Little bit of background - it all has started when my iPhone 7 Plus started uploading gigabytes of data over cellular. If you were on an unlimited plan you probably won't even notice, but I wasn't and I did. I contacted Apple (the phone was still under warranty, I bought it refurbished from Apple) but after a month of data dumps and analysis nothing came out of it. I lost trust in iPhone for the first time after using them since iPhone 3G.
I wanted the Android experience and narrowed down the choices to either Samsung Galaxy or Google Pixel. I didn't want to buy a used phone with an exausted battery so I shopped manufacturers refurbished sites. I didn't find anything on Samsung, but ran across refurbished Pixel 3.
Pixel 3 was a great phone. It came with Android 9 or 10 and I used 11 with it. Eventually I updated it to the last version - Android 12 which is the last update it will get. The phone also came with unlimited ORIGINAL Photo and Video storage, but later that got reduced to Storage Saver mode, while still unlimited.
Pixel 3 had a good camera, but I was also shooting my Sony A7r mk3 and was able to transfer photos to Pixel to be uploaded to the cloud. It woked great as Pixel 3 provided GPS information for the photos as well AND the uploads did not count to my cloud usage as they came through Pixel 3 phone.
I also found out that on Android it is possible to upload to the cloud services in the background - unlike iOS. On iPhone I had to keep Google Photos or Synology Memories in the forground for the uploads to take place - quite a hassle as Apple tried to herd you to use Apple Photos which does upload in the background.
Eventually I got enamored with Android and decided to take a leap with a current "spec champ" Sony Xperia 1 mk3. This phone has it all - dual SIMs, expandable storage (at the cost of one SIM slot), triple lens camera system - the works. It looks pretty good too to me. So I took the plunge and picked one up. Honeymoon did not last too long. I found out that the shutter had a long delay and shots of my kids were quite chalenging. Also, I experienced regular lockups of camera app - just as you launch it it would not start and the only way to get it working again was a phone reboot. Eventually the microphone failed and I had it repaired by Sony. Lesson to be learned - even when specs are making you salivate the reality is what matters.
I decided to go for Pixel experience as I had good luck with Pixel 3. I picked up a new and shiny Pixel 6.
Pixel 6 was a good phone although I could not get eSIM to work on AT&T prepaid plan. Phone support tried and failed, at the store I was told that only on iPhone prepaid eSIM would work. Postpaid would work on Pixel 6, but it was not what I had. So back it went to Google. People complained a lot about the phone but I did not experience those issues - yes, the touch ID was little slow but it still worked and "Hey Google" response was immediate unlike on Sony where I had to call several times. But I was back where I started - Pixel 3 and iPhone 7+.
I also did not want a large phone. Pixel 6 was pretty big - big enough for me to get uncomfortable holding phone while in bed. I wanted something small. So I got iPhone 12 Mini through Apple refurbished program. And that's where I am now. I am no longer craving "Pixel 7 Pro" or "iPhone 14 Pro" because they are not that better than my current one. iPhone 12 Mini is a fluid single handed user phone. It is not a phablet or a folder but it does what I want it too.
If the phone does what you want it to comfortably then you don't need another phone.
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