I think a lot of it is the UX and design feeling so advesarial and frankly cheap.
I'm a long time android user but lately I've been wondering if it's still a reasonable choice.
I'm writing this from my brand new pixel and I'm frankly shocked how bad the UX is.
one of the most blatant dark patters is the impossible to remove (without installing a third party launcher) google assistant/search bar that takes up the most important screen realestate right on the bottom.
another horrid design choice is the (also impossible to remove without third party tools) "at a glance" widget which stays in place and shows the date even when you turn the feature off. it also sits just slightly off to the left from where the clock widget ALSO shows the date making it look like hot garbage
It's a band-aid solution really, but I can recommend you check out the launcher Lawnchair. It looks and behaves much like the stock launcher, but is far more customizable, letting you change the things you mentioned. Thankful that Android will still let you change out the launcher, at least.
yes the fact that it CAN be fixed is a huge plus but I think for most people the frustration of having to fix unpleasant UX decisions, clearly just made to get people to use their device in a specific way, feels like enough of an FU to warrant considering other options.
Android is starting to feel like the choice for people that really want to tinker with their phones, install custom roms etc. but it lacks a middle ground option between that and just going with ios to not being bothered by so much nonsense. then again I rarely use ios so maybe I'm just not aware of the equivalent annoyances
