I was a terrible critic of apple but now I own an iPhone just because I am fairly certain that I will be better treated if something happens and there's an actual physical store.

I just don't trust Google hardware anymore.

I've heard some bad things about Google's consumer-electronics-side customer service, but I don't know how representative those stories are.

I dislike iOS, but AppleCare+ is the one thing that tempts me to go back to iPhones. If, after spending my entire work day writing code and fixing bugs, I have a problem with my phone, being able to say "you know, screw it, this is is a problem for the Genius Bar" has a very strong appeal.

I can’t believe that after 5 google phones/tablets they were willing to lose a customer over a minor hardware problem.

The problem here isn't the call quality, it is the customer service. This is typical Google. They might have many boffins working for them but they do not put the customer first and they don't appreciate the benefits of a customer first attitude. For a product that costs $$$ they should do it right, if they promptly dealt with customer service problems with real staff instead of outsourced 'ninjas' then they could turn customers with problems into their greatest brand ambassadors. In so doing they could convert a small army of people who prefer Apple but have ended up giving Android a spin into brand converts, spreading by word of mouth 'how much better Google is' and converting die-hard Apple fans into Google fans. But Google just don't get it. It is also cheaper to do customer service correctly than it is to have people left out there exasperated with the service they get.

Right now my sister is having trouble with their landline phone. They are cussing their broadband provider and blaming them. They have a retro 1980's phone that has 'always worked' but, after a house move and with a small child around, with unknown wiring in the new house it has to be the broadband provider that are to blame. Chances are that there is something wrong with the phone or the cabling inside their house. They are not willing to try a different handset (one with neat features like caller ID and no cord), they want to persist with the retro phone because it looks good, like the ones they grey up with. Sweet. They too have gone online and decided that the broadband provider are useless and that their services are off the mark. Yet there are many people with the same provider who have phones that work remarkably well, but, they have decided otherwise. Again, as per the Google problem here, there is a perceptual issue due to the poor quality of customer service.

Getting back to the Pixel 3, I had a phone with some stupid wallet style phone case that made it so I couldn't be heard on the phone. I was able to work out that it was the case and not the phone (or an app) but I too was grumbling about the quality of the phone before I realised that the problem was quite simple and had everything to do with the case and not the phone.

I wouldn't be surprised if the Pixel 3 problems were due to obvious but not so obvious problems in the majority of the cases and not some fundamental quality problem with the device. However, Google don't pick up the phone and talk to customers, they leave them to gang together on forums and make all their problems Google's fault, which it is. When will Google learn that in hardware the customer comes first and that customer service has to be done properly? It is such a shame as Google do put the customer first with their search and other software services, plus their design principles do a good job of embodying that.

Im going back to iPhone. There are too many problems w/Google HW.

The supply chain sucks if something breaks (which happens much more often than my iDevices). My pixel 1 mic stopped working, and it was impossible to find parts to fix it (including for 3rd part repair stores).

My wife's Pixel 3 won't reliably charge wirelessly. You have to reboot the phone 1x per week inorder to get wireless charging to work. So you put it down... And wake up to a dead phone.

My pixel 4 had a terrible Chrome problem until very recently. Chrome would basically lock up the system. The gesture navigation also kind os sucks.

Also, the pixel 4 glass really sucks. I had scratches all over it with the first month... Vs my Moto G7 which has none.

Don't even get me started on the new Android TV chrome cast or the 2 WearOS watches or my chromebox that can't have more than 2 BT devices connected (or it stops working).

Then one day I needed Google support for hardware… It was terrible. Just to contact them was multiile multi hour wait calls until I could get it RMAd and had to stay a week without a phone… then I switched to iphone and guess what, it has the same apps… except I know if something happens with my phone I can just take it to a apple store and have it checked right away

So I begrudgingly switched to Apple. I haven't had a single hardware problem with my family's phones since. I will never pay for another Google phone. In hindsight I can't believe I tried again after the second time.

It's embarrassing that Google is continually having these significant hardware issues. Ultimately Apple didn't sell me on their ecosystem... Google did.

Since one of the problems was with the logic board it was not even really possible for me to pay for a repair in a reasonable way.

I ended up buying a pixel 4a, because I didn't want to switch ecosystem, so went for the cheapest Google phone. Might not be able to avoid giving Google/Apple money, but I can certainly avoid buying the flagship devices.

The final straw for me was when I was sitting at home one night and a family member calls me exasperated saying "I've been trying to call you all day". I had no missed call notification and no voicemail notice. Sure enough I log into my voicemail and there is 20+ messages waiting. If Google can't even get basic functionality like CALLING to work I had no intention of sticking around waiting for a future update that would magically fix it.

I made the realization that I need a phone that works and will continue to receive updates for at least 7 years. The Pixel 4 was released on October 2019 and received it's last update from Google in February of this year. The iPhone 6S was released in September of 2015 and it's only JUST reaching EOL after 7 years of continuous support by Apple.

If Google wants to stop the bleeding they are going to need to fix the basics. They are also going to need to pledge to support the phones longer. The fact that I can purchase a $1,000 iPhone and it will last me 7 years vs buying a $1,000 Pixel that will only last me 3-4 years, I don't need to be a mathematician to see which is the better option.

The replacement they sent has the wide-spread microphone issue out of the box, and I just haven't had the gumption to deal with yet another support experience.

I've had great luck so far with my Pixel XL and love it - one of the best phones I've ever owned. But the Pixel I bought along with it has been by far the most unreliable piece of hardware I've bought in a decade. It's really soured my opinion of Google, even though so far they have (grudgingly) replaced the item.

I'm dreading replacing it for the third time, as I know they will refer to their 2 replacements limit in their warranty contract. Zero of those replacements were anything but known hardware issues on the handset itself thousands of others have reported on-line.

I find what happened to this individual shocking - I hope this is not the future of Google's support.

When Google sells a Pixel 8 Pro for $999, they’re sending a signal that says “our phone is just as good as the iPhone.”

I think your story points to how the Nexus line was basically an unfinished product where Google wasn’t even willing to attempt to sell it at a profitable price point until they could buy a hardware designer (HTC) and integrate that company into Google to produce a comprehensive product. Your Nexus phone had to be entirely replaced and yet you only gave the company $500. So they just sold two flagship phones for $250 each. That’s not a business, that’s a charity.

My Nexus 5X bootlooped right in front of my eyes with no user intervention.

The Nexus lineup wasn’t as good as an iPhone (nor a Samsung or Huawei phone for that matter) and that’s why nobody paid iPhone money for it.

Apple just doesn't treat customers like that. IME obviously.