Current iOS experience compared to Android?

[benhar]

Before I get to the rambling elaboration below, I'm curious to see how the overall user experience is with Android these days compared to iOS...

I was an OG Droid owner back in the day. But whether it was just Android growing pains or the fact that I installed ROMs, it just became too buggy for me, no matter what I did. So when it got to the point that I would stare at the screen when someone called me, but unable to actually answer the phone (hence losing the primary function), I made the jump to an iPhone 4s. I missed the customizability and didn't like the idea of Apple telling me what I was supposed to like or didn't like, but the fact that everything just worked won me over. 2 years later I went to a 5s, and 2 more later a 6s. Everything has been solid, and I love the effective implementation of everything. For instance, I didn't care one bit about TouchID, but it works so well that I don't want to give it up now. For me, one of the big selling points was that Apple controlled both the hardware and software for a great integration.

BUT, it seems like iOS just gets buggier and buggier. I've been pretty unhappy with iOS11, and haven't really been impressed with what I've seen of the iPhone X, much less the price. So, now my wife and I are considering holding out for Galaxy 9's and making a jump back to Android.

So that said, are there many iOS evacuees here who can give a good comparison of how well Android works these days? Is fingerprint recognition as effective? App quality closer than it used to be? How buggy is it compared to Apple?

Sorry, I know that's kind of a broad question, and I've been reading around a little trying to get answers. I'm just tired of reading articles that compare hardware specs, how super duper the camera is, etc, when I'm really just concerned about the overall experience. iMessage has spoiled me since the vast majority of friends and family have iPhones, but I'd just have to give that up. I also love the ecosystem between my phone and MacBook, but I'm thinking about going to Windows 10 for my next laptop anyway.

Thanks for any input!

 

[kramer5150]

I am not what you would call current... so take this for what it worth.

My first smart phone ~4 years ago was an iphone 5C. It was nice for a starter, getting into smart phones for the very first time. But after ~1.5 years the limitations with iOS and proprietary lightning accessories started to really annoy me. So ~2.5 years ago I jumped to a Sony Xperia Z3 on Kit-Kat. LOVED IT!!! Wow what a night and day difference it was. I used it for about a month and destroyed it. Cracked both glass faces on the front and back!! So I was back on the iPhone for a few months. Hard rule: NO GLASS CASE BACKS...PERIOD!! One glass surface is MORE than enough.

2 years ago... almost to the day, I got back into it with an LG V10 and I honestly have very few complaints. I am on Verizon and have the added device insurance through the carrier. Even after the V10 boot looped a couple months ago Verizon sent me a replacement phone in 24 hours... no complaints at all.

The advantages of iOS really do not interest me at all.

>I prefer localized / hardware based backup and storage methods over cloud based remote / subscibed solutions.

>I have no "real" need for software and OS updates (at least not the way apple does it).... I don't do anything hazardous, dangerous or irresponsible enough with my phone to be a serious beneficiary. Sure android updates for me have been spotty... but thats good enough for me!! The truth is, I don't really trust these updates... half the time I think they release updates just to covertly further nudge the handset towards "obsoletion", to get people to buy new devices.

>I really haven't missed iMessage that much, and honestly I find it "too vast" and almost too "expansive". I just need a simple, compact and efficient text messenger. Android messages works great for me. I really don't miss iMessage, despite being surrounded by iPhone users.

>As far as hardware goes... iphones offer nothing to me, no headphone jack, no expandable storage, no quick charge, no headphone amp, proprietary $$$ lightning cable accessories.... off the top of my head.

>I have an older HP laptop running windows 10 and love it, with its touch screen its like a chrome book on steroids. I also have the latest gen 15" macbook pro that I use for work and I like that too. Its alright using an android phone with the mac. I use a program called air-droid to transfer files wirelessly and I can make it work. But admittedly it is easier using the windows machine with Android.

>I just use a knock code, 6 taps on my screen and it unlocks every time. So I honestly can't comment any further on finger prints and all that.

FWIW... I am probably what many would consider a very basic user. I just need a device to cover the basics here. Text messaging, email, GPS driving directions, camera.... and thats about it. Oh, I LOVE the IR blaster on my phone... Awesome being able to control the TV, cable box, DVD player from my phone.

On a final note... that old iPhone 5C... I still use it as an ipod / media content streamer. I replaced the internal battery a few months ago for $12 and its going strong. I keep it as a backup phone for when my V10 boot loops, so I at least have some cell coverage at that time.

 

[Tim1954]

Horses for courses really. I use android, Mrs Tim has iThings.. I prefer mine, the biggest thing that bugs me with Apple stuff (apart from the proprietary thing), is the lack of the back one step function....
I see they are in the poo for slowing down their older phones....

 

[belodion]

For me the one great advantage of Apple’s products is the availability of a small, high-quality, high-spec device....something not easily found among the Androids. OS differences are of little importance to me.

 

[anon(5719825)]

Even though I have been using Android phones since the Nexus 4, I keep coming back to the iPhone as my daily phone. Sure I may use whatever new Android phone I buy a few months as my daily but I always return to using my iPhone.

I do agree that iOS is getting buggier as time goes on but hopefully that will be fixed soon once these bugs start becoming more public and people speak out about the problem.

I still enjoy the way that everything still works so well together on iOS. I have about 5 different iPhone models, two I use daily. I also have three series 3 watches that I use with my 7+. When I want to wear one watch, all the workout data automatically gets transferred to the watch I just put on within a few minutes. I switch watches later in the day and it again is just seamless. I decide to use my 6S+ for a day and iCloud health kit syncing has made sure that the 6S+ has all my watch data and miles I walk each day already on it.

Even with the bugs that iOS has, it's still a perfect experience for me and I will likely always remain an iPhone user.

 

[Inders99]

For me the one great advantage of Apple’s products is the availability of a small, high-quality, high-spec device....

Agree...today's slabs don't interest me one bit. I'd love to have a high quality smaller offering from Android.

 

[benhar]

Thanks everyone for the input! Unfortunately I'm still on the fence and will wait to check out the Galaxy 9. As stupid as it sounds, I guess it will probably come down to whether my wife and I are willing to give up iMessage... think that's really the only thing making me hang on at this point. Assuming Apple gets around to fixing the iOS11 bug where the messages come in out of order... that one is driving me nuts.

 

[Doug Moffat]

SpringBoard. 200 billion escape US taxes and we still have SpringBoard.

 

[Morty2264]

Horses for courses really. I use android, Mrs Tim has iThings.. I prefer mine, the biggest thing that bugs me with Apple stuff (apart from the proprietary thing), is the lack of the back one step function....
I see they are in the poo for slowing down their older phones....

I like how you wrote, "Mrs. Tim."

 

[Morty2264]

It's hard to compare experiences, in my opinion; when the two platforms are so vastly different. Google/Android is more about customisability and tweaking; whereas iOS is simpler and gets the job done without any bells and whistles. Both have their pluses and minuses.

My boyfriend has an iPhone SE and I've tinkered with it a bit. It's a cool phone but iOS is just not my thing. I love customizing *everything;* and so I'd get bored with it after a while.

That being said, Apple has a winner with iMessage; and if you are heavily invested in that and in the Apple ecosystem, then understandably, your experience would be different and maximised.

 

[Tim1954]

It's comparing apples with oranges (pardon that really bad pun). Either you prefer this or that, whatever meets your needs.
I don't really get iMessage at all since I never used it. I dislike that you have to have a brand of device to use it, however, it's popular with many.
@Morty, chuckles, she actually neither Mrs, nor Tim, but that's the easiest way to describe her in this context....

 

[TerryDB]

I’m currently using both an Android (7.0) and an iPad with iOS 11.? (Whatever the latest version is). The differences to me are insignificant. Both are based on Linux, which is my preferred OS and the one I use on my desktop and laptop computers. I run win10 in a virtual machine (vbox) on the desktop. Of Linux, Android, iOS and win10, I vastly prefer Linux. For the mobile platform, Android is my preference, but not by a whole lot. With Android or iOS the basic Linux philosophy behind the OS is still the dominant factor and determines the experience. There are some very small things about one that is slightly better, e.g., in iOS, I love the little magnifying glass that appears when i’m moving the cursor. My fingers make it impossible to see the exact position on Android. But that’s a niggling point that doesn’t really change anything. But on iOS, I really miss the delete function, the backspace function is definitely not a replacement.

Win10 I use only when it is essential to do so. Since we are getting into tax prep season I am going to be forced into that, for me, really bad experience again. The only reason I run win10 at all is because the only decent/available tax s/w only runs on Windows. If the s/w of comparable quality was available on Linux, I would gladly totally abandon Windows.

Coming back to the Android vs iOS theme, I would have to say I would choose Android because of the h/w factor and the fact that Apple is like Amazon. Everything is designed to keep you in their ecosystem and to do that they try to control everything you do and not interact nicely or at all with other systems. I really hate that.

 

[callihan_44]

i have both, yeah the iphone just works....so does android if you dont start downloading everything under the sun...i have more fun on android, if i get bored I totally change the look of the phone...and when i get bored with ios...well i just stay bored

 

[Maljunulo]

I think the integration of hardware and software on my Pixel 2, running Android O, is the equal of any Apple phone.

 

[Morty2264]

i have both, yeah the iphone just works....so does android if you dont start downloading everything under the sun...i have more fun on android, if i get bored I totally change the look of the phone...and when i get bored with ios...well i just stay bored

Exactly - we can customize everything on an Android device and then we are not bored! I don't think I could keep an iPhone for a year or a year and a half. I'd have to switch. Need that ability to customize and to change up my experience.

 

[stodge]

I’m currently using both an Android (7.0) and an iPad with iOS 11.? (Whatever the latest version is). The differences to me are insignificant. Both are based on Linux, which is my preferred OS and the one I use on my desktop and laptop computers. I run win10 in a virtual machine (vbox) on the desktop. Of Linux, Android, iOS and win10, I vastly prefer Linux. For the mobile platform, Android is my preference, but not by a whole lot. With Android or iOS the basic Linux philosophy behind the OS is still the dominant factor and determines the experience. There are some very small things about one that is slightly better, e.g., in iOS, I love the little magnifying glass that appears when i’m moving the cursor. My fingers make it impossible to see the exact position on Android. But that’s a niggling point that doesn’t really change anything. But on iOS, I really miss the delete function, the backspace function is definitely not a replacement.

Win10 I use only when it is essential to do so. Since we are getting into tax prep season I am going to be forced into that, for me, really bad experience again. The only reason I run win10 at all is because the only decent/available tax s/w only runs on Windows. If the s/w of comparable quality was available on Linux, I would gladly totally abandon Windows.

Coming back to the Android vs iOS theme, I would have to say I would choose Android because of the h/w factor and the fact that Apple is like Amazon. Everything is designed to keep you in their ecosystem and to do that they try to control everything you do and not interact nicely or at all with other systems. I really hate that.

iOS has nothing to do with Linux. iOS is a derivative of BSD, I believe. It's a tiny point but worth noting.

 

[CaribMas]

I recently switched from iOS to Android; I haven't noticed a big difference in my day to day experience. I am able to do everything on Android that I did on iOS. I like the flexibility and customization of Android.

 

[PurpleDragon]

I owned several generations of iOS phones and tablets but eventually switched to Android. One of the reasons is more flexibility and customization (iOS looks more and more boring due to the Apple "Unified User Experience" policy). However, there was more important reason. There is no "ownership" feeling when you have iOS device (usually quite pricy). What I mean is that Apple does not allow any sideloading except special cases (development, internal apps for enterprise program). If someone developed an app I need and this app cannot be approved (there are LOTS of reasons for that - Apple review guidelines with reasons of rejections is pretty-big), I cannot get this app unless that developer gives me source code, then I need to purchase developer account, download XCode (IDE for iOS development) and THEN I can compile/install the app.

 

[metllicamilitia]

Before I get to the rambling elaboration below, I'm curious to see how the overall user experience is with Android these days compared to iOS...

I was an OG Droid owner back in the day. But whether it was just Android growing pains or the fact that I installed ROMs, it just became too buggy for me, no matter what I did. So when it got to the point that I would stare at the screen when someone called me, but unable to actually answer the phone (hence losing the primary function), I made the jump to an iPhone 4s. I missed the customizability and didn't like the idea of Apple telling me what I was supposed to like or didn't like, but the fact that everything just worked won me over. 2 years later I went to a 5s, and 2 more later a 6s. Everything has been solid, and I love the effective implementation of everything. For instance, I didn't care one bit about TouchID, but it works so well that I don't want to give it up now. For me, one of the big selling points was that Apple controlled both the hardware and software for a great integration.

BUT, it seems like iOS just gets buggier and buggier. I've been pretty unhappy with iOS11, and haven't really been impressed with what I've seen of the iPhone X, much less the price. So, now my wife and I are considering holding out for Galaxy 9's and making a jump back to Android.

So that said, are there many iOS evacuees here who can give a good comparison of how well Android works these days? Is fingerprint recognition as effective? App quality closer than it used to be? How buggy is it compared to Apple?

Sorry, I know that's kind of a broad question, and I've been reading around a little trying to get answers. I'm just tired of reading articles that compare hardware specs, how super duper the camera is, etc, when I'm really just concerned about the overall experience. iMessage has spoiled me since the vast majority of friends and family have iPhones, but I'd just have to give that up. I also love the ecosystem between my phone and MacBook, but I'm thinking about going to Windows 10 for my next laptop anyway.

Thanks for any input!

I use an iPhone X as my main phone and I have a Moto G5 Plus that I'm about to put a SIM in for work. I've rarely gone without both an iPhone and an Android phone. When it comes to day to day basic average usage, it's all preference. Android came a long way since the iPhone 4S. The biggest thing you'll get with Android is much more customization and control of your apps and settings. I love/hate iOS and Android for different reasons, but either OS is going to be good.

 

[metllicamilitia]

I owned several generations of iOS phones and tablets but eventually switched to Android. One of the reasons is more flexibility and customization (iOS looks more and more boring due to the Apple "Unified User Experience" policy). However, there was more important reason. There is no "ownership" feeling when you have iOS device (usually quite pricy). What I mean is that Apple does not allow any sideloading except special cases (development, internal apps for enterprise program). If someone developed an app I need and this app cannot be approved (there are LOTS of reasons for that - Apple review guidelines with reasons of rejections is pretty-big), I cannot get this app unless that developer gives me source code, then I need to purchase developer account, download XCode (IDE for iOS development) and THEN I can compile/install the app.

There's also Cydia Impactor which is a pseudo jailbreak and let's you side load apps.