The thing with high end devices like that these days is that there's no objective answer to which one is better. They are so similar in looks, performance, price and features that there's only a subjective "better" or "worse". There's just that personal preference argument that can be used, which is useless.

Precisely. 

There's nothing wrong with choosing something that better fits your subjective needs. An iPhone, a Pixel and a Galaxy can perform all the basics well. It's whether you want super long support or a boatload of features that decide which one goes in your pocket. 

I wished people understood that the people who go with iPhones for example aren't automatically iSheep... 

True that. I used to really like Apple's products, and to a degree I still do, but they don't make computers that fit my needs, so I look elsewhere. I can't give up iOS, though. Android doesn't feel quite as smooth and coherent to me as iOS does on my iPad and iPhone. Again, purely a subjective reason to choose one brand over the other. 

TBH, iOS is tempting more than ever for me. 

I don't like the direction Android is going in. I still don't like many of Apple's decisions with the iPhone's hardware but it's that software ecosystem that is kinda tempting 

The main things people complain about these days is the omission of the headphone jack and the logical result of that being unable to charge and listen to music. There's not much else complaining about imo.

I use the jack often, so that's kind of a sore point for me. 

I do have 1000XM2s, so the change wouldn't be that painful, but it kinda sticks out for me, unfortunately 

Don't they have a Y adapter that could allow for that? Or is it still that single one where you can either listen or charge but no both? iPhone 6s + is the model I'd get, simply due to having the latest iOS without giving up a physical feature. If you're willing to drop the headphone, the iPhone 8 isn't too big a leap from there. A small bluetooth receiver can fix the lack of a physical port, though at a small cost (gotta charge it). TBH, I need to start an Android OEM soon...

@TopHatProductions115 nah you don't get a Y-adapter. Just a dongle for lightning>3.5mm. Sony did make a splitter cable but it's propietary, as usual.

I think Moshi just released one

I'm getting tempted...

Perhaps I could start with re-branding an already-existing decent device, and moving on from there...

• https://techaeris.com/2015/07/14/can-really-build-smartphone-empire-1000/
• https://www.alibaba.com/showroom/your-own-brand-phone.html