It only takes a few dedicated people with bots, but it does probably benefit their metrics.
Streisand Effect really only applies if they were making their own submissions about it. Replying to this one doesn't really make the cut IMO!
I think the Pixel devices are better but they don't have the personality I remember from Nexus devices (sorry !googlepixel@lemdro.id).
I totally felt the same way about my Galaxy Nexus and pretty much every phone until recent times. Although I do wonder whether it's really about the devices or us just being older now!
There are also some quirks in how Kbin handles things that differs from Lemmy. Linking to Lemmy instances works fine when viewed from Kbin, but it doesn't seem to work when linking Kbin communities. All fairly minor though!
Both of the moderators supported the move to consolidate and their announcement thread was widely upvoted.
The lack of Google Sync on alternatives seems to be a major draw. With that said, Firefox Sync works well. I just wish their Android app were better (Fennec F-Droid would be perfect if it allowed fully sideloaded add-ons from local storage and a true OLED black option).
You may be interested in checking out LibreWolf if privacy is a top priority.
Interestingly, I think only one of the countless Tesla owners I know works in tech.