Pixel 6 Pro features I miss and Google's AI presentation has me feeling the pull of the Pixel 9 line

Issues with the battery, the under-display optic fingerprint scanner, the crappy modem, and poor  battery life led me to stop using my Pixel 6 Pro last summer and replace it as my daily driver with my older iPhone 11 Pro Max and then the iPhone 15 Pro Max which I bought. While the Pixel 6 Pro was a fiasco, there were some pretty cool AI-based features on the phone three full years before the Gemini takeover that Google announced yesterday for the Pixel 9 line.

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One feature that I missed right away was "Hold for Me." Don't you hate having to stay by your phone when you're on hold?  With "Hold for Me," the phone detected when I was put on hold and would literally "hold for me." I received an alert when the other side of the call returned. Google would play a brief message to let the other person know that I was returning to the call. This feature worked like a charm and I wish my iPhone offered it.

Google has added a "bookend" feature to the Pixel Watch 3 called "Ask to Hold" which is part of the Pixel's Call Assist feature. With "Ask to Hold," the Pixel Watch 3 answers a call for you and puts the caller on hold until you find a quiet place to talk.

Another feature I missed greatly when switching from Pixel to iPhone was Quick Phrases. Have you ever been in a different room when your phone's alarm or timer went off and you just didn't feel like walking over to the device to turn off the alarm? With the Pixel 6 Pro, I could say "Stop" and the alarm would be dismissed. As a person crippled by severe spinal stenosis, I found that yelling "Stop" to turn off an annoying alarm surely beats having to get up, grab my cane, and walk to my phone to turn it off.

I've been able to mess around with Gemini Advanced on my Pixel 6 Pro, long-pressing the power button to activate it. It is the best virtual assistant I've ever used. We won't know until next year if Siri can match the responses to queries that Gemini Advanced reveals. So far, the only changes to Siri in the iOS 18.1 Developer Beta are cosmetic. A glowing light around the edge of the iPhone lights up when Siri is activated, and the assistant has a more conversational tone when talking.

But some things never change. Ask Siri when Apple went public and you receive three websites to read through to find the answer. Ask Gemini Advanced the question and you get one answer: "Apple went public on December 12, 1980." I Love it.

If this sounds like I'm thinking about switching back to the Pixel, I'd probably wait until next year when the Pixel 10 is expected to debut the first application processor designed by Google from the ground up. In addition, the Tensor G5 will be built by TSMC using its 3nm process node. The Tensor G4 powering the Pixel 9 series is built by Samsung Foundry using its 4nm node. Still, that I'm even thinking about making this switch after living through the Pixel 6 Pro tells you how impressive Google AI was during Tuesday's event.

I feel the pull of the Pixel 9 series drawing me away from my iPhone. The Pixel 9 series offers 20% longer battery life and the under-display fingerprint scanner now uses an ultrasonic sensor. It's the same one used on the Galaxy S24 line.

This is what happens when you have the grass is greener on the other side-itis.