Even before the pandemic, we bought phones because of spec sheets. That’s no longer the case. If it’s privacy and ease of use, Apple scores high. For AI-related features, Pixel is great. Samsung is doing well with its strong performance on the display front as well as portfolio of devices beyond the phone. It leaves the other companies fighting for space, even if sales figure give a slightly different picture because these numbers keep changing drastically every year. We believe there are three schools of phones to choose from, depending on your needs.

iPhone: Privacy and ease of use

Steve Jobs described the ‘i’ in a 1998 keynote introducing the iMac. “An iMac comes from the marriage of the excitement of the Internet with the simplicity of Macintosh. Even though this is a full-blooded Macintosh, we are targeting this for the number one use that consumers tell us they want a computer for, which is get on the Internet — simply and fast. ‘i’ also means some other things to us.” Then he showed on the screen a few things ‘i’ stands for — Internet, individual, instruct, inform and inspire.
The iPhone continues to stand for all of these and more. Think about it, the overall sales of smartphone is dipping but not that of the iPhone, even though they are expensive and don’t offer discounts. There must be plenty of reasons for it.

iPhone 15 Pro Max

Think of it, every Android smartphone company has offerings that cut across a price spectrum and that starts below Rs 10,000. Samsung’s flagship phones can cost even more than Rs 1.5 lakh. Not for Apple. There is an aspirational value to it. Apple has made it clear that it will not compromise on features or user experience to cut costs.

Next, there are certain effects when more and more people start using a company’s phone. Take the example of iMessage. When an iPhone user messages another iPhone user, it comes in a Blue bubble and comes with a few benefits, like deeply-interactive messaging, however much Google hates it. Or take the example of AirDrop, which lets you transfer (heavy) files from one Apple device to another in a matter of seconds. Or take the example of Apple Notes or Freeform, both allowing individuals to work on the same document.

Now think about the camera. No Android phone has a camera system that matches that on the iPhone at the moment. Even in a hurry you can take a shot and come away with something presentable with the iPhone. The same doesn’t go for Android, especially in the video front. And if you want to play around with photos and videos, there are ‘pro’ options to help with that on the iPhone. A few weeks ago, we got the power to shoot ProRes Log videos on the iPhone 15 Pro, which is ideal for filmmakers.

And think of privacy. Apple has a campaign going on for years saying that whatever happens on your iPhone, stays on your iPhone. Be it end-to-end encryption or how passwords are handled, Apple is number one in the privacy department.

Google Pixel: the AI phone

When the Pixel phone first arrived, it came with fewer cameras than those on rival phones but it could offer high-quality shots because of computational photography. Over the years, Google has played to its strengths and offered AI and machine learning in every department. When the Pixel 8 and 8 Pro were introduced a few weeks ago, we knew that AI can now be in every pocket.

Pixel 8 Pro

The new phones support Audio Magic Eraser, which will help you delete sounds you don’t want to hear. Suppose you are in a park listening to someone play the guitar and perhaps recording it. At that very moment the siren of a firetruck is heard. You can delete the latter in a matter of seconds. Or take the example of Video Boost, which is exclusive to the Pixel 8 Pro. You can toggle it on when you’re shooting video clips in low light or if there’s going to be a lot of movement. A copy of the video is sent to Google’s Cloud for processing to improve stabilization, add clarity, and reduce noise. What you get back is a cleaner looking video. Next is Magic Editor. Say a girl is running on a beach. You can make a cutout out of her and move her to any location in the picture while AI fills the background. You can even move the shadow of the subject.

Another feature that has arrived is Best Take. A group photo eventually means somebody will have his eyes shut. When taking photos on a mobile phone, the camera captures multiple frames. Google can choose a frame where the eyes are open and replace it in a picture that’s brightly lit. Best Take can pull a frame from a series of up to six photos taken within seconds of each other. Also helpful is AI-driven proofreading. While keying in documents using Google Docs, AI helps to spot errors. AI is now in Google’s default Gboard keyboard. When you type, you’ll see the keyboard auto-correcting errors but you can choose to ignore the corrections, like their/there and it’s/its.

The Pixel story has always been about software and it’s the smartest smartphone you can buy because of clever software implementation.

Samsung: The all-rounder

Samsung has shown the world the power of a big-screen device, with all kinds of wow features. When the iPhone came with small screens, Samsung went big. People loved it and phones kept getting bigger.

Think about what Samsung has done this year. Instead of changing its look, it focused on bringing as many features as possible to an Android phone. Take the example of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. It has great battery, great screen and great performance. The biggest strength of Samsung is display and it delivers to many smartphone companies, including (reportedly) Apple. Plus, they have good control over chipset and there is a strong portfolio of smarthome devices as well as consumer products. When it comes to brand recall value, Samsung scores high.

Lately, Samsung has been delivering an excellent software upgrade cycle, making it the best Android phone besides Pixel. And we are not even getting into Samsung’s foldable business because many future updates on the display front are expected to come from the South Korean company.