Back to iOS after years of Android use

Build and 'how it makes you feel'

The build quality was one of the main reasons to get an iPhone. The 13 Pro has a somewhat unique blend of poshness, small size, and top-end internals that eludes essentially every other phone available.

The Galaxy S21 has the right components and is nicely pocketable (is also a lot lighter than the 13 Pro) but is plastic on its back and so indistinguishable from every other Samsung that it doesn't strike my ego in any meaningful way.

The Xiaomi Mi 11 Ultra's ceramic back and curved edges all around make it look and feel properly expensive. On the other hand, the gigantic camera bump immediately identifies it as this specific model to those who know, and all but guarantees that those who don't know will ask. It's an important aspect of your phone if you're in the business of reviewing phones - we like talking about them. We like a phone that makes an impression. But for all that's good about the Mi 11 Ultra, it's too big for its own good.

The foldables then. Both the Flip and the Fold have a wow factor to go around, but each comes with its trade-offs - the Flip's camera and battery life is middle of the road, while the Fold is huge in either state.

The iPhone 13 Pro is just big enough to not be too small. I toyed with the idea of getting a mini but dismissed it on the grounds of camera hardware, and I'm glad I did - the mini would have probably been too compact for its own good. The 6.1" screen size of the 13 Pro is sufficient for YouTube, sites are comfortable to read, the width is good for trouble-free typing on the keyboard - it's just the right size.

It's a heavy phone, there's no denying that. The iPhone 13 Pro's 204 grams are a handful more than the full-size 6.7" Galaxy S21+'s. In typical iPhone owner fashion, however, I'll say that it's a good thing. There's a psychological association between weight (or, in fact, density) and expensiveness, and it's pretty strong with the iPhone.

The steel frame contributes to that subjective premium feeling in two ways. The first one is indirect, thanks to its weight. The 13 Pro is 30g heavier than the 13, and with most things being identical between the two, it's down to an extra camera and the steel frame to account for the difference. I think the latter can take responsibility for a good chunk of it, I think - the non-Pro's aluminum frame has got to be lighter.

The other aspect of the frame's perceived high quality is a bit hard to put into words but is again related to the steel vs. aluminum debate. Aluminum is the 'default' metal for smartphone frames, and the steel on the iPhone Pros sets them apart from the masses. And if only the Pro models in what is already one of the most expensive phone lineups can have it, it has to be superior. Reading this, a frightening realization is sinking in that I might be on my way to becoming an Apple fanboy. Or maybe steel does feel better. Let's hope it's the latter.

I'll be the first to admit that the steel does not necessarily look better. The shiny high-gloss finish on steel iPhone Pros will pick up any fingerprint it comes into contact with, while the matte non-Pros are a lot better at masking those. Some say that the Silver colorway with its practically mirror-like surface is the worst in this respect, which I may have to concede is true. I like white phones, though, so there was no room for deliberation here.

I've also been warned that it'll be the easiest to scratch and show dings, but I'm yet to see any two months later. I'm not careless when handling my phones, but I'm not overly protective either - this one has been caseless throughout its lifetime, and it's looking flawless.

There's the other aspect of having an iPhone, and it's a very superficial one. It wouldn't necessarily come through as a better person for thinking it, much less putting it into writing, but the iPhone inspires an elitist feeling of superiority over phones of other makes. 'Yeah, sure, your Galaxy is nice, but it's no iPhone' type of thing.

There's somewhat of a deeper spin to it, I'd like to think, and it's that having the latest iPhone frees you from constantly thinking about upgrading or switching to a different model. They only put out one iPhone Pro per year (in two sizes, but that's not the point), and there isn't going to be a better one for a whole year. Naturally, that's not a problem many people have, but it's been an issue in my (admittedly, privileged) reality for several years now, and I have seemingly escaped it.

It's not just about snobbery and insecurities, though - there are some objective, measurable, universally accepted pros to using an iPhone.