6P keeps trying to lure me away from iPhone 6 - a few questions.

Ticojpunk

Recordist
Jun 6, 2011
691
32
0
Visit site
I switched from a Galaxy S3 last year to an iPhone 6. My primary reason was for the camera improvements, but my wife also had an iPhone, and my job is Apple IT support, both iOS and Mac OS. So even though I loved Android, I also loved iOS, love using Macs, so it was a good fit.

Last year it was an easier choice to switch because there was nothing that compelling to me in the Android market to make me stay. This Nexus 6P has sort of changed the landscape for me. I'm thinking of switching back. I honestly use mostly Google services at work and at home, so I'm lucky that they all work on iPhone, and quite well. There are a few things that I'm afraid I'd miss, and I'm wondering if there are equivalent Android apps out there to accomplish these things.

1.) Find my iPhone / Find my Friends. - I often use Find my iPhone to track my devices. I actually have 4 iPads, my iPhone, my wife's iPhone, and a couple Macs that I like to keep track of. My wife and I also like the convenience of seeing where the other is without checking constantly like "did you leave work yet?". We already know. Is there any app for Android that interfaces with that Find my iPhone system where I can see where my devices are and start the sound alert to locate them and all that?

2.) Is there any Android app to do mirroring to AirPlay devices? This isn't THAT important, but I frequently need to check AirPlay connections at work, and having my iPhone all the time enables me to do this easily without having to carry around an iPad with me all the time. I'd miss this convenience for sure.

3.) Battery life concerns. This may be a non-issue, as Doze is supposed to be just what the doctor ordered. But even on my iPhone 6, the battery life is fantastic. I use it like crazy all through the workday, lots of screen on time, and I typically end the day with 40-50%.

4.) Size concerns - I sometimes envy larger screens. I briefly owned a Note 4, and although I ultimately didn't like the phone as a whole, I thought the ergonomics were very well done for a larger phone. I could definitely handle that, though it was a little cumbersome at times. I also briefly owned an iPhone 6 Plus, and i thought the ergonomics on that phone were absolutely terrible. I just overall felt it was very badly designed (or just not designed at all but merely blown up from the image of the 6). It's not to say the regular 6 feels good in the hand without a case, because it's ridiculously slippery, but with a case on, I feel it's quite the perfect one hand device. The old 3.5" and 4" iPhones always felt too cramped for me. So I do get concerned about the size a bit. Though I feel if the 6P handles more like a Note than it does an iPhone 6 Plus, that I could get used to it.

Any other points I missed either way?

Some upsides to going back to Android, especially since Nexus has reached a new level of quality...

1.) financial sustainability: I buy my phones outright and use them on T-Mobile prepaid. The iPhone is priced pretty insanely. This little iPhone 6 cost $800 after tax, plus another $100 for Apple Care+. If I sold it today, I'd get shy of $500 for it. A $400 loss after a year is pretty terrible. Affording to upgrade an iPhone outright, even every two years can be tough. Staying with Nexus devices every other year or even every year would cost less in devaluation.

2.) I love Google services and innovation. I subscribe to Google Music (love the new ad-free YouTube thrown in), Google Calendar, Gmail, Use Google Drive/Docs/Sheets non-stop all day and into the night for work and home. Google Photos is great. Google Now KILLS Siri, and I hate that it can't be more integrated into the iPhone. I have a Chromecast, etc etc.

Anyone else jump from iPhone to Nexus 6P this year? How was the switch? Do you miss anything?
 

wunderbar

Well-known member
Dec 11, 2010
582
0
0
Visit site
1) Android Device manager, made by google. Everyone should have/use it

2) No. Airplay is a proprietary Apple technology.

3) Battery life does not seem to be an issue on this phone.

4) the 6P is physically almost exactly the same size as a plus iPhone. Hopefully without the polished aluminum that makes iphones feel like they're coated in butter. There's no masking that it's a bigger phone, but all reports are that the ergonomics are fine.
 

Ticojpunk

Recordist
Jun 6, 2011
691
32
0
Visit site
Thanks.

I know about Android Device Manager, but I'm talking about looking at my iOS device locations from my Android phone. I'd imagine the App would have to be some sort of layer over the iCloud web interface if that's even possible.

I figured as much with AirPlay. As I said, that one isn't critical, but simply a convenience that I'd have to give up. I don't use it every day, but when I do use it, I'm using it all day (installing AirPlay based Mac software on multiple machines and testing the connection).
 

co.ag.2005

Well-known member
Aug 28, 2010
512
1
0
Visit site
I switched from a Galaxy S3 last year to an iPhone 6. My primary reason was for the camera improvements, but my wife also had an iPhone, and my job is Apple IT support, both iOS and Mac OS. So even though I loved Android, I also loved iOS, love using Macs, so it was a good fit.

Last year it was an easier choice to switch because there was nothing that compelling to me in the Android market to make me stay. This Nexus 6P has sort of changed the landscape for me. I'm thinking of switching back. I honestly use mostly Google services at work and at home, so I'm lucky that they all work on iPhone, and quite well. There are a few things that I'm afraid I'd miss, and I'm wondering if there are equivalent Android apps out there to accomplish these things.

1.) Find my iPhone / Find my Friends. - I often use Find my iPhone to track my devices. I actually have 4 iPads, my iPhone, my wife's iPhone, and a couple Macs that I like to keep track of. My wife and I also like the convenience of seeing where the other is without checking constantly like "did you leave work yet?". We already know. Is there any app for Android that interfaces with that Find my iPhone system where I can see where my devices are and start the sound alert to locate them and all that?

2.) Is there any Android app to do mirroring to AirPlay devices? This isn't THAT important, but I frequently need to check AirPlay connections at work, and having my iPhone all the time enables me to do this easily without having to carry around an iPad with me all the time. I'd miss this convenience for sure.

3.) Battery life concerns. This may be a non-issue, as Doze is supposed to be just what the doctor ordered. But even on my iPhone 6, the battery life is fantastic. I use it like crazy all through the workday, lots of screen on time, and I typically end the day with 40-50%.

4.) Size concerns - I sometimes envy larger screens. I briefly owned a Note 4, and although I ultimately didn't like the phone as a whole, I thought the ergonomics were very well done for a larger phone. I could definitely handle that, though it was a little cumbersome at times. I also briefly owned an iPhone 6 Plus, and i thought the ergonomics on that phone were absolutely terrible. I just overall felt it was very badly designed (or just not designed at all but merely blown up from the image of the 6). It's not to say the regular 6 feels good in the hand without a case, because it's ridiculously slippery, but with a case on, I feel it's quite the perfect one hand device. The old 3.5" and 4" iPhones always felt too cramped for me. So I do get concerned about the size a bit. Though I feel if the 6P handles more like a Note than it does an iPhone 6 Plus, that I could get used to it.

Any other points I missed either way?

Some upsides to going back to Android, especially since Nexus has reached a new level of quality...

1.) financial sustainability: I buy my phones outright and use them on T-Mobile prepaid. The iPhone is priced pretty insanely. This little iPhone 6 cost $800 after tax, plus another $100 for Apple Care+. If I sold it today, I'd get shy of $500 for it. A $400 loss after a year is pretty terrible. Affording to upgrade an iPhone outright, even every two years can be tough. Staying with Nexus devices every other year or even every year would cost less in devaluation.

2.) I love Google services and innovation. I subscribe to Google Music (love the new ad-free YouTube thrown in), Google Calendar, Gmail, Use Google Drive/Docs/Sheets non-stop all day and into the night for work and home. Google Photos is great. Google Now KILLS Siri, and I hate that it can't be more integrated into the iPhone. I have a Chromecast, etc etc.

Anyone else jump from iPhone to Nexus 6P this year? How was the switch? Do you miss anything?

just a few points, don't have the time right now to go in depth;

1). There's Android Device Manager (similar to find my phone; shows location of all devices that have Android device locations). For Find My Friends, you can do something similar in Google+. My whole family uses FMF and I set my wife's iPhone up with Google+ so that we can share location through Google+. https://support.google.com/plus/answer/3302509?hl=en

2).I'm not sure about AirPlay, but it supports native screen sharing with other Android-friendly hosts... Amazon Fire TV, some Samsung and other branded TVs, etc. Chromecast (with the appropriate hardware) will let you mirror/cast photos, videos (whole range of source), etc. to a tv that the Chromecast is connected to.

your second 2). I've always been associated with Google services, even when I use and iPhone and yes, Google Now >>> Siri. But if you do have an iCloud calendar (I share an iCloud calendar with my wife), I use the Sunrise app for my calendar app. I have within it syncing my google, iCloud, and Exchange calendars. Plus I love the UI.

If you do make the switch, make sure to disable iMessage first on your iPhone (and any iPads, Macs,etc.) and FaceTime or else Apple does hold your phone number hostage when you are on Android (https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage).

Good luck! I go between iOS and Android all the time. I have a 5x and actually love it. I am waiting on my 6p to be delvered now! But I am tempted to also pick up a 6s Plus since I can get $300 off one at Verizon.
 

Ticojpunk

Recordist
Jun 6, 2011
691
32
0
Visit site
Good luck! I go between iOS and Android all the time. I have a 5x and actually love it. I am waiting on my 6p to be delvered now! But I am tempted to also pick up a 6s Plus since I can get $300 off one at Verizon.

Thank you. When switching back and forth, do you just simply never turn iMessage on when you're on the iPhone and just use standard SMS? My biggest issue doing this is losing the blue bubbles on iPhone conversations. The green bubbles are obnoxious. I think they do it on purpose!
 

co.ag.2005

Well-known member
Aug 28, 2010
512
1
0
Visit site
Thank you. When switching back and forth, do you just simply never turn iMessage on when you're on the iPhone and just use standard SMS? My biggest issue doing this is losing the blue bubbles on iPhone conversations. The green bubbles are obnoxious. I think they do it on purpose!

correct. I just go with green ;) I know, I hate seeing the green too (not sure why) but I've tried doing iMessage and then turn off, swtich, etc, but one time, even after doing all the right steps, my number got stuck with iMessage (I couldn't receive group texts from other iPhone users) and nothing I tried, even chatting with Apple, could get my number released from iMessage. So I actually ended up switching numbers. Such a PITA. I do love iMessage (especially when sharing video and picture content) but if you plan on ever switching around, it's best just to turn it off and leave it off.
 

Ticojpunk

Recordist
Jun 6, 2011
691
32
0
Visit site
correct. I just go with green ;) I know, I hate seeing the green too (not sure why) but I've tried doing iMessage and then turn off, swtich, etc, but one time, even after doing all the right steps, my number got stuck with iMessage (I couldn't receive group texts from other iPhone users) and nothing I tried, even chatting with Apple, could get my number released from iMessage. So I actually ended up switching numbers. Such a PITA. I do love iMessage (especially when sharing video and picture content) but if you plan on ever switching around, it's best just to turn it off and leave it off.

Thanks. I think iMessage is like the only hangup I have. The more I think about, my wife and I often send each other pictures of the kids when we're out with them and the other one is home or with the other kid. iMessage has never failed to send us our photos back and forth, and quickly. iMessage is definitely a perk when you have family members who also have iPhones. I also like seeing when the other person is typing, it's nice to know they are attending to the message even if it's taking a long time to respond.
 

jdot104

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2010
439
7
0
Visit site
Anyone else jump from iPhone to Nexus 6P this year? How was the switch? Do you miss anything?

I made the jump from an iPhone 6. The build quality is comparable to an iPhone; I actually like it a little better. The only thing I miss is iMessages and being able to text from my computer. Other than that, Google has a counterpart for every service. Keyboards work much better on Android than iOS, so that's a removed pain.

1. Android Device Manager is Android's version of Find My iPhone.

2. I don't know of any apps similar to AirPlay, but that's mainly ignorance. I didn't use it on my iPhone.

3. I just got my 6P today, so I can't really say much about battery now. But I feel great about it after reading later reviews and seeing how other people were using the phone. It seems to have an average of 4-4.5 hours of SOT with mixed use.

4. The 6P is a big phone, but I haven't had any problems handling it. If you have small hands, it will definitely require both, but I've been typing away with one hand for a few hours and it's possible.

One thing I should mention is that the display blows my iPhone 6 out of the water. And I'm super glad to have my notification light back. It's a really nice phone.
 

Ticojpunk

Recordist
Jun 6, 2011
691
32
0
Visit site
I made the jump from an iPhone 6. The build quality is comparable to an iPhone; I actually like it a little better. The only thing I miss is iMessages and being able to text from my computer. Other than that, Google has a counterpart for every service. Keyboards work much better on Android than iOS, so that's a removed pain.

1. Android Device Manager is Android's version of Find My iPhone.

2. I don't know of any apps similar to AirPlay, but that's mainly ignorance. I didn't use it on my iPhone.

3. I just got my 6P today, so I can't really say much about battery now. But I feel great about it after reading later reviews and seeing how other people were using the phone. It seems to have an average of 4-4.5 hours of SOT with mixed use.

4. The 6P is a big phone, but I haven't had any problems handling it. If you have small hands, it will definitely require both, but I've been typing away with one hand for a few hours and it's possible.

One thing I should mention is that the display blows my iPhone 6 out of the water. And I'm super glad to have my notification light back. It's a really nice phone.

Thanks. Some good points there. I had forgotten about the notification light I used to have on my GS3. I've managed without it just fine, but it was a nice thing to have. The display is another good point. It's funny how our eyes get used to good and want great. There was a time when the screen on the iPhone 6 would have been drop dead gorgeous, but that time is not now. The lower resolution definitely disappoints especially after having briefly owned a Note 4. Another annoyance on the 6 is I really need to have it in Zoomed mode for the icons and status bar to be comfortably readable, but then it's pretty cramped overall. I wish there was an in between. That's the sort of customization that I miss since I've left Android. I make due, because Apple sweetens the deal with it's own benefits, but the resolution and Zoomed/Standard modes are definitely a strike against the iPhone 6 to me.

In regards to keyboards, since iOS 9.1, SwiftKey has gotten WAY more stable. It used to be so bad I gave up on a it a few times, only to return back with my fingers crossed because I really don't like the stock keyboard on iOS all that much. There's still remaining bugs though. It's a little laggy to appear, and when you have Maps running , it adds a blue bar at the top which pushes the rest of the interface down a little. 3rd party keyboards don't seem to adjust to this and end up having the space bar half cut off at the bottom of the screen.
 

wunderbar

Well-known member
Dec 11, 2010
582
0
0
Visit site
Thanks. I think iMessage is like the only hangup I have. The more I think about, my wife and I often send each other pictures of the kids when we're out with them and the other one is home or with the other kid. iMessage has never failed to send us our photos back and forth, and quickly. iMessage is definitely a perk when you have family members who also have iPhones. I also like seeing when the other person is typing, it's nice to know they are attending to the message even if it's taking a long time to respond.

There are many different apps you can use instead of iMessage, with the added bonus that most everything except iMessage is cross platform. Google Hangouts, Whatsapp, facebook messenger, etc, and those can all be used on android and iOS.

The only hangup is that they don't do SMS. Hangouts on Android does, but not on iPhone. So there'd be multiple apps involved, which I do admit takes out some of the convenience and simplicity. But you gain the fact that you can use the other service on any device you want that doesn't have an apple logo on it. iMessage is one of the most proprietary locked in things I've ever seen, and imo it's a harm instead of a good thing for mobile messaging.
 

sstephen17

Well-known member
Feb 9, 2011
305
2
0
Visit site
Personally, I think Apple purposely screws with iMessage for people switching over to Android. I switched awhile ago from the 4S. So many issues when group texting people on iPhones. It's better now but even today, I can't group text my two brothers together (both on iPhone) but when we are all in a group text with other people with iPhones, it works fine. Very weird.

My fiancee has an iPhone 6+. We text all the time and send pics without any issues. No, I can't see if she's responding right away to a given text but IMO that would be a little to obsessive to me. Knowing my text is sent (I use the Google Messenger app for texting) is fine for me.
 

Ticojpunk

Recordist
Jun 6, 2011
691
32
0
Visit site
There are many different apps you can use instead of iMessage, with the added bonus that most everything except iMessage is cross platform. Google Hangouts, Whatsapp, facebook messenger, etc, and those can all be used on android and iOS.

The only hangup is that they don't do SMS. Hangouts on Android does, but not on iPhone. So there'd be multiple apps involved, which I do admit takes out some of the convenience and simplicity. But you gain the fact that you can use the other service on any device you want that doesn't have an apple logo on it. iMessage is one of the most proprietary locked in things I've ever seen, and imo it's a harm instead of a good thing for mobile messaging.

All that stuff is fine with me but my wife will NOT be using anything but the stock iOS Messages app. She's not big on technology and part of the reason I made sure when it was time for her to go from flip phone to smartphone, that I got her an iPhone. I'm lucky she texts at all!
 

Robisan

Well-known member
Apr 29, 2012
745
2
0
Visit site
Thanks. I think iMessage is like the only hangup I have. The more I think about, my wife and I often send each other pictures of the kids when we're out with them and the other one is home or with the other kid. iMessage has never failed to send us our photos back and forth, and quickly. iMessage is definitely a perk when you have family members who also have iPhones. I also like seeing when the other person is typing, it's nice to know they are attending to the message even if it's taking a long time to respond.

If you're on Verizon you might want to look at Verizon Messages. It's feature rich and very customizable. Available for Android and iOS, phones and tablets, plus Windows & OSX desktop apps, it will sync across all devices over cell or wifi. Not a fan of VZW so it pains to say it, but they did a pretty good job with this.
 

wunderbar

Well-known member
Dec 11, 2010
582
0
0
Visit site
All that stuff is fine with me but my wife will NOT be using anything but the stock iOS Messages app. She's not big on technology and part of the reason I made sure when it was time for her to go from flip phone to smartphone, that I got her an iPhone. I'm lucky she texts at all!

well I mean, the stock iMessage app does SMS and MMS, but you could be in for some pain of messages going into the abyss, since Apple's process of getting your phone number out of iMessage involves doing some kind of rain dance in front of a unicorn. Now, I'm not 100% sure on this but I believe iMessage will pass SMS messages to other devices on the same apple ID now, so getting SMS's to a tablet on her apple account should/might work. But even then, iMessage works in mysterious ways (i.e. awfully)

Unfortunately, if iMessage is a dealbreaker which it sounds like it is going to be, than that's that.
 

hallux

Q&A Team
Jul 7, 2013
12,322
7
38
Visit site
There are many different apps you can use instead of iMessage, with the added bonus that most everything except iMessage is cross platform. Google Hangouts, Whatsapp, facebook messenger, etc, and those can all be used on android and iOS.

The only hangup is that they don't do SMS. Hangouts on Android does, but not on iPhone. So there'd be multiple apps involved, which I do admit takes out some of the convenience and simplicity. But you gain the fact that you can use the other service on any device you want that doesn't have an apple logo on it. iMessage is one of the most proprietary locked in things I've ever seen, and imo it's a harm instead of a good thing for mobile messaging.

Beg to differ on Hangouts. Hangouts DOES handle your SMS also. In fact, I was able to switch from an SMS conversation to a Hangouts conversation with someone and never knew their email address. You just tap the little "SMS" rectangle next to the text input box and it comes up with the other ways to contact them. If they're using an Android device, it should allow you to make the switch between communication types.
 

wunderbar

Well-known member
Dec 11, 2010
582
0
0
Visit site
Beg to differ on Hangouts. Hangouts DOES handle your SMS also. In fact, I was able to switch from an SMS conversation to a Hangouts conversation with someone and never knew their email address. You just tap the little "SMS" rectangle next to the text input box and it comes up with the other ways to contact them. If they're using an Android device, it should allow you to make the switch between communication types.

On android yes. on iPhone no. Apple does not allow any application other than the built in messages app to do SMS on iPhone.
 

jdot104

Well-known member
Oct 24, 2010
439
7
0
Visit site
There are many different apps you can use instead of iMessage, with the added bonus that most everything except iMessage is cross platform. Google Hangouts, Whatsapp, facebook messenger, etc, and those can all be used on android and iOS.

The only hangup is that they don't do SMS. Hangouts on Android does, but not on iPhone. So there'd be multiple apps involved, which I do admit takes out some of the convenience and simplicity. But you gain the fact that you can use the other service on any device you want that doesn't have an apple logo on it. iMessage is one of the most proprietary locked in things I've ever seen, and imo it's a harm instead of a good thing for mobile messaging.

Hangouts would be the solution for iMessages on Android, but it's just not popular. And Google still has a standalone SMS app (Messaging) that looks a lot nicer than Hangouts. If they merged the two and kept the look of Messaging, it would be phenomenal. The real problem is that most OEMs build a proprietary messaging app into their flavors of Android, so you'll likely never get a majority of people to use one directly from Google.