Help from recent iPhone users ??

[Android Curious]

Hi all.

I've had iPhones since the first/original iPhone and I've never had an Android device. However, I'm very curious about Android and I've heard great things about the Note 5. With this in mind, I'm hoping some of you that had (or still have?) a recent iPhone and now have a Note 5 could help me with my questions and concerns.

My biggest concern by far is the fact that everyone I know uses an iPhone. Not just some, but every single one of my friends, family and co-workers. Therefore, everyone I text with uses iMessage. So...

How much of a problem will not having iMessage be for me if I switch to Android?

Other questions:

What specifically do you like and/or not like about Android compared to the iPhone?

What's missing in Android that you wish you had back from the iPhone?

Since Apple has been copying tons of features from Android, does anyone think that switching now is pointless since they are now so similar?

Any other helpful info along these lines would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks very much.

 

[w7sg]

I had the Note 3. I really liked the ability to change the size/resolution of pictures. Standard hi res pictures take up a ton of memory. I had to give up on the Note 3 because the GPS was flaky. Some posts here about the GPS not working correctly.

 

[p33l05]

I have also had every iPhone since the 2G, sold my iPhone 6 yesterday and have had a Note 5 Dual SIM since last week.

How much of a problem will not having iMessage be for me if I switch to Android?

If you switch off iMessage on your old iPhone (with your SIM still in) then people will send you normal SMS

I personally use Telegram or WhatsApp (if I have to) and both are far superior to iMessage IMO - ask your friends to install one of these!

What specifically do you like and/or not like about Android compared to the iPhone?

Flexibility, customisability, access to a file system and a big bonus for me is USB OTG (external USB drive support)

What's missing in Android that you wish you had back from the iPhone?

All of the iOS apps I bought over the years and support for my expensive Beyer Dynamic headphones volume functions - otherwise, not much.

Since Apple has been copying tons of features from Android, does anyone think that switching now is pointless since they are now so similar?

Personally I find Android offers more in terms of power user options, although it requires more effort to set it up and configure it compared to iOS which works out of the box.

Any other helpful info along these lines would be greatly appreciated!

Note 5 screen resolution and brightness is far superior to the iPhone 6S+ screen in my opinion, have a look at them side by side.. 6S+ to me was too little of an upgrade, it was not exciting me.. the Note 5 camera is fantastic.. and as a bonus, the Note 5 is cheaper.:-$

 

[superty30]

I made the switch to the note 5 last week from my iPhone 6+. I couldn't be happier. Imessage was the only thing keeping me to an iPhone and once the 6s came out with nothing that new I switched. Android is just much more flexible. I love how everything can be adjusted or changed to what you like.

Posted via the Android Central App

 

[victoryrules8]

If you decide to switch your gonna have to give it time. Ultimately you will begin to realize what's so special about android. The customization,the flexibility, camera, and convenient features. Honestly though if your not opened minded about it you will go back to an iphone. If your worried about imessage that much then maybe you should just stick with an iphone. The problem with most iPhone users coming to android is that they are used to simplistic software and not having to tweak and play with settings to optimize your experience. Your used to what apple tells you to use. Well with android your in control of what apps you want to use for messaging etc. The list is long. Be open minded and really give it a chance. But if you already have anxiety over imessage and other features proprietary to iPhone then maybe you should just get another iPhone and not waste your time. I'm just calling it like I see it. So many people are curious but are not open minded and don't understand the android user experience.

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[OceanView]

I've had every iPhone except the 5/5s and I find android so much better for my needs. I bought the 6S plus last week to see if iOS had improved and no it hasn't. If feels like yesterday's tech to me. And it was glitchy to boot. I had multiple freezes and kick outs from aps. I think 4 on one day. This is not acceptable in today's market place. I've never had a single freeze or kickout of an app on my Note 5 since I bought it 2 months ago. As for imessages, this is what keeps many inside iOS. I think once you move out of it, it will not be a big deal. You can still communicate just fine with regular messages.
I say go for it and scratch that itch. You will be happy with it and won't regret it.

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[Eddster]

With regard to iMessage, are you in the US? And do you regularly send (or have sent to you) high res pics/gifs and/or video? Do you regularly participate in group texts? The reason I ask these questions is because using regular carrier-based SMS/MMS texting has its share of drawbacks. Some US carriers have issues handling MMS and group conversations. You also will have to deal with carrier imposed file size restrictions for regular SMS. You will find out that you can't "text" high res pics/gifs or video. This will impact you since, as you say, every person you communicate with uses an iPhone and you've probably grown used to using iMessage which completely bypasses carriers, so these are non-issues to you at the moment. I know from personal experience that it can be frustrating to ask people to download 3rd party messaging apps JUST to communicate with YOU. Just something to consider.

Now, with all that being said, you may find that you can live without iMessage when you think of the other things you may gain in the way of greater customization, flexibility, etc. The are only two things that are missing FOR ME when I move to Android from my iPhone. Those are Tweetbot (since I'm a very heavy tweeter) and iMessage. Everything else is equal or better on Android. Android has a ton of 3rd party twitter clients available, but none match Tweetbot IMO and it is unfortunately an iOS exclusive. I miss iMessage because probably 99% of the people I regularly communicate with all use it and it works so well. Granted it only works so well BECAUSE everyone is using iPhones.

The Note 5 is an absolutely fantastic phone. It is blazing fast and everything worked well. It was an absolute pleasure to use as a daily driver, except for not having access to iMessage. That is LITERALLY the only thing that made me switch back to iPhone. I just can't be bothered with regular SMS and I'm not asking people to download 3rd party apps. I can live without Tweetbot if I have to, but I don't see myself giving up iMessage until carriers roll out RCS (or advanced messaging) and it is interoperable between the major US carriers. A lot of people who read this simply won't understand the "hype" about iMessage and will be scratching their heads reading this. I think two conditions have to met in order to understand, 1) you actually USE iMessage and not just read about what you think it is or send one text from a relative's phone, and 2) the majority of your regular contacts use iMessage as well. Otherwise you can't really see the value.

If I were you, I'd give the Note 5 a try top see if you like life on the other side. Most US carriers offer a 14-day return period so you can try it out. You might find that you like the different experience and the perks that come with it.

 

[Android Curious]

Hi guys.

I just wanted to thank everyone in this thread. Based on these and other posts on this forum (and quite a bit of thought) I've decided that I'll let go of my trusted iPhone and give Android and the Note 5 a shot. I'll wait until a bit closer to the holidays before making the switch and then I'll give my son my iPhone 6.

Not having iMessage will be rough. But hopefully all the other positives about the Note 5 will overshadow the loss of iMessage.

Thanks again!

 

[Nvincible]

You should go the Samsung site and take the test drive through them. You can't beat that deal. It's for iPhone users to try a new Samsung for 30 days for $1.
I'm a former iPhoner (last one was a iPhone 6). I don't miss anything except having to rebuy some apps.
My son just moved from iPhones (had the 3g, 4s and 5s) and just bought the Note 5. His first experience with Android and he is loving the freedom and customization you can do with Android.
I can't see ever going back to Apple but who knows. For me, it's the S Pen. I love the thing to much to go back. Of course, I'm old school and still love to write and hold a pen in my hands. There is nothing else like the S Pen. That is a total game changer for me.

 

[Android Curious]

What's this? There's a $1 trial offer?!? Gotta get more info on that! What happens at the end of the trial??

 

[mhunter6378]

What's this? There's a $1 trial offer?!? Gotta get more info on that! What happens at the end of the trial??

Here ya go
Samsung Promotions

 

[Android Curious]

Here ya go
Samsung Promotions

Ugh. There's a waiting list. Bummer. Oh well, it would have been nice! (thanks for the link, by the way)

 

[mhunter6378]

Yep lots of people considering the switch. I did see some pretty good deals coming up for Black Friday though.

 

[Matt Behnken]

Software wise iphone really lacks in comparison. If u want features years sooner go android. Examples, nfc, big screens, 4k vid, widgets, home screen customization; android phones have had all of these features for years before iphones. There will always be new tech that apple waits years and years to adopt. (See multiwindow).

The app side has substantially more options on android side vs iphone because of the proprietary limits imposed by apple. A good example is dlna and screen mirroring which have been free on smart tvs for literally years while apple requires apple tv prurchse and install. The list of software advantages is literally endless. Hardware wise you can find equals among the price ranges. Many argue for instance that the 1GB RAM iphone out performs the 4GB of ram in some androids but i disagree.

Consider that the iphones software has looked the same since it was invented, a bunch of square apps.

Dont be fooled though, apple gets copied just as much as they copy others. The parallax effect for instance was on iphone first i believe. You have to turn off imessage before you can receive sms and mms on a non apple because all imessages go through apple. My note 5 handles group text and mms just as well as imessage does on the iphone6. The only thing i "miss" from iphone is the imessage app on my macbook.

In closing there is no comparison when considering high end android devices. Gs6edge+ note5 etc. ie. $900 phones

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