What made you switch?

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SamuraiInBlack

Supreme [H]ardness
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So straight to the point: what made you switch? From Android to iOS or vice versa. I'd genuinely like to know.

Storytime:
As much as I hate to admit it, I don't look forward to owning a new Android phone as much as I used to in days past. Currently have a Pixel 4 XL. I'm content with it, but I also feel like the joy of owning a flagship device just isn't there anymore. Maybe I'm crazy or just getting old, but it just gets harder to be excited anymore about this stuff.

It also feels like Android is trying to be more like iOS every time a new round of flagship phones get released. If Apple removes something off the iPhone, or make it an accessory, the next round of flagship Android phones follow suit. It's aggravating. Android is supposed to be different, isn't it?

That being said, I think I'm legitimately considering an iPhone next go around. I feel like if all I'm getting now is an iPhone with an Android UI, what's the point, besides being able to access dev mode?

My biggest holdup is honestly that though: I cannot get accustomed to the iOS interface. It doesn't feel intuitive to me and I just feel lost checking it out on demo phones or my wife's iPhone. If this were not the case, I'd probably have gone the iPhone route a long time ago and not even considered Android.
 
I went from IPhone to pixel because I got tired of having to jailbreak my phone to sideload apps.

These days, I could use whatever as they are all the same anyway.

Apple's big pull for me would be update intervals. Personal preference, I guess.
 
auntjemima said:
Apple's big pull for me would be update intervals. Personal preference, I guess.
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This is precisely why I use OnePlus. They are awesome about pushing updates. I'm on my second one now as I broke the first, and they are constantly pushing updates and patching. I wish all androids were supported like this.
 
S5 to Sonim XP5S

I gave up dealing with all these apps and other nonsense.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
My biggest holdup is honestly that though: I cannot get accustomed to the iOS interface. It doesn't feel intuitive to me and I just feel lost checking it out on demo phones or my wife's iPhone.
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You just need to live with it for a few months and you will get used to it. I was the same way, I knew a bit from helping customers but it always felt clunky.

I switched jobs and the new one gave me an iPhone instead of a Galaxy. After a few weeks I got used to the iPhone and after a few months I preferred it. When I moved again I was given another Galaxy and went through the learning curve again in the opposite direction. Now iPhones feel clunky again lol.
 
Went from cheap Nokia Windows phones to a giant last gen Iphone, because I received one has a gift.

One thing that I missed from the Nokia ecosystem was their mapping system and in general from the experience is a phone that is made for poor people in mind, that do not assume you have a data plan and always access to the Internet (for an obvious example, radio support), it work very well without a connexion, Maps a pre-downloaded, voice recognition on the phone, it has battery life implication, but when you drive in rural Canada it is simpler than having to manually install a different map system and manually download locations.

Live title seem in a trivial way, better with 0 downside, but it was barely viable has virtually everything became Android-Ios over time.
 
OFaceSIG said:
This is precisely why I use OnePlus. They are awesome about pushing updates. I'm on my second one now as I broke the first, and they are constantly pushing updates and patching. I wish all androids were supported like this.
Click to expand...

For how long though? I've heard the opposite lately about OnePlus updates more recently, especially after a new phone is released. I don't know one way or the other though as OnePlus doesn't work as well with certain Verizon MVNOs, so I never bought one.

If I were to switch to Apple, it would be for the years of updates vs. 2-3 years tops on Android (or 2 year "feature" updates and 3 years "security" updates).
 
kirbyrj said:
For how long though? I've heard the opposite lately about OnePlus updates more recently, especially after a new phone is released. I don't know one way or the other though as OnePlus doesn't work as well with certain Verizon MVNOs, so I never bought one.

If I were to switch to Apple, it would be for the years of updates vs. 2-3 years tops on Android (or 2 year "feature" updates and 3 years "security" updates).
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My pixel 2 XL released 7 months ahead of my p20 pro yet no android 11 on the p20. Figure that one out.

Such a cluster fuck. Every new Android phone is random as far as the support timeline goes. At least with apple it is consistent and predictable.
 
Was a die-hard Pixel user - I owned every single one. Still love Android and find the customizability the big draw. Using Nova launcher, I designed the ideal system that had a single home screen (hate swiping left and right to different screens) yet gave me access to literally every critical or often used feature on my phone within one to two swipes. It was phenomenal.

Unfortunately, Apple's ecosystem was just too good to resist. I started out using just a Macbook Pro, and they are just wonderful devices. Then I picked up an iPad pro for Sidecar while traveling and sheet music functionality. The combination of a Macbook Pro plus Sidecar is incredibly powerful for a professional who spends a lot of time in hotel rooms, and there is really nothing as powerful or well integrated on the Android tablet side.

Then I got a new apartment, and wanted a smarthome that was more privacy focused than Alexa or Google. As Apple was really the only choice here when it came to a more privacy focused smarthome, I wound up grabbing homepods and going with Homekit to automate my lights, locks, blinds, hvac, etc.

Then my Garmin Forerunner crapped out and I needed a new fitness watch, so I started taking a look at the Apple watch. My big thing with running is I hate taking my phone (so the watch needed cellular) and I wanted a solution that had good podcast support that synced with all my other devices (not just playlist, but also where in the podcast I was), which pretty much left me with the Apple Watch. Android watches just pale in comparison to the Apple Watch unfortunately - I'd say this was my single biggest driver in switching to an iPhone. The ability to go running with nothing except the Airpods and the watch while listening to podcasts, get home and just hand off the audio seamlessly to HomePods while I shower is just awesome - and once again, nothing as polished as that exists outside of the Apple ecosystem.

Three months later, I honestly don't really like iOS. The interface sucks and I really miss Google Assistant call screening. But the ecosystem works so fantastic together that I can't go back. The integration of Photos, Podcasts, Music, and especially Health is so awesome that I will just deal with the subpar interface of iOS. I vastly prefer my Pixel as an actual phone though.

I guess the reason I switched was because I was dragged into it because Apple made better solutions for me in every other area except a phone. So I traded off a bit of convenience on the phone side to gain convenience and meet my goals in every other area.
 
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I was all in for the iPhone from the 3GS to 7 Plus. Switched to Android when the iPhone dropped Touch ID. Tried Samsung, HTC, OnePlus, and finally Nexus/Pixel. Been with N/P since the Nexus 6 and now with the Pixel 3XL which I've had since 2018. To me, iOS and Android are a lot more similar than different now. I'd eagerly give the iPhone a chance to win me back if it had Touch ID. It looked like the 13 might have Touch ID, but maybe not so much, now. I'm just waiting to see what the P6XL has to offer. 2021 will be my year for a new phone, 'cuz my 3XL just ain't performing very well, these days.
 
I used to use both for a long time. From 2007-2014 I basically bought every iPhone and every flagship android phone from htc, Samsung, Motorola and Sony. Then I got too busy to care and my whole family got iPhones and iMessage just worked for us so I haven’t bought a new android phone since my last one died. I’ve been all iPhone since 2017 and I haven’t missed android at all.
 
kirbyrj said:
For how long though? I've heard the opposite lately about OnePlus updates more recently, especially after a new phone is released. I don't know one way or the other though as OnePlus doesn't work as well with certain Verizon MVNOs, so I never bought one.

If I were to switch to Apple, it would be for the years of updates vs. 2-3 years tops on Android (or 2 year "feature" updates and 3 years "security" updates).
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I realize what I'm about to say, is precisely part of the problem. But most of these devices have 1 year warranty. OnePlus updates security for years. Usually 3 minimum. My OnePlus 8 is on Android 11. I think supporting a phone for 3 years isn't crap service. I realize Apple supports them longer, but they have a much bigger installed base and more money to do so. But if you compare OnePlus to Apple, for the prior to support 3 years, and the latter to go to about 5/6, you would think Apple should be able to support their phone for 10 or 11 years. I think that would be crazy and unreasonable. My point is comparatively OnePlus is doing an awesome job of support considering their size. They certainly do a better job than Samsung, which is a company probably 10 times the size.
 
I originally went from the iPhone to Android because I hated having to "sync" my phone and iTunes library to move files around. Arranging things the way I wanted became I total hassle and iTunes got worse and worse with time. With Android I could (and still can) drag and drop files to my phone just like a hard drive. That's not to say it's been perfect. Both Samsung phones I've owned have been absolute trash, Motorola stopped caring after they got bought by Lenovo, and my Pixel 2's battery fell off a cliff. At this point it's tough to find a perfect solution. I like Android and Google's apps, but I hate basically every Android OEM (except Google's) implementation of Android.
 
I've only ever used flagship Android phones, most recently from OnePlus (last was a OP8Pro) but my most recent phone is an iPhone 12 Pro Max. Its my first ever iPhone and I was honestly just curious what it was like.

Zero issues with Android that I was trying to get away from and now after a few months with this iPhone, my only real complaint is the lack of contextual options in the notifications. Notably I no longer have a "Water Later" option on Youtube subscription notifications which I used heavily.
 
I switched from the iphone 3gs to android back in the day and never looked back. back then, android phones had better specs, and widgets. better screen to body ratios. now, both platforms are becoming more or less the same. so I could use iphone but I don't see a reason to. I can get a android phone for hundreds less. I'm one of those people who doesn't care about the cameras much.
 
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When Windows 10 Mobile was End of Life, switched to Android and got a Motorola G6; since then staying with Android with phones from UMIDIGI.
 
kirbyrj said:
For how long though? I've heard the opposite lately about OnePlus updates more recently, especially after a new phone is released. I don't know one way or the other though as OnePlus doesn't work as well with certain Verizon MVNOs, so I never bought one.

If I were to switch to Apple, it would be for the years of updates vs. 2-3 years tops on Android (or 2 year "feature" updates and 3 years "security" updates).
Click to expand...

Been running a 7T on Verizon prepaid for forever now.. granted not an mvno but for my needs a standard Verizon plan works fine I'm also happy do far with updates.
 
Never switched, Android4lyfe.

Honestly, there are probably many things I would like about iphones, but (1) I'm not ever paying the iphone tax, (2) I'm not interested in a locked-down device, and (3) Android has worked good enough for me anyway.

That said, I'm working on switching to Linux on my mobile phone. Just ordered a t-mobile sim (which supposedly works with my pinephone). Will soon see how well that works–I'll probably have to be more deliberate about updates.
 
Still using Android, never switched.
Honestly didn't find a reason to switch to another phone.
 
I switched to iPhone because I'm extricating myself as much as possible from anything Google.
 
The first is the immediate reason above. I don’t like Google as a business. I don’t use them for anything anymore.

The second is that I’ve owned pretty much every major phone from every brand, and without fail I always end up with weird software issues on Android that results in mega-battery drain issues. We’re talking a largely default phone here. This is why I gave up on Android.
 
Nobu said:
Never switched, Android4lyfe.

Honestly, there are probably many things I would like about iphones, but (1) I'm not ever paying the iphone tax, (2) I'm not interested in a locked-down device, and (3) Android has worked good enough for me anyway.

That said, I'm working on switching to Linux on my mobile phone. Just ordered a t-mobile sim (which supposedly works with my pinephone). Will soon see how well that works–I'll probably have to be more deliberate about updates.
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IPhone Tax? You're paying the same amount if not more for a way shittier processor in flagship android phones. Flagship android phones also has a worse resale value. Some companies like Google also sells a mid-range phone at flagship prices. Apple might have an Apple tax on the PCs, but Androids have the android tax on mobile.
 
CHANG3D said:
IPhone Tax? You're paying the same amount if not more for a way shittier processor in flagship android phones. Flagship android phones also has a worse resale value. Some companies like Google also sells a mid-range phone at flagship prices. Apple might have an Apple tax on the PCs, but Androids have the android tax on mobile.
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they have faster cpus but half the amount of ram, comparing the iphone 12 pro max to the oneplus 9 pro. from the reviews I've seen both are the same speed in real world tests. if you keep your phone for 3+ years I don't know which is the limiting factor, the lack of ram or slower cpu. the iphone 12 pro max with 256gb is $1200, vs the oneplus is $1069. iphones have huge notches and still on 60hz while the oneplus is 120hz.

buy the iphone new, and buy the androids used lol. or buy them both used and save a few hundred. I never buy new phones, except for the last one. I normally buy whatever was flagship 1-2 years ago. take the 7T I just bought for $200 used. its got 8gb ram and 90hz display. vs the oneplus 9 pro that has 12gb and 120hz. and I save hundreds. in 1 or 2 years I'll upgrade to the 9 pro for about $100.
 
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Allow me to rewind the clock farther than you're expecting.

I started on Palm OS, and switched to Windows Mobile 5 because it had multitasking (think of it this way, Palm OS is like Classic Mac OS where you have "fake" cooperative multitasking that only works when one app doesn't hog all the CPU cycles), a much more modern Web browser (Opera Mobile), and better screen options (640x480 vs. 320x320 or 320x480 tops). Faster CPUs, too.

Palm OS 6 Cobalt was ultimately vaporware, leaving no opportunity to switch back... and we found out why when the Palm Pre showed up with this fancy new webOS. That thing was like the Commodore Amiga of smartphones - ridiculously ahead of its time, but too short-lived in the market to the point that its rivals stole all its good features while having much larger software support. (Card-based multitasking switchers in both iOS and Android? Ripped from webOS!)

I didn't get a Pre, though, as it was just that short-lived. The HP TouchPad fire sale was only a scant few years later, marking the demise of webOS as a mobile platform, and now webOS is some in-name-only thing on LG HDTVs.

Then Samsung brought out this crazy device called the Galaxy Note, and I knew I had to have one. It was basically what I wanted as someone accustomed to PDAs like the Dell Axim X50v/X51v and HP iPAQ hx4700 (the sort of devices XDA-developers used to support!), but with modern specs, Android, and crappy resistive digitizer/stylus combo thrown out in favor of a pocket-size Wacom EMR digitizer in concert with capacitive multi-touch!

...not that it happened for a while. I actually had to start out with a Galaxy S3 because my mom wanted in on a BOGO deal, and wait two more years for the Galaxy Note 4 - quite possibly the best Note ever designed - and since then, I've moved on to the Note 8 and Note 20 Ultra 512 GB. Few other choices exist if you want an active pen, sadly. (Mainly the LG V60 with Wacom AES pen, and the Surface Duo.)

You'll probably notice that I haven't mentioned the iPhone even once yet, and that's because it frankly sucked at every aspect other than the Web browser when it debuted in 2007. AT&T exclusive, no 3G at a time when other devices like the HTC Universal already had it, App Store wasn't a thing at launch, no cut/copy/paste, no multitasking, iTunes sync activation required, no expandable storage when a lot of them had a mere 8 GB, and until the Galaxy Note showed up, I wasn't about to regress to fingerpainting.

Windows Mobile was just straight-up better in a lot of ways at the time, let alone Android, and it took Apple years for iOS to catch up on a lot of that.

Over a decade later, I have tinkered a bit with my bro's iPhone SE on iOS 11, and to be blunt, I still kinda hate it. The SE's tiny screen isn't helping much, but the file management is often pretty janky, it's doubly janky when I have to use a separate media player for formats like VGM as opposed to the usual MP3 or AAC, getting jailbreak tweaks from the Cydia store is a hot mess, and in general, it feels like iOS with a jailbreak is still more restrictive than Android without root.

So yeah, switching to iOS? Probably not happening, ever.

There are plenty of things I don't like about Android, not least of which is the rampant use of locked bootloaders, non-standardized bootloaders between devices on top of that, and having to compile all sorts of proprietary drivers into the Linux kernel when porting over a new version of Android, but the alternative is just that much worse, especially considering that I don't use any Macs newer than a 2008 Mac Pro 3,1 (and even that gets little love compared to my Power Macs that play all the classic Mac games natively).
 
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OFaceSIG said:
This is precisely why I use OnePlus. They are awesome about pushing updates. I'm on my second one now as I broke the first, and they are constantly pushing updates and patching. I wish all androids were supported like this.
Click to expand...
Meh Oneplus is not the same company anymore
 
At this point none of the top Android OEMs are what they were. Before Lenovo bought them, Motorola's phones were king of the hill. They got updates almost immediately, too. Now they're lucky if they get an update once per phone generation and that's in spite of them (luckily) running one of the lightest Android versions, too.
 
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Domingo said:
At this point none of the top Android OEMs are what they were. Before Lenovo bought them, Motorola's phones were king of the hill. They got updates almost immediately, too. Now they're lucky if they get an update once per phone generation and that's in spite of them (luckily) running one of the lightest Android versions, too.
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Hate to say it next and only andriod phone I will buy are google phones. Long gone are the days of needing all the best tech. I just want a durable long lasting phone with stock Android good camera, smooth 1080p screen that's bright and long battery
 
Vengance_01 said:
Hate to say it next and only andriod phone I will buy are google phones. Long gone are the days of needing all the best tech. I just want a durable long lasting phone with stock Android good camera, smooth 1080p screen that's bright and long battery
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Same. My wife's Pixel 5 does everything my "superior" S20+ can do at the same speed, but with a better dialer and camera. 90Hz vs. 120Hz is negligible and the battery lives are the same. I like the size of her phone, better, too. Plus there's no futzing around with Nova and trying to hide or get rid of boatware. At this point I'm sticking to Google's own devices until/unless they stop making them.
 
Pretty much always used a Nexus / Pixel phone, but got sick of poor battery life, and dim lower end screen tech, and I was open to changing and trying out an iPhone again, after not having owned one in like 6 years.

I've had my iPhone 12 Pro Max since New years, so 6 months now, and I am very satisfied and like it much more than expected. iOS still annoys me in certain areas, and I do prefer stock Android overall, but after trying out Android 12 Beta, it looks as if Android is getting more iOS'ish style now, and with iOS 15 beta, it seems Apple has been getting a little more Android'ish since iOS 13 if that makes sense? Seems the two different OS's are converging towards each other almost.

At the end of the day the important things to me in a smartphone are;

- Battery life
- Screen tech, that's bright outdoors with great colors
- Smooth fluid UI
- Flat screen, no curved edge display, or even 2.5 slight rounded screen, I love the perfect flat display
- Great Black dark AMOLED theme

The 12 Pro Max does the above in spades great. Way better than my Pixel 4 XL ever could. I do like the hardware and build quality of this 12 PM, it's very high end, but iOS is still so so to me, but it's way better today than it was back in ike iOS 8 or whatever I had on my last iPhone, for sure night and day better than those days. But stock Android owns my heart.

The iPhone 13 Pro Max, with the smaller notch, and 120hz refresh rate screen, and 20% bigger battery sure does sound tempting and a beast of a smartphone. But the high end flagship Pixel 6 XL Pro also sounds very promising as well, finally a high end top of the line stock Android phone. Those two will be the best smartphones of 2021, the 13 Pro Max and 6 XL Pro.

There's no perfect phone
 
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CHANG3D said:
IPhone Tax? You're paying the same amount if not more for a way shittier processor in flagship android phones. Flagship android phones also has a worse resale value. Some companies like Google also sells a mid-range phone at flagship prices. Apple might have an Apple tax on the PCs, but Androids have the android tax on mobile.
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I've paid <$300 for my last five phones, including a moto g6, a nexus 5, and a sony xperia. I don't need the latest when the last 5 years of phones were pretty overkill already. I just need a phone that makes calls and can browse the web, bonus points if it does it fast and doesn't catch on fire or need to be charged mid-day (think the sony was the only one that needed that, because the battery is tiny).

I understand there's a reason Apple phones cost what they do. I'm not paying for it, because I don't want it and don't need it.

Edit: maybe I should say new phone tax. They're both (apple and android) stupid expensive. But I don't have any reason to switch, regardless.
 
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Nobu said:
I've paid <$300 for my last five phones, including a moto g6, a nexus 5, and a sony xperia. I don't need the latest when the last 5 years of phones were pretty overkill already. I just need a phone that makes calls and can browse the web, bonus points if it does it fast and doesn't catch on fire or need to be charged mid-day (think the sony was the only one that needed that, because the battery is tiny).

I understand there's a reason Apple phones cost what they do. I'm not paying for it, because I don't want it and don't need it.
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I don't understand why they cost what they do. My nephews iphone 7 is worth $200, he could get an amazing android phone for that money.
 
Gabe3 said:
I don't understand why they cost what they do. My nephews iphone 7 is worth $200, he could get an amazing android phone for that money.
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The 4a fits this bill perfectly. I really excited to see the 6a or whatever it is called. I am really impressed with my mom's 4a. Only thing missing was the 90hz as I am used to that with my 7Pro
 
I just was forced into a new phone due to fraudulent activity (long story), so I figured I'd try an iPhone SE2. My carrier was running a special on refurbed phones ($129), so it was relatively cheap and very recent (having iPhone 11 guts in iPhone 8 body I believe). I figured it was a cheap way to try IOS again (iPhone 4 was my last one). Ordered it, and the next day they canceled my order. I guess they ran out...or maybe it was a sign telling me to stay with Android :D.
 
Vengance_01 said:
The 4a fits this bill perfectly. I really excited to see the 6a or whatever it is called. I am really impressed with my mom's 4a. Only thing missing was the 90hz as I am used to that with my 7Pro
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From everything I've heard about this new "5a" phone, it's just a repackaged 4a 5G. Honestly, not impressed as the 3a/4a were two of my favorite phones for the money.
 
kirbyrj said:
From everything I've heard about this new "5a" phone, it's just a repackaged 4a 5G. Honestly, not impressed as the 3a/4a were two of my favorite phones for the money.
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Yea I know. My phone still has some legs so lets hope the 6a we get is proper.
 
OFaceSIG said:
No argument there. But I do pose a question. Find me another android manufacturer with less bloat, and as frequent updates.
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Google's Pixel. The godfather of Android phones. The OG and main stock Android phone.
 
Zorachus said:
Google's Pixel. The godfather of Android phones. The OG and main stock Android phone.
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I'm using a Moto phone right now as a substitute after my phone issues. And while it is mostly a stock experience, no one will ever confuse it for a Pixel. Even the budget Pixel phones (a series) gave me a great Android experience. I would trade out this moto phone for a Pixel 3a in a second.
 
Zorachus said:
Google's Pixel. The godfather of Android phones. The OG and main stock Android phone.
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My wife has a pixel 3a. My oneplus 8 gets more frequent updates. Also the pixel UI is a skin of vanilla android. OnePlus is closer.
 
OFaceSIG said:
My wife has a pixel 3a. My oneplus 8 gets more frequent updates. Also the pixel UI is a skin of vanilla android. OnePlus is closer.
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I don't know how it can get more frequent updates unless it is actually not a security update but a bug update for their UI. AFAIK, Google releases monthly updates.
 
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