I'm not about to switch to an iPhone, but I could now

With the XS Max, Apple finally has a form factor that does not feel like a step back from its contemporaries, but more importantly the software has become less severe.

Apple deserves credit for its user-friendly updates in iOS 12 – mostly fixing the notification system, allowing its own features like dictation to work with non-Apple keyboards and instituting a seamless auto-fill system that works with any major pbadword manager – but third party developers play a big part too.

Most now, you'll be able to get your hands on it (like browsers or maps) so you're not always being kicked off to Apple's own stuff.

Even Google has been working hard, it's pretty good, and it's pretty good at Apple phones.

Photos, Home, Drive and more are all excellent on iPhone, and Google's Today View widgets All of these things made it easier for me to keep using the services I prefer even as I switch to a Galaxy Note9 to Apple's biggest and best.

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Of course immediately after the iPhone XS Max – not counting the brief palate cleanser of HMD's Nokia 8810 – I dove into testing the Pixel 3 and Pixel 3 XL. Google's in-house phones have been my favorite personal devices for a while; arguably less powerful and much more important flagship Androids, with a minimalist aesthetic and full integration with I like.

But with my mostly Google-powered life on the iPhone, I could comfortably recommend my phone. Those wedded to Apple's ecosystems are still mostly stuck, but they are getting a lot of work, but they are more likely to be in the market (which, it must be said, is probably ideal for both Apple and Google).

So with all that said, and what is the best phone? You can not look at the specs sheet for much help.

For example on paper XS Max's screen is lower resolution and less dense with pixels than the Pixel 3 XL's, but in real life – while they're both incredibly nice – Apple clearly has the edge.

Simultaneously, it is a powerful processor for crunching numbers locally, but it works to get rid of the data.

It comes down to features and philosophies in the end. Apple is pbadionately against your personal data, but on the other hand

Apple's dual cameras allow for quick zoom and more consistent portrait mode, but it does not matter which way it works.

And if you're buying a phone outright there's still a price tag, with Apple's phones coming with a considerable premium. The iPhone XR had the potential to address this, with the core experience of a 2018 iPhone, a few key compromises and a lower price.

But while in the US the machine costs less than the Pixel 3s, it's $ 1229 in Australia; the same as we paid for last year's iPhone 8 when it was brand new, and more expensive than the standard Pixel 3.

So while it's $ 400 less than the XS, and thus the cheapest iPhone you can get, it's only "affordable" – it's just as cheap as it is. It's still a lot of money for an LCD screen at a sub-HD resolution, and the same familiar camera we've seen on Apple phones since 2016.

I personally am sticking with the Pixel. For all its improvements I still do not think iOS – with its cumbersome and old fashioned home screen, its rigid separation of apps – is as slick as Android. But it's nice to know that next time