Long time iOS user switching to Android.

adox

Hi guys and girls. I posted something similar in the Apple forum and would like to get some feedback here, especially from some of the advice I got on my other thread.

Crux of it is, I'm a long time Apple user. From Macs to iPads, Apple TVs and iPhones. Currently have my slightly aging 5s and want to buy myself a new phone.

Now the current generation of iPhones are well overpriced imo, even for Apple and I refuse to pay the money for one.

I started a thread on the Apple forum to say that I was switching because of price and was looking for other iPhone users input as to how they justified spending the money buying a phone outright of the current generation.


Funnily enough it was an Android user who gave me some food for thought. He/she advised not to switch as if I wasn't switching for any extra particular features that Android offers, I would find the whole experience extremely frustrating and would be better sticking with Apple(not an option if I make a purchase).

Would this be a common held opinion? Any longtime iOS users switched to Android? My Mrs has an Android phone as do some work colleagues so I am not totally alien to it.

Have the phone I want sitting in my basket of their website ready to pull the trigger but was surprised by the Android users advice so would appreciate any feedback you could offer.

ifeelstupid

I switched from iPhone last year and have no regrets. My Vodafone contract was up, to get a decent upgrade was going to cost a few hundred so I bought phone on Aliexpress (Redmi Note 3) for less than €200 and went SIM only for €30/month. Old contract was about €65 I think so all in all phone is more than paid for now with difference in monthly plan
Phone is great - very rsponsive, dual sim/expandable storage - storage is a big minus for me with Apple. Only downside of my current phone is the camera is not of the same quality as any of the higher end ones.

4068ac1elhodqr

Unless you need 4k video, and Siri recording everything you say (any smart TV may be doing this already) there are plenty of alternatives.
For the price of a new iPhone, you could instead buy these three:

i) Dumb unlocked phone - for voice/txt calls
ii) Recon older iPhone, or new iTouch - for Apps/iTunes/Eml sync.
iii) Android Tab with Anypen Tech + 64gb SD - for all other media.

Dont be at yourself

adox wrote: »

Hi guys and girls. I posted something similar in the Apple forum and would like to get some feedback here, especially from some of the advice I got on my other thread.

Crux of it is, I'm a long time Apple user. From Macs to iPads, Apple TVs and iPhones. Currently have my slightly aging 5s and want to buy myself a new phone.

Now the current generation of iPhones are well overpriced imo, even for Apple and I refuse to pay the money for one.

I started a thread on the Apple forum to say that I was switching because of price and was looking for other iPhone users input as to how they justified spending the money buying a phone outright of the current generation.


Funnily enough it was an Android user who gave me some food for thought. He/she advised not to switch as if I wasn't switching for any extra particular features that Android offers, I would find the whole experience extremely frustrating and would be better sticking with Apple(not an option if I make a purchase).

Would this be a common held opinion? Any longtime iOS users switched to Android? My Mrs has an Android phone as do some work colleagues so I am not totally alien to it.

Have the phone I want sitting in my basket of their website ready to pull the trigger but was surprised by the Android users advice so would appreciate any feedback you could offer.

Used iPhone since the 3GS launched back in the day but switched to an S7 Edge last year. Plusses and minuses to both, but in the end I don't think I'd switch back to Apple.

However, have used some low quality Android phones and the experience was infuriating.

The high horse brigade

Don't cheap out on the Android phone, buy a decent one and you'll get a better experience and will never want you go back to iOS

donspeekinglesh

I use both all the time - personal phone is Android and work devices are an iPhone 6 and an iPad.

I'd never use an iOS device as my personal device. Just feel they are too locked down and samey. And they are not bug free either.

adox

Thanks guys. The phone I'm going to switch to is a oneplus3t.

donspeekinglesh

I have an OP2 and I'll almost certainly be sticking with OP when it's time to upgrade.

adox

adox wrote: »

Thanks guys. The phone I'm going to switch to is a oneplus3t.

You have chosen a very good phone as your first Android. Android might take a bit of getting used to initially but once you have been using it for a while, you won't want to go back.

Ursus Horribilis

What do you use your iPhone for? I posted on your other thread and noticed one person list off a load of apps I've never heard of as a reason why he'd never switch. Unless your needs are particularly specialised, I don't see why you'd lose out on the apps front if you moved. There seems to be a perception amongst some Apple users that the selection and quality of Android apps are inferior.

Although I have an iPad and really like it, it has done enough to convince me never to buy an iPhone. The price and the lack of internal storage are a serious turn-off. The other thing that really drives me nuts are Apple's restrictions. I love that I can plug my Android phone into the computer and that it behaves like a USB memory stick. I can then easily add or remove mp3s, videos, photo and even files from wherever I want. I watch video on my phone and VLC Player will play just about anything I throw at it, regardless of the file format. Too much of what I want to do with the iPad seems to be an exercise in hoop jumping. That's what I've found anyway.

These days, there are only really two buttons to worry about on Android. The Home button does the same on Android as it does on an iOS device. The back button is something you'll get used to using very soon. On older devices there used to also be a menu button but that's gone now. It has been replaced by a recently used apps button which is the same as when you double-click on your iPhone's home button.

Have you had much of a look at your missus's phone? Maybe if she ran you through how it works and let you play with it for a while, it might help you decide? From my experience of using both, there's an awful lot of common ground between the two operating systems.

Elemonator

I'm sick of iPhone, not necessarily Apple though. I have a Mac and love it.

I just feel iPhone is behind the times or too expensive for what you get. I picked up my one the same time my brother and mother picked up the flagship Samsung of the time. They actually paid slightly less than me and got large memory with the option to expand, larger battery life, NFC technology, various transaction handling apps such as Android Pay, cheaper cost, wireless charging, etc.

BlinkingLights

Just make sure you get a *good* android phone.
It's a vast market and there are a lot more variables.

iOS is fairly decent but some of the lockdowns are crazy. The insistence that every browser must use WebKit annoys me as Apple are effectively removing a lot of very innovative browsers from the platform for no logical reason.

The OnePlus phones are excellent. So are Samsung.

I bought a Nexus 6P which is decent enough but has a lot of physical design annoyances. Read the reviews carefully and play around with a demo model in store to make sure it's a comfortable fit.

Apple is very restrictive but, their stuff usually works fairly well and tends to be very comfortably designed. You can find that in the Android world too but you have to be more careful as there are umpteen options.

adox

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

What do you use your iPhone for? I posted on your other thread and noticed one person list off a load of apps I've never heard of as a reason why he'd never switch. Unless your needs are particularly specialised, I don't see why you'd lose out on the apps front if you moved. There seems to be a perception amongst some Apple users that the selection and quality of Android apps are inferior.

Although I have an iPad and really like it, it has done enough to convince me never to buy an iPhone. The price and the lack of internal storage are a serious turn-off. The other thing that really drives me nuts are Apple's restrictions. I love that I can plug my Android phone into the computer and that it behaves like a USB memory stick. I can then easily add or remove mp3s, videos, photo and even files from wherever I want. I watch video on my phone and VLC Player will play just about anything I throw at it, regardless of the file format. Too much of what I want to do with the iPad seems to be an exercise in hoop jumping. That's what I've found anyway.

These days, there are only really two buttons to worry about on Android. The Home button does the same on Android as it does on an iOS device. The back button is something you'll get used to using very soon. On older devices there used to also be a menu button but that's gone now. It has been replaced by a recently used apps button which is the same as when you double-click on your iPhone's home button.

Have you had much of a look at your missus's phone? Maybe if she ran you through how it works and let you play with it for a while, it might help you decide? From my experience of using both, there's an awful lot of common ground between the two operating systems.

All the apps on my phone are free apps. The usual social media apps, Philips Hue app I use a lot. Goodreads,Bank of Ireland app, Spotify, MyFitnessPal, Mi Fit, Kindle, Ryanair, some photography apps, the list goes on. I'm 90% sure they are all available on android.

I already use the gmail app on my iPhone and google maps and have all my contacts and photos backed up to Google.

DopeTech

adox wrote: »

All the apps on my phone are free apps. The usual social media apps, Philips Hue app I use a lot. Goodreads,Bank of Ireland app, Spotify, MyFitnessPal, Mi Fit, Kindle, Ryanair, some photography apps, the list goes on. I'm 90% sure they are all available on android.

I already use the gmail app on my iPhone and google maps and have all my contacts and photos backed up to Google.

All of those would be available from the play store. If you are unsure of any search for it here and you will get your answer.

It will take you a little time getting used to things on android as there is so much more ways to do everything, and to get things set up in a way that works for you but once you have it right you'll never want to go back.

RockSalto

FrostyJim wrote: »

much more ways to do everything, and to get things set up in a way that works for you but once you have it right you'll never want to go back.

What exactly? I'm genuinely curious because the only thing I've not been able to do on an iPhone that I can do on Amdroid is use my phone as a USB drive and install 3rd party apps.

I think the 'freedom' of Android is highly exaggerated for the average consumer.

The high horse brigade

RockSalto wrote: »

What exactly? I'm genuinely curious because the only thing I've not been able to do on an iPhone that I can do on Amdroid is use my phone as a USB drive and install 3rd party apps.

I think the 'freedom' of Android is highly exaggerated for the average consumer.

That exactly is the freedom. Try copying a movie to an iPhone to play later on a flight etc

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Ursus Horribilis

Access to the iOS file system or the Android one?

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

blade1

I switched to OnePlus 3.
The only thing I really miss is the iPhone Pass Wallet.
Boarding passes were so easy to add.
Also the OnePlus calls people by mistake very easy.
I might have just come off the phone to someone and as I am putting the phone into my pocket it would be calling someone else.

A few other things I miss a small bit but overall not enough to go back.
Also I am not impressed with the battery life but dash charge is great.
The t3 hopefully/should have better battery life.

Phonicks

I switched my businness phone last christmas after 5 years on iphone, i was always nervous in case i would lose an old text or phone number, i never found a good ios app

I managed to transfer all my old text messages, and got an app that backs up sms messages and my call log to my gmail account

RockSalto

The high horse brigade wrote: »

That exactly is the freedom. Try copying a movie to an iPhone to play later on a flight etc

It's simple, albeit not as simple. Still, drag and drop it into the app (vlc) via iTunes. It would actually take the same amount of time, but you use iTunes, granted, but it would already be installed if you do it regularly enough so no extra steps really.

ED E

Access the NFC chip is one clear one. Lots of Leap users adore that feature that Apple wont let iOS users have.

RockSalto

ED E wrote: »

Access the NFC chip is one clear one. Lots of Leap users adore that feature that Apple wont let iOS users have.

That's a good one. That's one I'll use if I get an another Android next.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

DopeTech

blade1 wrote: »

I switched to OnePlus 3.
The only thing I really miss is the iPhone Pass Wallet.
Boarding passes were so easy to add.
Also the OnePlus calls people by mistake very easy.
I might have just come off the phone to someone and as I am putting the phone into my pocket it would be calling someone else.

A few other things I miss a small bit but overall not enough to go back.
Also I am not impressed with the battery life but dash charge is great.
The t3 hopefully/should have better battery life.

Install call confirm and you'll never accidently call anyone again!

For me yes the main advantages of Android are the ability to download files direct to the phone to stream, transfer elsewhere. Access to the file system and adblocker without root/jailbreaking. In general alot more modifications are possible on Android without root vs iPhone

listermint

RockSalto wrote: »

What exactly? I'm genuinely curious because the only thing I've not been able to do on an iPhone that I can do on Amdroid is use my phone as a USB drive and install 3rd party apps.

I think the 'freedom' of Android is highly exaggerated for the average consumer.

It's really not.

Mobdro.

And any other media related streaming you want to do android just can't be beat.

Because you've never heard or tried it you don't understand the beauty of these things.

listermint

blade1 wrote: »

I switched to OnePlus 3.
The only thing I really miss is the iPhone Pass Wallet.
Boarding passes were so easy to add.
Also the OnePlus calls people by mistake very easy.
I might have just come off the phone to someone and as I am putting the phone into my pocket it would be calling someone else.

A few other things I miss a small bit but overall not enough to go back.
Also I am not impressed with the battery life but dash charge is great.
The t3 hopefully/should have better battery life.

There is no need for an app for this.

Google now throws your boarding pass and warns you if your are delayed to catch a flight if you use Gmail and Google now.

No app needed Google now handles this with superiority

blade1

listermint wrote: »

There is no need for an app for this.

Google now throws your boarding pass and warns you if your are delayed to catch a flight if you use Gmail and Google now.

No app needed Google now handles this with superiority

Tell me more!
Any instructions anywhere to set it up.
Don't use Gmail though.

The high horse brigade

blade1 wrote: »

Tell me more!
Any instructions anywhere to set it up.
Don't use Gmail though.

What? You have an Android phone without a Google account? That's a bit pointless

blade1

I have a Google account.
I just don't use gmail.

I did exactly what you did last December. Been using iPhones since the iPhone 4 back in 2010 but moved to a Galaxy S7 due to both the price of the iPhone 7 and the whole headphone jack debacle.

I'm normally quite resistant to change and didn't like it for the first month or so. But I'm doing fine now. I don't like the Samsung emoji but other than that I'm happy enough.

guil

Karsini wrote: »

I did exactly what you did last December. Been using iPhones since the iPhone 4 back in 2010 but moved to a Galaxy S7 due to both the price of the iPhone 7 and the whole headphone jack debacle.

I'm normally quite resistant to change and didn't like it for the first month or so. But I'm doing fine now. I don't like the Samsung emoji but other than that I'm happy enough.

The emoji's are a lot different aren't they, I had an iPhone 7 and last week swapped it for a galaxy S7 plus cash. So far I like it but something's are annoying me such as the emoji's, double tap space for . Also the ability to tap the top of the screen to go to top of whatever app you were in. I know a button appears in the stock internet browser.

All in all nothing major but it will just take some time to get used to.

guil

guil wrote: »

The emoji's are a lot different aren't they, I had an iPhone 7 and last week swapped it for a galaxy S7 plus cash. So far I like it but something's are annoying me such as the emoji's, double tap space for . Also the ability to tap the top of the screen to go to top of whatever app you were in. I know a button appears in the stock internet browser.

All in all nothing major but it will just take some time to get used to

Double-tap for space is available but disabled by default in the Samsung keyboard. I replaced the Samsung keyboard with the Google Gboard which also supports it.

guil

Karsini wrote: »

Double-tap for space is available but disabled by default in the Samsung keyboard. I replaced the Samsung keyboard with the Google Gboard which also supports it.

Learn something new everyday, what's the difference between the two keyboards?

sentient_6

Alot of apps have the ability to jump back to the top btw, twitter, Google+, whatsapp, Facebook, instagram, YouTube, to name a few, just tap the header tab and you'll jump back up.

robinph

ED E wrote: »

Access the NFC chip is one clear one. Lots of Leap users adore that feature that Apple wont let iOS users have.

I couldn't really see a use for the NFC until relatively recently. But I now have one "implanted"* in my arm reading blood glucose levels 24/7 that I then scan with my phone and I couldn't be without NFC.

Pretty niche requirement, but there is a constant stream of iPhone users in groups online wondering when they will be able to do the same with their devices and they never quite get that Apple are the reason for the block and not the app developer.




*It's actually just a disc stuck on the arm with a small needle going into me. But I am fully android with a couple of bits of tech permanently partially embedded in me.

errlloyd

robinph wrote: »

I couldn't really see a use for the NFC until relatively recently. But I now have one "implanted"* in my arm reading blood glucose levels 24/7 that I then scan with my phone and I couldn't be without NFC.

Can you link me to that device by any chance. I am doing some research on medical devices like it :P