iPhone disciple looking to try Android...

Tyler-Durden

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Nov 18, 2012
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I'm sort of a reverse Zorachus when it comes to phones. Been with the iPhone since the 3GS. Tried Android with the HTC Incredible, but was back to the 4S in less than six months. Nothing against the 6S+, but it really doesn't inspire me to upgrade, at least not until iOS9 is jailbroken.

So, I'm thinking about using my T-Mo JUMP upgrade to try Android. The only 2015 Android phone I've seen in person is the new Moto X. I liked it a lot, but it doesn't have the best battery life. I also don't think T-Mo will carry it. I'd have to buy it outright. Before I make that move, what other top Android phones, available now or on the way, should I consider?

I fully intend to return to the iPhone when iOS9 is cracked or, at the latest, when the 7 launches in 2016. I'm just looking to take a detour to the dark side for a while.
 
If doing it now and using jump there are only a couple of viable options.. Galaxy s6/note 5 or the lg g4.. May be a couple of other options with new nexus devises possibly dropping late this month though.
 
I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I've tried countless android phones and I just always end up coming back to iOS. I tried the nexus 6 too and just didn't like it. I've tried samsungs and couldn't stand touch wiz. The Moto X always comes close each year but the iPhone edges it out for me due to more polish.

Yeah I tried the Moto X 2015 as well and the battery life was terrible. It's pretty much a wall hugger phone. Every single day of the week I had it, it was going to die before the end of the day. I literally just had to not use it to make it through the end of the day, I hate having a phone where I have to babysit my battery life. I'm fine with charging a phone at the end of the day and I understand heavy use is going to drain any battery, but I am just talking doing basic texting, we browsing, calls, YouTube (light amounts, I'm not watching movies/shows here), with screen brightness at 20%... It's still dying in 5 hours. I just couldn't deal.
 
I tried and failed a Droid Turbo. I have an iPhone 6 but it's too small. I may be in the market for a 2015 model Nexus but it has to be made by a company other than Motorola, their phones are crap versus Apple IMO (I'm not talking about software, I'm talking about hardware).
 
I would wait till October'ish time frame, we may see the new Nexus phones then. At this point those seem to be the only reasonable Android phone in recent years.
 
Nice to know I'm not alone in my restlessness with less than satisfactory phone options. I'm not in any particular rush to upgrade, so no harm in waiting to see what's on the horizon. In the end, I'll probably end up with a 6S+, anyway. :p
 
The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is amazing from my experience. It's certainly worth trying in my opinion.

Super fast, amazing cameras, nice build quality and in my experience, all day battery life. The phone also charges ridiculously fast with the included adaptive quick charger.
 
Nice to know I'm not alone in my restlessness with less than satisfactory phone options. I'm not in any particular rush to upgrade, so no harm in waiting to see what's on the horizon. In the end, I'll probably end up with a 6S+, anyway. :p

iphone 6+ or nexus 6 is too big to fit in my pockets. I'm not carrying a man purse so I can have a huge phone, that's why I got a iphone 6. But the droid turbo, whatever size that was, was the ideal size for me. Too bad it was such garbage that I returned it for the iphone 6.

Hoping the Nexus 5x is a good phone and isn't too expensive and I can swap my iphone 6 for it.
 
Just be sure that whatever you get is either stock android or can be easily converted to stock android. Pure android is actually quite nice on a phone. It's the multiple layers of garbage that OEMs and carriers add on top of it that gives it a bad rap.
 
Don't use any phone with TouchWiz... As someone who knows lots of iPhone to Android and back to Apple people, Samsung TouchWiz is probably the single biggest reason why iPhone users switches back.
 
Definitely have to agree on the abomination that is TouchWiz. I tried a Note 4, late last year. Took less than 36 hours for me to return it for the 6+ I have now. If I go Android, it'll only be for the stock/vanilla version.

Those new Nexus 5x and 6p phones could be promising. I guess they'll be out in a few weeks.
 
A note 4 can't be compared to a Note 5 if your strictly talking about touchwiz.. There have been a lot of changes and optimizations on the new Samsung devices. The Note 5 is a seriously fast and smooth device...

If a raw android experience is what you seek, your looking at nexus devices. Nexus devices seem to make compromises on hardware from what I've seen. Usually worse cameras, display etc. Lots of people have and enjoy them though since it's the easiest, most consistent way to get that raw android expetience.

If Nexus is what you are interested in, best wait until the new nexus phones are released since that's probably only a month or two out.
 
I think with Samsung they do tend to run smooth out of the box, but overtime as memory and files cache up and software updates process it bogs down over time, honestly if touch wiz didn't do these things Samsung would be a top choice for android offerings.
 
Just be sure that whatever you get is either stock android or can be easily converted to stock android. Pure android is actually quite nice on a phone. It's the multiple layers of garbage that OEMs and carriers add on top of it that gives it a bad rap.

I would second this. I was on a Nexus with stock (and current!) Android and really liked it. Whenever I was asked to help someone at work with their Android phone I generally had no idea because of the manufacturers 'embellishments' made everything a steaming mess. I wont name names, but I am sure most of you can guess.

I am intrigued by the Sony Z5 and the claim that they have a lightly skinned version of Andoird, I just dont know how mcuh I trust Sony as a company right now. They seem really lost ATM. The finger print scanner is in an awesome place in my mind and I think the limited use of the 4K for the screen resolution is pretty smart. Battery life is more important to me.

If you really want to go somewhere dark, try a Windows Phone. It will help you realize how great iOS and Android really are. There are certain things I think a Windows Phone excels at, but is so far behind in other areas it is comical and sad.

Let us know what you get.
 
I would only consider the Moto X Pure or the upcoming Nexus phones right now. The Note5/Edge+ are decent phones, but not worth the money at all unless you're on T-Mo's old Jump plan or something. My wife has the S6 and it has been good so far except for battery life, I just hate how Samsung is stripping their phones down now, by removing the IR blaster and removable/expandable storage and batteries, all while still ramping up prices on the superfluous Edge phones. The Z5 would also be a nice contender if it's out in the US soon, not sure about availability right now though. I wouldn't even look at the Premium Z5 though, I'm sure it'll be stupid expensive as well and the only time it will be displaying 4K res is while viewing 4K videos.
 
Seems like the upcoming Nexus 6p might be my best shot at going Android. The rumored (I know) specs are pretty damned impressive. Battery life is a big issue for me. Get me through a busy day on a single charge like my 6+ and it could be love.
 
I'm completely the opposite at the moment. Can't wait to trade in the turbo for a 6s. I just like iOS more and have more investment in it from when I had the 4 and 5.
 
^^ I'm pretty heavily invested in Apple, too. All my mobile tech is Apple as well as my TV. I don't dislike Apple at all. Just got an itch to try something different. I'm sure I'll probably regret it. :p
 
^^ I'm pretty heavily invested in Apple, too. All my mobile tech is Apple as well as my TV. I don't dislike Apple at all. Just got an itch to try something different. I'm sure I'll probably regret it. :p

Nawww... I was an iPhone user for 3 years and switched and had NO problems at all. Everything I use is cloud based anyway. Super easy switch.

IMO, I'd go with a new Moto X or wait until the new Nexus 5 comes out in October.
 
^^ I'm pretty heavily invested in Apple, too. All my mobile tech is Apple as well as my TV. I don't dislike Apple at all. Just got an itch to try something different. I'm sure I'll probably regret it. :p

Honestly, the thing is that you like what you like. I was big on iphones from the beginning. When I swapped over to a note 3, I liked it a lot. I then decided to get a droid turbo because of all the great hype around it, and I couldn't have been happier. There was definitely something missing though, that familiarity I really loved back when I had the iPhone 4 and 5. That, and the fact that everyone I know has one and uses imessage exclusively makes it a great time to go back.
 
The tricky bit in Android is that, for all the added choice and flexibility, there aren't many phones that provide an iPhone-like cohesive experience, where it feels like the hardware and software were designed for each other. As good as they are, phones like the Galaxy S6 and G4 come across as hardware first, software second.

As others have suggested, your best bet is either one of the new Nexus phones (likely the 5X) or something like the Moto X Pure Edition. They're going to offer the most unified hardware, even if they're not the most powerful devices.
 
if you go samsung youll probably never go back to apple, samsung is so much better its crazy! I like the galaxy notes myself, ive had a 2,3,and currently a 4. They can literally do everything, rarely ever use a laptop for anything anymore.
 
I've tried my fair share of phones over the years. Currently with a Note 4. If you are going to try Android I'd look at the Galaxy s6 or note 5 if you want imo the best cameras available for android. the Touchwiz interface needs to just be replaced/renamed to get rid of the old stigma against it. I had a Galaxy S5 and I never had any major issues with lag or anything. Sure it's not like running a nexus phone, but it's not horrid by any stretch. And with the S6 and Note5 it's been polished a lot more.

Also Moto came out with the Moto X Pure which is a nice almost stock android experience. Camera is a crap in low light, but it adds some nice things over the nexus phones. Pure android is actually devoid of many enhancements that the phone makers add on top of the bare android OS. Bare bone android is kinda blah imo.

I've tried almost every major android flagship and always go back to my Note4. I'm really into using my phone camera as my primary way to take photos of the Family while we are out and about so I'm always on the lookout for new phones and their camera specs.

The Iphone 6+ I used for a while had a nice camera but good grief I hate how it stores photos. I wish I could actually store photos in separate folders on iOS. Not just tags that the gallery app sees. I had taken like 200 photos on my 6+ had them all organized on the phone, but when I plugged into the PC it's like WTF all the photos are just in one giant folder...sigh. Maybe there's another way to store them that I didn't look into.
 
Camera is one of the least important components of any phone for me. Just take decent shots. Beyond that, I could not care less. I know that's a minority opinion.

Tried the Note 4, but returned it in less than 2 days. Couldn't stand TW. The phone itself was nice, however. I'm just going to wait on the new Nexus phones, as so many have suggested. Pure Android or iOS for me. :D
 
Camera is one of the least important components of any phone for me. Just take decent shots. Beyond that, I could not care less. I know that's a minority opinion.

Tried the Note 4, but returned it in less than 2 days. Couldn't stand TW. The phone itself was nice, however. I'm just going to wait on the new Nexus phones, as so many have suggested. Pure Android or iOS for me. :D

you werent using touchwiz easy home were you? After you get used to it and optimize the settings the normal touchwiz is actually pretty sweet and has many more useful features than stock android. Maybe ive had samsungs too long but i like it, dont quite get the hate about it, lol! Its never given me an issue other than when i had the note 2 and they upgraded the android version OTA (forget which versions they were back then) it totally borked my phone. Not sure if that was due to touchwiz or something else, but prior to the update i was able to leave my phone on without restarting it for about 3 months with no problems at all, the only reason i shut it off then was cause i had to fly somewhere. After that update it became noticeably slower and would freeze for a few seconds quite often when doing anything on it, even entering a phone number. Since then ive had the note 3 and note 4 and both were trouble free till lollipop upgrade which caused a few minor issues, but nothing performance reducing.

What is it that causes problems after the OTA update to new android version? Seems like this update has caused some issue with every single phone ive ever had regardless if its a samsung or motorola which have been the only ones ive used, about 3 different models of each brand. Any phone ive let update has never been the same afterwards, fortunately the note 4 only has minor little problems like random icons turning invisible but the name remaining and if you touch the spot they still work. Is this common with all makes/models of phones to have post android version upgrade problems or am i just super lucky?
 
Honest question for those who say things like "stock Android is blah" and "manufacturer skins add a lot of useful features:" what are those useful features in TW, Sense, etc., other than possibly Samsung having multi-window mode earlier than AOSP? It seems like every year or two they stumble upon a truly useful enhancement, and the other 90-90% are gimmicks.
 
Honest question for those who say things like "stock Android is blah" and "manufacturer skins add a lot of useful features:" what are those useful features in TW, Sense, etc., other than possibly Samsung having multi-window mode earlier than AOSP? It seems like every year or two they stumble upon a truly useful enhancement, and the other 90-90% are gimmicks.

heres a list for ya, some people might not think they are all awesome or truly useful, but im never one to want less options/features from my devices.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/15-T...-day-to-day-Android-experience-better_id67067
 
Get a Nexus. Consider yourself warned. I have a friend whose phone history has been iPhone, HTC, Samsung, Samsung and I finally talked him into replacing his broken S5 with a Nexus. He called me last night to tell me that he finally sees why I've been pushing a Nexus. When you have a phone that works properly you realize how little those bells and whistles that never get used matter.
 
heres a list for ya, some people might not think they are all awesome or truly useful, but im never one to want less options/features from my devices.

http://www.phonearena.com/news/15-T...-day-to-day-Android-experience-better_id67067

Long list but not complete. There's also:

- Smart stay to detect if you're looking at the screen so you don't have to touch the screen every so often to keep it from timing out

- Keyboard has gear icon to easily switch between onscreen keyboard, voice input, handwriting transcription, etc.

- Pen gestures

- Multitasking gestures

- Refocus while recording video (thought this was standard but not an option in, for example, Cyanogenmod 12.1)

Touchwiz > Windows 8.1 > Nexus > iOS. Note is like Lexus high end with all the premium options, Windows like mid tier model, Nexus like base model and iOS like golf cart.
 
Long list but not complete. There's also:

- Smart stay to detect if you're looking at the screen so you don't have to touch the screen every so often to keep it from timing out

- Keyboard has gear icon to easily switch between onscreen keyboard, voice input, handwriting transcription, etc.

- Pen gestures

- Multitasking gestures

- Refocus while recording video (thought this was standard but not an option in, for example, Cyanogenmod 12.1)

Touchwiz > Windows 8.1 > Nexus > iOS. Note is like Lexus high end with all the premium options, Windows like mid tier model, Nexus like base model and iOS like golf cart.

indeed, i like and frequently use many of the features. My phone does work properly, no complaints here other than being on the crappy ATT network,haha! not sure what people think the problem is.
 
Only one item from that list is actually useful... LOL.

----------------------------------



I have to love what Meizu is doing with the Pro 5. Look at the tag line: "Not Perfect" <--- middle finger to OnePlus and Apple at the same time!

http://www.meizu.com/en/products/pro5/spec.html
 
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I mean, the multi-window thing is a legit point. Most of the others are minor UI tweaks that could easily be accomplished without skinning and bogging down the entire OS. In fact, I fully agree that the expanded power menu and "clear all" multitasking button should be added to AOSP. But CyanogenMod proves that both of those additions can be accomplished without adversely affecting the rest of the OS, either aesthetically or speed-wise.
 
there are no slow down issues in touchwiz after you adjust the animation times in the settings, its instant then. frankly the stock animation time isnt very long so theres really no significant speed difference anyway. Its my understanding that the current touchwiz version is much better/faster/lighter than that from years ago so if you havent experienced its latest version you might be thinking its slower than it actually is.
 
there are no slow down issues in touchwiz after you adjust the animation times in the settings, its instant then. frankly the stock animation time isnt very long so theres really no significant speed difference anyway. Its my understanding that the current touchwiz version is much better/faster/lighter than that from years ago so if you havent experienced its latest version you might be thinking its slower than it actually is.
Are you sure about that?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE3oiEVliWQ
 
Get a Nexus. Consider yourself warned. I have a friend whose phone history has been iPhone, HTC, Samsung, Samsung and I finally talked him into replacing his broken S5 with a Nexus. He called me last night to tell me that he finally sees why I've been pushing a Nexus. When you have a phone that works properly you realize how little those bells and whistles that never get used matter.

My next phone will be a Nexus for that reason. My last three were S3, S4, and S5. But I'm sick of having broken features (driver issues) with CM12 and slow performance with TouchWiz. AOSP is so much better performance wise (actual usage performance, not benchmark).
 

interesting, my note 4 doesnt have those problems, im sitting around 50% of my ram usage and apps open near instantaneous. Its most likely user error cause im pretty sure thats not normal behavior that all edge users are experiencing. He should probably learn to close his apps from time to time or maybe he has a bad app running or something to cause that kind of crazy lag.
 
You can get a Samsung phone and tweak it until you get quick responsiveness... or, you can get a Nexus / Moto X and get that experience out of the box.

That and going Samsung immediately sacrifices one of the things you take for granted as an iPhone user: timely updates for years after you get your phone. The absence of them isn't as essential as it used to be, but it's still a bit of a rude shock when you get updates months late and are thankful to get any major OS upgrades in the first place. You still have to wait days or weeks to get Nexus and Moto updates, but at least they come in a reliable fashion.
 
You can get a Samsung phone and tweak it until you get quick responsiveness... or, you can get a Nexus / Moto X and get that experience out of the box.

That and going Samsung immediately sacrifices one of the things you take for granted as an iPhone user: timely updates for years after you get your phone. The absence of them isn't as essential as it used to be, but it's still a bit of a rude shock when you get updates months late and are thankful to get any major OS upgrades in the first place. You still have to wait days or weeks to get Nexus and Moto updates, but at least they come in a reliable fashion.

Personally I get a new phone every year or so, I like to stay current with the best technology i can get when it comes to phones. There is always some cool new hardware feature that i want in the new version such as IR blaster, fingerprint scanner, better camera or whatever. Dont really care about OS upgrades to be honest, more often than not theyve caused my perfectly functioning phone to develop some sort of problem, sometimes major and sometimes just slightly annoying. Do these pure android nexus and motos phones ever have issues/bugs after an OS upgrade or are they flawless every time? I find it hard to believe they dont sometimes have issues as well.
 
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