For many people out there, their smartphone is the go-to device for most situations. It's the device that's in their pocket, ready to go at all times. Some situations might call for a tablet or a computer, but the best part of our phones is that they can handle the majority of the daily tasks we might need right away, from a device that (usually) fits in our pocket.
And these devices have obviously come a long way. The best camera for most people is the camera in their pocket, and companies like Apple, Samsung, and Google have made sure that the cameras in their phones are the best possible devices to shoot a photo or video. Improvements all across the board mean the best possible listening experience when streaming your favorite music, watching a movie, or listening to a podcast.
They probably even make pretty great phone calls, too!
But there are so many things that can build a great smartphone. We see companies come up with new ideas all the time, with baked-in features that are meant to help elevate the hardware in some way or another. That comes down to the camera more than anything these days it seems like, especially with software meant to improve or otherwise enhance our photos captured with great hardware. But specific features that Apple and Google introduce in iOS and Android respectively, and the way that Samsung or OnePlus can build upon the latter's inherent design.
I'm using a Pixel 3 right now and I think one of the best parts of Android is the way it handles music playback. Or, to be specific, how it presents it. From the Notification Center to the lock screen, Android just handles showcasing what you're listening to a lot better than iOS. And while this might seem like a small thing (it definitely is), listening to music is basically the one thing I'm always doing on my phone on a regular basis.
Apple's change to Control Center means that there isn't a dedicated panel to show you what you're listening to, with big album artwork as well. Now it's just a small box that you have to long or hard press on to get a bigger box, with small album art and I'm not a huge fan of it at all. And the lock screen, while it does have really big buttons which makes it easy to interact with, has similar small album art.
However, Android just does it better. Dropping down the notification shade gets you a colored notification specifically for your music, and the color of the buttons and information can change, too. I've seen red and white and black at this point, but it would be interesting if there were other colors, too. And the album artwork is right there, making the notification really stand out and look pretty awesome. The lock screen's controls are pretty small, but the whole screen shows the album artwork. I love it.
Being reacquainted with the music controls on Android got me thinking about our favorite parts of our phones, so I wanted to reach out to all of you and find out what your favorite part of your Android phone is and why. What keeps you coming back to Android devices? Or if you've just switched to Google's mobile OS, what has stuck out to you and immediately grabbed your attention as your new favorite part? Let me know!
