For the first time I pre-ordered a phone without reading any review. Why?

 

I have done what I normally not do: pre-ordered Google Pixel 5, without reading a review. Why?

Google is to blame. For years I had always chased the flagship phones, like Samsung Galaxy S or Galaxy Note series and later on OnePlus devices. I regularly changed phone after 8-10 months! One thing that wasted a lot of time was customising, because there was always something I didn't like and even bothered me.

Until Google Pixel 2 entered the scene in October 2017! That phone spoilt me, the only thing I had to change was the wallpaper. Apart from that everything works smoothly and a lot of my friends asked me with which camera I took my photos. And it's still my primary device until now.

By the end of last year I thought Pixel 2 needed an upgrade, not because it was not working well, but I just wanted to try a new flagship. At the time OnePlus 7T (OP7T) was claimed the best smartphone on various websites. The long-term review of gsmarena.com and of MKBHD influenced my decision.  So I took OP7T as my pre-Christmas present.

Immediately I became disappointed and lost my trust on reviews. OP7T brought me back to old times when I needed to customise many parts of the phone. I don't need to write them all here because I documented some of my experience in this Reddit article.

It also annoyed me that the security fixes were always late. When I sold OP7T last week (end of September) the latest security patch was from the 1st of May! Basically I wasted money to buy OP7T only using it as secondary device I hardly used! In reality I went back to Pixel 2 as my primary device and apart from the big screen I didn't miss any aspect of OP7T!

In short: that experience made me think that the hardware specs are not important anymore. Pixel 2 with old hardware and smaller screen against OnePlus 7T with better hardware and huge display proved that. 

Better overall user experience is what Google Pixel offers and therefore I don't need to read a review anymore. For sure reviewers will praise either a OnePlus or a Samsung flasgship again as the best smartphone this year. But I will not rely on any review anymore. I learned my lesson from OnePlus 7T.

I can't wait for the Pixel 5 to arrive as the true upgrade of Pixel 2.