Pixel 3 vs S9

[thompsd]

I’ve got a Pixel 2 and was weighing the pros & cons of upgrading to a Pixel 3 vs the S9 and was curious if anyone has any comments on this.

On paper, the S9 seems to be a better phone with a great screen and SD support but was wondering what the practical differences are. It’s been a while since I’ve owned a Samsung phone and it always seemed there were little quirks that would drive you nuts. In many ways the Pixel 2 is sooo boring, everything seems to work or at least I’ve had no major problems.

 

[scgf]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and have ordered a Pixel 3. The S9 is a nice phone but I am irritated by all the Samsung stuff installed which I never use. I keep getting notifications about Samsung app updates and I usually haven't a clue about the app concerned. It's as if there are two layers of software and services - Google and Samsung and the Samsung layer keeps fighting with the Google layer. I suppose in real terms it doesn't matter and you just use the apps you want to use. I just don't like it there is a whole ecosystem there in which I have no interest but can't get rid of. There are even two app stores, the Play Store and the Samsung Store. The default cloud service is Samsung and your phone settings, photos etc. are backed up to Samsung by default. You can, of course, install Google Drive and have things baked up to the Google cloud but it's up to you to switch off the Samsung syncing. Photos go into the Samsung Gallery app and while you can install Google Photos your photos don't sync with the Google Photos app unless you open the app after taking some photos and then they appear. You delete a photo from the Gallery and it is still in Google Photos. You delete it from Google Photos and it's still in Samsung Gallery. If you set up the S9 to save your photos to an SD card then Google Photos can't delete them to save space. Lots and lots of things like this. If you are remotely OCD you won't be happy.

 

[OkayGK]

Im stepping away from Sammy for a little. Tired of same thing. Plus some things just give errors, like google maps... Samsung has this problem.... I love the phones tho, best of everything in them. Like I said i just phone something new.
My grape with Pix 3 is that the screen is small. I dont care for speakers. Oddly to say this but i wish Little pixel had a notch.
I did not order mine yet as i want to play with both sizes and see if I can commit to either. I really hope i will like Pixel 3 display.

 

[dgrobe2112]

thats why i cant stand samsung phones.. love the hardware, but the software is just bloated with tons of stuff that someone like me.. slightly minimalistic, and OCD, cant stand. i even bought an unlocked galaxy phone and still all the stock samsung crap just kept fighting. the pixel 3, is far better, sure maybe not as fancy with the curved screen, or whatever, but simple, and easy is better in my opinion. also, all the edge functions from the galaxy, now have edge apps to use on the pixel.

 

[M3th0s]

Personal opinion here:

Had an s8 before and agree with what everyone said. Brilliant phone and amazing hardware however the software experience wasn't the best. Hate the fact there were loads of apps I couldn't get rid of and because of it most experiences weren't seamless as they should. Ended up rooting it and installing a rom that didn't have a lot of bloat but some problems still persisted as there isn't lineageos for the s8 and I much prefer vanilla android .

Have had a pixel 3 for 3 weeks now and I can tell you this is the best Android experience I've had up until now. Everything is super smooth and the Google integration is flawless . The camera is brilliant and the no frills os just works as it should. I think the only downside is the battery life but hey,can't have it all!

 

[ckelly33]

I came from an S8 and I love the Pixel 3 Experience so far. I also owned a OnePlus 6T - which I returned.

The camera is fantastic (especially noticeable to me when the subject is in motion).
Battery life is fine (4+hrs SOT over 17 hours to 5%), way better than my 2 year old S8.
I like the simplicity of Pure Android

I do really miss a ringer button in the notification shade, though I am sure I will get used to the change
I also HATE that they (Google) opted for their own proprietary charging - makes it more like Apple and harder to switch (I have a bunch of chargers that fast charged my S8, 6T and every other phone I've owned that don't work the same on the P3). HATE THIS.

After only a few days, I miss the 6T launcher - very Pixel-esque BUT better gesture controls. I miss the 6T's battery life too. I really didn't like having a hardware switch for changing between ringer modes. That and lack of wireless charging, a so-so camera and a couple of other issues led me to try the Pixel.

 

[piccit]

I also HATE that they (Google) opted for their own proprietary charging - makes it more like Apple and harder to switch (I have a bunch of chargers that fast charged my S8, 6T and every other phone I've owned that don't work the same on the P3). HATE THIS.

To be fair, Google is using Power Delivery which is a USB spec. The others are the ones using proprietary technology: "Qualcomm has its Quick Charge technology in a number of handsets. OPPO and OnePlus offer varieties of VOOC. MediaTek has Pump Express." Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/usb-power-delivery-806266/.
Apparently the new Quick Charge 4.0 is PD compliant though - so if Samsung moves to that in years to come (I think they still use 2.0 in their phones) then QC4.0 chargers will be more 'universal'

Are you sure you have chargers that fast charge Samsung and OnePlus? Not that I've looked hard, but I haven't seen chargers that do both Quick Charge and VOOC (Dash Charge)

 

[ckelly33]

Could be wrong but I sent that 6T back to it's maker.

To be fair, Google is using Power Delivery which is a USB spec. The others are the ones using proprietary technology: "Qualcomm has its Quick Charge technology in a number of handsets. OPPO and OnePlus offer varieties of VOOC. MediaTek has Pump Express." Source: https://www.androidauthority.com/usb-power-delivery-806266/.
Apparently the new Quick Charge 4.0 is PD compliant though - so if Samsung moves to that in years to come (I think they still use 2.0 in their phones) then QC4.0 chargers will be more 'universal'

Are you sure you have chargers that fast charge Samsung and OnePlus? Not that I've looked hard, but I haven't seen chargers that do both Quick Charge and VOOC (Dash Charge)

Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk

 

[Firehawk989]

I was having the same debate with myself on what phone to get. I also really like the s9s hardware, but I just can't freakin stand Samsung's bloat infested annoying software. If Samsung had made an android one S9 I would have been all over that.

Went with the pixel 3 and really like it, but miss the sd card and headphone jack.

 

[DaReDeViL]

I had those phones too. I keep on trying to get rid of my S9 by switching to pixel2xl, op6, op6t, pixel3xl but I always return to S9 for many reasons:
* VR
* perfect size (for me)
* everyday use is just simpler than stock android (example: slide left or right to sms or call)
* amazing speakers
* dolby atmos and general sound experience
* dual Bluetooth headsets support (rare but useful for me)
* outdoor screen visibility
* flashing custom roms and kernels simpler than on Slot A/B phones
* all features (I need) are already builtin and only need root to be enabled by csc (network monitor+firewall, call recording, unknown numbers recognition...)
* wonderful camera
* s-health and its assistance
* with root, most of the bloatware can be removed
...etc

We can be angry toward samsung as we wish but we can also acknowledge that they also have really good practical flagships.

 

[Virgo_Guy]

I had those phones too. I keep on trying to get rid of my S9 by switching to pixel2xl, op6, op6t, pixel3xl but I always return to S9 for many reasons:
* VR
* perfect size (for me)
* everyday use is just simpler than stock android (example: slide left or right to sms or call)
* amazing speakers
* dolby atmos and general sound experience
* dual Bluetooth headsets support (rare but useful for me)
* outdoor screen visibility
* flashing custom roms and kernels simpler than on Slot A/B phones
* all features (I need) are already builtin and only need root to be enabled by csc (network monitor+firewall, call recording, unknown numbers recognition...)
* wonderful camera
* s-health and its assistance
* with root, most of the bloatware can be removed
...etc

We can be angry toward samsung as we wish but we can also acknowledge that they also have really good practical flagships.

I stopped rooting but this above explanation is a reflection of my experience as well, so not repeating. It's just that I use the bigger plus or notes for bigger battery & screen. I keep coming back to Samsung for nitpicking stuff, even though I do not like Samsung for several other reasons.

 

[jimv1983]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and have ordered a Pixel 3. The S9 is a nice phone but I am irritated by all the Samsung stuff installed which I never use. I keep getting notifications about Samsung app updates and I usually haven't a clue about the app concerned. It's as if there are two layers of software and services - Google and Samsung and the Samsung layer keeps fighting with the Google layer. I suppose in real terms it doesn't matter and you just use the apps you want to use. I just don't like it there is a whole ecosystem there in which I have no interest but can't get rid of. There are even two app stores, the Play Store and the Samsung Store. The default cloud service is Samsung and your phone settings, photos etc. are backed up to Samsung by default. You can, of course, install Google Drive and have things baked up to the Google cloud but it's up to you to switch off the Samsung syncing. Photos go into the Samsung Gallery app and while you can install Google Photos your photos don't sync with the Google Photos app unless you open the app after taking some photos and then they appear. You delete a photo from the Gallery and it is still in Google Photos. You delete it from Google Photos and it's still in Samsung Gallery. If you set up the S9 to save your photos to an SD card then Google Photos can't delete them to save space. Lots and lots of things like this. If you are remotely OCD you won't be happy.

Are you serious about how backing up to Google works on a Samsung phone? That really sucks. I'm even happier now that I don't have a Samsung phone.

 

[DaReDeViL]

Are you serious about how backing up to Google works on a Samsung phone? That really sucks. I'm even happier now that I don't have a Samsung phone.

I think that the google photos app didn't sync only if opened is because it was hibernated by the system as it was detected as a high battery consuming app !
Also, the same gallery vs google photos double use happened to me on Oneplus6 and on every phone which has its own dedicated gallery app.
If you want to fully benefit from google photos app, just use it exclusively and don't forget to exclude it from battery optimization (battery impact?). Simple as that.

 

[jimv1983]

I think that the google photos app didn't sync only if opened is because it was hibernated by the system as it was detected as a high battery consuming app !
Also, the same gallery vs google photos double use happened to me on Oneplus6 and on every phone which has its own dedicated gallery app.
If you want to fully benefit from google photos app, just use it exclusively and don't forget to exclude it from battery optimization (battery impact?). Simple as that.

I've never had Google Photos consume a lot of battery. Glad I have a Pixel 2 XL.

 

[Firehawk989]

While rooting is a solution to the Samsung crapware, it trips the Knox flag and therefore voids your warranty. I've done my share of rooting and ROM installs on other devices, but those were either out of warranty or able to be restored back to a stock config to maintain warranty.

It's nice to have a phone where rooting and all that isn't necessary because it doesn't have much/any extraneous crap.

As I said, if Samsung had made a GPE/Android One version of the S9 I would have bought it over the pixel 3 for sure.

Hopefully the pixel 4 will bring back the jack and the SD card, keep the stereo speakers, and further reduce the bezels with no notch on the non-xl.

 

[chewy74]

I currently have a s9+SM-G965U1 and on the fence about trading it for a pixel 3 xl. I love the s9 hardware, but hate the software side of it.

If I find a good enough sale on black Friday, or cyber Monday for a pixel 3 xl I think I'll pull the trigger on the switch

 

[scgf]

After only a few days, I miss the 6T launcher - very Pixel-esque BUT better gesture controls. I miss the 6T's battery life too. I really didn't like having a hardware switch for changing between ringer modes. That and lack of wireless charging, a so-so camera and a couple of other issues led me to try the Pixel.

I installed an app called Fluid Navigation on my Pixel 3. It replaces the Android Pie navigation with something much better and does not have any on-screen controls. You just swipe like on the iPhone XS. The big benefit is that you gain the extra screen space previously taken up with the Pie navigation controls. It requires an adb command to allow it to write to the system but once this has been done you can use it and switch back and forth very easily should you wish to. Lots of optins - a quick flick up from the bottom of the screen takes you home, a flick up and hold momentarily shows open apps. A swipe from the right edge goes back and a swipe and hold allows you to switch between the two most recent apps. All swipes are configurable. I have turned off audio feedback and just use haptic feedback. Very nice.

 

[KejPi]

I have S8 at the moment and thinking if it is worth to switch to Pixel 3. I always liked pure Android but with Pixel 3 as it is I have a lot of doubts. I would like to the Pixel camera but overall hardware design is not nice with bad screen to body ratio and all the issues with RAM management people are complaining scare me. I suppose that Google is going to fix it at some point in time - probably later than sooner, but it should not be present at all for Android flagship.
So is it really worth to switch or not?

 

[beanaman]

I have a Samsung Galaxy S9 and have ordered a Pixel 3. The S9 is a nice phone but I am irritated by all the Samsung stuff installed which I never use. I keep getting notifications about Samsung app updates and I usually haven't a clue about the app concerned. It's as if there are two layers of software and services - Google and Samsung and the Samsung layer keeps fighting with the Google layer. I suppose in real terms it doesn't matter and you just use the apps you want to use. I just don't like it there is a whole ecosystem there in which I have no interest but can't get rid of. There are even two app stores, the Play Store and the Samsung Store. The default cloud service is Samsung and your phone settings, photos etc. are backed up to Samsung by default. You can, of course, install Google Drive and have things baked up to the Google cloud but it's up to you to switch off the Samsung syncing. Photos go into the Samsung Gallery app and while you can install Google Photos your photos don't sync with the Google Photos app unless you open the app after taking some photos and then they appear. You delete a photo from the Gallery and it is still in Google Photos. You delete it from Google Photos and it's still in Samsung Gallery. If you set up the S9 to save your photos to an SD card then Google Photos can't delete them to save space. Lots and lots of things like this. If you are remotely OCD you won't be happy.

Get the pixel 3. I just got it and I am Soo happy to be free of all the Samsung crapwear on my old s7 edge. I totally agree with you about the double ecosystem thing.

 

[Alex-V]

I had a s9 before..and the double apps from Samsung kill me..why do I need a email app if Gmail is included..why I need a calendar app (s-planer) if you can use Google calendar..why I need a Samsung photos app if Google photos is included..i could wrote forever more examples for this..now with the pixels 3 it feels so pure and homecoming..also the updates.. everyone say why Android phones had such a bad update circle for the software..I don't understand people why they buy other non Google phones ..

Just my 2 cents