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I adore my Pixel 9a. It’s light, it’s small, it goes with me everywhere with ease, and the stock Android experience hasn’t let me down once. Every time I pick up my Pixel, I catch myself doing wonderfully ordinary things that my iPhone just won’t do (or won’t do as well).
And it’s not some complex five-step power-user automations either (though that’s certainly possible). Like with life, it’s about the little things. And those little things add up to a delightful experience that feels unthinkable the moment I pick up my iPhone.
While the iPad now supports complex window multitasking, the iPhone still does not. You flat-out cannot run two apps side by side. On my Pixel, that just takes a couple of taps. Using 50-50 split multitasking on my little Pixel 9a is often a laughable experience, but I still appreciate having the ability to do so.
I really got into the Pixel multitasking experience after Android 16 added the 90:10 split. I’m a huge fan of pinning a second app to the bottom of the screen when I’m doing something else. This is usually a browser, or an AI app like Gemini/Claude. I also like using a 60:40 or 70:30 split, where I can keep a note or PDF open for reference. None of this is possible on my iPhone, but my Pixel handles it like it’s nothing.
Here, it’s no longer restricted to messaging apps, and the native integration is smooth and fast. I can have up to 5 bubbles going at a time, but I usually use two or three. I might keep Claude, the Maps, and the Notes app docked there, and switch between them as I please. The best use case for these still remains messaging apps. I can dock WhatsApp, Telegram, and Messages up there and switch between them without losing the flow of what I was already doing on my Pixel.
I’m a fan of thoughtfully crafted apps, and that’s mostly found with indie apps (this is true for both iPhone and Android). On iPhone, though, I can’t sideload apps (third-party app stores aren’t available in India). On my Pixel, F-Droid is my pal. It’s a repository of free, open-source apps crafted by passionate members of the Android developer community — and it shows. Sideloading on Android is an ongoing battle, but at least for the foreseeable future, I’ll be able to use apps that aren’t, or can’t be, hosted on the Play Store platform (the new sideloading rules aren’t coming to India until 2027). And if I find something interesting from a trusted source, I can just install the APK file.
And yes, this includes apps like NewPipe that let me watch YouTube ad-free without paying for Premium. But it’s also about the completely free and private Breezy Weather app, or the minimal and ad-free Read You RSS reader that I use every day. On my iPhone, if Apple doesn’t approve an app, I can’t use it. On my Pixel, I can at least decide which apps and developers are worth trusting.
While the iPhone now lets you change the default browser, it’s still a far cry from how I’ve set up my Pixel. On my Pixel, I use Truecaller as my default calling app, as it offers superior spam call filtering (a huge issue in India). Truecaller’s filtering on iPhone isn’t as reliable, and even though calls can be filtered, Apple’s main Phone app remains the default dialer.
And while I can use a third-party browser on iPhone, it’s almost futile because all browsers have to use the same WebKit engine (except for some options in the EU) as Safari. On my Pixel, I routinely switch between Vivaldi and Chrome, depending on my needs and my mood.
And lastly, it’s about the launcher experience. While I’m partial to the Pixel Launcher, I do switch to the Niagara Launcher whenever I want a minimal interface. If you find your smartphone too addictive, you can even install a bare-bones launcher like Mako. And instead of the Gboard app, I use the open-source FUTO keyboard with a custom size, theme, and features.
On my iPhone, I can hide apps and lock them behind Face ID. On my Pixel, the Private Space feature (Settings > Security & Privacy > Private Space) provides me with access to a completely private, sandboxed vault that’s separate from the rest of the system. They can have their own distinct logins, and they can connect to a different Google account as well. And when I close the vault, the apps just disappear (not just greyed out) from my app drawer, notifications, settings, everywhere. And if I want, I can hide the Private Space itself, so that it doesn’t even appear in my app drawer.
It was true a decade ago, and it still stands true today. Android has an edge when it comes to notifications. Viewing them, managing them, automating them. I can do things on my Pixel that just aren’t possible on the iPhone.
I use Pixel’s granular notification controls all the time. Each app offers different channels, so when available, I can only enable the actually important and useful notifications. For example, my finance app can alert me about transactions and OTPs, but not about marketing spam.
My Pixel also shows me a complete notification history (in Settings > Notifications > Notification History). While it’s a bit creepy, it is also quite useful. I can go back and see notifications that I might have accidentally dismissed (like login OTPs).
Using third-party apps like BuzzKill gives me even more control over my notifications. BuzzKill is like Tasker for notifications, only easier to use. With BuzzKill, I can set custom triggers and rules for notifications so only notifications that match my strict criteria are let through.
When I pick up my Pixel 9a, it’s the sheer power or the feature set that impresses me (it is, after all, Google’s cheapest Pixel offering). As I’ve said above, it’s about the little things. What I appreciate about the Pixel is how it does the little things well. You don’t switch phones for a new split-screen multitasking feature or for granular notification control, but all these small features build a scaffolding for a delightful experience.
My iPhone 16 Pro Max, on the other hand, is mighty polished and powerful. But when I pick up my Pixel 9a, I’m always delighted by the little features and how they all come together.
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