Is android right for me? (A journey of regret from a tech-loving iPhone user)

[AC Question]

Dear android community,

I am what you would consider a techy. I love technology of all kinds and I'm excited by any new tech that hits the market. I have used the iPhone exclusively as my smart phone for years most recently with the iPhone 6+. I love my Mac but my iPhone not so much. I have become bored with its lackluster user experience and rigid restrictions so I decided to jailbreak my phone. The concept was cool but it it just made my phone worse than any thing else.

I am coming to you today in search of some honest opinions for reassurance . I am dying to switch to android but I am scared to leave the reliability of the iPhone. Being a college student I can only buy a phone every three years or so. I want to get an s7 but I've heard they become laggy and never recieve updates

So my question is: Is there an android phone that will be able to last me the next three years?

 

[technifyy]

Hi. I used to be an Apple-devices' lover once. But I had the same experience as you did. Apple has more restrictions than Android, making it kinda safe- but boring at the same time. I got my device jailbroken and realized that, it was the worst thing to do! Firstly it was a void of contract (You can always switch back from a jailbreak software), it made my device exposed to vulnerable security flaws and my device lost its charge faster than ever. But the advantage? You could download paid apps for free and customize your device the way you always wanted, but for after paying a heavy price.

However, now I think that Android phones are better than that of Apple's in many ways- there is a huge variety of choice, there is great hardware, screens, resolution, camera and what not? There are like a 100 reasons why Android phones are better than Apple.

As you've mentioned that you want an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S7 specifically) but not willing to shed money on a device that lags or never receives update, I recommend you to read this article which lists the some common S7 problems and shows the way to solve them:

10 Common Galaxy S7 Problems & How to Fix Them.

There are many other phones running on Android, that can last you the next 3 years. All depends on your budget. The One Plus 3 is a great $400 dollars phone. If you want something high-end and filled with the latest technology- you can buy the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 for a staggering $900. Oh, just to remind you, Android Central is running a giveaway- where if you're lucky enough, you can win a Note 7. I've linked the URL below.

https://gleam.io/P1TrN/win-a-note-7-from-android-central-?l=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.androidcentral.com%2Fsamsung-galaxy-note-7

Hope that helps!

 

[belodion]

There are many such Android phones.

 

[Kelly Kearns]

I find that iPhone users are most likely to complain about lag. I've used numerous Samsung phones and have never experienced this horrible lagging that some report. TBF, most of these reports of lags happen at launch here.

As far as updates, it will receive 18-24 months of updates. My Note 5 updated to Mashmallow before the end of the year and Android released monthly security updates and so did Samsung.

 

[Rukbat]

I want to get an s7 but I've heard they become laggy

That depends on how much you install on them, how clean you keep the cache (you normally don't have to clean it), which apps you run ("RAM-cleaning" apps normally work opposite Android, causing problems, including slowness ["lag" is usually used when talking about internet latency, not the device]), etc. My 4 year old Android (a Note 3) is still as fast as it ever was, and it does everything I need.

and never recieve updates

That's up to the carrier. The manufacturer writes a generalized update, then the carrier has to modify it to work on their phone. (Apple controls boh the hardware and software, so the problem never occurs.)

If, by "techie", you mean "I like new tech things", stick with iPhones. If you mean "am technically proficient", you might prefer the freedom of an Android phone. You can do more with them, but you need to know more to do it.