From the Editor’s Desk: Reasons ⭐

I often write that important decisions are like a matrix of smaller decisions, each weighted subjectively by the individual. Choosing a smartphone is an obvious example, and while my personal choices are complicated by my profession, I've always valued a few key features more than others. But over the past few months, a new variable has emerged. And this raises some questions I hadn't considered.

What happens when one or more of the most important features becomes a non-issue? How does that change the decision making process?

I'll keep this to phones for the most part, since that was the impetus for this and it's an easy way to frame the discussion. But these questions could apply to any decision-making process. More on that in a bit.

Last April, I wrote there was no perfect phone and that the top mobile platforms, Android and iOS, each had their respective strengths and weaknesses. This determination, is of course, subjective. Many align strongly with either platform, or perhaps even for Samsung One UI, the most popular Android option, and never consider switching sides. Just sticking with what they know is the biggest factor for many when it's time to upgrade.

But as a reviewer and personal technology enthusiast, I've had more difficulty. I have preferences like anyone else. But most years I move back and forth between Android and the iPhone, often several times. I see the pros and cons of each. I miss something from the other platform when I switch, just as I enjoy whatever advantages the new phone has.

The single most important feature on a smartphone, to me, is photography. Thinking back, I can credit the amazing Nokia Lumia 1020 for this, as this was the time, mid-2013, when I switched fully to smartphones for photography, dropping the standalone digital cameras I had been using previously.

This didn't always work out well. An early iPhone model I took to Paris one dark and dreary January produced some of the muddiest, low-quality shots I've ever taken. But there have been some truly great smartphone cameras, too, and in recent years, almost any mainstream smartphone can take great photos and videos.

I was a big fan of the Nexus 5X and 6P, and Google Pixel has consistently been at or near the top in this capacity more recently. To be clear, I think of this as snapshot photography. That is, when I pick up a Pixel and just take a photo without any customization or additional work, the resulting shot is nearly perfect almost 100 percent of the time. Consistency is wonderful. But consistently perfect is rare, and the Pixel has almost always managed to pull that off for photography.

Each time I switch back to a Pixel, I have that satisfying moment when I take that first photo, review the shot, and think, "oh, right. This just works." The iPhone can take terrific photos, but it has always required a bit of work. I need to review shots to make sure they're not blurry, off-focus, or otherwise deficient. Sometimes I...