iPhone User, Thinking of crossing over

BrandonJay21

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Hey all!

My contract isn't up for a while, but I'm seriously looking at the m8 as my next phone. I've had an iPhone for 4 years... For those of you who made the switch iOS to Android, are there features you miss or issues you didn't expect?
 

Cyberdelia

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iPhone convert here. Been through the iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s. Love this phone. A few thoughts from me below:

The good:

Screen size, screen quality (yes, to me it's noticeably sharper), battery life is better, the ability to use widgets to see information at a glance, you can customize everything. The hardware build quality is on par if not better than the iPhone. Having NFC and Google Wallet, to me, is a nice perk over the iPhone as well. The pull down notification screen is much better than iOS in my opinion. I like the LED notification light. Sort of reminds me of my good old BlackBerry days, and it's nice to be able to glance at the phone to see if you have a notification waiting.

The negligible:

Apps don't always feel as polished as iOS. Some feel like an afterthought. Due to the different Android phone screen resolutions, since you're coming from an ecosystem with a defined screen resolution, you'll notice some oddities from time to time.

The stock mail app sucks compared to iOS. It doesn't auto-resize e-mails for whatever reason. I use Google Apps for business so I use the Gmail app for everything, so for me that's a non issue, and it will be a non issue for most. I'm OCD though.

There are no lock screen notifications. The app "NiLS" with the floating widget, a purchased theme, and some customization fixed this for me, and now it's like what I had on my iPhone.

OK, some will think I'm reaching a bit here, but I like to have my Visual Voicemail in the phone dialer - like in iOS. I'm on Verizon, and they wanted me to pay $3 for a service that's free when you use an iPhone. I said nope, and set up Google Voice, which is working nicely. You can do a conditional forward to your Google Voice number and it works well (download the app).

The phone is substantially heftier and larger than the iPhone (duh). Try it at the store. I see a lot of butthurt Apple Fanboys who are irritated that Apple may be increasing the screen size of the 6, but since you're considering switching, you probably aren't one of those. My Apple Fanboy hangs low. I still left.

The carrier bloatware is very irritating, but can be disabled. To me it's still a negative but nothing to keep me from loving the phone.


The bad:

After using it more, I've decided the camera sucks. HTC could have done much better and it's dissapointing they didn't. You'll see people arguing both ways, but if you're coming from a 5 or 5S you'll miss the ability to point and shoot and not have to worry about it.

Another OCD thing from me. I hate the USB charging port. I liked lightning cable that was on the iPhone; you didn't have to worry about which side was up. Really nice if I've had too much vodka and go to plug in my phone, haha. Again, to 99.99% of the rest of the population, they simply won't care.


Otherwise - it's a phone. It does the same stuff, in a slightly different way. I've tried switching before, and couldn't pull it off. Android is much more polished than in the past. I think the phone is great, and do not plan to return unless the iPhone 6 is freaking spectacular.
 

BrandonJay21

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Thank you so much for your thoughts! I enjoy my iPhone (have a 5), but I'm just ready for something different.... And ready for more space with the sd card!

I hadn't thought about the mini USB thing. I can understand the annoyance. It's a small issue, but I understand.

What's group messaging like? There are messaging apps I can use that will let me group message with my iPhone friends, right? (I already use whatsapp, but I'm not gonna get everyone to switch for me.)

Aside from messaging, the camera is a concern for me. I really just send my pics to friends or post to social media... So I'd think it'd be fine for me? I've seen some beautiful pics posted... But with all the arguing back and forth, it just seems I'll have to give it a shot and see for myself if it'll be acceptable.
 

isitme

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iPhone convert here. Been through the iPhone 4, 4s, 5, 5s. Love this phone. A few thoughts from me below:

The good:

Screen size, screen quality (yes, to me it's noticeably sharper), battery life is better, the ability to use widgets to see information at a glance, you can customize everything. The hardware build quality is on par if not better than the iPhone. Having NFC and Google Wallet, to me, is a nice perk over the iPhone as well. The pull down notification screen is much better than iOS in my opinion. I like the LED notification light. Sort of reminds me of my good old BlackBerry days, and it's nice to be able to glance at the phone to see if you have a notification waiting.

The negligible:

Apps don't always feel as polished as iOS. Some feel like an afterthought. Due to the different Android phone screen resolutions, since you're coming from an ecosystem with a defined screen resolution, you'll notice some oddities from time to time.

The stock mail app sucks compared to iOS. It doesn't auto-resize e-mails for whatever reason. I use Google Apps for business so I use the Gmail app for everything, so for me that's a non issue, and it will be a non issue for most. I'm OCD though.

There are no lock screen notifications. The app "NiLS" with the floating widget, a purchased theme, and some customization fixed this for me, and now it's like what I had on my iPhone.

OK, some will think I'm reaching a bit here, but I like to have my Visual Voicemail in the phone dialer - like in iOS. I'm on Verizon, and they wanted me to pay $3 for a service that's free when you use an iPhone. I said nope, and set up Google Voice, which is working nicely. You can do a conditional forward to your Google Voice number and it works well (download the app).

The phone is substantially heftier and larger than the iPhone (duh). Try it at the store. I see a lot of butthurt Apple Fanboys who are irritated that Apple may be increasing the screen size of the 6, but since you're considering switching, you probably aren't one of those. My Apple Fanboy hangs low. I still left.

The carrier bloatware is very irritating, but can be disabled. To me it's still a negative but nothing to keep me from loving the phone.


The bad:

After using it more, I've decided the camera sucks. HTC could have done much better and it's dissapointing they didn't. You'll see people arguing both ways, but if you're coming from a 5 or 5S you'll miss the ability to point and shoot and not have to worry about it.

Another OCD thing from me. I hate the USB charging port. I liked lightning cable that was on the iPhone; you didn't have to worry about which side was up. Really nice if I've had too much vodka and go to plug in my phone, haha. Again, to 99.99% of the rest of the population, they simply won't care.


Otherwise - it's a phone. It does the same stuff, in a slightly different way. I've tried switching before, and couldn't pull it off. Android is much more polished than in the past. I think the phone is great, and do not plan to return unless the iPhone 6 is freaking spectacular.


Well said
 

mchockeyvette27

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Thank you so much for your thoughts! I enjoy my iPhone (have a 5), but I'm just ready for something different.... And ready for more space with the sd card!

I hadn't thought about the mini USB thing. I can understand the annoyance. It's a small issue, but I understand.

What's group messaging like? There are messaging apps I can use that will let me group message with my iPhone friends, right? (I already use whatsapp, but I'm not gonna get everyone to switch for me.)

Aside from messaging, the camera is a concern for me. I really just send my pics to friends or post to social media... So I'd think it'd be fine for me? I've seen some beautiful pics posted... But with all the arguing back and forth, it just seems I'll have to give it a shot and see for myself if it'll be acceptable.

I have never owned an iPhone so the only thing I'll comment on is the camera. If all you're doing is sending and posting pics, you can take perfectly fine pictures for that. The autofocus is superbly quick, so blurry shots are few and far between. I have used iPhone cameras in the past and I know they're pretty much effortless to take good pictures. Honestly, the m8 is pretty effortless in my experience as well. And I have taken a lot of damn good pictures with it already. Quick snaps are a breeze as well.
The flash is very bright and I've been able to light up most of my backyard at night when other phone's flashes hardly affect such a large open area.

If the camera is a major area for you and the things you said are what you really use it for, I'd say you'll be alright.
 

Cyberdelia

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Thank you so much for your thoughts! I enjoy my iPhone (have a 5), but I'm just ready for something different.... And ready for more space with the sd card!

I hadn't thought about the mini USB thing. I can understand the annoyance. It's a small issue, but I understand.

What's group messaging like? There are messaging apps I can use that will let me group message with my iPhone friends, right? (I already use whatsapp, but I'm not gonna get everyone to switch for me.)

Aside from messaging, the camera is a concern for me. I really just send my pics to friends or post to social media... So I'd think it'd be fine for me? I've seen some beautiful pics posted... But with all the arguing back and forth, it just seems I'll have to give it a shot and see for myself if it'll be acceptable.

I use the Google Hangouts app for messaging. I don't do much group messaging, but you can still text back and forth with your friends who have an iPhone. I actually really like the Hangouts app, since you can GChat or SMS people seamlessly. Kinda like iMessage. If you add 4 or 5 folks in the Hangouts app, it will simple send as text instead of an iMessage.

Tip: If you switch, DISABLE iMessage on your iPhone beforehand. Otherwise, your iPhone friends will iMessage you and you won't receive it. Disabling iMessage will solve that for the most part. I still had some people try to iMessage me and a few hours later Apple figured out I wasn't in the system anymore, and they came through as an SMS.

As for the much debated camera. If you mainly use it to send pics to friends, social media, etc. you'll probably be fine. I find it to be very light sensitive, and it's either really dark and then focuses in on one area, or the contrast is washed out. If you keep playing with where the camera is focusing you will eventually strike a happy medium. The iPhone did a much better job of balancing light and dark areas of a shot and typically I could get a very nice photo with no effort required. This takes some doing. It amuses me how people say "it's not supposed to be a DSLR." Derp. Really? I don't want to carry a DSLR around with me, or even a point and shoot. I want something that's easy to grab and already on me (my phone, for example) - and take a good picture. Other companies have done it. HTC could have too. Megapixels aren't everything, and maybe some of this is a software issue that can be fixed in an update since the camera app is standalone, from what I understand. The best camera is the one you have on you. If I want pro-quality I'll bring a DSLR. It doesn't mean that my smartphone, in 2014, when the competition can take some spectacular shots, can't as well.
 

Cyberdelia

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What about actual phone call quality? signal strength? compared to a 5

As good, if not better. I had some people complain about my call quality on the 5S. I have received no complaints on the M8 yet, and my family says that the voice quality is clearer.
 

mchockeyvette27

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I use the Google Hangouts app for messaging. I don't do much group messaging, but you can still text back and forth with your friends who have an iPhone. I actually really like the Hangouts app, since you can GChat or SMS people seamlessly. Kinda like iMessage. If you add 4 or 5 folks in the Hangouts app, it will simple send as text instead of an iMessage.

Tip: If you switch, DISABLE iMessage on your iPhone beforehand. Otherwise, your iPhone friends will iMessage you and you won't receive it. Disabling iMessage will solve that for the most part. I still had some people try to iMessage me and a few hours later Apple figured out I wasn't in the system anymore, and they came through as an SMS.

As for the much debated camera. If you mainly use it to send pics to friends, social media, etc. you'll probably be fine. I find it to be very light sensitive, and it's either really dark and then focuses in on one area, or the contrast is washed out. If you keep playing with where the camera is focusing you will eventually strike a happy medium. The iPhone did a much better job of balancing light and dark areas of a shot and typically I could get a very nice photo with no effort required. This takes some doing. It amuses me how people say "it's not supposed to be a DSLR." Derp. Really? I don't want to carry a DSLR around with me, or even a point and shoot. I want something that's easy to grab and already on me (my phone, for example) - and take a good picture. Other companies have done it. HTC could have too. Megapixels aren't everything, and maybe some of this is a software issue that can be fixed in an update since the camera app is standalone, from what I understand. The best camera is the one you have on you. If I want pro-quality I'll bring a DSLR. It doesn't mean that my smartphone, in 2014, when the competition can take some spectacular shots, can't as well.

I've taken many pictures with many phones before. Pretty much all with android phones. Recently the moto x(supposedly a horrible camera), nexus 5(decent camera but still sucks to many) HTC one m7/m8(some love the cameras some hate it). I've posted many pictures on fb and sent many pictures to friends and family through various means, and just showed people on my phone. Obviously I don't show supper blurry, pointless pictures.
My point: not ONCE has anyone ever commented or replied saying how horrible the picture was. Omg there way to much noise, or its so overly contrasted, or it captured too much light!
I'm not bashing you for your opinion or anyone else in fact. But a lot of people take the whole cellphone camera thing too seriously...and I'm not saying I haven't before, but its becoming less of a problem.
I have many friends and family who post pictures on Facebook with both DSLRs and their smart phones. I can hardly ever tell which they took the picture with, and do I care, no.
I've taken so many pictures with supposedly crappy camera phones, and I've never been truly disappointed.

I get others have different needs and opinions, so for the sake of this guys thread, try not to take the camera too seriously. I'm nearly positive you won't be disappointed for the things you do. There's so much to love about this phone, for the not techy and tech geeks alike. I'm the latter.
 

Cyberdelia

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I've taken many pictures with many phones before. Pretty much all with android phones. Recently the moto x(supposedly a horrible camera), nexus 5(decent camera but still sucks to many) HTC one m7/m8(some love the cameras some hate it). I've posted many pictures on fb and sent many pictures to friends and family through various means, and just showed people on my phone. Obviously I don't show supper blurry, pointless pictures.
My point: not ONCE has anyone ever commented or replied saying how horrible the picture was. Omg there way to much noise, or its so overly contrasted, or it captured too much light!
I'm not bashing you for your opinion or anyone else in fact. But a lot of people take the whole cellphone camera thing too seriously...and I'm not saying I haven't before, but its becoming less of a problem.
I have many friends and family who post pictures on Facebook with both DSLRs and their smart phones. I can hardly ever tell which they took the picture with, and do I care, no.
I've taken so many pictures with supposedly crappy camera phones, and I've never been truly disappointed.

I get others have different needs and opinions, so for the sake of this guys thread, try not to take the camera too seriously. I'm nearly positive you won't be disappointed for the things you do. There's so much to love about this phone, for the not techy and tech geeks alike. I'm the latter.

I was simply trying to illustrate the differences between the two phones. I think I was a bit long winded.

tldr; For social media sharing, it should be fine.

Also for what its worth, the front camera is hands down the best one I've used on a smartphone.

You haven't used an iPhone, from what it sounded like in the other post. There's a difference, and that's what he's asking about.
 

torifile

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I am a long time iPhone user and I have a lot to say on the matter if you're interested. But first, I'd like to make a request of people responding to this thread - can we keep the personal attacks against iOS users to a minimum? It'll only serve to make me defensive and derail a potentially interesting discussion.

That said I'll first start off with the things I miss most about using an iPhone. The apps. Anyone who tells you that the app situation on Android is similar to that on iOS hasn't used the platform extensively. It's not comparable. The apps on Android are not remotely as refined. The big players are roughly equivalent but the indie developers are nowhere near the quality on Android as they are on iOS. It's not even close in most cases.

The camera on the One isn't nearly as good as the one on even the iPhone 5. Even if you're using it for social media sharing, a blown out corner is a blown out corner. Exposure problems still come through. A bad photo is a bad photo. Don't get your hopes up. I suspect many of the people saying that the camera is fine for sharing photos have just accepted or believe that photos on a small screen should be sub par.

The micro USB thing is not only a problem when trying to drunk plug in your phone.

That's about it for the negatives.

The neutrals:

Battery life is fine. Roughly equivalent to my iPhone.

Ease of use is about the same. Android has made a lot of progress on this front over the years.

The positives:

SwiftKey is amazing. I'm typing this on the device now and I would never undertake such a long post on my iPhone keyboard.

Customizablity is a huge plus. This isn't just about "open" because I believe that to be a red herring. This is about being able to change nearly everything about the phone (aside from the carrier installed bloat).

Google services work really well on the device.

The ability to share in a variety of different ways is a welcome change.

All in all, I'm as happy with the one as I was with the iPhone. At the very least, it's got me excited about learning something new about my phone again. :)
 

Cyberdelia

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I'm liking this thread. Some friendly debate will be interesting. I suspect there may be quite a few people considering the switch, and a friendly debate with positives and negatives alike will be a good resource for those looking to move.
 

mchockeyvette27

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I was simply trying to illustrate the differences between the two phones. I think I was a bit long winded.

tldr; For social media sharing, it should be fine.



You haven't used an iPhone. There's a difference, and that's what he's asking about.

I haven't OWNED an iPhone. Clearly stated I have used them. I know there are differences. And I really liked your comparison. Just don't think too much thought should be put into it as a deciding factor.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 

Cyberdelia

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I haven't OWNED an iPhone. Clearly stated I have used them. I know there are differences. And I really liked your comparison. Just don't think too much thought should be put into it as a deciding factor.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

Apologies. Definitely makes sense, I was on the edge, and it was definitely not my deciding factor. There are far too many positives for the camera to outweigh them. It can definitely take some very good pictures, just takes a bit more work than an iPhone. To some it may make a difference - everyone's usage is different. :)
 

mchockeyvette27

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Apologies. Definitely makes sense, I was on the edge, and it was definitely not my deciding factor. There are far too many positives for the camera to outweigh them. It can definitely take some very good pictures, just takes a bit more work than an iPhone. To some it may make a difference - everyone's usage is different. :)

Hey to each his own. And I agree it does take a bit more effort. But even with no effort on quick shots, its held up quite fine.

What do you think about the focus time? I know iPhones have always had really quick focusing and you can snap a bunch of pictures quickly. I think the One is just as quick if not a hair quicker from my experiences. And I think that's a major plus with this camera.

Sorry if there's too much camera debate, Brandon.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 

BrandonJay21

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Hey to each his own. And I agree it does take a bit more effort. But even with no effort on quick shots, its held up quite fine.

What do you think about the focus time? I know iPhones have always had really quick focusing and you can snap a bunch of pictures quickly. I think the One is just as quick if not a hair quicker from my experiences. And I think that's a major plus with this camera.

Sorry if there's too much camera debate, Brandon.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

No, really! Feel free to debate away! It's only helping me. :) the camera is probably my biggest concern with the One. This has been very informative so far. Thank you all for your input!
 

Cyberdelia

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Hey to each his own. And I agree it does take a bit more effort. But even with no effort on quick shots, its held up quite fine.

What do you think about the focus time? I know iPhones have always had really quick focusing and you can snap a bunch of pictures quickly. I think the One is just as quick if not a hair quicker from my experiences. And I think that's a major plus with this camera.

Sorry if there's too much camera debate, Brandon.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

The focus time is the same if not better. It's really good. The difference to me is that where the iPhone would not need me to tap in an area to focus, the M8 does - it seems to have issues at times between light and dark. When you do refocus, it's nearly instant. This is why I think it's a software issue and could likely be corrected. Once properly focused, the shots can be great. If it were a hardware issue, the shots would always be bad. They're not. So clearly the hardware can keep up.
 

mchockeyvette27

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The focus time is the same if not better. It's really good. The difference to me is that where the iPhone would not need me to tap in an area to focus, the M8 does - it seems to have issues at times between light and dark. When you do refocus, it's nearly instant. This is why I think it's a software issue and could likely be corrected. Once properly focused, the shots can be great. If it were a hardware issue, the shots would always be bad. They're not. So clearly the hardware can keep up.

Yeah I get what you're talking about. I've had this issue mostly indoors with different lighting conditions in various spots. You did mention it is very light sensitive, so that could be it too. I've only had slight issues with artificial lighting, however. So basically just indoors. Outdoors I haven't had a single issue.

And it'd be great if HTC can keep the camera updated just as moto has and Google has with the nexus 5.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk
 

Cyberdelia

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Yeah I get what you're talking about. I've had this issue mostly indoors with different lighting conditions in various spots. You did mention it is very light sensitive, so that could be it too. I've only had slight issues with artificial lighting, however. So basically just indoors. Outdoors I haven't had a single issue.

Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

This is true. Outdoor shots have not been a problem.
 

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