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2y ago

Why shouldn't anyone switch to iOS?

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

144 comments

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..
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.
iMessage: This is blue bubble envy, and it's pretty slick I can't lie. Again, I've been lucky to get my friends to 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.
Home Screen UX: Not sure how Android doesn't win this one hands down. iOS home screen customization is way behind Android, and even with the latest changes in the latest versions of iOS, it's still behind.
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.
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.
- This comment is really informative and summarizes most of my feelings about it. I've gone through all three and it does really feel like what you value. My partner and I eventually went with Google as well
- 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.
  Customization isn't really the end all be all, if you already like the iOS homescreen there is really no reason to customize it. In that same vein, I've been using the same android launcher for years and years and never use any of the more advanced stuff like widgets and whatnot. Just a basic experience that lets me keep my icons where I want them. And since I go for a one-page only full of icons and folders style, the iOS launcher would be perfect for me.

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.
- I have a different philosophy. Phones may be throw away (becoming less and less the case though) but they're also the technology that I interact with daily and hourly.
  I'm a student so my productivity is highly dependent on being in group chats, typing up emails, taking tablet notes, work on a laptop, etc. But the biggest impact to my workload at any one time is my phone.
  Now my android isn't bad at any of the tasks I throw at it, but there's a larger social impact for not having iMessage.

In my case it 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 RCS/iMessage, 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.
  
  This way of thinking could be extended to the microcode on a x86 CPU, the Intel Management Engine, or even the propietary Broadcom boot blob on a Raspberry pi IMO.
  While the real solution would be RISC with fully transparent hardware and an open-source boot process, I myself am happy settling for as much control as I can get over my device. For me that's root access on my Android, and Linux on everything else.
  There are still unsolved issues such as Qualcomm GPS modules using clear HTTP to fetch the Almanac with details such as your device's serial number, regardless of root or custom rom ☹️
  
  If 100% control is not achievable, I'm fine with an 80%. With an iThing, we are close to 0%.

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.

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.

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 think you're much more of a power user of android than I am. I heavily use my phone but I don't modify to that extent.

If you feel Apple's features appealing over Android for their price, go right ahead.
The thing that turns me off is that once you are there, you are kind of stuck in Apple's ecosystem. It's Apple that decides how long a program/application is supported on your computer or phone, not each developer. I still have apps designed for Android v.2 on my phone and they work fine. Apple phones were only recently "forced" to allow application side-loading, until then Apple had to know every single app you downloaded because it was through their store, and linked to your AppleID. Whereas you have Fdroid or you can easily compile your own apps without agreeing to odious terms from Cupertino.
I'll give Apple credit they have a decent quality and fully-featured ecosystem for mobile and computing. The only issue is that they intentionally make it difficult to use alternatives to their products that are outside their ecosystem, which isn't for me.
- I hear you on all of these points. But I asked myself if I can live with those flaws to have something that works more seamlessly and doesn't have the social cost of not having iMessage. Turns out, I feel like I can. Some of us must choose the dark side I guess. But like I've said, I'm not opposed to coming back to android if they can get some of my gripes with the platform ironed out. Like if everyone switched to using whatsapp around me or went to signal, I wouldn't bother switching.

I noticed that with all my friends and family, once they get into the ecosystem, they can't get out.
Apple has a lot of proprietary systems that forces users to get into the ecosystem. That ecosystem is expensive to maintain. And say you wanna switch back to android. Then you're met with the sunk cost fallacy. What are you going to with all the hardware and services you bought that is now useless outside of the ecosystem?
- Not wrong and I'm aware of that danger. However, I've stepped out of that ecosystem before and will be buying used devices for whatever I buy. Apple devices don't lose value at anywhere near the rate as other devices. So I feel comfortable that if I needed to abandon ship, I'd have the option without losing too much money.
  I also think it helps that I'll be keeping my data out of iCloud and I also won't be buying anything that can't be used separately. So no airpods max headphones or home speakers for now. Hopefully those steps help mitigate that because I know how their walled garden works.

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.
- Number 6 isn’t all the accurate. Safari on iOS has extensions, so you can get an ad blocker.
  To be far though, it’s probably better on android.
- Not to negate your post, but VLC on iOS has some decent file copying features now - you can connect tonetwork servers (ftp, smb, dlna) in the app, and either stream files or download them. You can also turn on a web interface hosted on the phone (while the app is running) and upload files if you’re on the same network. I’d like to be able to copy files over usb like with android phones, but Apple will probably never allow that.
  Agree with most of your other points though, and I’m probably going to get an android tablet for videos, Netflix and emulators while hanging around at home.

Woke up and chose violence today huh? ;)
Having used both, I’d say stick with Android if you prefer tinkering, hop to iOS if you just want to pick up your device and do stuff.
Neither platform has any real privacy unless you do a de-googled Android (and that should be a third category IMO). Apple claims privacy but is at least moving toward a place where that isn’t really true. Privacy is a moot point when it comes to smartphones I guess.
To answer your question: don’t move to iOS if it doesn’t support a feature/function that is non negotiable for you. The stuff that works on iOS works well, and the stuff that doesn’t just basically doesn’t exist for the most part. iOS really only puts stuff into production that it thinks are near enough perfected already and everything else isn’t released outside beta programs.
- For Apple, privacy means restricting access to your data for third parties. They take it for granted that they themselves should have access to everything. Apple protects your privacy from third parties, but not from Apple. In that regard, they actively compromise your privacy, because they upload and keep a lot more of user data on their servers than one would expect, and are semitransparent about that at best.
  Of course the same is true for google, plus google makes more money with ads and owns a lot more of "internet infrastructure": For Apple, they have control over your OS and maybe browser. Google owns the OS, your browser, the DNS server, the search, the cached version of a website, the captiveportalcheck server, maybe even the domain register and hosting provider. Apple has targeted apps as well, but the pure scale of what google is doing makes it so much worse in that regard.
  The same is true for manufacturers like Samsung, Huawei etc. as well, they too want as much of your data, and want other parties to get as little, as possible. That's just what's happening across the industry: data is the new gold, the fewer parties have access to a certain set of data the higher its value.
  Very simply put:
  IPhone -> Apple tries to get all your data, but restrict access for third parties
  Stock Android -> Google and manufacturer x try to get all your data, but restrict access for fourth parties
  Then there are Linux phones, probably great for privacy but honestly not practical at the current state. And then there are custom roms like LineageOS, grapheneos etc. That's where I always land, because I want actual privacy including from the maker of my device. Also, clean LineageOS on a well supported device is just miles ahead of any stock android rom if you ask me. But if I did not have the time or skill to flash custom roms I could totally see me buying an iPhone. I won't, because lineage, but you get the point.
  Tl,Dr: Get LineageOS or GrapheneOS. If you can't or don't want to: IPhone might be slightly better in terms of privacy.
  Sorry for the wall of text, hope it helps someone!

Surprisingly, iOS has better privacy than Google because Apple is a hardware company while Google is an advertising company.
- Surprisingly, Android has better privacy than iOS, because Android will remove permissions from apps that haven't been used in a while, and Android gives users permission to globally disable the camera and microphone, which is not possible on iOS.
- Completely and utterly incorrect. Apple blocks 3rd party apps from collecting data, while all their first arty apps, from Health to Safari, are all covered under "first party" and therefore are subject to "anonymous" data collection. Sound familiar?
  They're both the same, and in fact I'd stay Android is more secure for data since it at least gives you the option to use open source 3rd party apps that you can see yourself do not have tracking built in.
  
  Apple collects your information: yes But Apple doesn't sell your information for ad targeting to 3rd parties. Thats the important point for some people (at least for me). I don't want to be re-targeted again and again when I browse the net.
  Safari is also one of the better privacy browsers on the market. Obviously not better than Firefox or the new DDG browser, but it is readily available for the average user which is important.
  (I use both Android and iOS because of work.)

My issues with apple are mostly around repair. Cost of first party repairs and active fighting against user or third party repairs.
My iPhone got some water damage, and now faceid doesn’t work. Because it’s water damage, they won’t even do the “faceid repair” for like $200, they’ll only replace the device for $550. Like most parts on the phone it’s paired to the phone, so it’s impossible to salvage a part and do the repair myself.
So I’m here with no faceid for like a year because I don’t want to pay them that much for the repair (might as well get a new phone at that point) and I don’t want to buy a new iPhone and reward apple for this bs.
If I do buy another iPhone eventually, I might just give in though and play their fucking game fully and just buy the applecare. Just fully go in on the fact that I’m subscribing to the iPhone experience, not actually owning anything.
- For that price why not get an android instead? Unless, your work requires an iPhone, etc.
  
  I was all anti apple a while back, but when I first got an iPhone for work I kinda really enjoyed it. And eventually found myself using my iPhone a lot. I think it’s mostly around performance, every flagship Samsung I’ve bought felt really crappy to use after a few months. A factory reset sometimes helped, but who wants to do that regularly.
  I’ve enjoyed my time with google pixels in the past, so I might be tempted to go that route in the future.
  I’m sending this from my almost 4 year old iPhone 11 that works quite well. Better than any android I’ve had even 2 years into its life.
- It may not help you now, but Apple has started offering Self-Service repair kits, parts, and manuals for iPhone 12 and newer, including re-syncing the paired parts. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. Even if you don’t personally have the skills to fix it, a 3rd party repair will have an easier time.
  
  They only offer a couple of parts (no faceid), the parts are expensive (usually the same or more as having apple do the repair), and they do not offer any parts at all for my iPhone 11.
- I feel this and repair is a big downside. However, I've never needed to repair my previous phones. And I'm planning on buying a $500 used iPhone. So I guess I'd just eat the cost for any repair more expensive than a screen replacement. But tbh, official Samsung parts for their phones aren't exactly cheap and most comparable phones to the iPhone aren't any easier or cheaper to repair for the most part.
  
  Yeah, that’s largely why I switched to iPhone to begin with. The phones have the potential to last for many years with the software support they get.

I asked my sister who is eagerly switching back to Android after dipping her toes in iOS for only a year:
That dumb green/blue text bullshit.
- this is a US thing only btw. Nobody outside cares if the tick is blue or green. ah and nobody uses SMS anymore outside the US

If you have an iPhone, you can't text on your computer unless you have a MacBook
- Good point
- Microsoft's new version of Phone Link can do it. It doesn't support group texts or MMS though.

I like the freedom that comes with android. Being able to customize what I want, download third party apps, easily use third party accessories. I even have it connected to my computer so I can text and open my apps from there.
Apple is just so... closed off. I don't own any other apple products (and I do not plan on it) so I don't even get the full benefits of having the whole ecosystem going. There's just not an upside to using iOS over Android for my personal use case.
Also, I'm currently using a Samsung Fold and I don't know if I could go back to a regular phone lol. It's just so unique and really fantastic for multitasking. I don't think it's possible to open more than app side by side on iPhone? (Correct me if I'm wrong) but I regularly use 2 to 3 side by side and even have the option to add a 4th in pop-up view if I wanted to lol.
It's really all preference, but I've just never been a big Apple fan and I don't really like the UI designs for most of their products.
- Ah I'm jealous! I can't afford a foldable but they're very cool tech so enjoy it!
  Luckily for me, my partner owns a lot of Apple devices which is what pressured me to switch and talk about this. So in my use case I think it makes more sense potentially. Thanks for the feedback though, cheers!
  
  This is a "forced" pro for iOS, but if you were to get an android phone and another iOS user were to send you a video via text message, it will look like shit unless you have an iOS device. I'm an android user and I hate this.
  I have a pixel 6 pro. I'd only recommend getting a pixel or a OnePlus phone because all others usually have their crap branded bloatware attached and are usually slower to get updates. Pixel does come with some Google apps, but I actually use a good bit of them so I don't mind.
  Fingerprint scanner on pixel is nice. I don't do a lot of stuff on my phone so my bar is set at- has working Bluetooth, no bloatware, updates pushed out at reasonable time, can easily move photos to external storage so I don't have to pay for cloud storage.
  I guess I can edit in here that I actually use both. My work phone is some 2 year old iphone. I don't know what number it is. If I wasn't paranoid of my company spying on me I would probably use it more and get rid of my android.

I'm on iOS and the biggest downside to iOS in my opinion is the $100/year developer fee, the Mac requirement for development, and the lack of side-loading. What this ultimately means is that it can be hard to find free / open source apps for iOS, especially ones like newpipe that might not be approved on the App Store. It's honestly a pretty big bummer. Some other restrictions also mean that Safari is pretty much the only viable browser on iOS and ad-blocking / extensions are fairly limited. Another disappointment is that ad-supported apps seemed to be a lot more annoying than the Google equivalents, weirdly enough. I guess Google maybe has more / different guidelines about making ads supremely irritating, or maybe I just had better options for free apps on Android.
I'm curious what you mean by "in light of what Apple is doing"? As far as I know iOS isn't really miles ahead of Android in any particular area -- they're more or less comparable in my experience, with iOS being a bit more limited in terms of customization and stuff (the fact that you still can't place icons anywhere you want on the homescreen is baffling to me).
If I'm being entirely honest, I think I probably like the Android operating system more than I like iOS... Which is weirdly part of the reason I like iOS -- I'm a little less tempted to look at my phone and a little less tempted to tinker with it. And there are are things that I like about my iPhone. The hardware is nice, the Apple Watch is really nice, FaceID is great, some things I thought would be silly like live photos are actually kind of nice, some of the iCloud features are great, and it's nice that it pairs with other things in the Apple ecosystem well. Ultimately the main reason I've abandoned Android is that I just got sick of my Android phones dying all of the time and only getting software support for like 9 months. Apple's support window is massive in comparison, which is also a big plus.
- I appreciate the detailed response, it's good info. I'll just respond to the curiousity part. I mean that their phones and tech seem to be maturing and aren't slowing down. I saw their last WWDC and I know most of it is marketing but even then, it seems like all of their interface gets updates yearly. I can't say the same for Android phones as I never see updates aside from major ones. And when they happen, I have no idea what's in them.
  Like the messaging app on iPhone is light years ahead of anything available on Android. FaceTime continues to be a standard for calling and alternatives exist but Google has changed the service they use like twice now since I've been on Android I think. Not to mention that Google meet is just.. not good enough. FaceID isn't a thing really. The health apps on iOS aren't talked about enough and they're pretty good as far as I know. Privacy still does seem to be with iphone, the ad blocking is great.
  Don't get me wrong, there's some Android phones that do some of these things really well or maybe even better. But the iOS stuff is just a really good package overall that delivers a consistent experience. And from what I've had in my decade on Android, it continues to be inconsistent for me.
  
  To be honest, the interface doesn't really seem to change much to me, and most of the big changes recently have been to add features that have kind of always been on Android (e.g., custom lockscreens). I don't know what's happening in the Android world, but if this is what's so appealing to you I'd really sit down and think about what features / interface changes you've seen that make you so excited. Maybe it seems fast paced from the other side, but from here everything just feels like incremental progress?
  I don't really use FaceTime or Messages. I guess when I have used FaceTime it's been good quality, though. Messages is kind of whatever to me. I'd rather use Signal or something. I mean, Messages seems pretty solid, but there's not too much magical about it and you can only use it if everybody in the chat has an iPhone, which is kind of lame... otherwise it defaults to SMS which is super unreliable. May be worth it for the group of people you talk to, but I don't understand it as a selling point.
  Frankly, you have much better ad blocking options on Android than on iOS, at least if you're rooted. You have options to install DNS / host file style ad-blocking in Android that works system wide, and that's just not available on iOS (I think you might be able to get a local VPN that blocks ads, though). You have some ad block options on Safari, but it's not the best in my experience. At least on Firefox for Android you can install add-ons like uBlock Origin and stuff, which is a big win in my opinion.
  Anyway, I don't mean to discourage you at all. iOS can be pretty great too. Just want to give you a full picture of some of the things I've been frustrated with from switching, and I think it's worth considering if this is just a "the grass is always greener on the other side situation". I also don't really know what Android is like these days.

There's literally one reason I stick with android, you can just put files on it and use them, I know iOS has improved greatly here, now you can actually have some approximation of file system access, but I really don't want to use a janky app like iTunes (at least on windows it's kind of broken still) to get anything on and off the phone outside of iCloud. I end up using my phone more like a pocket linux computer enough of the time that I just can't jive with such a locked down device.
I really like the hardware, and iOS is a very cohesive and easy to use experience it just doesn't fill my use cases for a phone. I'm not the kind of person who just uses something, I always want to crack it open and tinker with it, I think my record for not modifying a car after purchase is 2 weeks (only because I wanted to make sure it wasn't a lemon). Android just fits my ethos better.
- I use OneDrive and transfer files to and from my iPhone with ease. The Files app on iOS even connects to OneDrive (and Google drive) so it's not as horrendous as it used to be. Of course I rarely transfer anything directly from one device to the other these days, which I imagine is where the headaches are. If you're willing to use a cloud service, it's a non-issue.
- I mean, getting files off of iphones is certainly a hurdle but I can't say I do it often. I back up my photos and videos, so I don't know what else I'd use on my phone in the way of files.
  
  Yeah it's one of those things, you know if you need it. Most people don't need it. An android phone has been an extremely flexible part of my tech toolkit since 2011 and I haven't looked back. If I want to do something involving another phone or computer I can find some way to do it. iOS has certainly become much much more flexible than it was early on, but I don't think I can fix an old CNC controller with an RS232 adapter with one.

I’m interested in why you think android has any privacy benefits. If you are talking full-google android, I don’t see how running an OS made by a company whose business model is finding out every bit of info they can about you is privacy positive.
Now if you are talking lineage and/or grapheneOS
Without gapps, sure.
I like Apple because my phone just works. Sure the customization isn’t there, but I’d waste time on it if it was. Also stay on Apple because last time I checked, the Apple Watch was the only wearable that tracked wheelchair activity properly.
iOS has gotten far buggier since Steve’s departure though. The “paint the back of the fence” mindset got ruined by Tim Apple and capitalism.
- Yeah I'm saying the privacy benefits because in theory you can modify android to be better than iOS at data protection and privacy. You can also use a wide variety of different privacy apps and browsers that don't have as much utility on iOS.
  But yes, if anything google is worse out of the box than iOS. I mean when comparing FaceID data to unlock a phone, who do I trust more? That seems obvious. Not only that but Google is EXTREMELY unreliable in its support for services. So I don't even trust that new features will maintain support for more than a year or two.
  In other words, if you aren't tinkering much and don't mind the initial upfront cost, it just seems hard to make excuses for android anymore which is why I made the post.

Often mentioned here that strikes a chord with me is the ability to install Firefox and load it with ad blocker, sponsorblock, and dark reader addons. Get your youtube ad free easy this way.
- Firefox on Android with ad blockers is underrated.

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.

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

I feel like most people who switch and talk bad about Android are using cheap hardware from dodgy OEMs, and/or Google's hardware.
Samsung's devices (imo) are the only ones that really compare with Apple's, and they do so favorably. If you like Apple, you like Apple, but I don't see any of the things you mentioned as being of any value. I hate Apple's UX/UI in general, don't care about sms in general, battery life depends on your Android device, and I like the fingerprint & face unlock combo on my Fold 4.
And yeah, I like folding phones. You say you're frustrated with Android features that are "behind," but I can't imagine what iPhones do that puts them "ahead" of premium Androids. They're just different.
- Thanks for the good response. I've only ever owned Samsung phones. Currently holding a Note 10 plus. And it solves a lot of the general gripes about android that I have, so you're correct. However, I think that just with iMessage alone, it's a done deal if the phones are essentially equal. My problem is that androids are often inconsistent with features.
  Like my S pen stopped working on me a week ago. For no reason. Still charges. Still writes. But gives me a message saying it won't connect. And believe it or not but I don't like under the screen fingerprint fingerprint readers. They kinda suck. Even if they work perfectly, they're on the front of the device. So to unlock it on a counter is awkward. And if your fingers are wet or greasy or have gloves on them or whatever, it won't work. Pretty big downside. And the face recognition for those situations is also pretty awful and won't recognize me the moment I get a haircut or am in the dark without blinding me.
  So I'm just ready to see if Apple does do it better. Sure I'll make sacrifices for that, but I feel like the scale of gripes has tipped in their favor.
  
  Gotcha. The Fold has a side button fingerprint sensor and decent facial recognition on both selfie cameras (I never use that because the fingerprint is just so fast and easy), but i know some peoples fingerprints don't get picked up by the under display tech.
  I would disagree on imessage being of any value, but that's partially because I message through telegram, slack, discord, and whatsapp. If you're a teenager, I can see it meaning more with the recent blue/green bubbles stuff. As an adult, I'll take sideloading, spen, dex, and a host of other pros over imessage in a heartbeat.

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.

I switched a couple years ago, the stability was the best part for me, and the fact that all of your peripheral devices just work, it’s really nice.
- Awesome to hear, glad it worked for you!

For me, it's 1. the variety of devices available that run Android, foldables, budget phones etc. 2. Fingerprint unlock and 3. Not being locked in to Apple
- Have to admit though, the ecosystem does make their products work better. A lot better. The synergy between apple devices has gotten crazier since I last used them.
  
  Depends on your profession I suppose. I use Linux for work and Android integrates with my workflow beautifully.
  My partner has iOS+Mac, enjoys Airdrop and whatnot but I love something like MiXplorer that is more powerful than even desktop file managers. It can simply mount my google drive or smb share as a folder.
  Recently I've been trying to get a real debrid streaming solution to work on my partner's ipad/iphone and it has been an absolute PITA while it has been largely painless for me on Android. Or stuff like using my own VPN though a shadowsocks proxy with split tunneling.
  Only place I've seen iOS be genuinely better than Android is in note taking apps like GoodNote. I love my Android tab but I wish it had the iOS apps. Unfortunately iOS didn't work out well for my teaching workflow where I export my notes into different formats, do overlays etc.

I do not understand your frustration. Like how can google unify iMessage with RCS if Apple refuses to do so. I mean why would Apple even bother and lose one of its pro.
For FaceID there's face Unlock but it's not faceid. Fingerprint is the rule and I'm fine with that one. I'm not sure about the home screen UX but I use smart launcher 6 and it does a good job of providing a neat sorted apps catehpry list for me. As for battery life. The new snapdragon 8 gen 2 provides beastly battery life compared to previous generations which were a regression.
About extended software support. I agree google is a bit behind samsung. But, 5 years os support is not bad. You have samsung, some oneplus smartphones and than google.
In the end if none of that matters, you do you. You do not need justification to use or the other. Just read some reviews and make your decision.
- I appreciate that response, very detailed. To be clear I don't blame Google for not fixing the RCS thing. I just dont see them making any progress. Even if RCS gets through, every android messaging service is still far behind Apple and would take awhile to catch up. iMessage can send payments, play games, has custom reactions, a whole ton of stuff.
  And fingerprint is nice, but most android phones have switched to under the screen readers and I just can't. They're extremely inconvenient when compared to scanning my face which is always looking at the device anyways.
  And the OS support is a sticking point. Google and Samsung both suck at this and I can point it out using the Material You thing they did. When it came out, I had no idea what the features were. I had to go watch videos and even then, it didn't seem like a big upgrade. Because it wasn't a big functional upgrade for me. And then Samsung had no clue when it would even come to my Note 10 device. So I was left going: what is this update? When will I have it? And why should I care?. I couldn't answer any of those and its a problem with every Google update imo. Because some features only come go the pixel. And then others will be changed by Samsung.
  Not to mention that Google doesn't provide support for their features anyways and frequently drops them. Like Apple arcade crushes it while the best that Google can do with gaming is just do a poor imitation of it with zero support.
  So I'm just a little tired of thinking that android phones will improve these things and thought I'd at least try the other side for a change.

Apple devices to me are just the physical version of the gold bar app that once existed on the apple app store. Spending extra for a status symbol that people won't even respect you for unless it benefits them to lick your boots.
Sure some aspects may be better but overall nobody is outclassing anyone in the phone industry as long as you are comparing the correct price bracket and adjusting for apple logo tax. Personally apple UI/UX has always and still is awful to me and the odd time I have to use the iPad at work I could have an aneurysm at any moment. I could also never go back to button nav bar on Android.
But in the end if the device suits you, and you don't care about business ethics or whatever, and it isn't a poor financial decision for you then just get what you want and enjoy it. All the organizations that want to collect all your data will find a way regardless of what device you use.
- Other than the UX and UI stuff, I agree with you for the large part. I know their UI/UX is dumbed down and limits you in certain ways. But I think that my technology needs have changed.
  Once upon a time I couldn't stomach it, but now I feel it's more reliable to me and more integrated to my devices than android is.
  As for the status symbol, I don't care about that at all. I think they're pretty equal but like you said, apple has a logo tax basically. However, the few features that do work better and having imessage is worth it to me currently.
  Also, Android stuff at similar price tags doesn't hold value at all. It's wild but I've noticed that any android phone I look at drops off a cliff. My Note 10 plus was over $1,000 if I remember right. 4 years later, it's worth like $250. So all things equal, I lost way more money by sticking with android. There's solutions to that, but they all stick you with lesser tech.
  I do care about business ethics btw, but Google isn't much better. Also I support the right to repair stuff and usually vote with my wallet, but that seems more like a government problem at this point.

If you’re already inside the Apple ecosystem (own an iPad, MacBook, Mac, whatever), iOS is a blessing. It’s quite frankly really good in its ecosystem.
Apple has done some work for privacy (disallow targeted ads in apps and whatnot).
Regardless though, if you’re just using your phone to use your phone it really doesn’t matter what OS it runs. RCS is great, but if all your friends have iPhones or if you’re in a country that doesn’t use text messages then it doesn’t matter. Reverse is true for iMessage.
I will say this though… the iOS keyboard and all associated iOS compatible keyboard apps are absolute shit. They are rotten and have the worst autocorrect I’ve ever seen. It’s my biggest gripe with my phone right now compared to my Pixel 6. Keyboard is night and day, and Gboard on iOS also sucks.
- I swapped to iphone about 3ish years ago after being on Android since the OG droid days. The keyboard situation is my biggest complaint. The iOS keyboard is better at thumb typing, Gboard is better for swiping. Both suck at autocorrect but at least when gboard says ducking it also gives me the option of fucking in the suggested word bar.
  
  Swiping is supposed to get better in iOS 17. I don’t have problems with it, but maybe the new iOS will help you!

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.
- Wasn't this mentioned in WWDC? Especially the problem with cursing using the default keyboard. Kind of curious why it would be so bad. But I've had similar problems with android keyboards. My current keyboard frequently corrects stuff like "but" to "buy" for no reason and at random.

I had Android since the very beginning (HTC G1 on TMo) and switched this year.
It mostly boiled down to manufactures giving up on small phones (RIP Xperia Compact) and the big G giving up on “don’t be evil”.
OS level privacy controls are way better in iOS and Apple seems into the privacy “trend” at the moment but that can always change.
While I do miss some customisability, you definitely get a better experience out of the box. It comes across as a much more refined experience. Lack of USB-C is a big bummer and file transfers including pics are a hassle without iCloud (which I don’t pay for)…
I wish the whole android story could have gone differently but with the current situation I do not regret the switch after almost 15 years.
- Your story is much appreciated. I've been a long time android enjoyed but recently started dating someone who uses iOS on most devices. And my impression is that the race is much further apart than it was when I initially switched off of iOS.
  Like I get that macOS sucks for certain jobs and tasks, but if you ask me which has the better interface it wins hands down. Like what the hell is windows even doing? Windows 10 is this insane mashing of old systems with new where they made the older and more useful systems harder to get to.
  And the apple M1 and M2 chips are killer for laptops and tablets. Same with the phones now. So I'll miss the customizability and not having youtube ads, but I feel like the gains are worth it like you said. Cheers!

Apple falls to offer sufficiently compelling features for the price and is significantly behind in some areas such as home screen UX.
My home screen is pretty much entirely dedicated to widgets, some of which directly allow me to perform complex actions without having to launch an app – e.g. I can not only control my lights from the home screen but also select which room the command gets sent to.
iOS widgets seem to be more limited; at least the app developers complain about not being able to offer this functionality with iOS 14+, the App Store page doesn't mention widgets at all and a third-party widget app only offers basic buttons that do one thing each.
That's one major use case of mine where Apple simply doesn't keep pace. In addition, I'm locked into Apple's decisions on things like form factor or audio jack availability, which I might not agree with. Plus, their prices are shameless.
I don't doubt that Apple offers the best choice for some people but in my case I'd have to sacrifice functionality I use and pay literally twice as much money to gain nothing relevant besides longer software support.
- I don't use complex widgets beyond my calendar so I guess this doesn't apply to me but I hear you, they can be useful.

Be sure if another apps or features are as important for you as those you said Face ID, iMessage, home screen UX, battery life. For example, not being able to run syncthing on IOS is a dealbreaker for me. Another app is minimalism launcher, etc...
- not being able to run synching
  Do you mean syncthing? I'm just asking for clarification, because that's an important piece of software for me.
  
  Yeah, that's what I meant
- For sure, that's definitely a consideration!

Just use what you want and works best for you. You don't need validation from strangers online that you made the right choice. 🤷
- Oh I don't need validation. I'm just seeing if there's something I missed while considering my options and what people think is the current state of the different platforms. Like I said in my post, no phone wars are meant to be had here.

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.

I made the switch a year ago from android to apple. I did the whole rooting and degoogling thing but that took time and I had bugs sometimes which required more tinkering. At one point I was like I don’t have time for this and the nexus to pixel switch didn’t convince me to keep going with android. I switched to iOS and haven’t regretted me move. A few android phones like Sony and Oneplus almost convince me to go back but not yet.
Th blue and green bubble is blown out of proportion especially now that android made the update that green bubble people can emoji respond to messages now. Before you used to get this odd messages that was like so and so laughed at this message.
One thing I would warn you about is the App Store. Most apps cost money which is a pro and a con depending on how you look at it. There are money grabbing subscription apps but I can usually find an awesome one time fee app. Generally the apple App Store has good quality apps but there’s a fee. This kind of adds to the apple eco system because now you paid for high quality apps and they may not transfer if you go back to android.
- Thanks for the response, that's useful info. For me, my family and partner all use iOS so the blue bubble thing is more important personally.
  As for the app store, I think that I will enjoy the cost actually because I noticed when I switched to android the degradation in app quality. But that was a decade ago. So we shall see.

I've been really tempted to make my next phone an iPhone just because of the software support. There are rumors the next iphone will have USB-C as well.
- It's not just a rumor, as the EU made made it law, so Apple wouldn't be able to sell them there otherwise.
  
  It isn't required until 2024 though so they could still pull an Apple and hold off another year

I used custom roms for years on Android and in 2020 decided to give iOS a go. I bought a used iPhone 7 to just dabble for a bit and have stayed with it ever since. I have no more desire to constantly modify the system as it just works. I miss a few things that were great on Android, such as NewPipe (Ad-free YouTube app), being able to open any file easily and emulating GameBoy games on the go. I also miss the way the photo gallery on Android worked, as iOS forces you to have every single photo (screenshots, downloads, etc.) in your library and you can't file it away. I hope that the coming laws (in the EU and US ) will force Apple to allow other app stores which might fix these shortcomings with third-party apps.
- I think I'm more hopeful of the EU helping me install 3rd party apps onto an iPhone or forcing them to separate my data than for Google to make the changes I want.
- Basically did this same thing over the past 5 years.
  For me it started with Uber, I opted for a cheap iPhone instead of renting one from Uber (when they were iPhone only) and I just got more and more accustomed to it and liked it better in ways.
  Now I’ve got an Apple TV, watch, iPad, AirPods, MacBook, and iPhone.
  Still got a gaming pc, and my home server, but apple sucked me in.

I am a gadget fanatic, but I also love to maintain privacy. One problem I always see mentioned is wallet garden on iOS. I put some of my experience into the ring here. I use GrapheneOS as my daily drive for most things. This starts with no google services and ends with profiles where I can separate people and groups and install multiple of the same apps.. like signal etc.
For lots of my work, I use a samsung fold 4. It replaced my laptop, and it's convenient. With adg (remove many Samsung apps and the Facebook and microsoft bloatware) and block internet access to most apps via rethinkdns and decloudus, you get a pretty convenient yet private device. I monitor what goes in and out and block all i don't need.
My family is all into apple so I also have an iPhone (not an excuse haha, I also love some of the wallet gardened things. Like apple music, imessage (for very few people) and I love the focus setup. I know you can do a lot manually on android to get it similar, but focus modes are a killer. I also never found as great looking and working mastodon apps (and yes, I use tusky, fedilab, and a few others on android. I still prefer what ios (some paid, some free have to offer, mammoth comes to mind on the free end). To make things more private, I use adguard pro in combination with decloudus and block apple our of the device. Still get push, and all works when you add a very few domains listing on the decloudus whitelist page.
So I use 3 options (GrapheneOS what is surly the best when it comes to privacy) but also wouldn't want to miss ios or a fold.
iOS is great and if it works for you and you are happy with it, perhaps even have a mac then you can make it a great, private and secure device. Use lockdown mode is also a great way I didn't see on android yet.

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