pawel orzech blog

Apple Music working better on Android wasn’t on my bingo card but yet here we are

5 icons in a row are better than 4 icons in a row. I don’t make the rules but I do.

To use an iphone is to use a phone in slow motion. This is how it feels like

Android apps are good enough that I don’t miss any particular app. Even if the iOS app was better, the Android version of it (either because there’s the same app for Android or there’s a different app that does the same thing) is most of the time good enough to not care because it does the job done.

And this is when I found out that Reeder can be replaced.

And today on Android I’ve installed Sum Up and now all of my chat messages get summarised. This is happening on a $300 device, for free. I have an assistant that allows me to ask even the trickiest questions and I can do stuff like circle to search.

Two weeks with my Pixel. That was quick! Still is my main phone.

Since I have moved onto the Pixel I find myself using Gemini a lot. I do it a couple times a day and my questions are mostly about small things. Yesterday I asked what the hell is baba ganoush, today I have asked what does “habibi” actually mean. We were picking new heaters and I wasn’t actually sure how do we calculate the wattage and it just answered me. MOST of the times I did fact-check and it was actually right!

This is a big change to my daily workflow. Because whenever something comes to my mind – I can (and I am!) ask about it and learn something new.

There are moments in which I’m missing my iPhone, sure. I do have these thoughts daily, but my sim card remains in the Pixel for about week and a half. Whenever I think about the iPhone, I remind myself that this tool has better assistant, better screen, does the same job and have OUT OF THIS WORLD notification system. And – that was new to me, seriously – these are to me worth more than iOS ecosystem? And the funny part of that is because I’ve moved from Apple to more open Google (evil, but a bit more open) – I can still access my photos and messages on my Mac. Because they are available in the web.

Crazy experience. I know we said these things about Apple, but they just figured some nice things out. You’re getting to bed and plugging up your phone? It’s getting darker and black & white, so you go to sleep instead of scrolling. Someone’s calling you and you can’t answer now? Flip your phone screen down and it will be silenced because obviously.

So, if anyone asks – I do like Pixel 8a.

After a week I’ve got used to the bigger border or fingerprint scanner (I found out that using a bit more force on it actually improved my finger readability). The only thing that right now is frustrating is the slow charging speed. Everything else is fine.

That’s my home screen after a week with Pixel 8a. My iPhone is being left, untouched since last week.

Pixel shots are good enough to post, without ANY touches.

Powązki. This is that golden autumn everybody was talking about. 🍂🍁

This is just crazy. I love it.

BuzzKill and Hurry for Android are worth every cent.

Warsaw being pretty.

Just to add to the point of iPhone feeling more expensive/premium and 8a feeling cheaper – I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, because I feel safer and have to be less careful with Pixel. I love glass, don’t get me wrong, but iPhone with case feels chunky and without one – very slippery.