Here are my thoughts. Definitely less reliable/durable. I had one actually just die completely one day randomly. Luckily it was about time for a new one anyway. The pixel 7 I have now is two years in and still ok. I'm definitely upgrading to pixel 9 pro, just debating whether to get the bigger one or not.

I can't stand all the Samsung bloatware so I've never gone that way even though I think they make great phones. It's really nice to have the software optimized for my phone and to always be able to immediately get the latest version of Android. While I don't care all that much about AI stuff, I figure Google is going to do it better and I won't have to be figuring out how to shut off Bixby all the time.

I think the reliability is getting better with each generation. Google seems committed to figuring this out. In my opinion it's the best alternative to iPhone out there.