I’m always a bit distracted when I’m walking around the streets of Toronto, sitting on the TTC, or even swiping on Tinder. Aside from my ADHD, something usually has a bit of my attention, and that’s smartphones. As someone who’s reviewed phones for the past eight years, I always have to try to identify what phone a person is using.
I typically don’t do this when a person uses an iPhone; I can never remember which iPhone is which, but I blame that on never having to review an Apple device during my tenure at MobileSyrup. However, having reviewed all the Pixel flagships since the fourth generation, and a variety of devices from HTC, LG, Sony, Huawei, Samsung, Asus, Motorola and more, I’m always wondering if the phone someone is using is one I’ve reviewed in the past or if it’s different.
I’ve noticed that in the Android realm, a lot of people are using Pixels, especially the 7 and 8 series. These were great phones, so I understand why they get so much love. Typically, the only foldables I see are Samsung’s Flip handsets.
My favourite is when I notice someone using a pretty old phone. For example, last week, I was on a date, and my date was confused by my sudden excitement. I had to explain to the date that the person on the TTC seats across from us was using Google’s/Huawei’s Nexus 6P, which was one of the best phones on the market back when it came out, and one I still looked at with a lot of love. But also, I wanted to tell the person they needed to upgrade, considering that the device is way too old to be using, and they haven’t seen a security update in several years.
As someone who has to review a lot of devices each year, I’m always switching devices, but I’m always curious about what handset I’d be using if I didn’t have this job. When I’m not reviewing handsets, I usually go back to my Pixel 9 Pro Fold, but it’s over $2,000, so I’m not sure if I’d be using this phone if I didn’t get to keep my review unit. Other handsets I’ve considered are the Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge, the Nothing Phone 3, or if I’d just stick with the tried and true and get the latest iPhone.
Let us know in the comments below which phone you use as a daily driver.
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