I’ve found the overall performance to be more consistent/better. The “better” part is a bit moot as every time I buy a new phone, the performance should be better than the last one just because it’s newer technology.

And while there are a lot of things I don’t like, core performance kind of overshadows any other issues I have or features I’m missing out on. Perhaps I should have said “better for my needs” instead of “better product.”

Yeah, obviously hyperbole, but there is a kind of console fanboy-ism around smartphones which is honestly bizarre.

And while I’d rather Apple not be so shitty about proprietary everything, it’s also not the end of the world.

I’ve owned flagship androids and iphones. I like my iPhone better, sorry. If other companies want to make a better product, I’ll switch back again. It’s not really about the exclusivity/walled garden nonsense.

This was my thought as well. Pretty sure I already have all of that turned off but I would have done that as part of the install and brief customizing of the UI. Can’t say I ever used a guide or anything, or even considered it unusual for modern software.

Ah, that likely explains it. I know when installing I hit “no” on anything that sounds remotely marketing related and I turned off search and weather because they just don’t add any value and I like a clean screen. So I think the only ads I get are the small, unobtrusive ones on the lock screen, which I can’t say I’m bothered by in the slightest. I barely even notice them since it isn’t like I stare at the lock screen.

I’m so confused by the ads thing. I don’t think I’ve noticed any since upgrading to Win 11. Are they only on certain editions or something?

I think the worst part about this starter pack is that, not only is it mostly useless garbage, new players (who this targets) have no idea this is mostly useless garbage. They surely don’t even know you can only equip one of these weapons at a time, let alone that they are far from meta.

D2 is just the absolute most miserable experience for new players and Bungie consistently makes it worse. It’s baffling. Meanwhile, they try to milk their veteran players more and more every season by offering more for money, less for free, and making the game more of a grind.

The best part about Destiny 2 is it has personally put me on a hard line against any kind of live service game for the foreseeable future.