I’m planning on switching platforms and I’m just curious of the opinions of people here. I think that Android can have advantages in areas of privacy and external app installation, but most of the benefits come with a lot of tinkering out of the box.
I’m a very capable person at modifying my phone and I don’t generally mind doing that. I can make the interface work however I want. But I find myself caring less and less about how I interact with things in the light of what Apple is doing.
I’m looking at Android and it seems to be pretty far behind iOS at the moment. The messaging service is a huge sticking point and progress isn’t being made to unify iMessage with RCS apps. It seems to me like Samsung is making more progress with the platform than Google itself is. Like they’re the ones carrying it right now.
Keep in mind, I’m not a shill here. I haven’t used iOS in years. I still think they’re overpriced phones and Apple isn’t a great company. And I wish USB-C was a thing. This isn’t an ad. I’m just frustrated with the android platform and Apple seems to be leaving it behind.
Example features: FaceID, iMessage, home screen UX, battery life, and extended software support.
So can anyone tell me if they feel the same or help me in my decision? Not trying to start a tech war btw
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Apple refuses to integrate RCS into iMessage despite Google publicly calling it out and inviting it to do so. Apple is not incentivized to do so since they enjoy the iMessage ecosystem lock-in. Google is further ahead than Samsung, and allows you to use RCS with their stock Messages app. Personally, I use Signal with all my friends and family which works on both iOS and Android.
Let’s go through your example features…
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Face ID: This is available in the latest Google Pixel models via Face Unlock. No it’s not as good as iOS, but you also have the fingerprint reader as an additional option with Pixel, which you don’t have on iOS. As someone who experiences Winter, I’m glad to not have to show my face to unlock my phone when I’m bundled up or skiing with a helmet/goggles on. Easier to just take a glove off for a hot second to unlock the phone.
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iMessage: This is blue bubble envy, and it’s pretty slick I can’t lie. Again, I’ve been beneficial to have my friends use Signal, but if all your friends are using iMessage it can be annoying. This is a problem of Apple’s own making, however, and I wouldn’t reward them (on principle) for sustaining the issue despite options being available.
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Home Screen UX: Not sure how Android doesn’t win this one hands down. Home screen customization is way behind Android, and even with the latest changes in the latest versions of iOS, it’s still behind.
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Battery Life: I don’t find my Pixel 7 to suffer from poor or even remotely poor battery life at all. There are Android phones like the Asus Zenphone 10 that are crushing even the best iPhone on battery life. It’s easily a two-day phone, and they do it all in a compact package.
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Extended Software Support: Again, it’s all in who you choose to buy from if you value long term support. Samsung gives four years of OS and five years of security updates for its phones. Google gives three years of OS updates and five years of security updates on its phones. Not quite as good as iOS, but not worth spending a bunch extra for an iPhone.
Ultimately though, it’s Apple’s hostile approach to allowing users to repair their own products that has me staying away from purchasing their phones. Not just in the build process, but in their unwillingness to sell component level replacement parts of any kind to independent repair shops. And their support for killing right-to-repair legislation.
I appreciate the thorough response, thanks! And I hear most of this but I’d give some pushback on a few things. Most of this comes from experience with Samsung devices so keep that in mind.
I recognize that the RCS thing is an apple problem that they’re making. But my issue is that even if they solved RCS, I think that iMessage is still somewhat running away with messaging and I can’t convince anyone to use signal. I like the security, but signal isn’t very feature rich. And I’m kind of done waiting for a better android alternative to exist unfortunately. If it did, I might come back.
FaceID: I too love the fingerprint reader. My Note 10 isn’t great with having it under the screen and I’d prefer face unlock personally. I can’t imagine FaceID to be any less convenient than having a wet finger and being unable to scan it. So I’d call that neutral for me personally.
iMessage: I know I’m rewarding them, I hate it, wish I could live without it but it’s stopping me from getting video messages from people.
Home Screen UX: it’s less about customization (not being able to place apps in certain places bugs me) but more about the design language itself. I guess less about the home screen specifically and I mean more about the general UI layout, drawers, and control panel. All those are mature on android and I just fine the Apple stuff easier to visually control. Especially comparing the Apple stuff to OneUI or material you. I know I can fix some of what I’m talking about, but I don’t necessarily want to fiddle with it.
And Battery: isn’t usually a problem for me with a note device, but I’ve had issues before. Like a weird bug used to drain battery for no reason (Linus of LTT noted this a few times on his Note device). But in general, Apple seems to be making advances in efficiency that aren’t present in android devices yet. Hence the larger (and heavier) batteries in many devices.
Again not trying to start a war, don’t feel obligated to respond. Just hope that explains my thoughts here.
On battery: Samsung seems to have a battery quality issue for many years now.
On longevity: I think every Samsung flagship I’ve had felt very noticeable slower after just like 3-6 months of use.
Ive sworn off of Samsung for the foreseeable future.
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Apple is a walled garden and because of it I will not touch their products. Stuff tends to be over priced too.
Do not use face ID on phones other than Apple and maybe Samsung as most are easily spoofed.
A phone is a throw away device so my opinion is buy the cheapest one that does what you need.
Just one person’s opinion, but I switched to an Apple phone last year after several years using top of the line Android devices, and I’ve been really happy with it. The features are all rock solid, and their particular brand of walled garden is one that I don’t tend to mind much.
That’s pretty comforting. I’m kind of nervous to switch but it’d good to hear you haven’t had a bad experience
If your stuff just working is more important than customization and you take care of your devices you will probably be very happy. The platforms do have some significant differences in how notifications and the UI work vs Android so not everyone is a fan.
For me the typical 4 plus years of full OS updates and support is great. Never have to worry if my “insert android vendor / carrier” is supporting the next OS release.
Have had the iPhone 3, 3GS, 4s, 5c, 7, and am now on a 14. My 7 I used into the ground, did one official battery replacement on it (gets kinda short on battery life at year 2-3, but never had any issue with any App Store app. Of note my upgrade gap got a lot longer with the 5c as since about that generation they have become so reliable and powerful that it takes a lot for them to be obsolete.
No notes here, my thoughts exactly. I will say though, the info regarding android updates on older phones is a mess. Like okay new android update, but when will my phone get it? Or will it at all? No clue. It’s frustrating that I can’t even tell if or when or what I’ll get in any android update.
I owned an iPod touch and an iPad and I’ll never buy in to the Apple ecosystem again.
Update after update the devices got slower and slower until they were unusuable. With no way to roll back (at the time, not sure if that still holds) the only solution was to buy a new device.
I have yet to have that happen with any of my other devices. Android phones, tablets, Linux machines, Windows machines, game consoles, or Roku boxes.
I’ve had similar experiences with android phones, seems like an older gen tech problem so I want to see if that’s still an issue.
Except that apple was intentionally doing this to drive consumers towards buying more of their product
The phone slowdowns were intended to prolong the lives of phones, not shorten them. The underclocking only happened after your phone had been forced to shut down because the battery wasn’t delivering sufficient power. I had a phone with this problem, and opening the camera would sometimes just immediately shut down the phone instead. I got a free new battery for it, but the general fix was slowdowns instead. They should’ve disclosed it and they also should’ve given users control, but if they wanted people buying new phones, I know from experience that the random shutdowns were worse than a slower phone.
There are a lot of answers running the gamut.
The bottom line is, as it has always been: you use the technology that works for you. iOS isn’t better or worse than Android, and vice versa. Both OSes are valid, and it’s the individual’s choice as to what works best for them. I would be miserable with an Android device. I happen to get great value from my Apple devices - especially when there is trade-in value and the devices get recycled.
I personally don’t think it’s productive to “tribalize" the two OSes. They are developed to completely different designs and strategies. Android is basically designed for a wide range of manufacturers, each having their own needs and wants, which includes frequent sales cycles. Apple has always, ALWAYS, been a hardware manufacturer first, and any software they develop is intended to enhance the user’s experience of the hardware in a very measured and structured way. Android (and PC) is aimed for mass market distribution. Apple has always been premium boutique. Hell, one big reason the iPhone was originally released by Apple because the existing cell phone market refused to support the Mac platform: essentially the iPhone was the “premium add-on” to the Mac experience. But Apple also has a slower sales cycle - releasing yearly, sure, but with the understanding that every year someone will want an upgrade, not every year everyone will want an upgrade. My last iPhone went 5 hardware versions before I upgraded, or about 3 years, and I average 3-5 years on small devices, and 5-7 years on desktop).
Every user’s experience is personal, and anecdotal, even mine. So I ask: what do YOU want in a phone? What you YOU want your phone’s OS to do? Make a decision matrix and list all the pros and cons of each phone. Which ends up with the most pros? How many of the cons are show stoppers? If Android matches best, by an Android phone. It’s fine.
You’re not wrong about all of this. I wasn’t trying to tribalize or start a fight (said so in my post even) because I know that people do that. However, my view has changed from when I last owned an iphone.
When I last owned an iphone, the fights made sense. I could see why people fought over platforms because they were very different and comparing and contrasting them at the time was pretty difficult to do directly. Like was it better to have back and forward button bars? Or were curved phone edges a good idea?
But nowadays my opinion is diffent. Phones do a lot of the same things. They’re all very mature platforms for the most part. So when I ask my question I’m asking why, for most general use cases, anyone would want an android. And the response I’m getting back for the most part is: you don’t.
This is coming from someone who desperately wants the competition. I ditched iphone about a decade ago when the S7 edge was a thing. I left behind all of the features iphones have for connecting with people for a platform that I believed had better tech, was more affordable, and had similar software support.
Nowadays I’m looking at the platforms and most of my reasons no longer make sense. Android phones are expensive. They aren’t at apples level, but some of them are and none of them hold value. So why not wait two years and get a brand new android? Because the software updates aren’t going to keep up. So for a higher initial investment, I can get a phone that will have decent resale value when I’m ready to upgrade and still get software updates.
All of this is to say that my ability to connect with friends over FaceTime and imessage aren’t worth sticking it out on android to me. I don’t see a lot of hope for the platform in the directions I want. I haven’t seen the improvements I was hoping for. And so I’m jumping ship. Maybe I’ll be back, maybe I’ll hate iphone, we shall see!
I’m sorry if I implied you were causing tribalism. I was ranting into the void on that one. :-)
What you are experiencing though is effectively “paralysis through over analysis” a failing many of us have. This is why you have to pull back a bit and think pragmatically. Which is not easy, but with everything getting expensive, you have to think about the best investment of your hard-earned money. There is always going to be a “next best” especially right after you buy a device. You should always shoot for “the best you can afford” at the time you need to buy.
If Apple is giving you the best value for your purchase, then you are being frugal. It may be by the time you are ready to purchase a new devise, you may find that Android scratches an itch the iPhone can’t. I, for one, would love the more delicate chimes most Android devices have - instead of Apple’s “Fisher Price” sounds.
The bottom line is, this is your money - don’t let anyone’s opinions drive you to a purchase you will be unhappy with. If an iPhone is serving your needs now, that’s awesome. If you find that you miss being on an Android, you can use the time to keep an eye out for an Android device that you feel is an upgrade. It’s all about what the device can do for you, and how long that device will remain useful to you.
In my case is because the stuff I buy has to be mine. It’s a matter of principle. I root and degoogle all my phones and install custom ROMs on them (and FOSS apps from external stores, such as fdroid). I couldn’t deApple an iPhone, so it’d kind of limited for me. Plus, frankly speaking, I couldn’t care less about RCSi/Message, it’s not like there aren’t enough messaging options out there.
I hate to disappoint you, but the software part controlling your phone is the baseband processor. No matter what you replace and root, that one is in control and you cannot in any legal way replace it.
I mean, you can say the same about nearly all hardware for sale today (coreboot etc being the exception). Being able to control what the OS is doing is enough for most enthusiasts.
I just really dislike the interface, I have both an Android (personal phone) and an iPhone (work phone) and I find the iPhone frustrating and annoying to use. But that’s probably just me.
I find it too basic and difficult to identify how to perform actions and manage the device.
Don’t get me wrong it’s excellent for users who want a straightforward phone that is simple and intuitive to navigate and operate, and it’s also likely improved on usability even more since I last tried using one.
However sadly the iOS interface is just not for me…
Exactly the same for me, I find my work iphone to be unintuitive and unresponsive compared to my Pixel phones. Although I will say Apple’s face authentication is pretty great.
In my family, everyone else has an iPhone and I have Samsung S23. So I can maybe give both perspectives. If you just want a phone to be a phone, it’s hard to go wrong with an iPhone. It’s always the best default choice. That being said, I personally can’t go back to an iPhone. Lots of people recommend Google devices because of the “stock” Android experience but I greatly prefer the interface, integration, and customization of Samsung devices.
Anyway, in no particular order why I like Android/Samsung:
- The ability to just copy movie and TV shows files onto the device and play them with VLC. This is a must for me for travel. iOS is still a pain in the ass for this.
- In screen finger-print reader and face unlock (both are useful)
- Ability to cast a Dex desktop to my TV with one click for showing off content
- Customized gesture navigation (swipe up middle - home, swipe up right - back, swipe up left - apps) – full screen is available no button bar
- THE BACK BUTTON – every time I use an iPhone I hate hate hate the lack of a back button
- Browsers with ad block
- Customized YouTube with ad blocking (revanced)
- Customized notification icon bar – hide icons that are always on (bluetooth, etc), battery percentage no icon.
- Separate profile for Work and Personal – my employer has control only of the work profile and can’t remote wipe my entire phone.
- Custom home screen apps (I use Nova 7)
- USB-C – one single charger for all my devices (phone, laptop, tablet, buds, etc).
- Ability to wirelessly charge my watch and my ear buds using the back of the phone (this is great for travel)
- Open source console emulators
I can probably think of more but that’s a good start.
Surprisingly, iOS has better privacy than Google because Apple is a hardware company while Google is an advertising company.
The only thing keeping me from switching to an Apple device is ads on youtube. You can get a modded youtube app on Iphone but it takes way more work compared to an android. If you don’t have a mac, file transfer is also a pain on windows machines.
On the other hand, Apple UX really is great. If you prefer UX over customizability, I don’t see why you wouldn’t go for an Iphone.
For many years I used Android phones and enjoyed the customization, roms, rooting, and tinkering. Now, I don’t have time for messing around and just want something that will text and take pictures. Made the switch to Apple about 4 years ago. For a while I was travelling for work and gone for extended periods of time so Facetime was nice for connecting with people close to me. Yes, I know there are other apps.
Now my home is all Siri’ed up so I feel locked in, and I have a Macbook for work. I sometimes debate going back and running a privacy rom but my current setup is fine for my threat model. The only thing that fucking sucks is the price, other than that everything just seems “fine”. I am not too picky though. :)
Thanks for the feedback! The price is a sticking point but I’m not worried about it because I’m buying used and Apple products seem to have very good resell value. My 4 year old note 10 plus is worth about a 4th of what I bought it for. Meanwhile iphone 11 and 12 pro max phones are worth literally double that or more while starting at the same price. It’s wild.
Also luckily for me, my partner has a lot of apple tech so I expect I’ll be just fine in that regard. Other than the phone, I can mooch of of them lol.
To go along with this, I used my iPhone 6 (2014) until I got my 11 (I wanted the larger screen for work and the upgraded cameras), and handed down my 6 to my daughter who used it until earlier this year when we got her a used SE. the 6 chocked on things like Pokémon Go, where they dropped support because it’s old, but it worked fine for the vast majority of what she did (calls, texts, browsing, drawing with Procreate, games, etc). And most of all, it was STILL getting security patches. (9 years?!)
I’ve had android devices lose support 18-24 months after launch. I ended up rooting them and installed newer android versions, but it was hit and miss and a pain in some regards. With Apple it just worked and didn’t come with bloat.
Lack of serviceability is a big one.
Walled gardens are another.
I have major issues with both. I bought the device, I should be able to repair it. It shouldn’t intentionally not work with other ecosystems that use standard protocols either. I should be able to integrate my device with standards the rest of the world uses.
Pretty much you buy apple devices, you are essentially an expensive renter renting a really strong internal ecosystem that purposefully forces you into buying more of that ecosystem and not working outside of it.
Right to repair is a thing in Europe now (https://www.apple.com/uk/newsroom/2022/12/apple-launches-self-service-repair-in-europe/), though I’ve heard complaints about how it’s conducted.
Apple is the “you will own nothing and like it” of phones. You are told how to use your phone, whatyou can and cannot use your phone for, when you can use your phone, etc. The interface is horrible and by trying to make everything so simple it makes it hard as heck to do almost anything more difficult than connecting to wifi. Try using Control D DNS to block ads on an iphone sometimes, PITA. I control my experience on Android from what ROM i use (Lineage), the fact i run no google apps package, the DNS i use, to where exactly i put my icons on my homescreen and how said homescreen behaves.
I moved to iOS able a year ago after being a diehard Samsung fan. I have a long list of pros to switching. The parental controls if you have kids are way beyond Android. That’s really the reason we switched.
The only real con I can give you from a user perspective is the swipe typing is atrocious on every keyboard. I can’t express how much I hate typing on my phone. It makes bad corrections so often it’s pretty much impossible for me to post typo free posts of any length, and it goes back and changes the word before the one you’re typing so you check that the right word is there and nice on and when you look again later after you post, you find it switched the right word to the wrong one. But if you don’t swipe, you won’t notice.
Apple products are for people who want to be treated like children. The corporate parent locks down your device and controls how you use it. Android devices, depending on the manufacturer, are for people who want to be treated like adults - free to make their own decisions and mistakes. This is the main difference between the two.
I run windows on the desktop, Linux on my server, and iOS on my phone.
I used android for years and had all kinds of fun rooting and installing alternate OSes. Modern android devices (the mainstream ones anyway) are loaded up we undesirable apps and services and partner bullshit.
I would have agreed 10 yrs ago, but, it seems to me that the landscape has changed. Last year I decided to change with it. The iPhone is a compelling mobile experience, I doubt I will go back to android, but we will see what comes.
I think that this statement is only made by people who enjoy tinkering and adjusting their devices. To a certain extent, apple let’s you do that. You can change plenty of settings on an iPhone. Sure stuff is off limits, but I wouldn’t be complaining that Android Auto treats me like a child because I can’t modify it. The customization and adultification is only good if you’re going to use it or are okay with complexity.
And as I pointed out, they’ve developed a lot of unique features at this point that other phones are struggling with. It’s the competition between dumb simplicity and focus vs trying to appeal to everyone. And that’s fine, like I said it’s not a war.
