The “Android Love Curve” is something I’ve experienced numerous times when doing these Android experiments, and I was wondering if it would happen again this time with Android Oreo on the Google Pixel 2. The answer is a definite yes.

Every single time I start using Android I start off feeling pretty good about it. It’s fun to mix things up, and the excitement of not knowing how everything works is enchanting.

Over time, I got most of my apps installed and tweaked the settings to how I want them. I’ve even found some things I can’t do on iOS that I really love. My affection for Android grows through this period and I start to think that this may be the time Google has finally cracked it and can win me over.

Then I get settled in and start to notice the little things that annoy me about Android. Maybe it’s an iOS feature I miss more than I realized I would. Maybe it’s a feature Android has that I thought would be more elegantly implemented than it has. Maybe it’s a few apps with stability issues. All of these things happen to me over time and they start to wear me down. I start having to reboot the phone more. I have to clear caches for apps that are misbehaving. I have to go to shady-ass websites to download APKs from god knows where to make a feature work how it’s supposed to work. I have to do all these things regularly and it takes its toll. I fall more and more out of love with Android.

I’m a few weeks away from concluding my Android experiment for the year, and I feel like a student before winter break, counting the days until I can go back to normal. I don’t want to throw the towel in too early, because that would be unfair to the entire purpose of getting this Pixel 2 phone in the first place, but I’m eager to move my SIM back to the iPhone.

What operating systems one prefers is a matter of preference, so this will not be true for everyone, but it’s definitely something I’ve experienced consistently and repeatedly with Android. I’ve sunk a considerable investment into this experiment and I have no incentive to dislike a phone I paid for with my own money, and I still get this same experience every time I jump over the fence.