I have been an iPhone user for nearly half a decade. I got my first taste of the “walled garden” when I got the iPhone 11 in 2020, and upgraded to the iPhone 15. Earlier this month, I finally decided to take a leap of faith and switch back to Android. To be specific, I pre-ordered the newly unveiled Vivo X300 and got my hands on the phone a couple of weeks ago.
Now, you might be wondering why I switched to Android when I was settled within the iOS ecosystem for the past five years. Moreover, why switch to a Vivo smartphone when I could have opted for a Samsung, Google, or OnePlus flagship? Let me answer both these questions.
Note: The Vivo X300 is not sold officially in the U.S. yet; the reasons for the switch are more about the platform than a particular phone brand or model.
iPhone Just Works But Also Stagnates After a While
If you are someone who closely follows the smartphone world or knows someone who is a long-time iPhone user, you must have heard them describe the experience of using an iPhone as “it just works”. This is a statement that felt true for most of the time I spent with my iPhone 11 and iPhone 15.
The only downside to my experience was a few bugs that I started to encounter after the iOS 26 update was released in September. One particular bug that annoyed me the most was related to the battery widget. It kept showing the battery level of the connected Bluetooth device even after it was disconnected.
But keeping those few bugs aside, the biggest reason I started considering a switch to Android earlier this year was because iPhone and iOS started to feel a bit mundane. The whole experience started to feel the same to me after using it for half a decade. Even though Apple has introduced a bit of customization, it is still nowhere close to what one can achieve on Android.
Another major reason for me to go back and explore the Android world once again was the artificial intelligence (AI). My iPhone 15 is incompatible with Apple Intelligence, and things would not have changed much even if I had upgraded to the latest iPhone 17. It is not a hidden secret that Apple has a lot to catch up on as compared to its rivals like Google Gemini and Samsung Galaxy AI.
If I talk about hardware and specifications, Apple has done a commendable job with the iPhone 17 by bringing it closer to what you get with Android counterparts. But the way things are right now, there is still room for improvement in terms of camera versatility, battery capacity, and charging speed.
All of these reasons sealed the iPhone’s fate for me, and I decided to switch. The only question was which Android phone to choose within the same budget range. This was not an easy choice considering plenty of options in the market: Samsung Galaxy S25, Google Pixel 10, OnePlus 15, Oppo Find X9, and Vivo X300
The one thing I was clear about wanting in a new smartphone was a compact size. I’m not too keen on using large-screen phones unless I absolutely have to. A compact phone is pocket-friendly, feels lightweight, and is amazing for one-handed usage. This narrowed down my list to Galaxy S25, Pixel 10, and Vivo X300. Since one of my cousins is already using Samsung’s compact flagship and my younger brother had previously owned a Pixel, I decided to go for a completely new experience.
Why I Chose the Vivo X300
The Vivo X300 is not only a compact Android flagship, but it also offers a bigger 6,040mAh battery with 90W wired fast charging. The best part is that you get a 90W charging adapter bundled with the box. The phone’s battery life is impressive for its size, and whenever it reaches close to 20%, all you need is about 40 minutes to get it back into the 90s.
The camera setup includes a 50MP periscope telephoto camera with 3x optical zoom, something not possible even on the iPhone 17. Vivo’s custom OriginOS 6 (based on Android 16) has many nifty and quality-of-life features you don’t realise you need until you start using them.
When you look at the pricing, it becomes an even sweeter deal. The Vivo X300 (256GB) costs INR 75,999 (approx. $846) in India as compared to INR 82,999 (approx. $924) for the iPhone 17 (256GB). These prices exclude any special deals or smartphone trade-in offers.
If you have not tried or do not want to experience Android because of various presumptions, this is the right time. It does not necessarily have to be a Vivo smartphone. You can pick any of the available Android flagships, and you are unlikely to be disappointed, as long as you are not looking for an iPhone in Android.
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