u/Chris_5626

I'm really struggling to decide what to go for this year. I currently have the Moonstone Pixel 10 Pro XL and the matching Watch 4. The trade-in deals are really good plus there is the extra £150 off.

Colour

I try to avoid cases as I don't want to add bulk to my phone, plus Google still doesn't have quite enough market share to result in the range of cases you see with a couple of other manufacturers.

I really don't like fingerprint marks so initially I was looking at the Obsidian for that matte frame, but I'm worried it looks a bit boring.

Canyon I think I can rule out, I don't mind the colour but the frame contrasts too much with the base colour of the phone.

Fog, I sort of wish would pick if it wants to be white or a sort of ice blue.

Olive I quite like but I'm not too sure about the frame. Why isn't it in matte? I wish the frame used was the same as the Satin Pyrite Pixel Watch 5.

Do I go with the 'safe' option of Obsidian? If I do, to get it for launch I have to go with the 1TB as Google UK are out of the 512gb but that's not the end of the world.

Pro vs Pro XL

Since Plus/XL models became a thing, every phone I've bought has been the physically larger variant. A combination of the larger models typically having some better spec somewhere and equating more screen with better.

I needed a repair on my Pixel 10 Pro XL recently and used a 10a as a replacement device and there was a lot I liked about it.

It felt so much more comfortable in my hand due to the size and weight. Honestly if it weren't for the difference in cameras and the fact it didn't have Pixelsnap, I might have kept using it over my 10 Pro XL when it came back.

The battery and charging difference doesn't really both me, I imagine it will be negligible in real world usage. I just need a phone to get me through the day and I'm never far from a charger.

I'm trying to think what I really need a bigger screen for and the only answer I can really think of is media consumption, while I watch a lot of YouTube on my phone it's usually when I'm out for a walk and during those occasions I'm usually listening more than watching and holding my phone vertically (so not using the full screen anyway).

Please help me choose! I don't think I've ever been so indecisive.

I currently have the Pixel 10 Pro XL. I'm thinking of switching to Oppo, I've had OnePlus phones before (7T Pro McLaren Edition and the 12) and really liked them. I've got some questions if owners wouldn't mind helping me?

A massive thanks in advance for any help!

Is there an ecosystem war?

One of my biggest gripes with phones, and yes, I realise it's petty, is duplicate apps or forced integrations.

So as an example, I can't stand Samsung phones as it feels like I have about 5 apps for each different thing.

I'm quite deep in the Google ecosystem (one of the reasons I've had a few Pixels over the years). I really hate to feel like I'm caught in a tug of war between two different ecosystems.

As I understand it, Oppo don't put much 'bloat' on their phones and you can delete duplicate apps easily but at an OS level is that problematic?

Custom icon packs?

Customisation looks great on Oppo but does ColorOS support custom icon packs from the Play Store?

Default quick settings?

Can you change the quick settings panel to be more like stock Android rather than iOS?

While I absolutely get some of the benefits of the iOS style I've always found it a bit busy for my brain.

Can you hide apps?

I'm big on customisation so I often have lots of icon pack apps. I also have lots of apps that sit in the background rather than apps I go into to use (the Google Watch app for example).

I like my app drawer just to be apps I want to go into, can you hide other apps without disabling or uninstalling them?

Icon sizes

Can you have different icon sizes and/or grid layout on the home screen Vs app drawer. For example on my home screen I like to have 4 apps across but on my drawer I usually like 5 across.

Is that doable?

Hi all. I saw a phone the other day that I really liked the look of and can not identify it. I was hoping if I described it perhaps someone here might have an idea as to what it was?

Sadly I never saw it from the back so couldn't see the camera design or colourway (other than the side rails). If it weren't for the button on the left I'd say it looked quite like the HONOR 600 Lite.

If anyone could help I'd much appreciate it, it's driving me crazy, so wish I'd asked her what phone it was.

I'm assuming it was purchased in the UK which should narrow down brands and models.

Manufacturer: I'm certain it was not one of the following brands: Google Pixel, Motorola, Nothing, Samsung.

Age: It looked modern, I'd say 2025 or 2026.

Design: It had flat, matte silver rails and I believe a single button on the upper left of the device. The corners were quite rounded (Pixel 8a like) and the phone featured quite slim, symmetrical bezels. I never saw the camera but from the way it was sitting on the table it didn't seem to have a huge camera bump and it seemed to lay quite centrally (suggesting the camera modules weren't all on one side).

Screen: I'd guess at around 6.7 inches with a pill shaped camera cut out.

OS: Definitely Android. Icon shapes were rounded squares.