Asklemmy

He asks, in a FOSS community.

Sideloading apps, tons more choices (price range, design, manufacturer, specs), 'more' control, used to Android environment

What's stopping you from switching to iPhone?

My lack of desire to switch to iPhone.

I don't want to switch to something that costs more and that I like less?

There's no reason for me to switch. It would be going to a worse product in my opinion. I only use phones that can run lineageOS or another custom rom on it now, and have been doing so for the past 6 or so years.

I like my phone, I have more control over it, I like that it's not made in ways to punish me for fixing it, I don't trust Apple, and it cost 300$ instead of costing more than my current car

I don't like how restrictive the apple ecosystem is. I have an ipad because the android equivalents just weren't doing the job, but use android and linux for my daily drivers. I feel like the adblockers aren't effective, and I can't sideload apps.

I don't like paying more for less, and I am devoutly opposed to the Apple design aesthetic.

Why would I?

Apple controls what may be installed on iphones with an iron fist. Did you know there is only one option for a web browser? Chrome, Firefox, and other apparent alternatives are actually re-skinned Safari. They don't want to allow real competition to their own browser. This is certainly not the only case where they use app store approval powers to block competition.

Plus Apple takes 15-30% of every transaction on iphones. That includes payments in the app store, and also in-app purchases. Sure they have to fund the store, but given that Apple has an absolute monopoly over iphone app distribution this seems predatory to me.

Apple is anticompetitive, and seems to have little regard for their responsibility as a platform provider to allow application diversity to flourish.

So Google has a similar app store approval process, and takes basically the same percentage from transactions. But they are much more generous in what they allow in their store in terms of competing apps. And most importantly, Google does not have a monopoly on Android app distribution. You don't need to do any jailbreaking to set up F-Droid, or to install apps from the web.

It's true that the vast majority of Android users use Google's app store. And I think that Google taking a cut of in-app purchases is also predatory. Apps should be able to not use Google Pay, and to not pay Google a cut. But the fact that there are other options puts a limit on how much Google can block competition, and gives some option for publishers to avoid that 15-30% cut.

to preface what might sound like slander, I really would love to get my hands on apple hardware. It is engineered rather well and the geek in me can appreciate that. However, getting access to your own hardware is an issue.

While I have some concerns about their objective features, to my shame, the greatest problem is with the brand and their practices.

I think the root cause of all my issues stems from their morals and aggressive/elitist business practice - specifically their quest to squeeze money out of users and hide behind the lie of "we are doing this for the user's benefit".

I have no issue paying money for features I want or entities I'd like to support. In fact, I'm more inclined to financially support those who I believe in.

And apple loves to gatekeep features and keep them exclusive to apple. They effectively benefit from hard work of others who contribute to open standards and services, but at the same time do not share their own. Greedy.

Ton of paid apps + no reason to switch + sideloading + don't like or trust apple

custom roms, launchers, sideloading, rooting

Being forced into the apple ecosystem. If I could use iphones with other products not specifically designed to work with apple (i.e. android auto instead of apple carplay) then I would maybe consider it.

Not saying that apple car play or android auto is better or worse, just that it would be nice to have the option to choose which one especially if other family members have androids.

Fuck Apple

Why should I downgrade?

Apple's stuff is:

• Locked down hard, meaning you get completely vendor-locked-in, and you can't install alternative OS (there is none I think) or even apps from different sources without voiding warranty or using unsupported, unreliable hacks like jailbreaks for specific models.
• Privacy-invading. Sure, not as bad as proprietary Android distros, but still far from privacy-respecting
• Account-bound. Everything is tied to your Apple account. To even set up or use the product you need an account.
• As proprietary and closed source as it gets
• Ridiculously overpriced, so very low value for the money
• The company is known for its anti-competitive and monopolistic, even mafia-style behavior (e.g. when insisting on their 30% cut for all apps, insisting that apps use the in-app-purchasing system and not allowing "subscriptions from outside of Apple's ecosystem", stuff like that. If app developers don't comply with ridiculous rules, they get their apps taken down, and since the AppStore is the only source for apps, this means they have 100% control and can kill any app which they don't like or which they perceive as competition for Apple's own apps.

Use GrapheneOS. It's a secure, fully privacy-respecting open source distro of Android (based on the open source Android) without any Google services/apps by default, but with full Android app compatibility.

I don't like the walled garden that constutes the Apple way of doing things. I like to side load apps.

• inability to unlock bootloader and run custom rom

• not having enough money to buy iPhone

• why is this post getting downvoted?

I dislike being locked in to an ecosystem, no matter how pretty it is.

I want the ability to sideload, Apple is very much a walled garden.

I enjoy having the ability to use custom roms.

I've been generally happy with all the android phones I've used in the past and see no reason to change that.

iPhones being iphones

Expensive and impossible to customise effectively, making it much poorer value than Android. Not that Android is perfect. The instant some form of non-proprietary Linux (like Debian w/phosh, PostmarketOS, etc.) becomes viable as a daily driver, Android is out as well.

Privacy and security through custom ROMs like CalyxOS and GrapheneOS, which are the number one reason why I use Android. However, the average person doesn't necessarily care about their digital privacy or security.

As for reasons to use Android that the average person may care about, there is a greater variety of device options to choose from when it comes to Android. Many different companies produce Android devices, including eco-friendly options like the FairPhone!

In addition, another advantage of using Android is the ability to side-load apps. I can easily install and use apps that are not available on the Google Play store, such as Thunder, my Lemmy client, which I use daily. Moreover, even if an app is not available in my region on the Play store, I can still use it by side-loading.

Another feature I appreciate is the direct access to internal storage through a USB cable, eliminating the need for any additional software. For managing my apps, Shelter is a must-have for me. It allows me to separate my personal apps from my work apps without creating a completely separate device profile, and I can easily disable the work apps whenever needed so I don't receive notifications.

You can even use iMessage on Android via apps like BlueBubbles or AirMessage. Even FaceTime works on Android, natively so long as an iPhone user sends you a link first.

I am so goddamn bad at using the apple UX

I did swap for a couple of years and then switched back. Some aspects were great but iOS is just too restrictive.

I don't like iOS. I have one as my work phone and I dislike it.

I dislike that I can't sideload apps (yes there's testflight but it sucks). A huge portion of apps I use are from F-Droid or GitHub. I dislike how iOS handles the home screen and app placements. I absolutely HATE iOS notifications, they're atrocious compared to how they're handled on Android.

I like Android, I like my Galaxy Fold, a lot would have to change for me to ever consider an iPhone.

No sidelong, easier rooting (sometimes), price, etc

All the reasons I switched to Android.

Customization, file structure, sideloading apps, etc.

I picked up a cheap ipad just to experiment with and find what all the fuss was about. My first thought was that this feels like a nerfed/kiddie version of a real device. Everything is walled off so you can't change anything that had a chance of borking it up.

I mean, proper Nix systems you could theoretically run 'sudo rm -rf /' and at most it might ask if you're really sure, and then duitifully comply...

The lack of consistently in how Apple devices work, as hey truly feel like a black box where anything beyond basic functionality is held back from the user.

Not having any restricts placed on me as to what software I can install on my devices. Seriously, not allowing sideloading is ridiculous in 2023.

Lack of customization, lack of options, lack of compatibility.

With iPhones you choose from iPhone 1, 2, 3, or 4. They're all the same, and frankly they all suck. They're overpriced and the charger always breaks.

The lack of LDAC bluetooth and native FLAC playback support is a deal breaker for me.

Apple, iOS, and the iPhone.

When I purchase somethung, I prefer to own it instead of just renting it. Lol.

control.

Apple really doesn't offer me anything I want to do above and beyond what Android offers that makes the cost of transition worth it. I've been on Android for 13 years, I'm very used to it, know all the tricks. I like the level of control Android gives, I've loaded custom roms in the past and I side load apps now. I've also never had a (modern) Apple product and never had the need to set up any Apple accounts, so it'd be a pain starting completely fresh.

I came from iOS about 6 years ago. Initially it was annoying to escape from the ecosystem but I am glad that I did. Unfortunately I use a MacBook and an iPad for work though. In saying that, their integration with each other is really good, and can see why/how an iPhone would fit in to that.

Right now I'm using a custom ROM, ~10 magisk modules, 2 Xposed modules and a handful of other things that require root.. My phone is almost 5 years old and I am on the latest Android version with no signs of community support stopping. Half my apps are open source, and the paid, proprietary ones are actually affordable hobby projects (and not VC backed startups) with one time payments and worth the price.

I can load up a non-Android Linux distro on it and everything except the camera will work. Mainline kernel, too.

And I didn't need to take out a loan to buy it.

Using my iPad and then seeing how difficult it was to find apps that didn't have ads, apps I could buy outright, and so many subscription only options was what turned me away. And then how incompatible it is requiring work arounds to access the file system if you aren't using air drop compared to Android where just plugging it into any system and giving permission lets you see files beyond just files and videos you took, and move files back and forth with ease.

And how difficult it was to find Foss apps without something like F-droid. And because of that I noticed apps I took for granted on Android creates a system where you are having to spend more money and then being up sold subscriptions because of lack of options. It felt like a very gacha like environment. It felt so much like dealing with some scummy sales person.

For me it's the price first, the interface second. I find anything Apple very counterintuitive to use.

In saying that- I'm reading all these amazing answers here and realising how much I've taken for granted. I didn't know "side loading" was a thing though I've done it many times. If I'm understanding things right- you can't install whatever you want on an iPhone???? Crazy. I definitely wouldn't want a phone like that.

Also, someone mentioned accessing the phone via a usb cable. Another thing I took for granted! Hey! I even have portable USBC storage drives I can plug and transfer files to/from my phone and to my computer if I wish.

Custom ROMs, Sideloading, File Structure, F-droid and open source apps, customization, privacy/security features.