Re: 3 weeks with Android, but I miss iOS so much...
So, why do I go back to the iPhone?
Many reasons...Android is certainly a good OS, but there are things that bother me and couldn't get used to them:
* App quality is most of the times worse than on iOS. There are some good apps out there though. An example of a whole app category where iOS is unbeatable: Calendar and Tasks apps..It's like night and day..
* The Google Play store cannot be compared to the AppStore...
*If you are not prepared to root your device, then Android OS gets also boring, as iOS...Maybe because both OS work pretty well...
*Notifications: The lock screen notifications of iOS are much better than any plugin or widget can accomplish on Android. Android does't natively support lock screen notifications, but there are widgets and apps that imitate iOS behavior...but they do not work as well as the original...
*Video playback support is not as good as on the iOS...I know there are many video players, but iOS offers much better compatibility with mp4 files. MKV files on the other hand play very well on Android too (you need an app on iOS for that..)
*The fact that Dropbox runs in the background on Android and saves taken pictures automatically is great, but on iOS we have Photostream that does the exact same thing, and is much better integrated in the OS..
*The lack of Mac integration can be frustrating at times...
* The OS is not as polished as iOS and looks worse too! I don't believe I am saying that, but iOS 7 is beautiful...
*No FaceTime and no iMessages...Hangouts is a joke of an application. I am sorry Google fans, but you haven't probably seen Messages and FaceTime working...It's like night and day
About the HTC One M8: It is a great device, has great screen (but with much worse color accuracy compared to the iPhone), has amazing speakers which I will really miss, but it is too big to carry around..After using it for almost three weeks, I can safely say that I don't want such a big phone...I don't want to always worry how I am going to carry it with me, or how I am going to hold it...I believe the current iPhone is a little bit small, so a size up to 4,7" (as a maximum), is ok. If the rumors are true, the next iPhone will offer a 4,7" size...
So, I ordered an iPhone 5S and it comes on Monday morning...Goodbye Android, I will not miss you.
1) GPlay gives more freedom, and doesn't force things on developers. That's a blessing and a curse.
2) True, GPlay has Apps+Media. This is pure opinion as I prefer GPlay to be honest.
3) Right out of the box, unrooted, I can install K9 Mail and let it get mail push mail. Apple doesn't allow that. I don't need to root to let other browsers get to 100%, but I did need to Jailbreak and install Nitrous to let Chrome access better Javascript.
4) This could be said to be opinion, as I don't like anyone picking up my phone being able to see my texts or calls, or that I have them. I can look at the notification bar, and my S4 does have SView, so I can see numbers of calls/texts there. WidgetLocker does this too.
5) Video playback is arguably better on Android as it can play more than MP4 and h.264. Android is more of a set it up thing, and iOS is more of a "You'll take what we give you and like it". No way you can get native mkv on iOS, but it works great on Android. Archos' player is great, as are others.
6) Can you natively pull Photostream photos up as actual files on any device? Or do you need Apple software (as in iPhoto*)? Can you view Photostream data on the web, without having to first share the stream?
7) There isn't any integration, it isn't meant to plug in, nor are iPhones anymore really. They took out the "Info" tab for the most part. You're meant to sync with iCloud on iOS and Google Services on Android. I have Google Services for everything, and iCloud for my iPhone syncing to the Mac I'm typing this on without a hitch. Have you tried Doubletwist?
8) This is opinion, but I do see what you mean.
9) Blame Tim Cook. Steve Jobs wanted iMessage/Facetime to be universal. But, I've heard horror stories of people getting out of iMessage/Facetime's death grip when switching to another carrier. Plus, why do I *need* to register iMessage/Facetime with a phone number? Why can't I just use it with my AppleID? Seems like a scummy thing to grab my number and not easily let go...
I like the bigger phone as I occasionally have to actually troubleshoot computers from my phone. Easier to see a PC desktop with a larger screen. This is opinion, and I do like the feel of an iPhone, I will admit that.