Buy on Amazon: Galaxy S23 Ultra
Buy on Amazon: Pixel 7a
Galaxy Note 8 booting up 
Pixel XL booting up
Using my Pixel XL instead of my Note 8
I’ve recently switched to my Pixel XL from my Galaxy Note 8 with the full intention of switching back to the Note 8 extremely soon. Right now, I’m not in a hurry. Here are some reasons why.
Form factor
I think I actually like the 16x9 screen ratio form factor better than the 18.5 by 9 screen on the Note 8. I started thinking I liked the wider screen but you'll notice that the Note 8's screen is actually just as wide as the Pixels minus the extra bezel size on the Pixel. I think I finally determined what I really like is the different screen ratio.
I also am sometimes finding myself not liking the bulkiness of such a large phone like the Note 8. While there are times when I definitely appreciate more screen real estate for viewing things like documents, pictures, and videos, it comes with that price of carrying a phone in my front pocket that always reminds me it's there with its bulkiness.
Memory and multitasking
The four gigabytes of memory on the pixel XL isn't enough anymore. My Note 8 does much better than the Pixel XL at multitasking and leaving apps open right where I left them. This is one of the few unfortunate drawbacks to using a Pixel XL. I often leave incomplete forms open in the mobile browser while I go get information in another app for the form. When I return to the form, on the pixel XL, often the mobile browser refreshes and I lose all information in the form.
Latest version of Android (and the software experience)
Without going into details, I really do like the Android 9 pie update on the Pixel XL. But I also have been able to get Android 9 on my Note 8. It just seems to be a more integrated experience on the Pixel XL.
Camera Night Sight feature (extreme low light photography on a cell phone)
The night sight feature on the Pixel camera works great. Here's a photo in a pitch black closet. I couldn't see anything at all with my naked eye. Here you can see what the night sight feature picked up. I can imagine this is going to be a great feature for me going forward.
Camera "playground" feature with Avengers
The "playground" feature in the Pixel camera is really fun to use even for somebody in their '50s, like me. If you're not familiar with “playground” this lets you insert pretty high-quality animated characters into your photos and videos. It's similar to iPhone's animojis but much better. This feature evolved from the original "AR Stickers" feature. The videos, in particular, are quite impressive. There are quite a few choices to choose from including many of the Avenger characters. I'm not one to find ways to spend more time on my phone, but the new "playground" feature in the camera app on the Pixel series was a nice little break.
See here to see more information about the feature on the Google Play store.
Note that the Note 8 has "AR emoji's" but these are simply "stickers", not animated. They really pale in comparison to Pixel's playground feature in the camera.
Smoothness of pure Android
There's a smoothness I don't really get on my Samsung Galaxy Note 8. My Note 8 is faster overall but that consistent smoothness on the pixel is nice to have and creates a unique experience not unlike what you get on an iPhone. While the Note 8 really outperforms previous generations of the Note series in this regard, there are still times that you get that "jerkiness" that plagued Android for years. I'll admit, it's almost unnoticeable, but not quite. The Pixel XL almost entirely eliminates this issue. Note that there are other phones with an "almost" pure Android experience (like the OnePlus series) and people have reported that experience to be even better than on a Pixel.
Missing the Note S Pen (sometimes)
I do miss the S Pen sometimes but not a lot. Sometimes I miss being able to mark up a photo or document with the SPen. I know I could live without it but it's definitely a nice unique feature on the Note 8.
Converting pictures to text
One feature I really like on the Note 8 that I can't do at least not easily on the Pixel XL is the ability to convert text in a photo to actual text. It's extremely simple on the Note 8 and I use that feature quite a bit.
Flat screen versus curved screen
I really like the flat screen on the Pixel XL instead of the curved screen on my Note 8. The curved screen at the edges always has plenty of glare. And for me, at least, it serves no real purpose besides from aesthetics. Another annoying thing that the curved screen causes is mistyping at the edge of the screen with the on-screen keyboard. While I mis-type at the edge of the screen on any phone, it really seems to happen more often on the Note 8's curved screen.
Duplicate apps on Note 8
I like that most of the apps that I use regularly are the native apps on the Pixel XL. I use a number of Google apps. On the Samsung Note 8, these same apps are duplicated with Samsung apps. The Samsung apps sometimes offer more features but, in my opinion, they usually aren’t enough to justify moving away from the equivalent Google apps. And sometimes the integration between the google apps is justification to not use the Samsung apps. I'm talking about the basic apps like calendar, contacts, notes.
Will I return to the Note 8?
The answer to that is almost certainly. The first reason is a very practical one. I might be giving the Pixel to my dad. But also, I find when I return to the Note 8 after using the Pixel for a little while, I enjoy the overall speed of the Note 8. I'm very much into getting things done quickly.