Why I almost started using the LG Aristo vs the Google Pixel XL

Flagship vs budget phone

If you know both of these phones, you will probably think this is a crazy comparison.  One is a low-end budget phone and the other a flagship phone.  But I almost started using the LG Aristo exclusively over the Google pixel XL.  And here's why.

LG's added software

LG has a few nice features that I really like and that add something beyond the stock Android experience. One of the most mentioned features is the double tap to wake the phone and double tap to make the phone go to sleep. It's hard to understand how convenient this is until you actually use it. This has become even more apparent when you place a phone that has a fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone down onto a table.  There is no way to wake it up without picking up the phone unless you press the power button on the side if it has one.

In the case of Google pixel XL, you can either hit that power button on the side or pick up the phone and use the fingerprint scanner on the back of the phone. With the LG Aristo, you can simply double tap the screen to turn the phone on. Even if the phone isn't laying on a table, it is still convenient to double tap the screen to turn the phone on.

Another feature of LG's software is the included system-wide fonts that can be easily changed.  Font Styles can be a very personal preference but I really like LG's fonts. In the past, I have not found that changing font styles is very useful to me at all. Usually, this is because I don't really care for any of the available fonts on certain phones.

On the LG Aristo and I believe other LG phones, the default font is very nice. They also have other ones that can be applied very easily in the display settings. As far as I've been able to tell, there is no way to change the font style on a Google pixel XL. At least not without rooting the phone.

Overall form factor of the LG Aristo

This is kind of a big one for me. The LG Aristo has a great size and form factor. It simply fits in my hand very well and the back is textured so that it makes it somewhat easier to hold without feeling like it's going to slip out of my hands. The Google Pixel XL feels extremely slippery and is a little wider than I would like.

Of course, you could solve the slippery problem with a case but I often like to use my phones without cases. I also realize that the smaller regular Pixel might be a closer comparison in size to the LG Aristo. These just happen to be two of the phones I have on hand at the moment.  I would definitely consider the smaller Pixel at this point.

Battery life

I don't have a detailed comparison of battery life between the two phones but it does seem to me that the LG Aristo lasts a bit longer. Maybe that's because it doesn't have to drive a more advanced screen like on the Pixel XL.

Why I moved back to the Pixel XL

The Google pixel XL is simply much faster at everyday tasks and especially at multitasking.  One of my biggest tests for speed is doing multiple things in multiple tabs in the browser.  A phone with a slower processor always slows down quite a bit with multiple browser tabs open doing multiple things along with jumping back and forth with one or two other apps. The pixel XL does a great job at multitasking with multiple apps and multiple tabs open in the browser simultaneously.

Also, Google voice input seems to work much better on the pixel XL.  I would expect that to be the case for a phone made by Google.  I use voice input quite a bit so this is pretty important to me. Occasionally on the LG Aristo, it seems like voice input would stop working altogether. The LG Aristo also doesn't support the OK Google command when the phone is off whereas the Pixel XL does.