After a year of frustration with the mobile version of Windows 10 not only playing catch up with the desktop version but falling behind on the hardware version I decided it was time to move on with my next phone contract.

This time around I decided to give Android a shot with the new Google Pixel XL. After spending the last few months with a Samsung Tab A I’ve been pretty impressed with how much of my routine usage has transferred across. It’s always been more about having access to services than any particular apps, so testing it there gave me the confidence I needed to jump.

A lot of that is thanks to Outlook and Office now being such robust multiplatform products. A few years ago that wasn’t the case but not any more – in fact iOS and Android are probably the phones of choice now. For someone who relies on Outlook for contacts and OneDrive for files, seeing that it doesn’t really matter what phone you use anymore is massively reassuring.

The Pixel itself is an impressive phone too boasting a great screen and a fingerprint scanner that actually makes sense – it might seem odd with it being on the back of the phone but when you try it out you’ll understand. I might end up missing things like Live Tiles and the deeper integration of my contacts with other apps but I think I might just get over it.

It’s still early days for me but I’m excited with how quickly I’ve got the phone doing things in a way I’m comfortable with. It might have signalled the end of my brand loyalty too – if I can get what I need on any phone then I can be a little more selective in the future with the hardware and platforms. And it was because Microsoft made it so easy for me to leave Windows on mobile… who would have thought?