Asklemmy

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.

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.

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.

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.

I recognize that they currently have basically the most refined hardware on the market. However: No other device I own is in the Apple ecosystem. Not one. So the benefits are just not there.

quite frankly the benefits of owning an iPhone are kinda garbage unless you fully buy into the Apple ecosystem for full intercompatibilty. Trying to interact with other Androids, Windows, Linux machines is just pain. Otherwise, it's just a slightly better built, slightly better specced, very much more locked down phone like every other phone. It does phone things. Not worth the premium.

It's Fisher Price, it does not let me do poweruser things.

$1000 monitor stand is enough reason to be against all Apple products

I won't buy Apple hardware as long as they keep being absolute dicks in the tech and app world. It's a shame really, because they build awesome devices, but I would feel bad everytime I use them.

Also they are much more restricted in many aspects (e.g. sideloading!), so it would be a downgrade for me.

I have absolutely desire to lock myself into a flowered prison and pay extremely high price for it in both freedom and money. Apple just is too totalitarian and limited for me to consider anything from them.

Walled garden

1. My first smartphone and every one after has been android.

2. I like being able to download APK files and installing them without having to jailbreak or root my device. I don't live in Europe, so I don't get the option for the iphone that allows you to side load apps whenever the feature comes there (if it hasn't already) and I don't trust them not to make it block that feature the second you are not connected to a European cell service/signal.

3. I cannot say with certainty that I'd be able to find anything like F-Droid on ios, let alone my favorite apps from there (like OpenStreetMap or Aegis). Also, the whole jailbreak thing is off-putting when I could just root an android much more easily.

4. I am already set up in the android ecosystem currently (until something a lot better like a decent Linux based mobile OS comes) and don't wanna switch and have to buy any apps just to get a similar experience on android.

5. I also don't like how whenever the EU forces apple (and other companies) to switch to USB-C charging ports (if they already haven't yet), I couldn't make use of it because, again, I ain't in the EU. I also do not feel like ordering a phone from another continent and having it shipped over, especially if there's no guarantees the features I want even work on American telecommunications infrastructure.

All my stuff is here.

Used an iPhone very long ago as my daily driver (I think the iPhone 4... the neon green one) until I discovered android.

I switched because Had so much more choices and that you weren't locked down. If you have an iPhone you have to use Apple's services no matter what. Want to uninstall safari, because it is a really awful browser? Well you can't. Want privacy? No that's not possible (I know what Apple advertises but just because an iPhone is built to be privacy-friendly doesn't mean that services from Apple are privacy-friendly. And how will you prove that an iPhone could be considered privacy-friendly anyway?)

What also triggers me: with newer iPhones you do not have a universal backup option thingy. If you use your Phone with your right hand it is really annoying to constantly reach for the upper left corner to go back. On android: You can decide what gesture to use to go back. You can use three buttons or swiping gestures etc.

As other users mentioned, with android you have lots of choices. I for example have a Fairphone 4. I can replace my display myself without needing to pay extra for Apple Care. My Brother has a folding phone, I hate it, but there is the option.

Another great factor is customization. Apple does a great job, Android just does it better in some ways. "How?" You might ask, well, you can choose what launcher you want to use. You can choose what icons you like, and you even can choose an alternative App Store like F-Droid. And you can even choose the whole OS, like Lineage OS and Graphene OS. I for example use Kvaesitsio as a launcher, I mean look how beautiful it looks.

Picture from my Launcher, Kvaesitsio

I have two phones as daily drivers, one Android and one iPhone. Compared to Android, the iPhone is very restrictive and locked down. Adblockers don't work and you're forced to use whatever iOS interface it throws at you. Buttons and gestures move around with every update. There's no way to view and manage internal files, no sideloading, lots of options that are just not accessible to normal users.

The positive side is that iPhones are very optimized and I can get similar performance to my Android phone despite the iPhone being older and having worse specs. The closed ecosystem also has its benefits, because it makes data very hard to get out, so I use the iPhone as a device to sandbox all the Meta crap that I'm forced to use.