I use Android phones every day, setting up and maintaining employees on our VPN and database servers, as well as having owned an HTC Evo, S5, Galaxy Tab, and Fire tablet. But its at work where I am using the latest and greatest Android phones. While Android phones have made expected upgrades to the screen, ram, cpu, camera, and introduced some new features and skins, the issues I have with Android still persist. And a lot of the benefits Android used to have, no longer exist. Android phones used to have the big screens you couldnt get on iPhones, as well as the SD card slot. Both no longer the case. Also Android phones are ditching the headphone jack, which everyone gave Apple crap for, but dont mind now that Androids doing it. Everyone thought it was crazy that the iPhone X was $1,000 and that no phone should cost that much, but nobody seems to be complaining that the Note 9 is a $1,000 phone, so there’s some real double standards happening here.
The main issue with Android is that its an OS that has to run on hundreds, if not thousands of models and hardware configurations, which means there are many more variables to cause a problem. This is why every Android device i’ve owned has froze or crashed on a daily basis. Apps would crash all the time, or not load when tapped, or would delay opening when tapped. And virus scans would run automatically when installing an app, or restarting the phone. I don’t know if I ever did get a virus, but I always let the scans run as a necessary troubleshooting step to the freezing and crashing issues, and that was bad enough. Wether or not I actually had a virus was insignificant.
Android is essentially a generic OS. This means manufacturers are allowed to do whatever they want with it. They come with overlays that people don’t want. Even worse, they can completely close off the OS like Amazon did with their Fire products. You couldn’t even access the Google Play store, and the app selection was pitiful.
Android having to run on so many different models is also reason why the app selection is much poorer. There is far more coding required for Android. And a lot of apps on Google Play are actually iOS ports and not native to Android. They are often missing features, and take longer to be released and updated. When I switched from iPhone to Android, there were many games and apps I used that were not on Google Play. When I switched back to iPhone, there were no Google Play apps I used that werent on the App Store. Android users also state that iPhones are too restrictive, yet they fail to say what essential tasks they are able to do on Android that iPhone users can’t.
Its also irritating that Android phones come with junk third party apps. When I unboxed a brand new S5 it actually started installing Candy Crush without asking me, i’m not lying. Those preinstalled third party apps subsidize some of the cost, which is one reason why Android phones are cheaper. Also, something like only 20% of active Android devices are running the latest and best Android version. More than 80% of iPhones have the latest iOS version. An iPhone 5S can even run the latest version of iOS and it came out in 2013. How many Android phones from 2013 can run Android Pie. Androids userbase is severely fragmented. Many Android users want “pure android”. iOS is always pure.
iPhone has the best content. There is nothing on Android that comes close to Garageband. Musicians have made billboard chart toppers with that app. Nothing on Android that is as simple, intuitive, yet effective as iMovie. iPhone has countless games that aren’t on Google Play. I made a list of games I had on iOS that werent on Google Play, but its too long to post here. I’ll post it in another comment if anyones curious.
iPhones also have better warranties. 1 year store warranty. Android phones have a 14-30 day store warranty that reverts to a manufacturers warranty where you have to RMA and ship your device and wait a month to get it back if it stops working in 6 months. iPhone support is also supplemented by the genius bar, and apple care, and apple is the only smartphone maker that has their call center in the US and not India. Less waiting on hold, being transferred, and receiving canned responses.
iPhones also have a better selection of accessories, and higher quality options. iPhones can facetime, and use all the other webcam apps. If you’re on Android and you want to webcam with family or friends with an iPhone, you have to make them setup and run Skype, which is a real pain with seniors. Similar case with wireless payment. iPhones have both Apple Pay and Google Wallet while Android cant use Apple Pay. iMessage has far more features and functionality than Androids messaging app.
When you buy an app on the iPad, you automatically get it for your iPhone. When I bought apps for my S5, I didnt get them for my Fire tablet. When you take a pic, receive a text, make a contact, or a note, on an iphone, ipad, or mac, its automatically on all the devices automatically, without having to mess with a separate app.
Also you can plug instruments like keyboards and guitars into iPhones, which you cant with Android. There’s a whole world of recording, effects, and sound modeling apps by Fender, Korg, Roland. You can have an entire recording and practice rig in your pocket. I sold my $500 8 track portastudio because my iphone does what it does better. Picking an iPhone is a no brainer for anyone who plays a music instrument.
iPhones have also been the first when it comes to important features. Siri was the first comprehensive voice assistant on a smartphone. iPhone had the first multi touch capacitive screen. Retina was the first high resolution mobile screen. First with visual voicemail. First phone with turn by turn GPS nav. iPhone had the first fingerprint scanner. First app store. First wireless payment protocol. iPhone has the first 3D face scanner and 3D touch sensor. iPhone has 3D touch which is a really cool feature that adds extra functionality to the screen. They have night mode, which makes the display easier on your eyes in the dark. On Android you have to mess with separate apps to emulate this. You can setup to be an organ donor on the phone and have important medical info that EMT can get without being able to unlock your phone. Lightning came out in 2012 while Android phones only adopted USB-C a couple of years ago.
Granted other brands have introduced features everyone else adopted, but not nearly as many important and fundamental as Apples. And Apple has often not been the first to create a feature or product, but were the first to do it right. Its been their design and execution that made them game changers. Apple makes Mac OS, Microsoft makes Windows. Apple makes iPod, Microsoft makes Zune. Apple makes iPhone, Microsoft makes Windows Phone. Apple makes iPad, Microsoft makes Surface. Apple makes Siri, Microsoft makes Cortana. Apple makes Apple Store, Microsoft makes Microsoft Store. Apple makes Garageband, Microsoft makes Songsmith. Apple makes iPod Touch, Microsoft makes Zune HD. Apple makes iTunes, Microsoft makes Zune Marketplace. Yet nobody is accusing Microsoft of copying Apple.
I believe Apple is a little more protective with their users privacy and data. Apples competitors are non US companies and are not subject to laws and protocots to the degree Apple is. And lookup what happened in India with the smeshapp. Look at what happened with Xiamo smartphones. And Google is a hundred billion dollar company who’s main business is advertising. Every brand collects data, as its needed to resolve bugs, but in Googles case, they collect data to “provide you with a better optimized experience”, which is another way of saying, they want to learn what you like so they can sell their metadata to advertisers.
People look at top tier Android phones, and read up on the specs, and automatically perceive it as a better phone, but the importance of these things fade after the honeymoon period fades away. A schoolbus has more horsepower and torque than a porsche boxter. That doesn’t mean the schoolbus is better. Ultimately hardware is just a means to use software, and content is king. Still, when a new model iPhone comes out, it takes first place with geekbench scores. No other phone performed better than the XS Max Plus when it hit the market, so even the benefit of specs going to Android isn’t necessarily true.
People complain that iPhones cost too much. Nobody needs a flagship model, just like nobody needs a new car that costs more than a Honda Accord. You pay a premium for the latest tech, just as you would with the best and newest Android phones. Someone on a budget can get a 7 or 8 plus for much less, and still have a really good phone that can do everything.
While there are criticisms I have against Apple, like how much they charge for more storage, and I have compliments towards Android phones, like the quality of their screens, and cameras on the too tier models, after adding and subtracting the pros and cons of both, the iPhone is still better for me.
The main issue with Android is that its an OS that has to run on hundreds, if not thousands of models and hardware configurations, which means there are many more variables to cause a problem. This is why every Android device i’ve owned has froze or crashed on a daily basis. Apps would crash all the time, or not load when tapped, or would delay opening when tapped. And virus scans would run automatically when installing an app, or restarting the phone. I don’t know if I ever did get a virus, but I always let the scans run as a necessary troubleshooting step to the freezing and crashing issues, and that was bad enough. Wether or not I actually had a virus was insignificant.
Android is essentially a generic OS. This means manufacturers are allowed to do whatever they want with it. They come with overlays that people don’t want. Even worse, they can completely close off the OS like Amazon did with their Fire products. You couldn’t even access the Google Play store, and the app selection was pitiful.
Android having to run on so many different models is also reason why the app selection is much poorer. There is far more coding required for Android. And a lot of apps on Google Play are actually iOS ports and not native to Android. They are often missing features, and take longer to be released and updated. When I switched from iPhone to Android, there were many games and apps I used that were not on Google Play. When I switched back to iPhone, there were no Google Play apps I used that werent on the App Store. Android users also state that iPhones are too restrictive, yet they fail to say what essential tasks they are able to do on Android that iPhone users can’t.
Its also irritating that Android phones come with junk third party apps. When I unboxed a brand new S5 it actually started installing Candy Crush without asking me, i’m not lying. Those preinstalled third party apps subsidize some of the cost, which is one reason why Android phones are cheaper. Also, something like only 20% of active Android devices are running the latest and best Android version. More than 80% of iPhones have the latest iOS version. An iPhone 5S can even run the latest version of iOS and it came out in 2013. How many Android phones from 2013 can run Android Pie. Androids userbase is severely fragmented. Many Android users want “pure android”. iOS is always pure.
iPhone has the best content. There is nothing on Android that comes close to Garageband. Musicians have made billboard chart toppers with that app. Nothing on Android that is as simple, intuitive, yet effective as iMovie. iPhone has countless games that aren’t on Google Play. I made a list of games I had on iOS that werent on Google Play, but its too long to post here. I’ll post it in another comment if anyones curious.
iPhones also have better warranties. 1 year store warranty. Android phones have a 14-30 day store warranty that reverts to a manufacturers warranty where you have to RMA and ship your device and wait a month to get it back if it stops working in 6 months. iPhone support is also supplemented by the genius bar, and apple care, and apple is the only smartphone maker that has their call center in the US and not India. Less waiting on hold, being transferred, and receiving canned responses.
iPhones also have a better selection of accessories, and higher quality options. iPhones can facetime, and use all the other webcam apps. If you’re on Android and you want to webcam with family or friends with an iPhone, you have to make them setup and run Skype, which is a real pain with seniors. Similar case with wireless payment. iPhones have both Apple Pay and Google Wallet while Android cant use Apple Pay. iMessage has far more features and functionality than Androids messaging app.
When you buy an app on the iPad, you automatically get it for your iPhone. When I bought apps for my S5, I didnt get them for my Fire tablet. When you take a pic, receive a text, make a contact, or a note, on an iphone, ipad, or mac, its automatically on all the devices automatically, without having to mess with a separate app.
Also you can plug instruments like keyboards and guitars into iPhones, which you cant with Android. There’s a whole world of recording, effects, and sound modeling apps by Fender, Korg, Roland. You can have an entire recording and practice rig in your pocket. I sold my $500 8 track portastudio because my iphone does what it does better. Picking an iPhone is a no brainer for anyone who plays a music instrument.
iPhones have also been the first when it comes to important features. Siri was the first comprehensive voice assistant on a smartphone. iPhone had the first multi touch capacitive screen. Retina was the first high resolution mobile screen. First with visual voicemail. First phone with turn by turn GPS nav. iPhone had the first fingerprint scanner. First app store. First wireless payment protocol. iPhone has the first 3D face scanner and 3D touch sensor. iPhone has 3D touch which is a really cool feature that adds extra functionality to the screen. They have night mode, which makes the display easier on your eyes in the dark. On Android you have to mess with separate apps to emulate this. You can setup to be an organ donor on the phone and have important medical info that EMT can get without being able to unlock your phone. Lightning came out in 2012 while Android phones only adopted USB-C a couple of years ago.
Granted other brands have introduced features everyone else adopted, but not nearly as many important and fundamental as Apples. And Apple has often not been the first to create a feature or product, but were the first to do it right. Its been their design and execution that made them game changers. Apple makes Mac OS, Microsoft makes Windows. Apple makes iPod, Microsoft makes Zune. Apple makes iPhone, Microsoft makes Windows Phone. Apple makes iPad, Microsoft makes Surface. Apple makes Siri, Microsoft makes Cortana. Apple makes Apple Store, Microsoft makes Microsoft Store. Apple makes Garageband, Microsoft makes Songsmith. Apple makes iPod Touch, Microsoft makes Zune HD. Apple makes iTunes, Microsoft makes Zune Marketplace. Yet nobody is accusing Microsoft of copying Apple.
I believe Apple is a little more protective with their users privacy and data. Apples competitors are non US companies and are not subject to laws and protocots to the degree Apple is. And lookup what happened in India with the smeshapp. Look at what happened with Xiamo smartphones. And Google is a hundred billion dollar company who’s main business is advertising. Every brand collects data, as its needed to resolve bugs, but in Googles case, they collect data to “provide you with a better optimized experience”, which is another way of saying, they want to learn what you like so they can sell their metadata to advertisers.
People look at top tier Android phones, and read up on the specs, and automatically perceive it as a better phone, but the importance of these things fade after the honeymoon period fades away. A schoolbus has more horsepower and torque than a porsche boxter. That doesn’t mean the schoolbus is better. Ultimately hardware is just a means to use software, and content is king. Still, when a new model iPhone comes out, it takes first place with geekbench scores. No other phone performed better than the XS Max Plus when it hit the market, so even the benefit of specs going to Android isn’t necessarily true.
People complain that iPhones cost too much. Nobody needs a flagship model, just like nobody needs a new car that costs more than a Honda Accord. You pay a premium for the latest tech, just as you would with the best and newest Android phones. Someone on a budget can get a 7 or 8 plus for much less, and still have a really good phone that can do everything.
While there are criticisms I have against Apple, like how much they charge for more storage, and I have compliments towards Android phones, like the quality of their screens, and cameras on the too tier models, after adding and subtracting the pros and cons of both, the iPhone is still better for me.