iPhone to Android?

[james80]

Has anyone switched? What do you think?

Very brief back story, I had many Blackberrys (Curve, Pearl Flip, Curve Touch Screen, Bold etc etc) and loved everyone one of them, tried an Android sometime in 2010/11? and hated it, that might not be fair as I think it was a shit phone, went back to Blackberry (full keyboard touch screen Bold) then to an iPhone 5 in 2013. Loved the iPhone, had none of the "I need a new phone" feelings, three years later got a 6S Plus and up until recently was very happy.

The 6S is starting to play up, the camera is basically useless (images just shake) and the home button quit in the middle of quarantine. Unfortunatly I don't live in a country where I can just go to an Apple store or order delivery so I am thinking carefully what to do. I saw the new iPhone SE and being on a budget and loving Apple I thought that'd work.

Then the wife's iPhone 6 all but packed up and I got her a Galaxy A20S, a so called budget Android and damn I'm impressed. There's no way I can consider an SE with that tiny screen after seeing what a "budget" Samsung looks like with a 6.1 display. Plus the dual SIM would make my Caribbean travel so much easier (whenever that happens) so my decision is now, buy an A50S or A70S locally (approx US$320-US$440), or buy an iPhone XR or the base 11 (both more expensive but eaiser to transfer to) and have it shipped to a friend who'll bring it whenever we open our borders and he can come home.

My concerns are basically Whatsapp and Apple music, I'd prefer not to loose my Whatsapp history and I really like Apple music, everything else I'm sure I can manage. I'm also concerned with longevity, I found the iPhones lasted well and didn't suffer from engineered obslesence as other devices I've owed. Apart from my Whatsapp / Apple music issue I'd be interested to hear any thought on the platforms from anyone who's switched (either way) or just any thoughts or advise on iPhone vs Android.

[hoppyjr]

Each have their fanboys, for me it comes down to stability, usability, and privacy. While no platform is perfect, and I am a bit of a geek, I do not need the added customizable features of Android.

Having been an Apple guy since about 2008, I find the products extremely stable and user-friendly. I won’t change.

On the privacy front - Android phones are all tied to Google and Google does not respect your privacy, or your opinion. There have been tests done that show android phones doing location tracking even when you disable to feature and turn the phone completely off. That’s a hard no for me. On the other hand, Apple has stood up against the government and proven their commitment to privacy. Even if all other things were equal I would go Apple for this reason alone.

[tattoo chef]

Both operating systems have their plus and minuses.

Here’s what you should know.
If you want an android phone and want something similar to an iPhone, go Google Pixel.
The 4a, the budget Pixel will be $349 and out in late June or July. It is a stock google phone, no bloatware, and a stock google experience.
Also, unlike most android phones, it will get updates to new software for a few years. They have great cameras as well. Pixel 5 will be out later in the year, but will be $699. The budget 4a has a great all screen design, a fingerprint reader on the back, but won’t be very water resistant or have wireless charging.

Samsung phones are awesome, but if I was going Samsung, I would get an S10, new S20 etc, I would not go budget.
With Samsung, you are lucky if you will see an update to latest software though. You will be lucky to get one update in the time you own it. My stepson has been using Samsung for years, and that’s his only gripe. Lack of software updates. (I’m talking new software updates here, not app updates).

You can have Apple Music on android, but it sucks. They made it available on google, but it just doesn’t work properly.

Biggest benefit with iPhone and iOS is the updates. Buy a phone this year and you will be able to use it for 5 years easily with software updates each year.

Another android option is OnePlus. Great phones.

If you like Apple, and don’t want to spend a ton, wait until IPhone 12 is released later this year and grab the iPhone 11 for $550-$599, or look on eBay and elsewhere for a good deal, they are out there.

One other thing, the iPhone 12s this year will have double the base storage finally, so if you want to stay with Apple and have some decent storage and future proof it, they will all (pro and non pro) have oled screens, water resistant, wireless charging, WiFi 6 etc and start with 128gb of storage. The iPhone 12 -6.1
Inch will be $749.

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[djh1201]

If you can wait till the Fall, the base model iPhone 12 is going to be awesome (and only $650).

Some good info here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CvKl4IoZrY

[Henryj]

One thing to keep in mind is that the SE is dual-SIM.

[streetracer101]

I have the new Pixel. Although the battery life is better than the abysmal battery life of my last iPhone (especially in the cold), it still barely lasts a full day on a charge. Pixel has been heavily criticized for the poor battery life in this model.
The transition between iPhone and Pixel was easy enough for me. The only issue I encountered was I lost content of some of my group messaging from iMessages. The facial recognition feature on Pixel is very snappy and the camera is excellent. My phone is fairly stable, but I did have to do a factory reset a couple weeks ago because it stopped making calls and all no other recommended intervention would fix it. It was annoying to then need to update it and re-install all my apps.

[james80]

Thanks for everyones input so far. Some things raised here have made me think. The fact that both my iPhones kept up to the latest updates was a plus for me and I thought android being limited was a thing of the past. I’ve lived with this for this long I could probably wait till the 12 and maybe get a discounted 11.

Apart from the SE being dual sim what’s the story with the XR and 11? The spec say dual sim and esim not sure if there are two options or if it’s one physical sim and one motherboard sim (which would be my preference).

The XR is currently discounted, any thought on this model?

[HapaHapa]

I have the new Pixel. Although the battery life is better than the abysmal battery life of my last iPhone (especially in the cold), it still barely lasts a full day on a charge. Pixel has been heavily criticized for the poor battery life in this model.
The transition between iPhone and Pixel was easy enough for me. The only issue I encountered was I lost content of some of my group messaging from iMessages. The facial recognition feature on Pixel is very snappy and the camera is excellent. My phone is fairly stable, but I did have to do a factory reset a couple weeks ago because it stopped making calls and all no other recommended intervention would fix it. It was annoying to then need to update it and re-install all my apps.

Group messaging doesn’t work well on my Samsung S7. Sometimes, when I have poor reception, the replies to a group message come back as separated texts. It’s a mess.

We have an S7 Edge that needs replacing in the household. Will probably be replaced with the newest Samsung treasure. What is most difficult for us using the older phones is we cannot use the WiFi for calls. That's probably going to drive replacement of my S7 too. Signal in our house is poor, even upstairs out on the balcony with open view of 180 degrees of sky. This thread has needed advice.

Regarding updates, Samsung is no longer issuing security updates for the S7 series. Not good.

And after the phones? Probably a mesh internet setup. WiFi signal doesn’t saturate the house as well as I’d like.

[Henryj]

Thanks for everyones input so far. Some things raised here have made me think. The fact that both my iPhones kept up to the latest updates was a plus for me and I thought android being limited was a thing of the past. I’ve lived with this for this long I could probably wait till the 12 and maybe get a discounted 11.

Apart from the SE being dual sim what’s the story with the XR and 11? The spec say dual sim and esim not sure if there are two options or if it’s one physical sim and one motherboard sim (which would be my preference).

The XR is currently discounted, any thought on this model?

Except for one foreign market-specific model (China, Hong Kong, Macau) Apple’s dual SIM phones are all one eSIM on the board and one physical card slot. The XR and 11 are both dual sim. The XR’s claim to fame is much better battery life compared to the upper tier iPhones. If you can live with the 6/7/8 form factor and screen size, I’d call the SE a no-brainer choice. Dual sim, wireless charging, latest chip set. If you like the bigger screen, the XR might be the way to go, but it’s chip set is a generation behind the current line up, and it’s more expensive than the SE. it’s also physically a bit bigger than the SE.

There’s also wait and see until the 12 comes out. If the 5.4” version is all they say it is, my XS will hit the trade in program in a flash.

FWIW, my wife and I went Samsung/Android for about a week last year. We scampered back while we were still inside the free return period when we both realized that we didn’t want to learn a new system after years of Apple use. I guess the iPhone is the geezer phone of choice.

[CGSshorty]

My 7+ is 3 years old and works perfectly. I may replace it when the 12 comes out, but I really don’t need to unless the 7 breaks. My wife has the XR and loves it. I wish there was a fingerprint scanner instead of just facial recognition, but I’m sure I’d get used to that in time.

[Henryj]

My 7+ is 3 years old and works perfectly. I may replace it when the 12 comes out, but I really don’t need to unless the 7 breaks. My wife has the XR and loves it. I wish there was a fingerprint scanner instead of just facial recognition, but I’m sure I’d get used to that in time.

This probably puts me in the stupid risk taker category, but I’m not that worried about just how my phone is secured. I generally have it turned off and just make damn sure I keep physical control of my phone.

[tattoo chef]

Thanks for everyones input so far. Some things raised here have made me think. The fact that both my iPhones kept up to the latest updates was a plus for me and I thought android being limited was a thing of the past. I’ve lived with this for this long I could probably wait till the 12 and maybe get a discounted 11.

Apart from the SE being dual sim what’s the story with the XR and 11? The spec say dual sim and esim not sure if there are two options or if it’s one physical sim and one motherboard sim (which would be my preference).

The XR is currently discounted, any thought on this model?

The dual sim in the phones is 1 physical and 1 eSim.

As far as the XR, I had it before the 11. It’s pretty much the same phone, but you don’t get night mode and no object portrait mode on the camera and the water resistance is IP67 vs IP68.
Those are the only differences.




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[tattoo chef]

My 7+ is 3 years old and works perfectly. I may replace it when the 12 comes out, but I really don’t need to unless the 7 breaks. My wife has the XR and loves it. I wish there was a fingerprint scanner instead of just facial recognition, but I’m sure I’d get used to that in time.

This probably puts me in the stupid risk taker category, but I’m not that worried about just how my phone is secured. I generally have it turned off and just make damn sure I keep physical control of my phone.

It’s not just how it is secured for unlocking but you can use facial or fingerprint (depending on what phone) for Apple Pay, apps, banking and CC apps etc.
some prefer Face ID, others Touch ID. Honestly I would love both so I could use either at my discretion, but if I had to choose one, it would be Face ID.


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[tattoo chef]

The fact that both my iPhones kept up to the latest updates was a plus for me and I thought android being limited was a thing of the past.

It’s not android that is limited btw, its manufacturers.
Apple makes the iPhone and iOS, so it’s easy for them to release updates to supported phones.

Same with Google and the Pixel.

But android is an open software system that is used by almost every manufacturer beyond Apple.

So, it has to go through the manufacturer and a lot of times the carrier as well. Since most android phones do not have stock operating systems (Samsung has One UI, OnePlus has their own, as does Motorola and many others, it makes things complicated. They have to work on compatibility with new OS updates and the skin they put on top of android.


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[gwells]

until the past couple of months, i was totally fine with face recognition. i thought i'd find it annoying, but it works pretty well. but wearing masks makes it annoying and, at the moment, i'm missing fingerprint unlock.

i've been perfectly happy w/my XR (upgrading from my 6S). i actually have two now (one for work, too). i'm sure i'd like the features on the 11, but not enough to make me pay the $$ difference. oh, and it didn't hurt that i lucked into a deal at costco that basically made the XR cost me about $50 when i switched to tmobile (and got on the i'm an old fuck plan, One 55+, which makes our two phones $70/mo unlimited including fees/taxes).

[streetracer101]

I have the new Pixel. Although the battery life is better than the abysmal battery life of my last iPhone (especially in the cold), it still barely lasts a full day on a charge. Pixel has been heavily criticized for the poor battery life in this model.
The transition between iPhone and Pixel was easy enough for me. The only issue I encountered was I lost content of some of my group messaging from iMessages. The facial recognition feature on Pixel is very snappy and the camera is excellent. My phone is fairly stable, but I did have to do a factory reset a couple weeks ago because it stopped making calls and all no other recommended intervention would fix it. It was annoying to then need to update it and re-install all my apps.

Group messaging doesn’t work well on my Samsung S7. Sometimes, when I have poor reception, the replies to a group message come back as separated texts. It’s a mess.

We have an S7 Edge that needs replacing in the household. Will probably be replaced with the newest Samsung treasure. What is most difficult for us using the older phones is we cannot use the WiFi for calls. That's probably going to drive replacement of my S7 too. Signal in our house is poor, even upstairs out on the balcony with open view of 180 degrees of sky. This thread has needed advice.

Regarding updates, Samsung is no longer issuing security updates for the S7 series. Not good.

And after the phones? Probably a mesh internet setup. WiFi signal doesn’t saturate the house as well as I’d like.

I have this mesh: https://www.newegg.com/tp-link-deco-m5- ... lsrc=aw.ds

I now get the net way out in my yard. Cheap and easy to use/setup!

[HapaHapa]

I'll check our that mesh setup. Thank you.

[bedlam]

There have been tests done that show android phones doing location tracking even when you disable to feature and turn the phone completely off.

Back in 2017. That has stopped.

[toxicavenger]

I have a Google Pixel 4 and my daughter likes it better than her XR.

[hoppyjr]

There have been tests done that show android phones doing location tracking even when you disable to feature and turn the phone completely off.

Back in 2017. That has stopped.

Not true, I tracked your location to that male strip joint last Thursday.

[bedlam]

There have been tests done that show android phones doing location tracking even when you disable to feature and turn the phone completely off.

Back in 2017. That has stopped.

Not true, I tracked your location to that male strip joint last Thursday.

But I only went cos I got their official DWC invite!!

[hoppyjr]

There have been tests done that show android phones doing location tracking even when you disable to feature and turn the phone completely off.

Back in 2017. That has stopped.

Not true, I tracked your location to that male strip joint last Thursday.

But I only went cos I got their official DWC invite!!

It did give “GTG” an entirely different meaning.

[logan2z]

Late to this thread but my two cents...

I love Android but think that Google's hardware is inferior to Apple's. I'd go so far as to call it crap, IME. I've had more trouble with my Pixel than I've ever had with previous iPhones. The screen is delicate, the camera went belly up and the charger cable will not make good contact with the phone so it can be awkward to charge. I never had any hardware-related issues with any of the iPhones I've owned. I'll probably go back to an iPhone next time around.

[matt.wu]

Late to this thread but my two cents...

I love Android but think that Google's hardware is inferior to Apple's. I'd go so far as to call it crap, IME. I've had more trouble with my Pixel than I've ever had with previous iPhones. The screen is delicate, the camera went belly up and the charger cable will not make good contact with the phone so it can be awkward to charge. I never had any hardware-related issues with any of the iPhones I've owned. I'll probably go back to an iPhone next time around.

This was my experience as well. I went Pixel w/ Pixel buds back w/ the Pixel 2. I returned it under warranty b/c the screen scratched like butter, the picture quality in low-light was bad, and the Pixel buds were horrible in both sound and connection. Being the first to have new versions of the OS sounds nice, but in practice it just meant there were often incompatibilities w/ apps and OS (not Google's fault necessarily, but still a downside). I went back to the iPhone immediately and haven't regretted it.

There is a lot I like about the Android ecosystem, but I also don't want to be thinking about my phone too often. For now, iPhone still does "personal phone" better for my preferences.

[59yukon01]

My wife and I have had Pixel 3's for over a year and they've been trouble free & great. About the closest thing you can get to a stock Android without all the preloaded crap/bloatware.

I've never had anything Apple so guess I'm biased, but I haven't had a reason to switch.