For the record I’ve always been a huge Android fan and power user since the early days. I was that guy who constantly would recite the numerous reasons why Android was superior to iOS and explain why my device was technologically better.

In the early days it was a no brainer. Access to file storage, 3G, and Google apps was more than enough. Year sure the battery life was shit, but as time went on anything and everything mobile device hardware wise was light years ahead on Android. Screen size, LTE, IR Blasters, water resistance, Wireless Charging, the list goes on and on.

And then I left my carrier branded devices for the promised land with the Galaxy Nexus. A pure Android experience, and I never looked back. I became even more of an Android elitist. The phone was somewhat dated by release year standards, but it was a breath of fresh air compared to my AT&T galaxy sII Skyrocket. This was unknowingly my first step in transitioning to iOS.

Then came my Nexus 4. A beautiful phone that nudged me closer to iOS by not having LTE. It became a common theme with Nexus phones and their Pixel successors that the best pure Android experience was not always going to have the latest and greatest bells and whistles, but would still demand a flagship price.

One of my strongest arguments against iOS had been the lack of features, but Google slowly but surely provided me with phones that were lacking in features, but in exchange taught me that hardware features aren’t everything (IR blaster anyone?). So I never had a Google phone that was waterproof, so what my OG Pixel from 3 years ago was still the future. USB type-C, OTA updates, tethering without paying extra to my carrier, a large screen, great battery life, the list goes on.

TLDR: Android Pie and the Pixel 3 XL are why I’ve left Android after being a fan boy and platform evangelist for nearly a decade.

The Pixel 3 XL is ugly, and the leak controversy shows that I’d be waiting at least another year before getting a Pixel XL that is worthy of being called a flagship phone.

Android Pie…This is the first iteration of Android that I did not use a launcher. (I’ve used Nova Launcher since 2012. I tried others and always came back) However, what I did not know is that this OS feels and acts almost exactly like iOS 12 on on iPhone X. Thus began my mobile Identity crisis.

Now for the first time I can definitively say that the major reasons I stuck it out with Android have all been eliminated. What remains is mostly nested in preference and familiarity. That and “Okay, Google” is still light years ahead of Siri.

• Screen Size
• LTE
• Access to File System
• Removal of that god awful Physical Home Button
• SwiftyKey (also know as Swype)

The tide has turned and I only have Google to thank for grooming me to be more understanding of the “missing” features of iOS at this time; USB type-C and an AI that I’m sure will have a hard time catching up. It’s the end of an era. I felt like I had betrayed a someone very close to me. These devices are such a large part of our lives (well for me anyway between, work, school, etc.) but in less than a few hours I moved into my iPhone XS Max and look forward to the benefits that come with it.

I was welcomed by my friends; “finally you don’t have the green chat bubble”, “We can finally name our group chat!”. I no longer have to use messages for web to get my texts sent to my Macbook Pro and I can see them on my iPad Pro. I’ve used Apple products such as the iPad, Macbook, and iPad starting in 2005 with an iPod Classic 5th generation. I then ditched windows in 2007 when the first Macbook Pro with intel chips went on sale. Long before mobile devices were important I have felt Apple products to my brand of choice and I felt the only area where that was not true was with the iPhone and iOS…until now.

I am not affiliated with any of the companies mentioned in this article.