will not support the safetynet antifeature.

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[–] ratboy@lemm.ee 11 points 1 year ago (11 children)

My Android phone fucking blows. The one I had prior was great but I lost it. I hate the constant alerts from the apps I can't delete, I can't take up close photos anymore without it looking like shit and not focusing, the screen will flip horizontal at random times when it's got the lock screen option turned on. I don't want a Google phone, though.

Anyone have opinions on the OnePlus phones?

[–] ilickfrogs@lemmy.world 14 points 1 year ago (11 children)

Apps you can't delete? Gotta be Samsung?

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[–] worfamerryman@beehaw.org 11 points 1 year ago (12 children)

As an iOS user the bloat on android is a huge turnoff for me.

I’d potentially switch to a Samsung if it didn’t have all that stuff pre installed on it.

It may be the second biggest reason I’m sticking with iOS. Of fact, if they got rid of bloat and iMessage was available on Android, I’d jump over in a second.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee 24 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

Well there's your problem. You're looking at Samsung phones.

Honestly, they're one of the worst when it comes to bloatware. They do it because their devices are so popular that they can get away with it. Stick with a Pixel, and you can't go wrong.

(BTW, what's with iPhone users' obsession with iMessage? Google Messages has the same capabilities. Not trying to hate; genuinely curious. If your only experience with texting on Android is with using whatever came with your device, then I understand why you'd prefer Apple's implementation. That's the whole appeal of Android: if you don't like how a component works, you can swap it out.)

[–] worfamerryman@beehaw.org 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

To answer the iMessage thing.

I’m from the states but live in a different country. It’s the easiest free way to stay in touch with family and friends.

A number of people have been like β€œjust move to X and if they don’t follow, then forget about them.”

But it’s not really realistic to ask all the people I might contact throughout the year to switch to a new app in case I contact them.

So I truly feel locked in because of that.

[–] Psythik@lemm.ee 12 points 1 year ago (4 children)

Please elaborate further. What's so special about iMessage that it can be used in other countries, but every single messaging app for Android can't? Google Messages is free too. Again, not trying to hate. Just trying to understand.

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[–] Madbrad200@lemmy.world 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I bought my phone for Β£150 and it's great. I don't understand why people spend Β£600+ on a phone.

[–] golli@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

I think the sweet spot is somewhere around the 300€ range. Below that you definitely already get perfectly reasonable phones, but you still have to make compromises. But at that price point you get most things and the missing features are not as important.

Past that diminishing returns are hitting hard.

The one thing that usually scales the most past that point is the camera. But a phone like the pixel 6a already takes amazing photos. And the only real difference you usually find are extra lenses (particularly zoom).

The only time i could ever see those 1k top phones start to make sense is, if we ever get to the point where phones can replace our personal computers and you just slot them into a dock at home.

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[–] KevonLooney@lemm.ee 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

I definitely bought a used phone last time. It's has literally nothing wrong with it and was about $350. New phones are for suckers.

[–] worfamerryman@beehaw.org 11 points 1 year ago (6 children)

It’s totally a gamble though. The fact that you have to state that there is nothing wrong with it proves that it is a concern.

So it’s good there was nothing wrong, there was a chance you would be stuck with a $350 brick.

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