My pixel let me down so i try a phone that is not google or samsung

My household has not had much luck with technology so far this year. Firstly my wife Foldable was on FritzAnd now my confidence pixel has 8 pro a little dusty. In all my years of owning Swanky Tech, I don’t remember the last time I’ve had two expensive things fail in quite as fast. Talk about bad luck.

It is difficult to find exactly what has gone wrong with my beloved Pixel 8 Pro (besides the picture above, of course), but it has become useless in several different but equally weak ways. The display flickers randomly when there is any moderately demanding task, and practically hides everything from viewing. The interface creeps up after using the camera or playing a game. And the fingerprint scanner is now unable to read my pressure about 90% of the time. To put together everything, I think the phone is Tensor g3 Processor is on the way out – hardly a compelling game in just over a year’s use, but not entirely surprising, given Google’s dubious history of chip development.

I could jump to the highly recommended Pixel 9 ProOf course, but I’ve been sitting in the pixel comfort zone for too long now, and this setback offers the perfect opportunity to really get my teeth to what else is out there. I’m lucky enough to have a selection of the best recent flagships to test out, and I quickly settled down on Oppo Finn X8 Pro. Why? Well, I have an eye on the brilliant photography skills with X6 Ultra and X7 Ultra, but could not comply with the Chinese software. I would lie if I said I was not eager to expect Oppo’s return to western banks, so I took this chance to jump right in.

After living in Pixel-Land consistently for over a year, you get used to a few things, both good and bad.

Sluggish charging, for example, has been the track for my existence. I am a chaotic person and will rarely bother to plug my phone overnight, even though I have a plug at my bed. On working days, it is no problem to charge my phone on one of the countless gates at my desk, but when I have to strike, Pixel’s slow charging has all too often let me check the battery’s percentage, hoping I have enough to get home. Upo’s supervisor may not quickly On Find X8 Pro, but it will still take me full in two -thirds the time for my old Pixel 8 Pro. What is less good is that the Find X8 Pro is a bit slow from non-supervoooc charges, so I had to play one of them on my desk now.

Talking about speed, find x8 pro Dimensity 9400 Far exceeds Tensor G3 (and the newer Tensor G4, for that matter). Not that you want to notice the downturn role or flick through social feeds, but you will feel the higher frame rate as you drive through the latest and best Android games. Anekdotic can switch between sleeping apps feels a little sharper on Oppo, but I don’t want to put money on it, and I don’t want to suggest Google’s piece feel too slow. Still, considering the tensor chip that is dead on me, I do not hesitate to ditch it for practically anything else.

What about all the AI ​​things you can do on a pixel? They still run nicely on the Mediatek chip as well. Gemini is the standard assistant out of the box, complete with live, photo’s magical editor, circle to search, and the latest summary tools built into Gmail; They all work just fine, probably because most of these features depend on the cloud anyway.

In terms of software, I like the pixel’s most hands-off approach to features-it’s optional if you want them, but they don’t require your attention. The same cannot be said for Find X8 Pro, which was Flush with bloatware And has a bunch of tools like AI Studio and O relax that I can definitely live without. Once you have removed these, Color OS is a well -known lean experience, with a sensible setting menu and useful features ranging from the battery limit and smart charging to Applås Private Safe and Tools.

Although I like how Google does things, I have never loved the overly exuberant aesthetics; Coloros certainly looks a lot of smooth. In all, I would like to call it a tie between the two; What you get from one, you lose something from the other. I like both.

Google’s cameras are brilliant and the latest Pixel 9 series takes up things up another level. Nevertheless, I have not always been convinced by the Pro phones’ portrait images, due to their choice between a standard wide (23mm) and relatively long distance 5x (125 mm) zoom camera instead of something ideal for natural portraits. Oppo resolves this problem with its double zoom camera approach, with a 3x (73 mm) lens that is ideal for portraits and a 6x (135 mm) option for people with longer range. Together with Robust Bokeh edge detection, three portrait lighting options and more filters than I could care about counting, it’s easy to get creative with the pictures I snap the most.

And I think that’s what defines I like more about Find X8 Pro’s camera than Pixel’s I’ve been used to in these years – creativity. I’m not saying you can’t get creative with the pixel; You can certainly; Look at some of the pictures my colleague Rita (and others) have taken. However, the alternatives are mostly technical (such as astrophotography or add me) instead of emotionally (like filters) unless you want to mess on Google images by fact. Find X8 Pro offers superb image quality and easy to reach tools, as well as switching to refine your images while hitting the shutter. The results sometimes have the natural mirrorless look that so often avoids even Best camera phones. In addition, Find X8 Pro has the same scene, fireworks and silhouette mode that we found brilliantly useful at OnePlus 13.

Unfortunately, Pixel’s Kia status means I can’t take side by side, but I have a few samples here to show how impressed I am with Find X8 Pro. In any case, it’s not just about quality; I think both are solid. Instead, I have more creative fun with Oppo. At least for now.

Of course, the camera is not without deficiencies. Details get too soft quite quickly when the lights dampen, and the long exposure mode automatically clicks out to action before it really gets dark, so you have to fight with movement blur. It’s something you don’t have to worry about with the pixel, which is as consistent at night as it is during the day. Contrast can also be a bit hard, but this is not used when using the phone’s main mode, and I think the pixel has far superior zoom with long range. I have barely affected the phone’s dedicated camera button either; Staying to the muscle memory is faster.

As much as I would like to praise Find X8 Pro’s camera is the best camera phone I’ve used recently (probably ever) Xiaomi 15 ultra. If you are primarily looking for a phone to skip what the already impressive pixel can do, look to Xiaomi instead of Oppo.

After a few weeks away, I honestly can’t say I really miss my pixel so much. Yes, I wish I still had some amenities like Call Screen, and others may miss new features such as best take, quick loss or live geronst. But I have never been particularly attached to Pixel-exclusive features; Maybe because I go through so many devices, I’ve never really settled in a smooth rhythm with them.

I can still use photos, station, Gemini and most of Google’s core apps and features wherever I go, which has always been one of Android’s most important benefits. Overall, the transition has been a net positive compared to the smaller things I have given up.

One side degree I am not a big fan of is that Find X8 Pro has an optical fingerprint scanner, just like Pixel 8 Pro. Google upgraded to an ultrasound model in the Pixel 9 series, which really is what you want at this price. Oppos scans work well, but it is placed relatively low, and I still do not like being dazzled when I unlock the phone in weak light.

To put it aside, and to turn me down in another hardware package, reminded me that the pixel is certainly not compromising. Between the slow charging, sometimes questionable network coverage (I have had zero drop -out with Oppo, even in the rural England), and clearly questionable tensor chip, you often miss out on dolls in the very last innovative hardware to live in the albeit very comfortable pixel software bubble.

While converted to Oppo Find X8 Pro, it’s not a sludge-dunk recommendation. It is quite expensive in the UK to £ 1,050, and I have not found an official dealer in the United States. Anyway, talk somewhere just below Pixel 9 Pro XL or Galaxy S25 Ultra money. Not that the phone is not worth it, but not everyone will go so far to try something else. With that in mind, I tend to recommend OnePlus 13 – a pretty equal and maybe even marginally better choice – if you want to try something outside the two big American Android names.

Wait, what? Why do I suddenly recommend a completely different phone? Well, the two are not related. Oppo and OnePlus are siblings; Look at the specification sheets and you will find many crossovers. Oxygen OS and Color OS also share much of the best tools. They even look a little like, right?

In particular, OnePlus 13 is much cheaper to $ 899 (£ 899), but the two parts identical camera specifications minus 6x periscope lens you can definitely live without, thanks to OnePlus’ Brilliant software zoom. In addition, you are marginally up to the faster Snapdragon 8 elite chip over Dimensity 9400. We also found that OnePlus 13 charges faster and will receive the same number of future updates, which is obviously very good for the price quote.

It’s too easy to settle somewhere in Apple, Google or Samsung Triangle these days; Their hardware is brilliant, they are reliable, and the phones are easy to obtain practically anywhere. Despite the most settled nature of the modern smartphone landscape, more adventurous types can still find pearls outside the three big ones. OnePlus and Oppo are very good places to start the search if you want to try something a little different without compromise.