A long time ago, Apple used to be way behind on Android. Today, they're about close with Android & their products are simply becoming attractive.

[SpaceCrystal]

As a long time Android user, Androids used to be on top of Apple; Customizations, wireless technology, OLED graphics, fingerprints, etc. I first used to own a Samsung Galaxy S3, then later, I bought a Samsung Galaxy S8 four years ago. Apple was very far behind Samsung & the rest in terms of features as well as having a lot of limitations.

Today, Apple has just about caught up to Android on nearly everything. Their only flaws tend to be:

• Having to jump through hoops for certain 3rd party apps in which require you to jailbreak your product (especially for apps outside of the US).
• Not having a lot of customizations.
• Not having the 120 Hz ProMotion Display (though I'm positive that'll be fixed within iPhone 13 Pro/Pro Max).
• Not bringing back Touch ID or even having a fingerprint scanner.
• Not having a lot of freedom to do what you want.
• Apple Siri is terrible compared to Google Assistant.
• The iOS native keyboard leaves a lot to be desired & could use a lot of work.
• No USB-C port which is the standard nowadays within most stuff now.

etc.

But, Apple does tend to have a lot of advantages over Android, such as the following:

• Better security & privacy.
• Most apps runs better on Apple products than on Android due to being fine tuned with iOS optimization.
• Their battery life & performance are excellent.
• Most of their products have great resell value than Android.
• Their camera quality is neck & neck with Android.
• They always stay on top with software updates (you receive them yearly).
• They have excellent customer service.
• Their build quality on their products are good.
• iMessage is an excellent app in general.

etc.

And IMO, I think I'm going to save my money for an iPhone 13 Pro (or Pro Max) as my first iPhone.

How many of you have actually switched from Android to iPhone? What was the experience like for you? Love it, hate it? Just want your opinions about it. I'm also a fan of Android, by the way.

 

[reKon]

As a long time Android user, Androids used to be on top of Apple; Customizations, wireless technology, OLED graphics, fingerprints, etc. I first used to own a Samsung Galaxy S3, then later, I bought a Samsung Galaxy S8 four years ago.

IMO, Apple has just about caught up to Android on almost everything. Their only flaws are not having a lot of customizations, not having the 120 Hz ProMotion Display, having to jump through hoops for certain 3rd party apps (especially outside of the US), not bringing back Touch ID, not having a lot of freedom, etc.

But, Apple does tend to have better security, most apps runs better on Apple products than on Android due to being fine tuned with optimization, their battery life is excellent, most of their products have great resell value than Android, their camera quality is neck & neck with Android, they always stay on top with updates, they have excellent customer service, their build quality on their products are good, etc.

And IMO, I think I'm going to save my money for an iPhone 13 Pro (or Pro Max) as my first iPhone.

How many of you have actually switched from Android to iPhone? What was the experience like for you? Love it, hate it? Just want your opinions about it.

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Everything bolded has always been the case except with battery within the past couple of years and their camera system, in which they became significantly more competitive with a few years ago...

So what do you mean way behind?

 

[M. Wallace]

To each their own but I love me some android.

 

[DongBeetle]

I used to be anti-Apple but their silicon elevates their phones to unreachable levels. Even their 399 basic phone trumps most Android flagships

 

[SpaceCrystal]

Everything bolded has always been the case except with battery within the past couple of years and their camera system, in which they became significantly more competitive with a few years ago...

So what do you mean way behind?

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See my first two paragraphs, in which my first has been edited for clarification. That's what I'm referring to.

 

[Poimandres]

My phone has a headphone jack and a 400gb SD card mostly filled with FLAC audio files. Apple enables none of this, and it's all very important to me.

 

[Viewt]

I think you can get really, really good phones on both. Which is dope, because you always have a viable high end piece of hardware for your ecosystem/OS of choice.

 

[timshundo]

in before usb-c 120hz master race sees this

 

[KillLaCam]

Yeah outside of the ugly notch and 60hz screen, they've solved pretty much all of my issues with the phones.

 

[reKon]

IMO, if Apple added USB-C (they won't), 120hz display w/ similar battery life as today's, and more default app choices to their phone, it would all be over.

Foldables do add another wrinkle to this though because I think they are potential awesome all in one devices once they mature.

 

[MazeHaze]

Can you still not customize the homescreen, icons, and app drawer appearances on iphone? I like having cool themes, and uniform, minimalist icons with no text

 

[GearDraxon]

There are great options in both ecosystems, which is fantastic. For a lot of people, it's a matter of taste at this point instead of the wide gulf that it used to be.

Spoiler

weirdos will still find a way to platform war, of course

 

[kaisere]

iPhone X was one of the best phones I've ever used but I still always go back to Android because I tend to have gripes with the phone and there is no way to do things except for the Apple way. It's all preference.

 

[SpaceCrystal]

IMO, if Apple added USB-C (they won't), 120hz display w/ similar battery life as today's, and more default app choices to their phone, it would all be over.

Foldables do add another wrinkle to this though because I think they are potential awesome all in one devices once they mature.

Click to shrink...

I'm positive that they'll add the 120 Hz ProMotion Display on iPhone 13 as they didn't get to it in time with iPhone 12.

 

[Tigel]

Can you still not customize the homescreen, icons, and app drawer appearances on iphone? I like having cool themes, and uniform, minimalist icons with no text

Click to shrink...

You kinda can in iOS14 with some weird workaround. But as weird as it may sound, and I get that options are good, but it's a turn off for me.
Android has always seemed to me like that Simpsons episode where Homer designed is own car without constraints.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I'm glad anyone can be happy with whatever phone they choose. Somehow someone will find a way to turn this in to a phone war though, despite both being 99% the same and serving different needs depending on the user.

 

[Mcfrank]

Was android ahead on finger prints? I recall TouchID blowing the android alternatives out of the water.

 

[Night]

Android is the life for me. I have access to numerous Apple devices and I've tried to like them but the UI is so jank.

Only thing that's tempting me is Apple's recent move to allow the blocking of all data tracking on a per app basis.

 

[Walter White Walker]

Their phones start at what, like $700 or something? Not everyone needs or wants to spend a ton on a phone. So I'll stick with Android where I can buy a perfectly ok phone that meets my needs for $120. That and I've never been able to stand Apple interfaces and the lack of customization.

 

[MazeHaze]

You kinda can in iOS14 with some weird workaround. But as weird as it may sound, and I get that options are good, but it's a turn off for me.
Android has always seemed to me like that Simpsons episode where Homer designed is own car without constraints.

Click to shrink...

Yuck, idk all the icons being all different color s and shit looks so bad to me. I like my home screen to look cool and sleek and my icons to all be the same color.

 

[SpaceCrystal]

Spoiler

weirdos will still find a way to platform war, of course

Click to shrink...

I'm glad anyone can be happy with whatever phone they choose. Somehow someone will find a way to turn this in to a phone war though, despite both being 99% and serving different needs depending on the user.

Click to shrink...

I'm not trying to start a platform/phone war, just giving out my opinions about it. And I'm also a fan of Android.

Was android ahead on finger prints? I recall TouchID blowing the android alternatives out of the water.

Click to shrink...

It's too bad Apple had gotten rid of TouchID. They should consider bringing it back.

 

[Fire Bocchi]

Was android ahead on finger prints? I recall TouchID blowing the android alternatives out of the water.

Click to shrink...

they definitely are now

 

[Deleted member 83599]

I'm a longtime Android user who switched to a iPhone 12 Pro a few weeks ago.

The huge disparity in app performance is just kind of shocking. Case in point: LastPass. Has run like absolute dogshit a few years now on Android. Runs near flawlessly on iOS.

To this day, devs just clearly care more about their iOS apps, and it really shows.

There are some things that do irritate me about iOS and things I miss about Android, and perhaps I'll go back someday. But the iOS apps just work better. Often dramatically better.

I don't think this is fundamentally an OS issue; it's a developer prioritization issue. But it's still a substantial checkmark in Apple's favor from my perspective.

 

[Metanoia Prime]

My issue with iPhones (and the iPad Pro to an extent) is the UX of iOS, specifically. I have an iPhone 10 assigned to me at work, and I feel that it misses half of my intended touches / motions. The user experience seems very rigid. For example, Apple's way of not letting you just drop the cursor in the middle of a word (which is spectacularly bad UX). Why must I tap and hold and drag? Just put the damn cursor exactly where I tap. That's it. Android has implemented that I think since day one.

Additionally, the native keyboard on iOS is egregiously bad.

 

[Trace]

Definitely disagree. Got an iPhone a few weeks back for work after having being on Android for years and the number of things I can't do, are poorly implemented, glitchy, or just non-existent compared to Android is staggering. I would never use an iPhone over Android if I didn't have to.

 

[ZeroX]

Dropping the Galaxy S3 as an example? Man I bounced off that phone so hard, it was the thing that got me to swap to iPhone off performance alone.

 

[PeakPointMatrix]

I'm not trying to start a platform/phone war, just giving out my opinions about it. And I'm also a fan of Android.

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I didn't mean you at all sorry, I'm in agreement with your OP. I meant usually we'll get a phone warrior post mucking up a thread that is attempting to be fair to both platforms.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

Was android ahead on finger prints? I recall TouchID blowing the android alternatives out of the water.

Click to shrink...

The Motorola Atrix (I think that was the name?) had it and then Apple bought the company they licensed the reader from. They put in the 5s and it just blew every other iteration away.

 

[SpaceCrystal]

Dropping the Galaxy S3 as an example? Man I bounced off that phone so hard, it was the thing that got me to swap to iPhone off performance alone.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, that was my very first Android phone way back in the day before the S8. I don't exactly upgrade a lot.

 

[TarpitCarnivore]

The things you feel apple were "behind" on are totally subjective and a personal preference. For one I don't know what you mean by "wireless technology", do you just mean charging or NFC? Customization is again a totally personal thing. I don't think many held them back for OLED because of how good their displays were.

 

[Jom]

Can't agree at all. My phone has no notch and has a way higher refresh rate. My wife has the newest iphone and using it is just yikes. Feels so sluggish.

 

[Eila]

I used to be anti-Apple but their silicon elevates their phones to unreachable levels. Even their 399 basic phone trumps most Android flagships

Click to shrink...

The iPhone SE has an amazing processor, but lacking everywhere else. It looks like a phone from 2014, only small, the screen is 750p IPS, 3 GB RAM, single lens camera.
If were to pick a top end phone, I think iPhones triumph, but for budget phones you still have to pick Android, IMO.
And personally, I don't play many games or run very demanding apps on my phone, so I have no need for the fastest processor.

 

[sfedai0]

I sometimes wish I was a power user so I can make the excuse to get a Apple phone. Apple products are overpriced but they are quality though. I've had 2 iPad for the 7-8 years and theve been bug free and trouble free.

As it is, I stick to cheap Android phones.

 

[ZeroX]

Yeah, that was my very first Android phone way back in the day before the S8. I don't exactly upgrade a lot.

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Yeah IIRC the S2 was a lot more stable than the S3 and Sony had really good offerings at the time, you could have had an even better Android offering. I couldn't handle it and switched to the iPhone 5S.

 

[Deleted member 35631]

I've never had an Android phone but I have an Android TV. I like it and hate it at the same time. The reason I hate it, I guess it's because, unlike Apple, it is very hard to know if your product will be no longer supported after a very short time. I bought my Sony TV in July 2019. The new update that came out at the beginning of 2020 was no longer for 2018 TVs (even those which came out mid 2018). So their TVs were only supported for less than two years.

As my TV is getting closer to turn 2, I fear the same. That's what sucks the most about Google and their products.

When you buy a Mac or an iPhone, you know you'll be able to update it for at least 5 years (my Mac is 7 and still has the news macOS).

I admit Android has many great things, and in many ways it's very superior to iOS, but their lack of commitment, and 0 communication about what or which device will be supported sucks so much.

 

[Chasex]

Platform wars are stupid. Both are fine.

As a security professional I care a lot about how seriously Apple takes security and privacy. I also like the ecosystem and how devices and apps are specifically tailored and designed for a very specific set of known parameters. Back compatibility and long term support has also been nice as my iPhone Xs still looks and performs like new. I don't feel tempted in the slightest to upgrade. Things like 120hz screen... I mean my iPad has that and do I notice? Not really.

 

[Skoje]

Always nice to see the underdog come out in front

 

[Septimus Prime]

I used to be anti-Apple but their silicon elevates their phones to unreachable levels. Even their 399 basic phone trumps most Android flagships

Click to shrink...

Yeah, it's way faster, but I find that there's pretty much no appreciable difference for most real world use cases--certainly not for things like browsing websites and checking emails, and even mobile games run pretty much the same--between my Pixel 5 (which isn't even the most powerful Android phone) and my wife's iPhone 11 Pro Max.

The only place where I really feel that, yes, her phone is more powerful is shooting high frame rate video, but even that is mitigated by my camera taking arguably better-looking photos.

iPhone X was one of the best phones I've ever used but I still always go back to Android because I tend to have gripes with the phone and there is no way to do things except for the Apple way. It's all preference.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, this is where I think the real difference is. Android gives you more options to do things, though some of those ways are probably crappy.

 

[Ryuelli]

My phone has a headphone jack and a 400gb SD card mostly filled with FLAC audio files. Apple enables none of this, and it's all very important to me.

Click to shrink...

Xperia 1ii here. Love my headphone jack. My previous phone didn't have one and man is it good to have it back.

20fps burst shooting is also incredible for taking pictures of my dog.

 

[Possum Armada]

IMO, if Apple added USB-C (they won't), 120hz display w/ similar battery life as today's, and more default app choices to their phone, it would all be over.

Foldables do add another wrinkle to this though because I think they are potential awesome all in one devices once they mature.

Click to shrink...

Next year's iphone will have usb C on at least one version. (Just rumors, but they make sense)

 

[∀∃:ETURNA]

Apple's customer lock-in is enough to keep me away from their products. My GF and her family use iPhones and they largely seem to be a nuisance to deal with in comparison to the Android phone (OG Pixel 3 XL) that I use.

 

[Halbrand]

Had both, iPhones do everything I want from Android and more.

 

[Deleted member 83599]

Honestly the biggest annoyance I have with iOS as a new iPhone user is how godawful Siri is, and how the workarounds to use Google Assistant in place of her aren't always as easy and intuitive as you'd hope.

God it would be nice if we could get to a point where these digital assistants were fully swappable. Google Assistant is just leagues better than Siri.

I'm also a Google Voice user, and Google Voice works okay on iOS, but it's not seamless the way it is on Android.

 

[prophetvx]

I'm a longtime Android user who switched to a iPhone 12 Pro a few weeks ago.

The huge disparity in app performance is just kind of shocking. Case in point: LastPass. Has run like absolute dogshit a few years now on Android. Runs near flawlessly on iOS.

To this day, devs just clearly care more about their iOS apps, and it really shows.

There are some things that do irritate me about iOS and things I miss about Android, and perhaps I'll go back someday. But the iOS apps just work better. Often dramatically better.

I don't think this is fundamentally an OS issue; it's a developer prioritization issue. But it's still a substantial checkmark in Apple's favor from my perspective.

Click to shrink...

It's not that devs necessarily care more about working on iOS, iOS is just better optimized. Garbage collection is a perfect example of this, NSObjects in iOS are monitored for usage then cleaned up as they're no longer used, Android will periodically just clean up the trash. The end result is apps run much faster with less because they consume less resources.

Android is generally worse to develop on. Most apps these days use generic web apps running in a native container, they just run on iOS better because iOS is better in regards to OS level optimization.

We're seeing the same thing play out with M1 Macs now as well.

 

[xxracerxx]

Apple's customer lock-in is enough to keep me away from their products. My GF and her family use iPhones and they largely seem to be a nuisance to deal with in comparison to the Android phone (OG Pixel 3 XL) that I use.

Click to shrink...

How are they a nuisance? Is it because you are not familiar or her family wants to do things that Apple doesn't allow?

 

[Septimus Prime]

I will say, though, that on the non-phone side, iPad and Apple Watch shit all over and Android products in those categories.

 

[Deleted member 83599]

It's not that devs necessarily care more about working on iOS, iOS is just better optimized. Garbage collection is a perfect example of this, NSObjects in iOS are monitored for usage then cleaned up as they're no longer used, Android will periodically just clean up the trash. The end result is apps run much faster with less because they consume less resources.

Android is generally worse to develop on. Most apps these days use generic web apps running in a native container, they just run on iOS better because iOS is better in regards to OS level optimization.

Click to shrink...

Thanks for the insight. This is very interesting.

 

[Dalek]

You kinda can in iOS14 with some weird workaround. But as weird as it may sound, and I get that options are good, but it's a turn off for me.
Android has always seemed to me like that Simpsons episode where Homer designed is own car without constraints.

Click to shrink...

Lol brilliant put.

 

[ExtremelyBitter]

At this point I'm a pretty casual phone user, so we crossed the point where iOS had everything I actively envied about Android a while back. That said, the shortcomings are still pretty real, but I feel like they're relevant to a smaller group of users now than in the past.

It's too bad Apple had gotten rid of TouchID. They should consider bringing it back.

Click to shrink...

My biggest disappointment wit the iPhone 12 (and the reason my XS lives to fight another year) is the lack of TouchID integration with the power button. I have one of the new iPad Airs with TouchID in the sleep/wake button, and it's been great. I have to believe they plan to roll that out across the other devices at some point---Face ID on the XS mostly works but TouchID was just better.

 

[m_shortpants]

Long time Android user here, with an iPad pro as a tablet .

There are times I think about switching to iPhone, but there's too many small things that bug me about iOS. Sharing, setting OS wide app defaults, a real file system, not having to deal with iCloud, and the lack of flexibility and customization are the reasons I stay with Android.