After spending over a decade with various Android phones, I finally made the switch to an iPhone. Here’s why I made the switch and what I’ve discovered since.
The Struggles with Samsung/Android
-
Slow Shutter on Samsung Flagships: One of my biggest gripes with Samsung’s flagship phones has been the slow shutter and shutter lag. Trying to capture a moving subjects often resulted in blurry photos or missed shots entirely. This has been an issue with Samsung phones for many years.
-
Google’s Service Abandonment: Google has a notorious history of abandoning services. The most recent one being the Podcasts app. The podcast experience on YouTube Music is just terrible.
-
Hardware Design: The Samsung S24 Ultra has sharp corners that make it uncomfortable to hold. The Pixel 8 phones have issues with connectivity and overheating. The S24+ comes with an inferior Exynos processor.
-
Performance: No matter how fast the hardware is, Android phones always seem to slow down and stutter after a few months of use. It’s like they age in dog years. (My most recent Samsung phone was the S23+, and it already started lagging).
-
Apps: Android apps have an inconsistent look and feel. It’s like a patchwork quilt made by someone who doesn’t know how to sew. Also, a lot of Android apps require excessive permissions.
-
Disaster: A Samsung update once made my phone unbootable. I had to do a full reset and lost some data. People said I should have made a backup before the update, but Android doesn't provide an easy way to completely backup the phone. That was the last straw.
The iPhone Revelation
-
Shortcuts: The Shortcuts app on iPhone is a game-changer. It automates tasks in ways I never thought possible.
-
Face ID: Face ID on the iPhone is leagues ahead of Samsung’s version and even better than Touch ID. It’s fast, reliable, and just works. With the amount of unlocks I need everyday, this turns out to be more impactful than I expected.
-
Files App: The Files app is actually useful, and it has built-in support for Windows file shares.
-
Look & Feel: Everything on iOS feels smoother and more premium. The animations, the UI design – it’s all just so polished.
-
Audio: It’s much easier to select audio output in-app when connected to multiple Bluetooth devices and AirPlay.
-
Driving: CarPlay is a joy to use compared to Android Auto. Plus, Apple Maps has better voice directions.
-
Emulators: Emulators are now possible to use on iPhone without jailbreaking.
Switching to iPhone has been a breath of fresh air. While Android gave me more freedom and customizations. The consistency, reliability, and overall experience of iOS have won me over.
What was your experience switching to/from "the dark side"?
You either picked crappy phones or installed random stuff on them that caused issues. Neither I nor anyone else that I personally know has had those issues with android.
When I was running custom ROMs and updating daily-weekly my android ran fine. But when I got tired of all that and decided to run stock android it ran like ass. Sometimes rebooting my phone more than once a day, and it got to the point I was doing quarterly wipes of the phone for a fresh install. Finally gave up and moved back to an iPhone last year after being android since 2009.
I have stock android as well and it runs perfectly fine. Also, the OS does not need to be updated as much as it used to because it's been separated into modules that you can update from the Play Store. Only major changes require an OS update. Regardless of that, you do not need to update often to keep android running smoothly.
I don't know which phone you had because you're being very vague but it's likely that it wasn't actually vanilla android and the actual issue was either the skin from your manufacturer, the hw or both.
Most recently I had a Moto z4. I got it shortly after release.
And when your phone manufacturer stops sending updates you are screwed. The Z4 shipped with 9, got updated to 10, and that was it. 11 came out when it was 15 months old and it did not get updated.
Some manufacturers do that and it sucks. But 1) that's a midrange phone that costs about half of what an iphone would cost 2) it's very gimmicky. The accesories idea is cool but it was never going to work and it made the phone overpriced for the chipset 3) this is something the manufacturer did, it's "android's" fault.
Next time buy from a brand that has a better reputation and stay away from gimmicks.
I did, I went with an iPhone.
Apple is a shitty company but ok, as long as you're happy.
Over a decade of Android phones varying in price from sub $100 to $900 I have found that all phone manufacturers are shitty, and Apple has been the best for me so far this past 18 months.
Nope. I do nothing crazy with my phones and I hardly install anything. Glad your group of people are having success, I did not.
S9 is a crappy phone? I was told at the time it was the flagship if you want an android phone, the whole reason I went with that model.
The hw? No. Samsung's android skin? Yes. One of the worst.
Regarding "my group", it's roughly 70% of the people that have a smartphone and I rarely hear people complain about their phone. The ones that do complain have a $150 5-year old phone usually.
You’re using it wrong!
Well, sort of. The iPhone is a good option for people that have no idea what they're doing precisely because you're heavily restricted. Android gives you a lot more freedom. Which is why some people (or manufacturers) mess up their phones and then the users end up blaming the OS, even if it had nothing to do with their issues.