The Story of an iPhone User Switching to Android, again

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Background​

I've been an iPhone user ever since they came out, I got one launch day at 18:02 if I recall correctly and have had nearly every model released since then, inter alia: iPhone, 3G, 4, 5, 5S, 6, 6S, SE, 7, 7+, X, XR, 11, 11Pro Max & 12Pro Max.

But occasionally I get curious about what else is out there and want to try something else, but always seem to come back to iOS. Over the years I've deviated for the following devices.
  • HP Palm Pre 2 - That was actually my most favourite device of them all, but HP killed it.
  • Nokia Lumia 930 - I actually really liked Windows Phone but not enough to suffer the lack of quality apps.
  • Google Nexus 7 - I actually still have this one, but used for reconnaissance with a special Kali linux build. So not really used as an Android normal tablet and doesn't integrate or hold any personal information.
  • Blackberry Z10 - I actually liked that phone, it was a great feature to keep personal and business separate. But we all know what happened to Blackberry (or not actually) either way they are irrelevant.
  • Wileyfox Swift - Nice looking phone with Cyanogen OS, but really terrible build quality and a battery life good for a few hours. No wonder they went bust.
  • LG something HD - Android phone, was ok but nothing special and integration with MacOS was really poor in those days and nothing on a PC matched its features.
  • Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge - Phone was ok, I found the photos unrealistic and overly saturated and the edge was nice but barely utilised so pointless. I travelled a bit with it as well, but I was still missing my MacOS integration features, and I found it hard to find an email client with a proper unified inbox.
  • Nokia 7.1 - Running Android One. I actually still have this one, mainly used for where I don't want to share my personal number, and is not linked to any known social media account of mine. So this is the closest anyone gets to knowing that I have this model :)
But always returned to iOS. As you can see from the above list I've resisted for a while now...

So why switch back to iOS again, and again​

It is hard to explain but there are a number of factors, including but not limited to:
  • Integration with my other devices- The integration, and associated benefits is probably one of the biggest things for me, and lol I'm already regretting it now just writing about it. It is simple things like...
    • Receiving a text message with a code in it for 2FA and safari picks it up and fills it in. Not just on the phone, but can do it as well on laptop/desktop and tablets or watch.
    • Adding one account on one device, and having it available on all other devices. No need to repeatedly setup (or remove) accounts manually from each device.
    • Take a photo on the iPhone and I have it available near instantly on my MacBook Pro through the file system (finder) to upload or do whatever without any further work or tools.
    • Cut, Copy, Paste across all devices. It is at times very useful to copy for example my card number from the phone app (which doesn't have a web interface) and paste the number on the MacBook Pro, opposed to typing it in.
    • Watch integration. I love the Apple Watch, but Android was too fragmented in OS approached, and combined with the lack of a wallet (at the time) on all models, it just wasn't a viable alternative.
  • Quality of applications - This used to be a big one, the quality of the Android applications wasn't quite there, I noticed functionality missing. And the lack of security features like FaceID or TouchID to a high enough standard for payment, and payment in general through the wallet system like where I have on iOS unlimited amounts and very wide acceptance even in countries where Apple Pay wasn't released.
  • Core Functions- Some of the core functions like
    • Backup and restore which doesn't even require a thought on iOS and to be honest I still don't know what to do about that on Android.
    • Then there is the camera which I never found that natural looking. Sure the Nokia 7.1 is a budget device so I won't count that, but the S7 Edge was not, and to me it was too saturated and unnatural.
    • Anti Virus etc. It wouldn't even be a consideration on iOS, but I do have to take this seriously on Android.

So why switch back to Android again :)

I just got that itch. I've been running iOS 15 for a while, there is nothing wrong with my iPhone 12 Pro Max, but the new model doesn't bring anything new either. And I've liked smaller clamshell phones since before smart phones, and to a degree the Palm Pre 2 fits in that category as well. Besides I haven't bought a toy for a while, are working still predominantly from home, so pretty risk free to give it another go. Besides for work I'm mainly on a Windows 11 desktop instead of my MacBook Pro.

Apprehension​

I am a little apprehensive to be honest, and have mainly concerns in the following areas...
  • Family & Friends iMessage - As good as everyone I know uses Apple iMessage, very few use WhatsApp or SMS. I'll be the odd one out...
  • Camera Quality - Hopefully I can tone down the saturation and make it more natural looking by default this time. Previously the photos looked great on the phone screen, but pretty poor on a desktop.
  • Transfer of Data - I've got a lot of data in iMessage, and some in other chat tools. Can I transfer that smoothly or will it be a challenge.
  • Banking, Finance, Trading Apps - I do a lot of on the move trades, movements, payment, transfers etc. I hope all the apps now have the same kind of quality and all my banks and trading sites are supported.
  • Contactless Payments - Is Google Pay or is it Samsung Pay or something else? There is the first dilemma, which to use? And is it as smooth between phone, watch and laptop in every situation.
  • Desktop Integration - How easy is it to access my text messages from the desktop? Will it be possible at all? Will it pickup code and automatically fill it in? If it doesn't do any of that, is it actually still a problem or does most of my use utilise TOTP nowadays?
  • Home Automation Integration - I've got a fair few devices, mainly Philips Hue, Heatmiser, Netatmo and Ring. I am likely most relaxed about this as I don't actually use Apple Home that much as everything is programmed pretty independently and autonomously. Some apprehension around the AppleTV and the keyboard popups that come up to use the remote on my phone.
  • Backup & Restore - I actually have no idea on how to do that, I would really like the simplicity of iCloud so I don't have to think about it, and if I swap a device I can easily restore it.
  • Device Physical Security - I've been mugged twice for my phone, I was not concerned as through iCloud I can just remotely make the phone unusable and even wipe it. The devices were encrypted. I have no idea on how to do that on Android. Hopefully I can.
  • Anti Virus Phishing Spam Call Protection - Unfortunately my mobile phone number of 26 yes is out there, so I get a decent bit of spam. I need to protect myself against that as it is just annoying. In addition I do use my devices for work, they have access to sensitive data, and it is my responsibility to protect that data. I would want the phone with data to be encrypted at rest, and have another layer of protection from anti virus incase there are rogue apps in the app store. Plus enable phone blockers for those nuisance phone calls and text messages.
  • Email Client - I operate about 9 personal different email domains, and like to have a true unified inbox for my email so I don't have to go into each individual account. I've found it previously hard to find a good client that provides a truly unified view, and keeps the data on the local device. Hopefully it is better now. In addition we utilise Microsoft 365 at work and those apps like Outlook are under MDM so I wouldn't want my personal address mixed up with those clients.

What did I get?​

Well as hinted previously I like flip phones. So I gave in and are trying my iPhone to Android journey this time with the following:
  1. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 8/256 in Phantom Black
  2. Samsung Watch 4 Classic in silver with black leather
  3. Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro in Phantom Black
  4. Samsung Wireless Charger Duo Pad
DB3B794B-573C-4C44-990A-B2E266728A11.jpeg


I'll try and integrate those with everything, and use in combination with MacOS and Windows 11, and share my findings, frustrations, and hopefully happy moments. Fingers crossed I don't see you all in the classifieds :)
 
I used to go between one and the other all the time but I came to a realisation after another one of my endless switches - after a few days, they’re just my phone. I did pretty much 100% of the same stuff I did on the previous phone and it’s a tool. When I realised that, I also understood that iOS, for me, was the most consistent OS as a ‘keeper’.

So, now, I stick with iOS and have for a few years. I still get hankerings for the latest Android with a Hubble like zoom but I know any feeling of ‘ooh, shiny different’ will pass very, very quickly.

I’m ensconced within the Apple ecosystem, family sharing etc and, specifically, have no desire to replace my Apple Watch. Any move to Android now would hobble me in many different ways.
 
There's no right or wrong answer here. If you want to get the best out of Apple tech then the way there business model is built you kind have have to go all in. The problem is being a tech and gadget enthusiast - you're posting here after all - makes you keen to try other devices. But the way Apple wall their garden will always make the "other" less useful.
 
Apprehension
I am a little apprehensive to be honest, and have mainly concerns in the following areas...
  • Family & Friends iMessage - As good as everyone I know uses Apple iMessage, very few use WhatsApp or SMS. I'll be the odd one out...
Yes I'm still the odd one out, but actually not that big of a deal. I am now green instead of blue. We all have unlimited SMS anyway. The one thing that is a bit of a miss is the loss of Apple Airdrop which helps to very quickly and in full quality exchange photos (our main use case) of the original files. Got to think of a way around this.

Win: iOS/Android - a tie as not a real problem.
  • Camera Quality - Hopefully I can tone down the saturation and make it more natural looking by default this time. Previously the photos looked great on the phone screen, but pretty poor on a desktop.
I guess this is specific to my Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 (what a mouthful...) and the reviews weren't great. But actually in real life use it is absolutely fine. I have no issues with it, and it doesn't seem to have that old Samsung signature over saturated look. I'm pretty happy with it.

It was a bit of a fiddle at first as Samsung wants to push everything to Samsungs systems, but with some tweaking it is going to Google Photos now. Whilst I had to upgrade my Google account as I ran out of storage doing the transfer from my iPhone it came with the benefits of Google One and to be fair there are some really good editing options now.

Win: Android
  • Transfer of Data - I've got a lot of data in iMessage, and some in other chat tools. Can I transfer that smoothly or will it be a challenge.
Well that was as easy as getting a new iPhone. The Samsung/Google switch app was installed, and it transferred perfectly all my data. It was a little bit slow, considering I was using direct cable connection but it transferred about 200GB worth of data no problem.

Win: iOS/Android - a tie as it is just as easy on either to change the phone.
  • Banking, Finance, Trading Apps - I do a lot of on the move trades, movements, payment, transfers etc. I hope all the apps now have the same kind of quality and all my banks and trading sites are supported.
Absolutely all my apps are supported and were just as easy to install and use. This shouldn't be an issue anymore either way. Naturally it makes life a lot easier when you use a password manager that is supported on both platforms so you have access to autofill of all your multi factor authentication.

Win: iOS/Android - a tie as there is no difference.
  • Contactless Payments - Is Google Pay or is it Samsung Pay or something else? There is the first dilemma, which to use? And is it as smooth between phone, watch and laptop in every situation.
This is still be confirmed. Setting up my cards and wallet was easy enough, although the initial part was confusing as there is too much choice. Do I use Samsung Pay or do I use Google Pay. I choose Google Pay.

Adding my cards was ok, but on none of them the camera could actually read the details. So I ended up entering the details myself. They got quickly and easily activated.

But then I wanted to pay for petrol, and I couldn't figure out on how to actually use it. Not on my phone nor on my watch. I still haven't figured out on how to use it.

Win: iOS - it is just easy from scanning your cards and simply holding the device by the terminal to pay.
  • Desktop Integration - How easy is it to access my text messages from the desktop? Will it be possible at all? Will it pickup code and automatically fill it in? If it doesn't do any of that, is it actually still a problem or does most of my use utilise TOTP nowadays?
Ok, this is the biggest surprise. I haven't got this working on my MacBook Pro, but on my Dell XPS15 with Microsoft Your Phone and Android Link to Windows it is a very very good experience. Very similar to how an iPhone integrates with MacOS. Very happy with that, and SMS messages including a verification code even come with a copy code button.

Win: iOS/Android - a tie where I wasn't expecting one. Android with Windows 11 is awesome, iOS with MacOS is awesome.
  • Home Automation Integration - I've got a fair few devices, mainly Philips Hue, Heatmiser, Netatmo and Ring. I am likely most relaxed about this as I don't actually use Apple Home that much as everything is programmed pretty independently and autonomously. Some apprehension around the AppleTV and the keyboard popups that come up to use the remote on my phone.
This probably need to be split in two. Home Automation integration is no problem. All my devices are supported by equally good apps. No problem at all.

But I haven't tried casting to AirPlay (with utilities installed) no using it as a remote for the Apple TV. So the jury is still out.

  • Backup & Restore - I actually have no idea on how to do that, I would really like the simplicity of iCloud so I don't have to think about it, and if I swap a device I can easily restore it.
Too much choice in the end. In the olden days you had to root android and put special apps on. Now both Samsung and Google want to do this for me, and it isn't always that clear which one is doing what. I think I managed to switch off Samsung and are only using Google now, but I'm not sure, and haven't tried a restore yet.

So for the moment the ease of use and lack of confusion with iOS gives this a win to iOS.
Win: iOS
  • Device Physical Security - I've been mugged twice for my phone, I was not concerned as through iCloud I can just remotely make the phone unusable and even wipe it. The devices were encrypted. I have no idea on how to do that on Android. Hopefully I can.
I've set the pattern, pin and face unlock. There is a lot of branding about Samsung Knox but it is unclear to me what it actually does. I've enabled Secure Folder, but even that is unclear and I'm not sure whether my device is secure or not if it falls in the wrong hands.

Win: iOS - basically because as a user I don't have to do anything, it is just securely configured, and it is unclear to what extend this android phone is.
  • Anti Virus Phishing Spam Call Protection - Unfortunately my mobile phone number of 26 yes is out there, so I get a decent bit of spam. I need to protect myself against that as it is just annoying. In addition I do use my devices for work, they have access to sensitive data, and it is my responsibility to protect that data. I would want the phone with data to be encrypted at rest, and have another layer of protection from anti virus incase there are rogue apps in the app store. Plus enable phone blockers for those nuisance phone calls and text messages.
Again too much choice and not that clear. I haven't used Anti Virus yet but in Spam Call Protection it gets confusing as to whether use Samsung, or the Google dialler. I ended up deactivating Samsung and use Google now as a dialler. Even more confusing is that you can use the Google Dialler with Samsung Dialler as spam protection. Or use yet another application.

Win: iOS - There is just too much choice and hard work to figure out and configure it correctly. It is not a primary function, I don't want to have to make all these choices. Just want one that works well.
  • Email Client - I operate about 9 personal different email domains, and like to have a true unified inbox for my email so I don't have to go into each individual account. I've found it previously hard to find a good client that provides a truly unified view, and keeps the data on the local device. Hopefully it is better now. In addition we utilise Microsoft 365 at work and those apps like Outlook are under MDM so I wouldn't want my personal address mixed up with those clients.
Things have gotten better but aren't all that great yet. Unified inboxes are common ground now, but the rest isn't that clear cut. I actually liked FairEmail and love the privacy aspects, as do I like the integration of Android actions.....But but but I can't have it as my default mail app. Only Google GMail can be the default app, so using any application that links to a mailbox renders it pointless. For such a flexible system this is just strange. And then there is the lack of auto resizing of html mail and pages. It is really irritation to have to pinch to see it all, or scroll.

The default mail client was a big one so I now have to use the GMail client. But that then caused issues with the certificate I had on my own mail servers and I ended up building a whole new mail hosting solution yesterday evening. So now I've got my iMap accounts in GMail, it is fine but doesn't seem to recognise meeting details to turn into calendar actions etc.

Same with the calendar. I like the Google Calendar but that doesn't support non google accounts, so I can't get a unified calendar. I've had to hunt down a third party product after I kissed several frogs to finally find one in 1Calendar that does a unified calendar.

Win: iOS - The mail and calendar clients are good and just works.

What did I get?​

Well as hinted previously I like flip phones. So I gave in and are trying my iPhone to Android journey this time with the following:
  1. Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 8/256 in Phantom Black
  2. Samsung Watch 4 Classic in silver with black leather
  3. Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro in Phantom Black
  4. Samsung Wireless Charger Duo Pad
View attachment 1588747

I'll try and integrate those with everything, and use in combination with MacOS and Windows 11, and share my findings, frustrations, and hopefully happy moments. Fingers crossed I don't see you all in the classifieds :)
Now whilst there are slightly more wins for iOS, nearly all have a solution. It just requires a bit of time. I have no desire to return this, and 48 hours in quite happy using it all.

The device makes up for a lot of it. It is a really good phone, great formfactor, very good to use. And the Buds Pro are amazing, and the watch is very stylish and comfortable.

Next week I'm out travelling a bit, so lets see how well I think about it then.
 
Well I've had enough. There is a lot to like but there are something's I can't accept.

1, Android auto is seriously bad. Where is the dashboad? Why can't you enter a destination in Waze? My gosh it's light years behind. I use mine a lot in the car and this is important. Heck BMW doesn't even support Android auto.
2. Battery drain. I'm in airplane mode with WiFi on and Bluetooth on and on standby this drains like crazy. Yet the battery status page doesn't show anything particular. I even switched off the 120Hz screen and it is still shit.
3. I still have no clue who and where my data goes. Why do I have multiple contact apps, why does Samsung want all my data and Google as well.
4. Google Fit and Samsung Health are both required and then a paid for app is required to make them talk to each other. So now a third provider has to have my details. That is just crazy.

Shame as I liked the form factor and there is potential. But as it is, I'm returning within the return period.
 
Thanks a lot for this thread. I find it very interesting. Due to the nature of the audio job I switch between iOS and Android on everyday basis, but I never got down to such an in-depth analysis. You could say that I switched between the two intuitively. I'll be paying closer attention to the categories you mentioned over the next few days. I am curious to hear if you compared any sound/audio-related features.
 
I did compare audio and that was a big surprise. IOS on my iPhone 12 Pro Max is good. But to my ears playing Spotify wirelessly and connected to headphones, my denon AVR and in the car sounded way better on the Samsung Flip 3. Remarkably so. It sounded like it had more range, more depth and detail. I could hear crackle of record samples in EDM mixes that I hadn’t heard before. The bass was more impactful as well and vocal had a real clarity.

iPhone is good, but Android was definitely better.
 
It is always interesting as there is no straight and obvious winner in this category. I realised that when it comes to phones people find it hard to conduct objective testing and are usually quite biased towards one of the systems.
 
Android Auto is seriously underwhelming compared to Apple CarPlay.

It's not as if it has only just came out either, huge black bar at the bottom taking up too much screen. Audio apps not working unless you start them on your phone first.

There are more problems than those I am sure, but those are the ones that really annoy me !!!!
 
IOS on my iPhone 12 Pro Max is good. But to my ears playing Spotify wirelessly and connected to headphones, my denon AVR and in the car sounded way better on the Samsung Flip 3

This could be that iOS devices and Apple branded headphones are capped to AAC Bluetooth codec? Where Android supports up to aptX HD or LDAC Bluetooth and next year will see aptX lossless
 
having gone the other way last year back to iOS the first thing noticed with my Sony Bluetooth Headphones was the audio quality drop within apps such as Tidal like @Steven I put it down to the difference in codecs used, I ended up just making do and picked up some AirPod pros so I could at least take advantage of the easy device swapping.


@Bl4ckGryph0n when I first switched the main thing I missed was my Apple Watch airdrop and iMessage, but as more people migrated over to WhatsApp iMessage became a none issue, For airdrop I just switched to dropping the file onto my NAS and then retrieved, not ideal but it did the job

Completely agree with regards to android auto, it is garbage

Battery drain also became an issue with my mate 20 pro

For 3 and 4 that happens with a few things, I guess its a consequence of google supplying all these things within android and then the vendor adding there own version on top, I used my mate 20pro with a galaxy watch, I never had google fit installed, just the Samsung one so I am not sure what has changed there. Whilst its not possible to uninstall a lot of these things you should be able to disable them which will reduce the visible clutter.

A pixel phone may have been a better fit, due to running pure android most of these issues are not present.

I would have been happy staying with android, in terms of typical daily use there is not much difference between them, after all they are just a grid of icons and even now I still miss certain android things such as the underscreen fingerprint, which was invaluable early on in the pandemic for unlocking when masked up. I switched back due to the Apple Watch, for me the tizen Samsung watches and google wear os ones do not come close. since being back I have started to appreciate again some of the integration I probably took for granted before.
 
Still can't find a reason to update from my S10+.

Will see what the S22 is like. Won't be going back to iPhone and may even look at Sony X1 III as it has hp jack seeing as iPhone & Samsung have dropped them.

I have my BTR5 but still miss my LG V30 days for audio with decent built in wired audio.

Gone off using dedicated DAP's for music.
 
This could be that iOS devices and Apple branded headphones are capped to AAC Bluetooth codec? Where Android supports up to aptX HD or LDAC Bluetooth and next year will see aptX lossless
LDAC should be available on every Android starting from 8.0 OREO and above.
 
Just to add my few pence in. Im sorta in a same boat as well as I like to flip between iOS and Android. Currently have an iPhone 13 Pro and a Pixel 6. Currently using the Pixel 6 at the moment as I just got it and simply having the AOD screen makes miles ahead (for me at least) for my use case as I can just glance at the phone and decide to react or not.

Also the tweaks and other bits that you can do with the Android / Pixel is better as well such as changing the battery level % when it goes into power saving mode. I could go on and on.

However the iOS integration is obviously better if you have more than one iOS device like I have multiple and the seamless handoff with the devices and also AirPods is pretty cool. Everything just works with iOS

Ill prolly go back to my iPhone at some point. Having an eSIM makes it pretty seamless as well. Generally I like to mix it up and not stick to one. I used to go through phones back in the days like pretty much every few months. My history of mobile phones stretches back to the 90s starting with the Motorola a130 and Sony Z1 Plus going through a lot of Nokias and Sony Ericssons etc etc. Still got my Nokia 8800 too.
 
Just to add my few pence in. Im sorta in a same boat as well as I like to flip between iOS and Android. Currently have an iPhone 13 Pro and a Pixel 6. Currently using the Pixel 6 at the moment as I just got it and simply having the AOD screen makes miles ahead (for me at least) for my use case as I can just glance at the phone and decide to react or not.

Also the tweaks and other bits that you can do with the Android / Pixel is better as well such as changing the battery level % when it goes into power saving mode. I could go on and on.

However the iOS integration is obviously better if you have more than one iOS device like I have multiple and the seamless handoff with the devices and also AirPods is pretty cool. Everything just works with iOS

Ill prolly go back to my iPhone at some point. Having an eSIM makes it pretty seamless as well. Generally I like to mix it up and not stick to one. I used to go through phones back in the days like pretty much every few months. My history of mobile phones stretches back to the 90s starting with the Motorola a130 and Sony Z1 Plus going through a lot of Nokias and Sony Ericssons etc etc. Still got my Nokia 8800 too.
I have the same two phones although but not as invested in the Apple ecosystem apart from an Apple Watch.
I like both platforms but for the moment am enjoying the form factor and “newness” of the Pixel. o_O
 
I have the same two phones although but not as invested in the Apple ecosystem apart from an Apple Watch.
I like both platforms but for the moment am enjoying the form factor and “newness” of the Pixel. o_O
Form factor I would still say the 6.1 iPhone still wins it .... however when using navigation i.e Waze , having that extra size screen on the Pixel certainly helps a bit
 
I like everything about what Google is doing at the moment. We use their Nest Hubs and Google Home app for Smart Home stuff.

Yet I’ve bought into the Apple Ecosystem and I’m that classic case of now feeling trapped because both sets of families all have iPhones, iPads etc, yet I’d love the Pixel 6 Pro.

It should be I new phone that looks cool so I buy new phone but it just isn’t as easy as that anymore…
 
Well I've had enough. There is a lot to like but there are something's I can't accept.

1, Android auto is seriously bad. Where is the dashboad? Why can't you enter a destination in Waze? My gosh it's light years behind. I use mine a lot in the car and this is important. Heck BMW doesn't even support Android auto.
2. Battery drain. I'm in airplane mode with WiFi on and Bluetooth on and on standby this drains like crazy. Yet the battery status page doesn't show anything particular. I even switched off the 120Hz screen and it is still sh*t.
3. I still have no clue who and where my data goes. Why do I have multiple contact apps, why does Samsung want all my data and Google as well.
4. Google Fit and Samsung Health are both required and then a paid for app is required to make them talk to each other. So now a third provider has to have my details. That is just crazy.

Shame as I liked the form factor and there is potential. But as it is, I'm returning within the return period.
When I went from Iphone to Samsung I found the exact same issues with battery and data, the battery drained much quicker, even when I wasn’t using the phone, where as iPhone can go overnight for 7/8 hours and only use up 1% battery, where as the Samsung would drop 8/10% whilst idle. And then the data would drop significantly too, again even when I wasn’t even using the phone. iPhone doesn’t seem to use any data at all if you’re not using it.

Of course there’s other reasons for my choice too.

I’m sticking with iPhone
 
Just to add my few pence in. Im sorta in a same boat as well as I like to flip between iOS and Android. Currently have an iPhone 13 Pro and a Pixel 6. Currently using the Pixel 6 at the moment as I just got it and simply having the AOD screen makes miles ahead (for me at least) for my use case as I can just glance at the phone and decide to react or not.

Also the tweaks and other bits that you can do with the Android / Pixel is better as well such as changing the battery level % when it goes into power saving mode. I could go on and on.

However the iOS integration is obviously better if you have more than one iOS device like I have multiple and the seamless handoff with the devices and also AirPods is pretty cool. Everything just works with iOS

Ill prolly go back to my iPhone at some point. Having an eSIM makes it pretty seamless as well. Generally I like to mix it up and not stick to one. I used to go through phones back in the days like pretty much every few months. My history of mobile phones stretches back to the 90s starting with the Motorola a130 and Sony Z1 Plus going through a lot of Nokias and Sony Ericssons etc etc. Still got my Nokia 8800 too.
I remember back in the day, I used to be a huge Nokia enthusiast. The Nokia Communicator 9000 and later the golden Nokia 6310. It felt like such an innovative, breakthrough technology.
 
I've always found Apple devices - iPhone and Mac OS - unfriendly from a user perspective. I've used both due to work giving iPhones and personally using Android devices.

They are always finicky, demanding you go into submenus to do things, like search for Bluetooth devices (on Android it's a long hold on the Bluetooth icon). Notifications have vastly improved. I remember how god awful they were on iOS up until recently. Android is so much better for this. It's also easy just to hook up your phone to a laptop to say transfer video and photos. Apple is less elegant. Google's keyboard seems to have gone backwards for me, with Apple being better. Don't know what happened there, 3+ years ago the Google keyboard was untouchable. Does Apple even have swipe?

I love the battery on the iPhone. It's stupendous. Androids drain battery too fast and I don't know why. Multitasking is non existent on iPhones. Some tasks you literally have to just sit and wait, on Android you carry on with life with things running in the background.

Anyway, great looking devices. I do like our MacBook Air - sleek thing and only bought it this year. I actually like the OS once you get used to it, but it does look a bit 90's. Windows seems to be leaving Mac OS behind.

I literally get a free iPhone (which can be used for personal use) at work and it gives me anxiety using it. Everything is just a bit more difficult to navigate. I may be odd and probably biased given I've had an Android since inception practically, I just find iOS a bit clunky and it forces me to behave in certain ways. Funnily enough my wife switched to Android 4 years ago from iPhones and has never looked back. She just didn't enjoy the iOS experience. My kids on the other hand must have Apple for the street kudos...
 
Because all my contacts, calendars, emails and photos have always been on Google, I always felt free to jump from iOS to Android and back again. Despite being Google, the choice was platform agnostic and made for very straightforward swaps.

This thread has made me reflect, a little wistfully I must admit, that such swaps now (even if I really wanted to experience Android again) would be far more difficult. By stealth, the Apple ecosystem has truly got me and switching phones would only be the first of my issues. I properly realised this yesterday as I was setting up a another rowing session on Fitness+ playing through AirPods and my watch metrics on the screen of the iPad! That seamless interaction would be very hard to replace, for me. I love the look of the new Pixel but I just can’t be bothered replacing so many established patterns, which work really well.

So, changing a phone now would be more like changing a phone plus finding alternatives for everything, much as @Bl4ckGryph0n attempted to do.

Shame, as I always tried not to get too caught up in any one ecosystem but I guess it’s just crept up on me.
 
Because all my contacts, calendars, emails and photos have always been on Google, I always felt free to jump from iOS to Android and back again. Despite being Google, the choice was platform agnostic and made for very straightforward swaps.

This thread has made me reflect, a little wistfully I must admit, that such swaps now (even if I really wanted to experience Android again) would be far more difficult. By stealth, the Apple ecosystem has truly got me and switching phones would only be the first of my issues. I properly realised this yesterday as I was setting up a another rowing session on Fitness+ playing through AirPods and my watch metrics on the screen of the iPad! That seamless interaction would be very hard to replace, for me. I love the look of the new Pixel but I just can’t be bothered replacing so many established patterns, which work really well.

So, changing a phone now would be more like changing a phone plus finding alternatives for everything, much as @Bl4ckGryph0n attempted to do.

Shame, as I always tried not to get too caught up in any one ecosystem but I guess it’s just crept up on me.
If it works for you then do not change a winning team.
 
Great post @Bl4ckGryph0n .
Thank you for the interesting post and good to hear what others have done or are going through … very similar to what I went through.
No apple/android bashing going on which is great. Currently I’m on Apple (2 years now) and I’m still happy. It took a while to get used to..and lots of work moving everything across.
Android has some great things you can only do on their phones but I’m noticing Apple are slowly adopting some of the best ideas and I mean slowly ;):laugh:
The only problem I remember from using Android over the years was that each company like Samsung / Sony etc.. add their own ui over the top.. some were/are great... some not so great... and that can impact your experience of the Android operating system.
 
I've always found Apple devices - iPhone and Mac OS - unfriendly from a user perspective. I've used both due to work giving iPhones and personally using Android devices.

They are always finicky, demanding you go into submenus to do things, like search for Bluetooth devices (on Android it's a long hold on the Bluetooth icon).
To be fair how often do you need to go into that menu. Once paired it’s paired. But yes you have to go into settings and then select Bluetooth.
Notifications have vastly improved. I remember how god awful they were on iOS up until recently. Android is so much better for this.
True, since the last two versions iOS has caught up now and I think is further advanced due to integration of the notifications and recognising what is in them like multi factor tokens etc.
It's also easy just to hook up your phone to a laptop to say transfer video and photos. Apple is less elegant.
It integrated right in the file system menu now. For photos it is even better with the inbuilt photo browser.
Google's keyboard seems to have gone backwards for me, with Apple being better. Don't know what happened there, 3+ years ago the Google keyboard was untouchable. Does Apple even have swipe?
Yes it has swipe. Both keyboards are very good.
I love the battery on the iPhone. It's stupendous. Androids drain battery too fast and I don't know why. Multitasking is non existent on iPhones.
That is not correct. There is multitasking and you can have background tasks running. It depends on the application using the correct apis.
Some tasks you literally have to just sit and wait, on Android you carry on with life with things running in the background.
That is the same.
Anyway, great looking devices. I do like our MacBook Air - sleek thing and only bought it this year. I actually like the OS once you get used to it, but it does look a bit 90's. Windows seems to be leaving Mac OS behind.
Windows 10 and 11 is very good indeed.
I literally get a free iPhone (which can be used for personal use) at work and it gives me anxiety using it. Everything is just a bit more difficult to navigate. I may be odd and probably biased given I've had an Android since inception practically, I just find iOS a bit clunky and it forces me to behave in certain ways. Funnily enough my wife switched to Android 4 years ago from iPhones and has never looked back. She just didn't enjoy the iOS experience. My kids on the other hand must have Apple for the street kudos...
 

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