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Deleted member 27989
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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
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:- Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 8/256 in Phantom Black
- Samsung Watch 4 Classic in silver with black leather
- Samsung Galaxy Buds Pro in Phantom Black
- Samsung Wireless Charger Duo Pad
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