Hey everyone, genuine discussion here as fair as possible, not trying to start a war or anything 😂
So I have been an Android user for more than the last 10 years and have seen all advancements from Android since version 2. I always respected the build quality and hardware of iPhone but iOS was so restricted you could basically do nothing with it.
Lately, both operating systems have hugely evolved and have reached a certain feature parity so I felt it was time for me to give a chance to the Apple side.
So I did it and moved from my last OnePlus Nord 2 phone to the latest iPhone 15 Pro Max. I know these phones belong to different categories but my discussion will concentrate mostly on the OS stuff so it won’t matter.
What troubles me is that although iPhone is certainly a nice phone with good build quality, I keep trying to find reasons that would explain and make my switch worthy but on the contrary I constantly find things that annoy me and consider loss of functionality after the switch.
So I wanted to try and give a small summary of my pros and cons as fair as possible and have a discussion around what people think.
Let’s start with the cons:
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my work uses Google Workspace accounts. Apple calendar does not fully support Google calendar syncing. What I mean is that PUSH is not supported to get immediately new events from the server but a fetch is done (by the app) every once in a while to get the updates. What is worse is that by default this is set to happen only when the phone is plugged in and on WiFi, which means that you sync stuff once a day… There is the option to make it more frequent up to 15 minute periods. However, even this makes you miss last minute changes that are not synced to your calendar. So this is definitely a no go for me, leading me to use instead…the Google Calendar app which has no such limitations.
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next is the photo sharing with iCloud. You can only share them with people that have Apple devices which is really annoying because my girlfriend does not have one and we used to have a lot shared albums on Google Photos. So again, I ended up using Google Photos on iOS.
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the keyboard… My native language is Greek. Starting from the fact the for some reason Apple decided that they wanted to change the official qwerty outline of Greek keyboard by removing the final s (ς) from its place, which creates a different key placement that constantly leads to typing errors when you are used to the regular outline. Note that the ipad correctly has the outline, only IPhone doesn’t. But more importantly, word correction is a nightmare. If you enter an unknown word, it never learns it and constantly tries to correct it. You have to do the whole process of going into settings and adding a word abbreviation for each unknown word… This is really bad… So I installed swift keyboard which just allows you to tap onto an unknown word and it is added to the dictionary.
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iOS is missing some nice gimmicks such as showing your palm to the camera to get a selfie which is really more useful than the timer when trying to get a group photo
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not showing business caller IDs in dialer!!! This is really bad. Most business have their listings on Google and Google Maps. So on Android you directly get their ID when you or they call you. I would expect this from IPhone as well and was really disappointed to see it is not there.
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Does not support Miracast which is far more widely supported on TVs than AirPlay
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Siri is quite more restricted compared to Google Assistant
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Really miss my fast charging where I could charge the phone in 20 mins
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can’t easily share a WiFi password with non apple devices as done with the QR code sharing in Android
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No actual file system when you connect it to the computer to easily share files with the phone. This was also really useful to be able to quickly use your phone as USB storage
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No sideloading of apps!!! That was also a hit for me… You cannot have apps like ad blocking YouTube or whatever you want like you could in Android
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Notifications seem to require more effort to work with VS how they work in Android
Now about the pros:
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Instant and effortless camera usage
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it does play really well with other Apple devices with features like Continuity, hand off, sharing etc…
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iMessage (although not much for me because huge majority of my contacts are on Android). Again I believe Google RCS is getting close.
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Backup. I really like that when you actually backup the iPhone it also backs up app data meaning that upon restore you can completely resume your work. Only thing needed to set up again is FaceID and apple pay. Android cannot do that natively. However they have started to implement APIs for apps to backup their data on Google so apps that do this have also their data restored during the process. So it’s up to the devs to catch up.
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Video quality on apps. Apps that use the camera and can fully access it’s potential is really a big difference compared to Android where due to the fragmentation and no support of each different vendor you get a really bad quality when using the 3rd party apps. There are attempts to unify this under certain APIs in Android as well but it will certainly take a while.
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FaceTime call quality is stunning. Have never been able to have such good quality calls using any other app whatsoever.
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I would also say update support but this is not that much anymore with more established brands catching up with this. Apple offers 5 years of updates. Samsung offer 4 major updates and 5 years of patches and Google with the new Pixel 8 years!
So there certainly are some good points according to my experience. However, these are more nice to have things as opposed to functionality loss of the bad points which hurt my user experience.
What’s your take on all of the above? And most importantly for those who have switched from Android, what won you over?
I think in day-to-day use they’re pretty equivalent. I agree with most of what you say, except I don’t consider being able to choose between third-party apps and services (Google Calendar and Gmail, Amazon Photos or Google Photos) and Apple’s own that are more exclusive to Apple hardware to be a con; if anything, it’s a pro. But in everyday use, I don’t care much about the difference. Mostly, I bought an iPhone when I finally wanted a flagship to last many years (and Android phones at the time were still not great at long-term support), and I like the experience of using it and don’t see a reason to change.
samsung 4 years?
I bought my phone in 2021 and this is my last update
I find that the OS of your community matters a lot in phone choice. If everyone around you uses android and you don’t have any other Apple devices - then sticking to Android would make more sense. I had often switched back and forth every time I renewed my phone contract - depending on how the other side had updated. Apple has advanced and opened up a lot since the early days. Sometimes you can avoid some of the their restrictive features if you have more of their products. For example, you now have a proper file app and drag and drop files via dongle to an usb stick or hard drive. But if you have a Mac too, you would just add files to iCloud storage and it would appear on your computer, no need to sync. Same with phones and videos. If you somehow need to transfer a file to a foreign Mac or iPhone you can use AirDrop which uses wifi and Bluetooth to transfer big files very fast directly between devices.
They did do a big update to the keyboard with the most recent OS update, perhaps they fixed the Greek keyboard? Not sure.
Siri isn’t that great and is best left for basic commands.
The case and accessory market is often not addressed. iPhones always have a huge amount of cases and accessories available and for many years afterwards. Whereas I’ve been surprised how tricky it can be to find a variety of cases/accessories for android phones and this drops off dramatically after a few years. Once looked for a Huawei case a few years after and only found like five on Amazon?
I think the newest iPhones have fast charging? Not 100% sure.
They do have a big focus on security and privacy, as they make their money through expensive devices, rather than leveraging your personal data and selling access to you to advertising companies.
They also have the best customer service you will come across, you can directly contact them and get help with issues surprisingly quickly. Even if the product is out of warranty.
Apps are often better designed for iPhones, as app devs have a set amount of screens to design for. Often with android, apps are just stretched to fit the screen. It can be hit and miss.
All depends on what is important to you. If you want ultimate flexibility and are happy to risk security and privacy and have a lack of variety of cases/accessories - Android is great. If you want something nicely designed with a focus on security, privacy, stability, resale value, high number of available accessories for many years and are happy to live with some restrictions, a much worse AI Assistant and lack of compatibility with other devices, then iPhones are good for that.
You are 100% right about the community importance.
What you mention about accessories is also correct. Personally, I am quite a plain user for that (I only need a case and screen protector glass) so I haven’t felt it.
The iPhones have fast charging of 25W. My previous midrange charged at 65W… For my iPhone I need 45 minutes to get a full charge while with my old one I needed 20.
What I am not sure about is privacy. Android has also introduced a lot of permission wise controls for the apps. But can’t really insist whether in total they offer more privacy or not
long time iOS user here ipod shuffle to iphone X . I switched to Samsung Galaxy S10 (2019) because quite frankly im getting frustated with the lack of innovation, useful features from Apple even there keyboards are problematic! hahaha
i agree most of what you said. Android notifcations are better, you can even turn off entirely bluetooth and location from the control center! , youtubevanced!!! , installing 3rd party camera GCAM to my s10, more variety with the devices,
I even tried their ecosystem bought google nest mini, android auto, google pixel watch, jabra elite 75T for the TWS earbuds
Initially it was good especially during the pandemic where I can unlock my phone during covid lockdown, i can download torrents and play the series i love all within my phone.
but after awhile my phone becomes sluggish, unresponsive at first i thought it was my apps. but i watched a youtube video regarding exynos vs snapdragon processor of S10. TLDW: exynos are inferior to snap dragon. from then on my i noticed the little details you have to turn on the lift to wake option, bixby button!! you cant uninstall facebook=(. and samsung doest this weird roll out of their software update where newer phones gets to update first, but when you have older phone you have to wait
call me old geezer but when someone says android is for customization but almost all users want the most vanilla android the one with 2 apps one coming from google one coming from Samsung.
that when i decided to switch back to iOS because of the little details - your alarm slowly rises, A series chip is the best mobile chip around, emojis to me are bettern at iOS, not having system ads on iphone, and quite frankly some apps works so much better on iOS - instagram ( check MKBHD video about that, spotify new features comes to iOS first before android, even RCS only comes to the Philippines on late 2019!!! …it just works
For YouTube try PreTub from the store, it’s a good alternative for ad free YouTube.
Thank you I wasn’t aware of that!
I absolutely have adblocker apps on my iphone 13 PM that stop ads on my YouTube app. Adblock and adblock pro. Both from the app store
Video Lite is a thing buddy, you only get one add when you start the app then you have youtube premium for 39 hours.
Apple Watch and AirDrop
iMessage and FaceTime. That’s it. Literally. My group friend moved to Signal/WhatsApp. So we chat and video chat on those platforms. It’s just the people outside of the group that becomes an annoyance. Android is superior in every other way.
I have an iPhone 15 Pro for work, my personal phone is a Galaxy S23/23 Ultra.
MKBHD put out a great video recently outlining the strengths and weaknesses of each platform based on what you value from your phone. I largely agree with his assessment. The mainstream slab-style smart phone product category has reached maturity as hardware innovations have plateaued and Android and iOS are the closest they’ve ever been to feature parity. The folding phone form factor is still in its nascent stages and is an exciting frontier of innovation, but their high prices make them out of reach for most consumers. These are the factors that are important to me and the reasons why I stick with an iPhone.
1: Longevity. I’ve had my iPhone XS for going on 5 years and I’m still receiving the latest software updates, not just security patches. Samsung and Google have promised to start offering this kind of long term support for their latest phones, but they simply don’t have the proven track record yet. Meanwhile, my phone is showing signs of age, buts it’s still responsive, runs the most up to date versions of apps, and is completely usable day to day.
2: Ecosystem. The longevity of Apple products in general leads me to purchase more Apple products. I have Macs that are more than 10 years old that are still functional for daily use. I have an iPad, an Apple TV, my family uses Macs and iPhones too. While an Android device might bring some novelty, it wouldn’t make sense to try to integrate with the rest of my digital ecosystem.
3: Trust. I fully admit that I may simply be a sucker for Apple’s PR and marketing around privacy and security, but as far as evil mega-corporations are concerned, I trust Apple far more than I trust Google.
Yeah I agree. I have always had Google pixel phones for many many many years. I’ve had my 13 Pro Max for more than a year and a half and I have an iPad 9 and AirPod Pro2. I’ve had Google pixel three XL, Google pixel five, the phones were decent quality. The software I was always on the beta program which even in production level had quite a bit of bugs on it unfortunately. On Apple’s beta program the bugs I experience are very small very mute.
I will say that as far as applications go, iOS applications are much more polished. They were smoother, the gestures in my opinion are smoother, is faster with iMessage. Sure Apple to Google you still need the old SMS technology until Apple adopts RCS next year, but that’s obvious.
I use Google Photos primarily still on my iPhone and my iPad and it works for all asleep. As far as workspace goes, you’re right, if you Google workspace then you would have to use Google calendar. for my job we use Office 365, so the Apple system calendar sinks beautifully with my work calendar and my Google calendar and I have no complaints about that. They’re always third-party Calendar alternatives in the App Store so you can always check out an alternative none iOS system app if you need to. As far as the longevity of iPhone versus android, I find a very interesting that Google just started advertising seven years of major OS updates not just security updates. apples had this for almost ever. The build quality of my iPhone is in my opinion far better than my pixels were.
Do I miss anything from my older Google pixels? Well, at first I thought I would, but my wife even asked me if I honestly do; I don’t actually miss anything from my Google pixels. Just getting used to the Apple ecosystem which is much more flexible and today’s date and age and it ever has been in the past thankfully.
I will say that android auto versus CarPlay, of course Google copied Apple for the UI of the infotainment system. But when I had android auto, it was horrible. Google Assistant barely worked, and the system was just not good. Apple CarPlay works so much better.
Granted, I am not a heavy user. I’m not a gamer, I have a Sudoku game on my phone and my iPad which works fine. I use my iPad as a streaming TV for Sling TV and YouTube etc. etc. which works beautifully in my house. The battery life is phenomenal. The cameras are phenomenal. Etc. etc. as far as Software ecosystem support is very polished. I’m not taking anything away from Google in the pixels nowadays, but there were certain UI elements of android that I didn’t like. For example, on the home screen when you unlock the phone you still have a bar on the bottom I don’t know why you need that. Most people don’t really care but I always did care. The iPad/iPhone don’t have that. And you don’t really need that. Apple also does dark mode way better than Google does. Google does a dark mode, where is Apple does a pure OLED black mode.
Instant and effortless camera usage
You have this as a pro but it’s my main con. iPhone photos are now overprocessed for my taste.
However I am unwilling at this moment to give up the effortless integration with my Apple Watch, Mac, iPad, etc.
If I didn’t have those things, I’d heavily consider and Android
I used to use Android OS phones. I’m comfortable with my iPhone.
As far as Apple’s Calendar vs. Google Calendar, Apple’s Calendar is not a factor. I just use my Google Calendar app as my default calendar. On the odd occasion that I need a reminder that is not available in the App, I go to the Google Calendar website which I have bookmarked in the DuckDuckGo app on my iPad. After I set the reminder in website, it quickly syncs into the app. This only comes up when I want a reminder to occur simultaneously with an earlier event’s reminder whose time is not conducive to what is available in the app. I will almost always set multiple reminders to help me remember.
Huh, fast charge? Even the fast charge on my 12PM is insane. 20 minutes should give you plenty juice. Are you using a powerful enough adapter?
Some recent Android phones have much faster charging, like well over 100 W (as opposed to, what, 17 W on iPhones?), full charge 0-100% in 15 minutes or less. Does anyone really need that? Probably not, but it’s there.
I have only had Android devices and I don’t see what the fuss is about with the fast charging. I can only think of a single moment within the last 5 years that would have been helpful, and even then, I was fine with my charger at the time (17 watt - I was had a brief layover between flights and didn’t get my phone plugged in until about 15 minutes before I needed to board). My Pixel 6 Pro has a max charging speed of 23w. It’s more than fast enough for almost any scenario. I don’t see why anyone would need to charge to full within 15 minutes. I mean…that’s neat and all, but. when would I actually ever need that?
Sounds like a way to quickly deteriorate a battery.
Nothing anymore, to be honest, just the investment into the ecosystem.
I prefer the overall design of Android with an app drawer, back button/gestures, the ability to side load if needed, and hardware variety.
I left Android because the best experience (Pixel) wouldn’t let me dial 911, I’m not the first, and it’s an ongoing thing for 2 years. I like Samsunghardware but there’s always a miss software wise, and I don’t need 2 versions of all apps.
Apple integration with AirPods, iCloud, etc just works way better than Android. Switching APP to my Apple TV is fantastic. Auto switching between other devices is killer too.
Find my network is unmatched.
The watch kills Android watches. I think $800 for an Ultra that gets good battery life is ridiculous but it is fully featured.
Cameras. My pixel could take good shots most times, but not always. But they’re leaning too hard to AI and languishing in other areas. Speed of the UI, Consistency of shots colors and lighting, and frankly, quality just sometimes misses. It can’t do Macro nearly as good as my iPhone.
It used to be simplicity up to around iOS 5 or 6.
But these days it’s as complex as Android but I still stick to Apple because now I’m used to it.