Anybody switch from iPhone 5 to Android?

jmk396

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Jul 22, 2004
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Has anybody switched from an iPhone 5 to an Android phone?

It seems like everytime this gets asked a flame war starts but I'd really like some honest opinions.

Right now I have an iPhone 5 and here what I like about Android:

1) Swype keyboard
2) Google Navigation (offline cached maps, etc)
3) Google Now (tell you traffic before appointments, etc)
4) Background tasks (downloading podcasts overnight even if they take more than 10 minutes!)
5) Bigger screen
6) Java (I'm just not a fan of Objective-C)
7) Location events (turn off Bluetooth at work, etc)
8) Intents (i.e. upload photos directly to Flickr, etc)
9) Face Unlock (just seems neat, but I know it's somewhat pointless - but this just shows how open Android is compared to iOS)

My concerns:

1) iPad - I have an iPad and it integrates nicely with the iPhone (i.e. pictures sync over, universal apps sync games to iPhone, etc)
2) Wife's iPhone and parents - Photostream is great to share pictures
3) Camera quality (this is important so hopefully Android can somewhat match it!)
4) Games seem to come out faster for iOS, but that's why I'm keeping my iPad.
5) AirPlay (mostly for music)

Does anybody have any honest opinions for me? Has anybody switched from the iPhone 5?

EDIT: I'm thinking about trying a Galaxy S3 from Amazon (unlocked/no-contract) so I have 30-days to see if I like it...
 
Just remember that the SGS4 is being announced Next Thursday the 14th. Don't buy the SGS3 before that, at least. Might help push the prices down if nothing else. I think the biggest barrier to switching is how many apps you have paid for on Apple's side... Having to rebuy them for Android's side would suck.

I've never owned an iPhone. Love my SGS3. Wirelessly streaming photos or videos to my Samsung TV is damn fun though.
 
I've been a huge iPhone fan for years and like my new 5, very much. It's what the 4/4S should have been. However, I find iOS and the iPhone a bit stale, now.

Android has come a long way since I last tried it when Gingerbread was the latest version. I'm looking forward to what the GS4 has to offer. I may well make the jump to Android if the GS4 is as good as speculated.

I buy my phones at full price to avoid being locked into contracts, so the few dollars I'd lose by switching from Apple apps to Android don't really trouble me.

I agree with Rune75, though. Wait until the GS4 is out because it'll drive down SG3 prices.
 
I didn't move to android from iphone but i think android is better than iphone cause it has the same apps and it's much cheaper than iphone.
 
I moved from iOS to Android (ICS). They are functionally equivalent to me, but I am so happy that I don't have to deal with iTunes anymore.
 
Looks like you are locked in to this ecosystem. Unless you want to "rebel," don't like being bothered with all those proprietary features, I would say stick to an iDevice.
 
BTW, you can easily set up google Drive to sync files across many computers or phones... Set up folders to share with other people... Nice little app for desktop Drive syncing too.

Look into Doubletwist to see if it will do what you need... It will sync your itunes music with your phone. Handy thing, El Goog gives you 20 gigs of space for music on their cloud via Play Music. You can stream or sync that music on 5 devices too.

As for games, so long as you are getting a quality handset, the games issue is fairly null.
 
Looks like you are locked in to this ecosystem. Unless you want to "rebel," don't like being bothered with all those proprietary features, I would say stick to an iDevice.

Proprietary features... like a microUSB cable or micro SD cards [strike=]or Google Maps[/s]?
 
I'd just wait until the summer for iOS 7. If that doesn't bring an experiance that you want then just get an Android phone. The iPhone 5 (as with any iPhone) will retain great value, even after the release of the 5s this summer.
 
I just did the opposite. I switched from android to iOS. I love the iPhone 5. I've been an avid android user since the original droid incredible and just my opinion, but android has become more fractured, and with the phones getting bigger and bigger, I just felt like I wanted a phone that would just work. Different android phones are released every couple months. If you're like me, I wait for my upgrade so I'm locked into a phone for a year and a half. My last android, the droid x2 was basically obsolete a few months after I bought it. It's frustrating.
 
A couple of points, though not necessarily what you'd think:

Java is a negative. It's not as efficient, and it's prone to security issues. If you're thinking of development, the iOS development set is still leagues better, both in tools and documentation.

You will never use Face Unlock after the initial burst. You'll swear that you will, but the novelty will wear off very quickly. It often won't work in low light or if your look changes significantly from day to day. Much like Samsung's Smart Stay, it's there to sound good on the spec sheet... and not much else.

I would wait for the GS4 launch, like mentioned, but don't rush to ditch your iPhone 5. You have a fast phone with a great camera, superior app quality and an OEM that won't abandon updates after six months -- why would you give that up so quickly?
 
I was in your shoes 2 months ago-I had an iPhone 4, I thought Android would be such an upgrade-I grabbed a SGS3, and two months later? I have an iPhone 5

First of all, I am in no way an Apple Fanboy. I don't have an iPad, iPod, Mac, and all of the Apple gear. Just the iPhone 5.

I think the main reason I came back was the customization-I tweak my computer, spend hours coding rainmeter, spend countless hours overclocking. However, when it comes to my phone, I like it to just go. I found it took too much time to get anywhere close to what I wanted. Even once I got close, I could never get it quite right.

The things I loved about Android: Custom Keyboards. Especially Swiftkey, and they are supposed to come out with a new keyboard that includes something Swype like! (Might have already come out)

USB Drive: Plug and play for files.

Expandable storage: I had 70 GB's at my disposal at any onetime for the price of 16 GB's of iPhone storage. Granted, I only used 23 of the GB's...

Replaceable Battery: I kept a backup battery in my backpack, if my battery ever ran low, it was easy to switch it out. Unlike iPhone

Playable file formats: Sooo many more. Granted, Handbrake can transform files easily, it just takes time.

What I didn't like:

Fragmentation-to keep up with the latest, you have to root. That isn't a big deal, as you get special features. For some, it can be scary though. And there is always that small possibility you brick your phone.

Too much customization. It took me too long too get things setup the way I wanted. I use my desktop for the heavy stuff. I wanted a fairly simple look. It sounds easy to setup, I was suprised to say the least.

I'm a bit tired, or I'd write some more detailed information.
 
If you had asked me 3 years ago I would have said iOS but these days they are both equal platforms in almost every way. I'm always for trying new things so I think you should switch and see if the grass is greener.
 
I was in your shoes 2 months ago-I had an iPhone 4, I thought Android would be such an upgrade-I grabbed a SGS3, and two months later? I have an iPhone 5

First of all, I am in no way an Apple Fanboy. I don't have an iPad, iPod, Mac, and all of the Apple gear. Just the iPhone 5.

I think the main reason I came back was the customization-I tweak my computer, spend hours coding rainmeter, spend countless hours overclocking. However, when it comes to my phone, I like it to just go. I found it took too much time to get anywhere close to what I wanted. Even once I got close, I could never get it quite right.

The things I loved about Android: Custom Keyboards. Especially Swiftkey, and they are supposed to come out with a new keyboard that includes something Swype like! (Might have already come out)

USB Drive: Plug and play for files.

Expandable storage: I had 70 GB's at my disposal at any onetime for the price of 16 GB's of iPhone storage. Granted, I only used 23 of the GB's...

Replaceable Battery: I kept a backup battery in my backpack, if my battery ever ran low, it was easy to switch it out. Unlike iPhone

Playable file formats: Sooo many more. Granted, Handbrake can transform files easily, it just takes time.

What I didn't like:

Fragmentation-to keep up with the latest, you have to root. That isn't a big deal, as you get special features. For some, it can be scary though. And there is always that small possibility you brick your phone.

Too much customization. It took me too long too get things setup the way I wanted. I use my desktop for the heavy stuff. I wanted a fairly simple look. It sounds easy to setup, I was suprised to say the least.

I'm a bit tired, or I'd write some more detailed information.
So you got an iphone because you cant customize it???!!
 
I will stick to iPhone and iPad. Once started with the Eco system I'm kind of stucked with it. But I'm also a happy camper. I don't need the UI customization as people request. Would be ok if there; is also ok if I don't need to see pink screens around me.
That's said a Windows 8 tablet is still on top of my current wish list; even in addition to iPad. Android, not really interessted in.

For iPhone 5 I wait for summer when the 5S comes; my iP4 still works and contract end in summer ... What a lucky timing
 
So you got an iphone because you cant customize it???!!

Basically! There are definitely pitfalls of the iPhone. No doubt about it.

No support of FLAC-only ALAC. Pain in the ass. I have to keep two versions of every song on my computer-one for desktop playing, one for my iPhone.

iCloud can kiss my ass. I hate the email client, everything but the backup and find my iPhone. Android, however, has an amazing Gmail/Google integration, and a much better Find my iPhone type app- Cybrus or something like that.

Widgets-Weather widget was soo nice in some aspects.

Notification menu. I can't rearrange it. One customization thing I would love. Also, you have to hit a tiny "X" to remove a notification from the menu. Again, I prefer to swipe it to the right like Android. With the tiny "X", half the time, I open the app instead of clearing the notification.

Seriously though, those are my biggest complaints. Other than that, I think my iPhone is great, and I most likely won't switch to Android when my contract is up this September. I could be surprised though.

To be perfectly honest though, I don't like the look, feel, and operation of Android yet.
 
Thats what threw me. A galaxy s3 is current and does just work!!
Not if you don't like Touchwiz, or Blur, or Sense, or whatever Lg puts on their phones and just want vanilla Android. Or, depending on the network provider, all the bloatware they install and you can't remove unless you root your phone. Or the delay in updating to the latest and greatest version of Android, leaving you again at the mercy of your network provider.

The fragmentation in Android is terrible, and only seems to be getting worse. It has made me strongly consider getting a Windows phone or an iPhone (gag).
 
Not if you don't like Touchwiz, or Blur, or Sense, or whatever Lg puts on their phones and just want vanilla Android. Or, depending on the network provider, all the bloatware they install and you can't remove unless you root your phone. Or the delay in updating to the latest and greatest version of Android, leaving you again at the mercy of your network provider.

The fragmentation in Android is terrible, and only seems to be getting worse. It has made me strongly consider getting a Windows phone or an iPhone (gag).

Not everyone likes AOSP. It's a strong second to TW for me. Samsung has turned around a lot and is getting updates out quickly. And, Sprint is much better about getting said updates to my SGS3. Like you alluded to, you can always root and have some fun with ROMs to get the new features earlier.

You listed three main GUIs. LG who? Who cares. Please list a few apps that cannot run because of fragmentation on the current generation (read: in the last year) of phones. Either way, fragmentation is lessening a great deal via software updates and new phone sales. Read the link

You might even ask why have Gingerbread devices had the largest share til now? Because for the general consumer, it just WORKS. :cool: Now, their 2 year contracts are ending and they are buying new androids... so the 4.x is starting to dominate.
 
Java is a negative. It's not as efficient, and it's prone to security issues. If you're thinking of development, the iOS development set is still leagues better, both in tools and documentation.

Android devices don't run a JVM and are not Java-based. Yes the source langage for android development happens to match the Java Language Specification, but the runtime environment is not Java.

Secondly, most of the recent horrible security issues with have been in the browser plugin and its sand boxing abilities (or lack thereof) not the actual JVM itself. Needless to say even if Android were running in a Java runtime, which it doesn't, it would not be affected by crappy coding in the browser plugin.
 
Not if you don't like Touchwiz, or Blur, or Sense, or whatever Lg puts on their phones and just want vanilla Android. Or, depending on the network provider, all the bloatware they install and you can't remove unless you root your phone. Or the delay in updating to the latest and greatest version of Android, leaving you again at the mercy of your network provider.

The fragmentation in Android is terrible, and only seems to be getting worse. It has made me strongly consider getting a Windows phone or an iPhone (gag).

That's why you buy your phone from Google, the way android is supposed to be. Not loaded with a bunch of junk and you don't have to deal with any carrier BS. If you are on GSM there is no reason not to buy a nexus. Everything you listed is fixed with that phone.
 
I made the switch from iOS to Android a couple of months ago with an iPhone 4 to Galaxy Note 2. I don't have a large amount of investment in iOS apps so had very little to lose there and was just not impressed with the iPhone 5. I went in to get one for my wife for Christmas, though, and was blown away by how much the competition had improved since last I looked at them. I ended up getting myself a GN2 and she liked it so much the iPhone went back and she got one as well.

Switching over was really pretty easy, although I do understand the "fragmentation" comment above. The customization that is available with Android is amazing; unfortunately, it is also required. The Apple experience is more curated and controlled and for people who don't want to mess with the details, probably easier. For example: I spend a while looking for Visual Voicemail on the GN2. After some searching, I discovered it was app that had to be installed, rather than just coming standard on the phone. It seems like for every feature on an iPhone, there are three choices on Android, which has both its good points and bad.

Moving my data over was an OK experience, which touches on my single biggest complaint about the GN2 and "fragmentation": While I never thought I would say it, I miss iTunes as a reliable one-stop shop for syncing, backup, and media management. Kies is mostly terrible. Google and Amazon have fairly easily taken the iTunes Music/App store's place, since I had already been buying most of my music at Amazon. That was from years ago, when the restrictive DRM made Amazon a better choice. Roku and Cloudplayer make that music streamable anywhere in my house. Even after getting a 64Gb memory expansion, I don't use it that much. I tend to stream everything now with LTE.

It took about a week with the phone to familiarize myself with Android conventions and the GN2's size but even with the above, I would do it over again in a heart beat. I love the GN2. Every interaction with brings a sense of pleasure that I haven't had since the original iPhone launch. The Galaxy Note 2 is just damn beautiful, powerful (with the Smart Dock it has essentially replaced one of my PC's in my home office) and does what I want my phone to do much, much better than the iPhone did. That isn't so say I don't like Apple and wouldn't ever go back. If they come out with a better product, I would consider it, sure. At some point Apple stopped striving for innovation and started sitting on their laurels, though, and until that changes, I am sure to not.
 
So you got an iphone because you cant customize it???!!

Not everyone wants to be able to customize their phone. I, for one, don't give two fucks about it. I had three Android phones and hated them all. I have an iPhone and it works and don't give two shits about wanting it to look different.

Different strokes for different folks.
 
Not everyone wants to be able to customize their phone. I, for one, don't give two fucks about it. I had three Android phones and hated them all. I have an iPhone and it works and don't give two shits about wanting it to look different.

Different strokes for different folks.

I dont give a dam either and thats my point. Take any Android phone in the iphone 5 price range (s3. Xperia z. Note 2. Htc one.Nexus 4.) They all "just work" out of the box. They all do the same if not more than the iphone 5 out of the box. Customisation and choice is there if you want it on Android phones in the same price range as iphone 5. Customisation is not forced on you. Its choice and to have that choice is always healthier. What is so difficult about any of those phones out of the box that Iphone 5 does so well?
 
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I was contemplating on doing the opposite.. From Note to iPhone 5. Just thinking about it though but haven't been able to give much thought into it. I love the cameras on the iPhones..but other than that, everything is pretty much even cos I just use my phone for emailing, social media management and the likes.
 
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