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
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.
Of course. People with more knowledge will always have a wider view than those with less knowledge. The average Android user probably thinks the main differences are the UI/hardware/price, just like how the average iOS user thinks the main difference is the applications. The actual main difference that I described is not something many people will understand because they don’t know enough about how these operating systems function and what you can and can’t do with them. People being unaware of reality does not change reality, however.
I don’t think you’re wrong but I was just pointing out that there are design decisions being made and it’s not always about reducing you to a child-like interaction. It’d be like if I said that Windows babies it’s users because I can’t loosen every bolt inside of the OS and kernel. Like yes it’s technically correct that Linux is more modifiable and for more power hungry users, but truly if you don’t use those parts it doesn’t matter.
Unfortunately the way I see it is that Android is so unfocused at times that it comes at the cost of basic ergonomics. Look at oneUI for instance. The top drawer has like 50 buttons. The volume slider on androids is a pain to use. So it’s less about Apple being a railroad with one track and more about if you only ever need the one track, it sure does move you in a straight line better than all the stops.
That’s just me though, I get why you see it that way and I get your points.
I made the switch last year from a Razer Phone 2 with a waning battery to a used iPhone 12. There’s a lot I enjoy about iOS. FaceID is wonderful and it pairs with Bitwarden and other login services very well. The camera is very nice, takes great pictures and has an excellent zoom. The live photo option is cool but takes up a lot of space if you take a lot of photos. I’m a very avid Swype user and used Swiftkey on Android. Never had much of an issue with it as it had very good predictive text. Swype and predictive text feels terrible on iOS, on the stock keyboard and with Swiftkey (which I think is getting removed from the AppStore soon). It’s constantly putting in words that don’t make any sense. So I constantly have to go back and edit what I’m typing. It also switches itself back to the stock keyboard multiple times a day. I don’t care for Safari so I use Firefox. Apple forces Firefox to use webkit and doesn’t allow extensions like on Android. I do run Adguard vpn and that seems to do decent at blocking ads. I ended up ordering a battery and paid for a replacement in my Razer Phone 2. It’s a huge heavy rectangle, but it’s almost stock android and gets 3 or 4 days on a charge. I’m really considering switching back but I don’t feel like moving my 2FA and other crap right now.
I hear ya. I use a lot of those services but I can tell you that I haven’t liked any keyboard on android. So I like this input because it’s very close to my actual use case. Even then though, I feel like I’ll manage. And even if I can’t, I’ll be holding onto my Note 10 for a bit before reselling it. If I feel like going back to it, I’ll just return or sell the iPhone and the cost of doing that is low enough that I’d rather try it and fail.
Just wanted to see what other people’s experiences have been and if I’m in the right mindset with androids being behind. Seems like it depends on what you want to have and maybe my use case has just changed. Cheers!