You too? I started with Android 1.5 (or whatever the first Motorola Droid shipped with). At that time, Android felt so much closer to my OS of choice - a Linux distro - that I was excited to own a Google phone.

Over time I've been less than enthusiastic about what each iteration of the OS brings. Now that it's near impossible to have root and not have to play Whack A Mole with hiding that root access from specific apps (never mind finding phones where you can unlock the bootloader), I'm out. Google is making it impossible to use your phone the way you want. Pixel phones aren't attractive to me based on really spotty history.

Linux phones just aren't there yet. I've owned a couple of Pinephones, but I want more from them than they can currently offer.

That leaves Apple. They have their issues, sure, but if I can't have root control of my phone without massive hassle, then I might as well have a more polished experience. I'm envious of the free features my wife gets on her 2nd gen SE.