Current Events > Anyone switch from Android to iPhone?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I'm trying an iPhone 13 that my brother didn't need and it's pretty nice. Some things I like better in my limited experience: iMessage, Face Unlock (Pixel's fingerprint scanner sucks), the app switcher screen animates smoother and overlaps the cards so more are viewable at once compared to Android, the phone is smaller than my Pixel 6, folders look nicer, and it just looks nice and is aesthetically pleasing overall.

I've also heard it shoots video better than Pixels, although I haven't tested that.

Things that are worse: no active display that shows the time when the phone screen is off, the notch vs the Pixel's hole punchout, Lightning instead of USB C, worse camera in dim lighting, and no Hold My Call where my phone will stay on hold for me. Also haven't tried how iOS handles widgets out yet.

Guess my question is what was your experience? Right now I'm still leaning toward staying on Android.

iPhone 15 pro max here. It's mostly the same experience. You can sideload stuff with AltStore. Still overall app experience is slightly worse IMO if you're into anything niche. The whole thing about how apps just work better on iOS due to the more streamlined development ecosystem or whatever is just not true. I see similar glitches freezes and hangups I did on android.

I'll probably stick with iOS though just because, for some sick reason, it is a status symbol, and I feel more self confident with one

Interesting insights, thank you. I kind of respect straight-up admitting the part about the status symbol even though if that's not a factor for me.

It's SO annoying as an Android user to be getting videos texted to me from iPhones that turn into unwatchable quality, though. I'm really feeling that lately with a big family event that happened and all my siblings using iPhones. It's been tempting to switch just to get iMessage.

iMessage is a big one. It hasn't been as impactful for me because most of my friends use Discord but it would've been really nice when I was in college

I got multiple phones because I love tech, here's my two cents:
iPhones have amazing build quality, battery and camera along with a very stable user experience. They're fantastic if you just want something simple, but my god are these phones boring. Out of all my devices my 13 pro max only sees use because I hacked it and get ad free YouTube easier than android. Otherwise I wouldn't bother with it.

Hate how little freedom I get with it, how there's no haptic feedback on the keyboard on the firmware I'm on, how many clicks and taps I need to do to turn on/off stuff, swiping notifications is a PAIN in the ass, charging is slow as all fuck, need to go into settings to fully turn off Bluetooth and WiFi, settings are bloated because all apps are dumped there, despite being such expensive devices you still get ads in the news section, just now they got emulators but you still can't sideload.

I also got a pixel 8 pro recently so I can tell you they're evenly matched in well lit scenarios but the pixel destroys it in mid to low light and astrophotography.

Horrible decision.

I just bought an iPhone 15 about a month or so ago. So I haven't been Android-IOS too long, but the short answer is aside from really minor things (like slightly different touchscreen gestures) I think the two might as well be the same.

There area couple minor differences, but at this point, the general experience of both iPhone and Android are damn near identical. IOS has weird limitations like not being able to choose anywhere on the screen your little app box thing goes, but that's really not that crazy a deal. I was never one to go crazy with launchers or whatever on Android either though.

I have noticed zero difference in messaging, even though most of my family/friends have iPhones. Granted I'm not really a social butterfly, but from my use there's no difference.

I sort of count as an Apple Sheep now, because getting an iPhone suddenly meant I could link my MacBook and iPad and AirPods, and its neat how they connect, but its nowhere close to as cool a thing as people seem to act like it is. I doubt I would miss it in like 2 years if I buy an Android phone.

Notifications are worse IMO on IOS, because if your phone is locked they don't have the same information, and its easier to have them just go away meaning its tough to "save" a notification for later if its something you aren't dealing with right now.

Overall, I think the difference between them is pretty vastly overstated.

Doe posted...

for some sick reason, it is a status symbol

I told my kids I would get them phones when they were in HS but my daughter is saving money herself to buy an iPhone because she doesn't want an Android phone.

JTsyo posted...

I told my kids I would get them phones when they were in HS but my daughter is saving money herself to buy an iPhone because she doesn't want an Android phone.

Do you refuse to get her an iPhone?

One annoyance on iOS I'm noticing is I'm having a hard time getting a keyboard with a number pad layout on the alt screen, even when downloading GBoard and Swiftkey. On Android, I can go in the settings of GBoard and Swiftkey to choose.

Also, I take it widgets don't just sit anywhere you want on the homescreen like on Android? I like having a podcast player and a music player that I can control just sitting there among the app icons.

The camera is pretty good. iPhones have mostly caught up to Pixels, it seems, but my Pixel 6 takes less grainy pictures in low light settings. It was a big difference. I've heard that iPhones take better quality video, but I'm not sure how true that is anymore.

Overall, having iMessage is the most compelling reason to switch but I'm leaning toward staying with my Pixel.

No that would be silly

I moved from Android to iOS years ago and it was such a huge relief.

No need to. Im not a phone enthusiast and I have an IPhone 14, I think. Does everything I need it for.

I havent switched, but I use an iPad a lot and have similar experiences to others here.

My two main hang ups are:

1. Ad-free YouTube and YouTube playback with the screen off like ReVanced (AltStore probably has something for it, but I havent tinkered with that yet)
2. Being able to wirelessly transfer my FLAC music to the Music folder and it just working the way ALAC would, because Im not going to make an ALAC copy of my music.

PraetorXyn posted...

Ad-free YouTube and YouTube playback with the screen off like ReVanced (AltStore probably has something for it, but I havent tinkered with that yet)

The easiest solution to this is to download Brave Browser (which blocks ads) and use Youtube's mobile site. You can also go into the settings and enable background play. Its not as good as something like ReVanced, but it works well enough to be fine with me.

i switched from iphone to android like a decade ago and havent wanted to go back

Ugh, someone at work on iPhone today texted me an important video and sure enough, it's horrible quality. It's tempting to switch but it sucks to acquiesce for that reason.

Pow_Pow_Punishment posted...

Ugh, someone at work on iPhone today texted me an important video and sure enough, it's horrible quality. It's tempting to switch but it sucks to acquiesce for that reason.

I just dont know why people still text. Theres nothing special about iMessage. It basically just does what Discord, WhatsApp, Signal, etc., do, but its locked to Apple shit. If he sent you a. Video on WhatsApp or Discord it would be fine. I dont even like to text pics as its hit or miss.

PraetorXyn posted...

I just dont know why people still text. Theres nothing special about iMessage. It basically just does what Discord, WhatsApp, Signal, etc., do, but its locked to Apple shit. If he sent you a. Video on WhatsApp or Discord it would be fine. I dont even like to text pics as its hit or miss.

You're right, but it comes down to what the default messaging app is, at least in the US (with my relatives in Iran, we use WhatsApp together). Most people I have this problem with don't care about tech beyond surface features and use whatever the stock option is on their phone, and that's iMessage for a lot of people.

It's really dumb, but the video quality shit is so annoying, I'm thinking about switching to iPhone. I get videos texted to me at work from technicians in the field so I have to keep telling people how to upload a video to Google Drive and share videos that way.

Pow_Pow_Punishment posted...

Ugh, someone at work on iPhone today texted me an important video and sure enough, it's horrible quality. It's tempting to switch but it sucks to acquiesce for that reason.

Maybe Apple should join the 21st century and start supporting RCS now instead of still taking as long as possible to implement it after announcing it half a year ago.

iPhones will be moving to RCS in the near future, so quality of videos and pics won't be an issue much longer.

I have a Galaxy s24 Ultra as my personal phone. My work phone is an iPhone 14, and I hate it. But to each his own.

Pow_Pow_Punishment posted...

It's really dumb, but the video quality shit is so annoying, I'm thinking about switching to iPhone

Apple is being forced to adopt RCS so it won't make a difference in the near future.

I tried iPhone a long time ago and it was such a miserable experience.

Ive switched between Android and iOS a few times over the years, both are fine but Ive had more positive experiences with iOS

I won an iPhone from a work competition a while back. In the time between finding out I'd won "an iPhone" and actually seeing what model it was (iPhone 12 64GB, ie: lowest model from like 5 years ago) I was weighing up whether I use it or just flip it, though in all likelihood would've ended up selling even if it was a modern one.

I use a Galaxy S23 Ultra and my wife has an iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Briefly, what I've learned using the iPhone is that it takes multiple taps or steps to do the same things as my Galaxy.

If you go similar price point, they're almost exactly the fuckin same. The only reason to really pick one over the other is marketing or misguided loyalty. Biggest difference would be how to get from point A to B in their UIs which both do different things better.

Pow_Pow_Punishment posted...

It's been tempting to switch just to get iMessage.

Not going to be an issue for too much longer since iOS is getting RCS finally.

R_Jackal posted...

If you go similar price point, they're almost exactly the fuckin same. The only reason to really pick one over the other is marketing or misguided loyalty. Biggest difference would be how to get from point A to B in their UIs which both do different things better.

Unless you want to use a third party browser, or live outside the EU and want to sideload apps.

andel posted...

i switched from iphone to android like a decade ago and havent wanted to go back

This. I don't think it was a decade ago for me. 8 years maybe.

I use both android (Pixel 6a) and iOS (iPhone 15). For the average user they both do pretty much the same damn things. The iOS keyboard sucks, Siri sucks, and Pixel does notifications and voice dictation better. iOS 18 will bring RCS (though I wonder if Apple will nerf it somehow), so it'll play more nicely with android phones in theory. The Pixel takes marginally better still photos and iPhones take better video all around. If you don't take many videos and just need to grab a clip here and there it's probably not that important. Face ID is better than a fingerprint scanner in my opinion, but some people prefer a fingerprint scanner. Pixels perform well, but at 60hz, iOS provides a smoother experience with fewer frame drops. I don't really care much about widgets, but you can put them on your homescreen and they're interactive now. They're still subject to the same limitations as app icons as far as where on your screen you can put them and where you can leave spaces. Supposedly that could change with iOS 18, but for now is unconfirmed. Having MagSafe built into the iPhone comes in handy more than I'd have expected. Passwords managers integrate better with iOS for some reason.

I'm trying to think of other stuff, but can't at the moment.

I did have an experience recently where a tech illiterate family member needed help with their iPhone and I was able to talk them through Facetiming me and sharing their screen with me so I could help better. I'm not sure how I'd have handled that from my Pixel, as they're far enough away I couldn't just go over and show them.

I only have an iPad, but the only things I like better pretty much are iMessage (which I can't use my phone number on for no reason at all) and Adobe/art because I can't find good apps on my Pixel 6.

AloneIBreak posted...

I use both android (Pixel 6a) and iOS (iPhone 15). For the average user they both do pretty much the same damn things. The iOS keyboard sucks, Siri sucks, and Pixel does notifications and voice dictation better. iOS 18 will bring RCS (though I wonder if Apple will nerf it somehow), so it'll play more nicely with android phones in theory. The Pixel takes marginally better still photos and iPhones take better video all around. If you don't take many videos and just need to grab a clip here and there it's probably not that important. Face ID is better than a fingerprint scanner in my opinion, but some people prefer a fingerprint scanner. Pixels perform well, but at 60hz, iOS provides a smoother experience with fewer frame drops. I don't really care much about widgets, but you can put them on your homescreen and they're interactive now. They're still subject to the same limitations as app icons as far as where on your screen you can put them and where you can leave spaces. Supposedly that could change with iOS 18, but for now is unconfirmed. Having MagSafe built into the iPhone comes in handy more than I'd have expected. Passwords managers integrate better with iOS for some reason.

I'm trying to think of other stuff, but can't at the moment.

I did have an experience recently where a tech illiterate family member needed help with their iPhone and I was able to talk them through Facetiming me and sharing their screen with me so I could help better. I'm not sure how I'd have handled that from my Pixel, as they're far enough away I couldn't just go over and show them.

The password manager bit is interesting. I use Bitwarden in conjunction with a self-hosted Vaultwarden server. My experience is this:
Android:

• Mostly works, but autofill is finicky with some apps and I sometimes have to copy / paste
• Some apps it recognizes the login because the package name is an inversion of the URL (e.g., com.site vs site.com), some it doesnt and I have to search, but when I find it, it asks if it wants me to save the app URL, and if I say Yes, it saves a URL like app://com.whatever, then it always knows the login and I never have to search again.

iOS:

• Consistently works
• Usually doesnt know the login, so I have to search almost every time.

So Id say theyre about equal and neither is perfect.

The-Apostle posted...

I only have an iPad, but the only things I like better pretty much are iMessage (which I can't use my phone number on for no reason at all) and Adobe/art because I can't find good apps on my Pixel 6.

I do think MapleRead SE is by far the best reading app Ive found. None of the Android apps Ive found have all of the following:

• OPDS bulk download support (e.g., let me download a series or all an authors books all at once instead of downloading books one at a time)
• OPDS authentication support (Aldiko used to work for this, but since the last major update, I cant connect to my Calibre server unless I disable the username / password requirement, which Im not going to do)
• Support for custom fonts (I like reading with Roboto)
• Support for big font sizes that are comfortable for me (I have 20/200 vision due to ocular albinism fucking my retinas at birth)
• Multi-tier sort (e.g., sort the bookshelf by Author, THEN Series THEN Series #, so if I go down to the Ss Ill see Brandon Sanderson, Ill see an alphabetical list of his series, and the books in each series will be sorted numerically)

MapleRead has all that in spades.

PraetorXyn posted...

I do think MapleRead SE is by far the best reading app Ive found. None of the Android apps Ive found have all of the following:
* OPDS bulk download support (e.g., let me download a series or all an authors books all at once instead of downloading books one at a time)
* OPDS authentication support (Aldiko used to work for this, but since the last major update, I cant connect to my Calibre server unless I disable the username / password requirement, which Im not going to do)
* Support for custom fonts (I like reading with Roboto)
* Support for big font sizes that are comfortable for me (I have 20/200 vision due to ocular albinism fucking my retinas at birth)
* Multi-tier sort (e.g., sort the bookshelf by Author, THEN Series THEN Series #, so if I go down to the Ss Ill see Brandon Sanderson, Ill see an alphabetical list of his series, and the books in each series will be sorted numerically)
MapleRead has all that in spades.

Ok, not sure what this has to do with my post.

No. I like having tons of Android options rather than being tied down to Apple.

The-Apostle posted...

Ok, not sure what this has to do with my post.

Pointing out a thing I like better about iOS to match yours. Cant find good reading apps on Android like you cant find good art ones.

PraetorXyn posted...

Pointing out a thing I like better about iOS to match yours. Cant find good reading apps on Android like you cant find good art ones.

You don't like Kindle or Google Play Books?

The-Apostle posted...

You don't like Kindle or Google Play Books?

Havent tried Google Play books as I dont buy books from them. The Kindle apps reading experience is garbage. It used to be all right, but I read with a dark theme (black background, white text) and they changed the dark theme to have this ugly gray text without much contrast. Plus, the line spacing, margin size, etc. options are way more limited compared to MapleRead. You can't use custom fonts with it either, only the 5 basic bitch fonts it comes with.

First screenshot is Kindle app, second is MapleRead. As I said, my vision is 20/200, so don't mind the ginormous font size.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/1e431c2d.pnghttps://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4758e636.png
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4758e636.png

It's the opposite for me. I went from iPhone to Android with zero regrets.

I switched several years ago and haven't looked back. I think either ecosystem is solid these days and you'll get a great phone no matter what*. You do get more freedom on Android, but I can't say there's anything I've wanted to do that I couldn't on my iPhone. The 15s have fixed some of your complaints too, they now have always on screens and USB C. I wish the tablets were as close as the phones, it would be good for the iPads to actually have some competition.

*The base model iPhones are kinda shit compared to their similarly priced Android competitors. Being stuck at 60hz is unacceptable when even the 8a can do 120hz for 300 cheaper.

I switched in 2022. Im seeing no discernible benefit.

PraetorXyn posted...

Havent tried Google Play books as I dont buy books from them. The Kindle apps reading experience is garbage. It used to be all right, but I read with a dark theme (black background, white text) and they changed the dark theme to have this ugly gray text without much contrast. Plus, the line spacing, margin size, etc. options are way more limited compared to MapleRead. You can't use custom fonts with it either, only the 5 basic bitch fonts it comes with.

First screenshot is Kindle app, second is MapleRead. As I said, my vision is 20/200, so don't mind the ginormous font size.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/1/1e431c2d.pnghttps://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4758e636.png
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/4/4758e636.png

Yeah, I do the same. On Android, the devs of the YouVersion Bible app killed it for me. Highlights are duller and darker on the dark background (not much better on light background tbh...), whereas highlights are much brighter in either background on my iPad.

The-Apostle posted...

You don't like Kindle or Google Play Books?

I personally prefer e-ink Kindle. Reading books on an LCD / OLED is kind of annoying.

iPhone 15 pro max here and I dunno if anyone told you

no active display that shows the time when the phone screen is off,

my phn had a default option to always display time (or your background/whatever you put it as) but I turned it off cause it bothered me for some reason

and your coworker probably had a phone with a lower quality camera as my camera is pretty good (not as anywhere good as the S21 ultra tho)

I did the switch last year and i only see a very little differences. I can do facetime and airdrop which is great when a majority of your friends and family are also on iOS. I guess i do miss the back button.

OriginalPlain2 posted...

my phn had a default option to always display time (or your background/whatever you put it as) but I turned it off cause it bothered me for some reason

and your coworker probably had a phone with a lower quality camera as my camera is pretty good (not as anywhere good as the S21 ultra tho)

I'll have to check if this iPhone 13 has an always-on display, but to your second point, it's not about camera quality or a knock on the iPhone's camera. When sending to Android through SMS, the iPhone video clip quality gets horribly compressed in the transition. Supposedly this will be fixed once Apple provides support for RCS later this year.

Blue_Target posted...

I did the switch last year and i only see a very little differences. I can do facetime and airdrop which is great when a majority of your friends and family are also on iOS. I guess i do miss the back button.

What is AirDrop and can I get it for Android and Windows 11 so my girlfriend doesn't have to call me on Facebook Messenger?

Went from Galaxy to iPhone and back to Galaxy. Just a superior phone.

Pow_Pow_Punishment posted...

I'll have to check if this iPhone 13 has an always-on display, but to your second point, it's not about camera quality or a knock on the iPhone's camera. When sending to Android through SMS, the iPhone video clip quality gets horribly compressed in the transition. Supposedly this will be fixed once Apple provides support for RCS later this year.

Apple hides the always-on display to their pro models, so you probably won't have it. Its a stupid choice, especially since Android has had this for like, at least a decade.

Though isn't something I personally use, but is a limitation if you like it.