I switched from iPhone to Pixel after I couldn't stand Liquid Glass and found myself using Gemini more than I expected.

If you're in the Google ecosystem like Gmail and Calendar, it is exceptionally refreshing to be able to use an assistant that uses that ecosystem, instead of iOS requiring you to use Mail or its own Calendar app.

I don't think there's any real gap between Pixel and iPhone on the things that matter: UX jank, battery life, camera. Even the messaging issue in the US has closed with encrytped RCS support between them launching. So now it's just an ecosystem question, which might be why Gemini is mentioned so much with Pixel.