Confessions of an iPhone converter

[Sharky19]

I have been an iPhone user since 2008 and have owned the 3G, 4 and the 5 (skipped the S updates).

Last month, I switched from the iPhone 5 to the Nexus 5 because I wanted a bigger screen and got tired of waiting for Apple to release one. When I first got the N5, I was very happy about the larger screen and the form factor but that excitement slowly started to wear off once I started using it and I started missing some of the iPhone 5's "Out of the box polish". However, instead of just going back to the iPhone, I stuck to the N5 and played around with settings, tried various apps and widgets to get the type of notifications that I am used to and after about a week, I felt at home with the N5 and I gave my iPhone 5 to one of my daughters. I plan to use this phone for the next year and then see what Fall 2014 has to offer.

I like my N5 but would not recommend it to my parents. They both use iPhones and think for them, the iPhone is a better as they don't need to tinker with too many settings. I on the other hand, have been enjoying all the tweaks I can now do on my phone and have been constantly trying out various customization and have been enjoying it.

I switched some of the default apps and I am much happier:
Camera: Camera Zoom FX (disabled the stock app)
SMS: Textra (couldn't disable Hangouts but Textra is now my default)
Email: K-9 Mail & Gmail (I hated the stock Email app and it is buggy)
Notifications: Light Flow
Runtime: ART

I was very unhappy about the battery life but after some tweaks, I am much happier now.
Switched runtime to ART
Turned off auto app updates
Turned off auto screen brightness
Switched from stock Mail app to Gmail and K-9

What I still miss from the iPhone
Camera
One email app for all my emails accounts. K-9 can't handle my work Exchange so I am using multiple clients on my N5

 

[madlaw1071]

I have been an iPhone user since 2008 and have owned the 3G, 4 and the 5 (skipped the S updates).

Last month, I switched from the iPhone 5 to the Nexus 5 because I wanted a bigger screen and got tired of waiting for Apple to release one. When I first got the N5, I was very happy about the larger screen and the form factor but that excitement slowly started to wear off once I started using it and I started missing some of the iPhone 5's "Out of the box polish". However, instead of just going back to the iPhone, I stuck to the N5 and played around with settings, tried various apps and widgets to get the type of notifications that I am used to and after about a week, I felt at home with the N5 and I gave my iPhone 5 to one of my daughters. I plan to use this phone for the next year and then see what Fall 2014 has to offer.

I like my N5 but would not recommend it to my parents. They both use iPhones and think for them, the iPhone is a better as they don't need to tinker with too many settings. I on the other hand, have been enjoying all the tweaks I can now do on my phone and have been constantly trying out various customization and have been enjoying it.

I switched some of the default apps and I am much happier:
Camera: Camera Zoom FX (disabled the stock app)
SMS: Textra (couldn't disable Hangouts but Textra is now my default)
Email: K-9 Mail & Gmail (I hated the stock Email app and it is buggy)
Notifications: Light Flow
Runtime: ART

I was very unhappy about the battery life but after some tweaks, I am much happier now.
Switched runtime to ART
Turned off auto app updates
Turned off auto screen brightness
Switched from stock Mail app to Gmail and K-9

What I still miss from the iPhone
Camera
One email app for all my emails accounts. K-9 can't handle my work Exchange so I am using multiple clients on my N5

what didnt you like about the stock email app? I have a gmail account and exchange account and like the stock apps. in fact, this is the first Android phone I have used a 3rd party app to handle my exchange account. Mine works flawlessly.

 

[Sharky19]

I receive a lot of photos from iPhone users and the stock email app doesn't display those. The emails don't even show the attachment paper clip. K-9 and Gmail have no problem with embedded photos.

 

[ManInTheBox10]

What i don't understand is why you think the N5 doesn't work as well out of the box. There are more settings, yes, but you don't have to tinker with them to get the phone to work.

Regardless, welcome aboard!

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Sharky19]

What i don't understand is why you think the N5 doesn't work as well out of the box. There are more settings, yes, but you don't have to tinker with them to get the phone to work.

Regardless, welcome aboard!

Posted via Android Central App

I guess it is what I'm used to.

For example, I'm used to receiving Notifications a certain way and the screen waking up on my iPhone with an alert and I can decide to show the text or hide it. I keep my phone silent at work and next to me. When an email or text arrives, my iPhone would wake up and show me the alert. I couldn't get that on the Nexus out of the box. I had to tinker with 3rd party software and some of them drain the battery quite a bit or crash periodically.

The Nexus 5 has a color LED but the stock OS only flashes white and the frequency is really slow. I wanted it to flash more frequently so I can just look at it and know if I had new mail/text. I had to install LightFlow to do that.

Don't get me wrong, Android has lots of cool features but the two above were important for me personally and it didn't work out of the box as well as I had hoped. My elderly parents won't tinker with the phone as I do and that is why I made that statement. Some may be happy with the default behavior and if so, that is great. I'm just glad that Android gives me the flexibility to make those tweaks....Apple wouldn't.

 

[yfan]

For example, I'm used to receiving Notifications a certain way and the screen waking up on my iPhone with an alert and I can decide to show the text or hide it. I keep my phone silent at work and next to me. When an email or text arrives, my iPhone would wake up and show me the alert. I couldn't get that on the Nexus out of the box.

I understand what you're saying, but I see the discrete nature of the LED notification as a positive. This is one reason I didn't want the Moto X - it's a cool phone, but I don't want the screen to light up and tell me what notifications I've got. If my boyfriend sends me a cutesy message, I don't want my phone to light up and put it on display when I'm in a meeting at work! But to each his own.

Welcome to the Nexus!

 

[ManInTheBox10]

I guess it is what I'm used to.

For example, I'm used to receiving Notifications a certain way and the screen waking up on my iPhone with an alert and I can decide to show the text or hide it. I keep my phone silent at work and next to me. When an email or text arrives, my iPhone would wake up and show me the alert. I couldn't get that on the Nexus out of the box. I had to tinker with 3rd party software and some of them drain the battery quite a bit or crash periodically.

The Nexus 5 has a color LED but the stock OS only flashes white and the frequency is really slow. I wanted it to flash more frequently so I can just look at it and know if I had new mail/text. I had to install LightFlow to do that.

Don't get me wrong, Android has lots of cool features but the two above were important for me personally and it didn't work out of the box as well as I had hoped. My elderly parents won't tinker with the phone as I do and that is why I made that statement. Some may be happy with the default behavior and if so, that is great. I'm just glad that Android gives me the flexibility to make those tweaks....Apple wouldn't.

I see. Well that is the beauty of Android, like you said. I came from an iPhone too and I didn't like how the screen didn't come on when I'd get a notification but now I have to agree with yfan. I don't want my phone displaying my texts if it's on a table at work.

One simple thing that bothered me with the iPhone's lack of flexibility is that you couldn't have text alerts on vibrate only and still be able to hear your ringtone (or get rid of that swoosh sound when it sends a message). Either the phone is completely silent or you'd have to set the text tone to none which meant no sound and no vibration. Very basic feature you'd think... Does it still do that?

What's funny is now that I'm on Android I actually want my text tone on lol.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[knowimagination]

I will say this, I switched from an iPhone 5 to a nexus 4 last year and looking back the reason I didn't stick with the nexus was because I was trying to hard to recreate my iPhone experience.

This time I switched from iPhone 5s to nexus 5 and I am focusing on just creating the best android experience for me and not worrying about how things were done on my iPhone and I am enjoying it a lot more.

 

[toilet-handle]

I've been an iPhone user since 08 also and owned all with the 4 being my last and last year I ditched it for the gs3 and now the nexus, And I will not be going back. What's odd for me about the nexus is that my gs3 on cm10.2 was probably the best phone/software combo ever and would still be using it if my phone didn't stop charging.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[AndroidDario]

The more I read these comments, the more I get confused.
I've decided to switch from iPhone 5 to Nexus 5, but now I wonder why I have to buy a phone that I have to customize to get the best result, while Apple offers iMessage and Mail perfectly working.
Maybe it's early for me to convert to Android. All I ask si a smartphone perfectly working, a samrtphone that doesn't duplicate contacts (Hangouts) that offers two camera apps (images and camera) and that allows me to receive/send emails using ita stock app. If I want to add another one, well, it will be my choice.
Start thinking that I have to find another techie gift for myself, and keep my iphone 5 until next fall, when Apple will introduce its new iphone 6 and Google will do the same with the new Nexus model. The hope is that Google will adjust some lacks and Apple create a bigger screen iphone.

 

[mrsmumbles]

The more I read these comments, the more I get confused.
I've decided to switch from iPhone 5 to Nexus 5, but now I wonder why I have to buy a phone that I have to customize to get the best result, while Apple offers iMessage and Mail perfectly working.
Maybe it's early for me to convert to Android. All I ask si a smartphone perfectly working, a samrtphone that doesn't duplicate contacts (Hangouts) that offers two camera apps (images and camera) and that allows me to receive/send emails using ita stock app. If I want to add another one, well, it will be my choice.
Start thinking that I have to find another techie gift for myself, and keep my iphone 5 until next fall, when Apple will introduce its new iphone 6 and Google will do the same with the new Nexus model. The hope is that Google will adjust some lacks and Apple create a bigger screen iphone.

Interesting POV. To me Google Android seems to have an abundance rather than lacks. But you have to be the sort of person who has the patience to try a lot of different apps and choose the ones you like most. Not everyone is into that.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

[AndroidDario]

I do not test apps. I download the ones I think can be useful for my needs, and if they fit I keep them, otherwise they will be deleted.
I do not try many apps because I do not feel the need. If the stock works, it works.

 

[mrsmumbles]

I do not test apps. I download the ones I think can be useful for my needs, and if they fit I keep them, otherwise they will be deleted.
I do not try many apps because I do not feel the need. If the stock works, it works.

Yes, that's what I was noticing.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk 2

 

[toilet-handle]

Obviously Android is not for everyone, but I pretty much use all stock apps and they work flawlessly for me, Including hangouts. I think a lot of problems people face are from user error. The only non Google app I use is SwiftKey for my keyboard app.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

 

[Fdmstng99]

I'll be switching from iPhone to Android here soon as well. I got the Nexus 7 (2013) and that started getting me used to the Android OS which I'm really enjoying. Glad I made the switch tablet wise and now I know it will be an easy switch from IOS to Android OS.

 

[paintdrinkingpete]

I have been an iPhone user since 2008 and have owned the 3G, 4 and the 5 (skipped the S updates).

Last month, I switched from the iPhone 5 to the Nexus 5 because I wanted a bigger screen and got tired of waiting for Apple to release one. When I first got the N5, I was very happy about the larger screen and the form factor but that excitement slowly started to wear off once I started using it and I started missing some of the iPhone 5's "Out of the box polish". However, instead of just going back to the iPhone, I stuck to the N5 and played around with settings, tried various apps and widgets to get the type of notifications that I am used to and after about a week, I felt at home with the N5 and I gave my iPhone 5 to one of my daughters. I plan to use this phone for the next year and then see what Fall 2014 has to offer.

I like my N5 but would not recommend it to my parents. They both use iPhones and think for them, the iPhone is a better as they don't need to tinker with too many settings. I on the other hand, have been enjoying all the tweaks I can now do on my phone and have been constantly trying out various customization and have been enjoying it.

I switched some of the default apps and I am much happier:
Camera: Camera Zoom FX (disabled the stock app)
SMS: Textra (couldn't disable Hangouts but Textra is now my default)
Email: K-9 Mail & Gmail (I hated the stock Email app and it is buggy)
Notifications: Light Flow
Runtime: ART

I was very unhappy about the battery life but after some tweaks, I am much happier now.
Switched runtime to ART
Turned off auto app updates
Turned off auto screen brightness
Switched from stock Mail app to Gmail and K-9

What I still miss from the iPhone
Camera
One email app for all my emails accounts. K-9 can't handle my work Exchange so I am using multiple clients on my N5

A fair assessment. There are obviously pros and cons to each platform...switching from either will result an adjustment period, and at least you appear to have approached this conversion with an open mind.

what didnt you like about the stock email app? I have a gmail account and exchange account and like the stock apps. in fact, this is the first Android phone I have used a 3rd party app to handle my exchange account. Mine works flawlessly.

I receive a lot of photos from iPhone users and the stock email app doesn't display those. The emails don't even show the attachment paper clip. K-9 and Gmail have no problem with embedded photos.

I don't have an Exchange account on my Android, but I thought I read that the mail client on Android 4.4 doesn't work very will with Exchange(?). Either way, I've never been that impressed with what the stock email app has to offer. It works, but isn't exactly feature rich.

Interesting info, I remember reading a while back that K-9 email client is actually a fork based off of the original (pre-Google) Android mail client.

All this aside, one thing I've learned with Android is that if you're dealing with multiple types of email accounts, your experience will (in my opinion) be better if you use separate email clients best suited for each type of email, and worry less about achieving a "universal" email box.

For example, with my Gmail account, I use the Gmail app, which I find works the best for Gmail and syncs much better than trying to do IMAP with another email client. I have a work email account that I use K-9 for. When I did have an Exchange email account that I had to access (before I switched companies), I used Touchdown, which I felt was a great Exchange email client. Originally coming from Blackberry, at first I tried to get all my email accounts loaded in the default email app...but then I realized that it sucked. I didn't really like having separate apps for each email account, but now, I'm completely used to it and don't mind at all...in fact, I like that I can tell by the notification sound/icon which email account I'm receiving messages on as notifications come in.

What i don't understand is why you think the N5 doesn't work as well out of the box. There are more settings, yes, but you don't have to tinker with them to get the phone to work.

Regardless, welcome aboard!

Posted via Android Central App

You could argue that out of the box, Android is more a blank canvas than iPhone is. The obvious advantage is being able to set it up exactly how you like, but it may take a little more time and effort.

The more I read these comments, the more I get confused.
I've decided to switch from iPhone 5 to Nexus 5, but now I wonder why I have to buy a phone that I have to customize to get the best result, while Apple offers iMessage and Mail perfectly working.
Maybe it's early for me to convert to Android. All I ask si a smartphone perfectly working, a samrtphone that doesn't duplicate contacts (Hangouts) that offers two camera apps (images and camera) and that allows me to receive/send emails using ita stock app. If I want to add another one, well, it will be my choice.
Start thinking that I have to find another techie gift for myself, and keep my iphone 5 until next fall, when Apple will introduce its new iphone 6 and Google will do the same with the new Nexus model. The hope is that Google will adjust some lacks and Apple create a bigger screen iphone.

Hangouts doesn't exactly "duplicate" contacts, however it will keep SMS threads completely separate from true Hangouts threads. No, this isn't quite as nice as how iMessage handles it, but there is a reason for that....

1. Google Hangouts messages are sent through your gmail address, and not attached or linked in anyway to your mobile phone number (as iMessage is)

2. Google Hangouts messaging is available on a multitude of devices, including phones, tablets and on desktop...it's not meant to, as iMessage is, function solely as an enhancement to SMS, but rather it's a more feature rich alternative.

I'm not saying that the Hangouts app doesn't need some polishing, because it certainly does, but SMS integration into the Hangouts app serves only to consolidate your messaging into a single repository, which for folks like me that actually use Hangouts more frequently then SMS, is pretty nice...but obviously you can choose not to use it if you don't want to.

 

[anon(847090)]

I recommend this a lot of people. if you are rooted use greenify. it is the best battery saver

 

[LegalAmerican]

I like my N5 but would not recommend it to my parents. They both use iPhones and think for them, the iPhone is a better as they don't need to tinker with too many settings.

Just a thought here.........The only reason you felt like you HAD to tinker with settings, is because you wanted it to be more like what you're used to on iOS. Keep in mind that if you're used to Android and you wanted iOS to be more like Android, you'd have to do a lot of tinkering there as well. I enjoyed reading your post but I don't understand why people think that Android isn't perfectly fine out of the box. It is, unless you're expecting it to behave like iOS which it wasn't intended to do. That being said, that's what's great about Android. You CAN tinker with it if you want to make it different.

 

[LegalAmerican]

I will say this, I switched from an iPhone 5 to a nexus 4 last year and looking back the reason I didn't stick with the nexus was because I was trying to hard to recreate my iPhone experience.

This time I switched from iPhone 5s to nexus 5 and I am focusing on just creating the best android experience for me and not worrying about how things were done on my iPhone and I am enjoying it a lot more.

Amen. This is perfectly put. If someone wants the exact same experience they have with an iPhone, stick with an iPhone. I've always felt that if someone is wanting to switch, then go with both feet and appreciate the differences. I guarantee that if you accept the fact that it isn't going to be the same experience, you'll discover some AWESOME Android features. If you spend all your time trying to recreate iOS, you'll miss so much of Android.

 

[AndroidDario]

A fair assessment. There are obviously pros and cons to each platform...switching from either will result an adjustment period, and at least you appear to have approached this conversion with an open mind.

Which is the best sms app?




I don't have an Exchange account on my Android, but I thought I read that the mail client on Android 4.4 doesn't work very will with Exchange(?). Either way, I've never been that impressed with what the stock email app has to offer. It works, but isn't exactly feature rich.

Interesting info, I remember reading a while back that K-9 email client is actually a fork based off of the original (pre-Google) Android mail client.

All this aside, one thing I've learned with Android is that if you're dealing with multiple types of email accounts, your experience will (in my opinion) be better if you use separate email clients best suited for each type of email, and worry less about achieving a "universal" email box.

For example, with my Gmail account, I use the Gmail app, which I find works the best for Gmail and syncs much better than trying to do IMAP with another email client. I have a work email account that I use K-9 for. When I did have an Exchange email account that I had to access (before I switched companies), I used Touchdown, which I felt was a great Exchange email client. Originally coming from Blackberry, at first I tried to get all my email accounts loaded in the default email app...but then I realized that it sucked. I didn't really like having separate apps for each email account, but now, I'm completely used to it and don't mind at all...in fact, I like that I can tell by the notification sound/icon which email account I'm receiving messages on as notifications come in.



You could argue that out of the box, Android is more a blank canvas than iPhone is. The obvious advantage is being able to set it up exactly how you like, but it may take a little more time and effort.



Hangouts doesn't exactly "duplicate" contacts, however it will keep SMS threads completely separate from true Hangouts threads. No, this isn't quite as nice as how iMessage handles it, but there is a reason for that....

1. Google Hangouts messages are sent through your gmail address, and not attached or linked in anyway to your mobile phone number (as iMessage is)

2. Google Hangouts messaging is available on a multitude of devices, including phones, tablets and on desktop...it's not meant to, as iMessage is, function solely as an enhancement to SMS, but rather it's a more feature rich alternative.

I'm not saying that the Hangouts app doesn't need some polishing, because it certainly does, but SMS integration into the Hangouts app serves only to consolidate your messaging into a single repository, which for folks like me that actually use Hangouts more frequently then SMS, is pretty nice...but obviously you can choose not to use it if you don't want to.