iOS user thinking of switching

[itic]

I migrated from a 4s to a S3 and now use a N4. I'd recommend getting the HTC One google edition instead of getting the phone from a carrier. Start bare bones and build the phone up the way you want without the bloatware and with google OS updates. I prefer rocket player and isync to google music. Also almost all apps will not allow you to upload protected music from itunes. For this reason i rotate palylists on and off my phone while my entire library is on my 80g ipod.

 

[imsikotic]

I don't know why people continue to say things like this. If you choose the right device, like the HTC One being considered, the OS is just as fluid as anything Apple does. Stability is a strange point to me too. I rarely have Android app crashes. But on iOS I have a boatload. And I am not alone. One read through the app store reviews will reveal all sorts of crash issues people have. True a lot of that can be the developer's doing, but Apple does approve apps before release, so this shouldn't be happening at all.

I think Apple does some things better, like easy exchange at their stores, better easier backup options, the FaceTime standard, etc. but that is offset by all the things Android does better and the larger phone screens that thus far Apple has been unwilling to make.

I've done a fair bit of playing around with the HTC and I've yet to notice any UI lag or stuttering. I do get the random app that crashes back to the springboard on my iPhone, usually around once a week or so. I know there are some differences in apps between the two platforms but thats on the developer and can't really be held against the platform itself unless one SDK is that much better than the other.

 

[garublador]

I don't have a One, but I do sync my Android phone with iTunes.

I'll put my vote in for iSyncr. There is software you have to install on your PC, but it allows you to keep all of your music in iTunes without needing a separate music manager. If that's important to you then iSyncr is the best option I've found. If you use Rocket Player you have a bunch of options that you don't really get with other music managers and iTunes. For example you can keep your played counts and make and change playlists on your phone and sync those back to iTunes with iSyncr and Rocket Player. I'm not sure you'll get stuff like that with DoubleTwist or Google Music.

You don't need Rocket Player for it, but you can also sync songs you buy on Amazon back into iTunes from you phone, which is nice. You can also sync automatically over WiFi so you don't need to plug your phone into your computer. If you use Tasker (more about that later) the options you have on how to control when that sync are done are almost limitless. If you are OK with changing what your main music manager is (I actually wish I could do that) then this might not be the best option, though. It's nice if you have other iDevices that you want to sync to not have to keep your music managers in sync as well as your devices.

Note that no matter what method you use you'll have to find a way to strip the DRM off of music you bought through iTunes before April (?) of 2009.

If you like tinkering then Android will blow your mind. If you like changing how things look then check out:

Beautiful Android Themes, Wallpapers, and Homescreens

AFAIK, rooting isn't required for a vast majority, if not all, of those themes people have made.You might have to spend $4 on a new launcher and buy an icon pack, but those are reusable and that's only if you're really picky about how everything looks. You can do a lot with free applications (i.e. Nova or Apex).

If you like changing how your phone works, Tasker is the reason to move to Android. Here's the best set of articles I've found:

Overview of Pocketables Tasker articles

It has a bit of a learning curve, especially if you don't have any background in software programming, but the things you can accomplish with it are crazy. You can add custom functions to the voice assistant. I have mine search my IMDB app directly if I want or speaking (and copying to my clipboard) the address of my current location. I can also save, navigate to or just show custom locations in Maps. I have an Android tablet, too and I have a widget that displays the battery level of it and whether or not it's charging. I even have a voice command on my phone that reports what app is being used on the tablet. I can also control things like ringer volume, account synching and which features are on or off (WiFi, GPS, Bluetooth, etc) based on location, time, WiFi activity or just about anything else. I even have one that puts up a persistent (I can't get rid of it) notification if I'm at work late and gives me three options on what to automatically text my wife. It only goes away if I leave work.

It's just a great way to add totally unique and custom functionality that you almost certainly won't get from apps alone.

 

[amroa]

Greetings all,

This will be my first post in a forum other than an Apple forum! I apologize for what may turn into a text wall but I need some help in my decision making and what better place to turn to than the Internet?
I've been a long time Apple user (more than a decade) and an iPhone user since 2007. My house is running iOS and OSX on every device, my wife and son call me iDaddy and I'm thinking of switching to an HTC One in place of my iPhone 5. I know... the looks of betrayal I get everyday are something to behold. After annoying my Wife and the folks at my local AT&T store and prowling these forums for the last month I'm more than impressed with the HTC One. Build quality and OS seem on par with Apple and in many ways surpass them. It's become clear that the Android platform is where the innovation is happening and Apple has become stagnant. The iPhone is fundamentally unchanged since 2007 as well as iOS. I've played with the developers beta for iOS 7 and it is still essentially the same with some different icons. Nothing revolutionary there and certainly no one is "Thinking Different." With introductions out of the way, on to the questions.
I don't want to ditch my entire ecosystem. I'd like advice on how to integrate an Android device with the rest of my Apple world (apps excluded of course). Obviously there will be differences but what's the most painless way to sync contacts, calendars, music, and podcasts with my prospective new device? How about backing up the device? I'm obviously an iTunes user and it performs well enough on my Mac so I'd like to continue using it for syncing purposes if possible. I'd also like to maintain my playlists as setting those up were a huge pain in the A**! Really, any advice on bringing an Android device into my world would be greatly appreciated. I feel like I'm getting left behind on the innovation front and being a self confessed lover of Tech I need some advice on how to get back in the game!
Thanks in advance for your help!

I was in your position back in March, and made the switch over to Android. I don't have a family and house full of iOS devices although my parents are on iPhones. Like you, I was annoyed with Apple's stagnation and stubborness. I've fully enjoyed playing around with Android on the One. I've tried different ROMs and ultimately settled in on the Google Play edition.

That being said, I would recommend you think a little more on this. While I've had a great time tinkering and trying new things, ultimately I use my One the same way I used my iPhones. Sure the screen is bigger, but I really can't do one handed operations like it did on the iPhone. Also, no matter how many widgets I've played with, I ultimately go back to Weather and Music player controls. And, after using this phone since March, I actually appreciate iOS more so than before. It is a more tightly integrated system and feels seemless to me. Or, maybe 5 months on Android is still not enough to compare against 5 years of iPhone.

With the rest of your ecosystem being iX, you're spending quite a bit of effort trying to link your Android to Apple services. You will lose iMessages with your family as well. Yes, there are apps such as Whatsapp which I had my parents install, but now you're having to get them to adjust to you as well.

Again, I love the One and Android as a pair. Just not sure if it's as "awesome" as we are led to believe. You can tinker to your heart's content, but at a price of time and frustration sometimes.

 

[Haalcyon]

Admittingly, I've not read all the posts since the OP's original. The HTC One is a premium device and Android is just plain neat. Allowing you to either customize your phone to make it uniquely yours or keep it as simple as an iphone. Android will take a tiny bit of getting used to (it did for me way back when I got an Evo 4) but it has matured nicely since then.

Go for it, a lot of us outgrew iOS just like you're doing. ...and look at the S4 some more too, its a nice gadget too with some expandability and battery replacement options you may one day appreciate.

Sent from my Note 8.0 LTE

 

[Rule9]

Since you're coming from Apple,

Do you care about various manufacturers and carriers controlling releases of your software? If so, are you prepared to engage in tactics like installing 3rd party ROM's or buying only Nexus phones? If not you're fine.
Are you prepared to deal with mail in warranty claims as opposed to having Apple store reps simply grab you a brand new replacement off the shelf behind them? If so, you're fine.
Do you also use iPads? Are you prepared to use an iPad with an Android phone and run two different ecosystems? If so, you're fine.

Just some questions I would ask myself based on my preferences.

 

[walterkurtz]

isyncr, android file transfer, airdroid and google. these are your new friends.

i came from blackberry a month and a half ago. i should've bought an iphone. everyone i know has one. but the 5S was two months away, and like you i did extensive research before making a decision. also, like you, my house is full of macs. and most like you, i wanted a system that was innovative not stale. i love apple computers. i have only used apple computers my entire life. apple makes great products. the iphone revolutionized mobile communications. but they just aren't the same without steve jobs. i don't know. as you said, it feels like android is the future. because it's open, and there is so much competition between phone makers, i believe that fosters ingenuity. i might be wrong. i might jump over to a 5S when it comes out. but it would have to be something special to lure me away from this HTC ONE.

i will warn you: none of the above-referenced apps easily sync your phone to your mac computer. i have complained about it in other threads, and learned this is by design from both apple and android (google). on that note, as others have said: you will be better served adapting to google's ecosystem for sync. i now sync my contacts and calendar with google and have no problems. when i need to transfer photos or music to my phone, i use android file transfer or airdroid. i literally threw away the htc sync software. it's garbage on a mac. i haven't uploaded all of my music to google, but that's next on my list. i read here that you can upload 20GB for free.

last thing, to all those kvetching about the HTC1 camera. iphones clearly have great cameras. i have seen amazing photos that i was shocked to learn came from iphones. i am a professional photographer and this is one of the greatest issues for me with this phone. not that the HTC camera isn't good. i find that combined with pixlr express (app) i get terrific results. but i know the iphone is more geared towards photographers. that being said, i still shoot film. and no phone can replace that.

good luck with your decision.

oops forgot to mention: i got nova settings after a few days and that did wonders for the look and feel of my phone. if you get an HTC1, try it!

 

[imsikotic]

Since you're coming from Apple,

Do you care about various manufacturers and carriers controlling releases of your software? If so, are you prepared to engage in tactics like installing 3rd party ROM's or buying only Nexus phones? If not you're fine.
Are you prepared to deal with mail in warranty claims as opposed to having Apple store reps simply grab you a brand new replacement off the shelf behind them? If so, you're fine.
Do you also use iPads? Are you prepared to use an iPad with an Android phone and run two different ecosystems? If so, you're fine.

Just some questions I would ask myself based on my preferences.

Excellent point, my iPad is strictly a consumption device. Zero productivity. I read on it, I surf the internet on it and watch Netflix, Amazon instant video etc on it. As it stand now I have very few apps in common between my iPad and iPhone. My phone is geared more towards communication and out of office productivity. I do enjoy the easy push of updated operating systems, that's a no brainer. Everybody likes to have the latest and greatest as soon as it's available. However, I also have no problems with going and finding an update myself be it a 3rd party ROM or means. Not gonna kid myself, the robust manufacturer support from Apple and the near non-existent after purchase support of some of the other OEMs is one of my larger concerns.

 

[imsikotic]

isyncr, android file transfer, airdroid and google. these are your new friends.

i came from blackberry a month and a half ago. i should've bought an iphone. everyone i know has one. but the 5S was two months away, and like you i did extensive research before making a decision. also, like you, my house is full of macs. and most like you, i wanted a system that was innovative not stale. i love apple computers. i have only used apple for my entire life. apple makes great products. the iphone revolutionized mobile communications. but they just aren't the same without steve jobs. i don't know. as you said, it feels like android is the future. because it's open, and there is so much competition between phone makers, i believe that fosters ingenuity. i might be wrong. i might jump over to a 5S when it comes out. but it would have to be something special to lure me away from this HTC ONE.

i will warn you: none of the above-referenced apps easily sync your phone to your mac computer. i have complained about it in other threads, and learned this is by design from both apple and android (google). on that note, as others have said: you will be better served adapting to google's ecosystem for sync. i now sync my contacts and calendar with google and have no problems. when i need to transfer photos or music to my phone, i use android file transfer or airdroid. i literally threw away the htc sync software. it's garbage on a mac. i haven't uploaded all of my music to google, but that's next on my list. i read here that you can upload 20GB for free.

last thing, to all those kvetching about the HTC1 camera. iphones clearly have great cameras. i have seen amazing photos that i was shocked to learn came from iphones. i am a professional photographer and this is one of the greatest issues for me with this phone. not that the HTC camera isn't good. i find that combined with pixlr express (app) i get terrific results. but i know the iphone is more geared towards photographers. that being said, i still shoot film. and no phone can replace that.

good luck with your decision.

oops forgot to mention: i got nova settings after a few days and that did wonders for the look and feel of my phone. if you get an HTC1, try it!

Couldn't have said it better myself. It's the complete lack of forward progress and innovation with iOS. It seems that they found a formula that works for an admittedly large number of consumers and have just been recycling it ever since. That's how a company gets their lunch eaten (Blackberry... Enough said). If they continue to sit still and stop pushing boundaries and looking for what's next then they'll have a lot more in common with Blackberry in the future. Granted, not a direct relation, Apple has a wider product range where as Blackberry was a one trick pony but the same general idea applies. If the lack of progress is sufficient to get someone already invested their ecosystem to look elsewhere you can bet that others will certainly follow.

 

[walterkurtz]

Couldn't have said it better myself. It's the complete lack of forward progress and innovation with iOS. It seems that they found a formula that works for an admittedly large number of consumers and have just been recycling it ever since. That's how a company gets their lunch eaten (Blackberry... Enough said). If they continue to sit still and stop pushing boundaries and looking for what's next then they'll have a lot more in common with Blackberry in the future. Granted, not a direct relation, Apple has a wider product range where as Blackberry was a one trick pony but the same general idea applies. If the lack of progress is sufficient to get someone already invested their ecosystem to look elsewhere you can bet that others will certainly follow.

think different.

 

[Cool Jeff]

If you liked iphones you will love the One.
You will not miss design nor high quality materials (though same problems of chipping lol).
After reading all the reports of S4 users,I can say the One will also give you the best experience in UI speed and smoothness.
Nexus 4? Now you have official Goggle Play Edition roms 4.3 on the One if you want 100% stock google experience.
Also nexus 4 camera and audio are not near as good as the ones of the One.
You don't want to root your phone? then don't buy an android,I don't see the point to get an Android phone if you don't want to root it

 

[badbrad17]

Excellent point, my iPad is strictly a consumption device. Zero productivity. I read on it, I surf the internet on it and watch Netflix, Amazon instant video etc on it. As it stand now I have very few apps in common between my iPad and iPhone. My phone is geared more towards communication and out of office productivity. I do enjoy the easy push of updated operating systems, that's a no brainer. Everybody likes to have the latest and greatest as soon as it's available. However, I also have no problems with going and finding an update myself be it a 3rd party ROM or means. Not gonna kid myself, the robust manufacturer support from Apple and the near non-existent after purchase support of some of the other OEMs is one of my larger concerns.

This is why a nexus phone is for you. Trust me it's the closest thing you will get to an apple experience. But as stated the camera and speaker isn't quite as good. But the camera is better after the 4.3 update. Faster too. Google also just added the find my phone feature as well which is also great.

Sent from my Nexus 4

 

[austriak]

I was just like you OP and literally went through this this week. I was getting bored and parts of IOS 7 look ugly to me. I researched and researched about it and all the different things I could do and was so excited.

My advice is to stick with your iphone. While I think both IOS and android are good, the migration to android is very frustrating. Here are my thoughts on the HTC One based on my experience with it:

Pros:
-The HTC One may be the most beautifully crafted piece of technology I have ever held. It is just so beautiful and feels good in the hand.
-Screen and speakers are amazing.
-The general android UI, both sense and google edition (I converted it to GE to try), are nice looking and for the most part smooth.
-Surprisingly, battery life was pretty good for me
-Swiftkey is a great way to type

Cons:
-Compared to iphone, you still notice a lot of lag and it became annoying. You see most of it when in apps. If you had never been an iphone user, you probably wouldn't notice as much. But it is still there.
-The phone gets really warm from doing basic things like installing apps and web surfing. I saw in other forums this is the norm.
-Basic apps like phone, texting, and email client are not very good, including non-stock versions in the play store.
-The apps just are not as good in looks and function.
-Tinkering and customizing gets old.
-While using Swiftkey is great, normal typing is just terrible. I thought it would be better on a bigger screen and with different keyboard choices but it is not.
-Notifications when you receive a text message, email, etc. are better with the iphone
-Things are just easier and faster to do with the iphone.

I know people are not going to like what I just said, but it is my opinion and experience. Some will say I should have use this app or this app, and my response is that I tried several third party apps and they were not that great. I wanted so badly to like it more. I posted it on eBay and took it off once because I wanted to make it work so badly.

I started believing that Apple was getting complacent and not innovating. I still think they could be innovating more, but they are at least giving quality in most phone basics and ensuring higher quality with third party apps. Android might throw out a lot of new features first but when apple copies, they make them work really well most of the time.

Again, this is my opinion but the grass is not always greener. With all this said, I will probably feel the itch in a year or two and try android again.

 

[Haalcyon]

People may not like what you just said but it seems quite true. The only thing I didn't like about the One was that (one the silver model) I thought they should have used black plastic instead of white. Otherwise, its quite nice. The build quality isn't quite as good as an iPhone (I noticed gap tolerences that seemed bigger than they should have been) but it's pretty durned good.

Sent from my Note 8.0 LTE

 

[austriak]

I was just like you OP and literally went through this this week. I was getting bored and parts of IOS 7 look ugly to me. I researched and researched about it and all the different things I could do and was so excited.

My advice is to stick with your iphone. While I think both IOS and android are good, the migration to android is very frustrating. Here are my thoughts on the HTC One based on my experience with it:

Pros:
-The HTC One may be the most beautifully crafted piece of technology I have ever held. It is just so beautiful and feels good in the hand.
-Screen and speakers are amazing.
-The general android UI, both sense and google edition (I converted it to GE to try), are nice looking and for the most part smooth.
-Surprisingly, battery life was pretty good for me
-Swiftkey is a great way to type

Cons:
-Compared to iphone, you still notice a lot of lag and it became annoying. You see most of it when in apps. If you had never been an iphone user, you probably wouldn't notice as much. But it is still there.
-The phone gets really warm from doing basic things like installing apps and web surfing. I saw in other forums this is the norm.
-Basic apps like phone, texting, and email client are not very good, including non-stock versions in the play store.
-The apps just are not as good in looks and function.
-Tinkering and customizing gets old.
-While using Swiftkey is great, normal typing is just terrible. I thought it would be better on a bigger screen and with different keyboard choices but it is not.
-Notifications when you receive a text message, email, etc. are better with the iphone
-Things are just easier and faster to do with the iphone.

I know people are not going to like what I just said, but it is my opinion and experience. Some will say I should have use this app or this app, and my response is that I tried several third party apps and they were not that great. I wanted so badly to like it more. I posted it on eBay and took it off once because I wanted to make it work so badly.

I started believing that Apple was getting complacent and not innovating. I still think they could be innovating more, but they are at least giving quality in most phone basics and ensuring higher quality with third party apps. Android might throw out a lot of new features first but when apple copies, they make them work really well most of the time.

Again, this is my opinion but the grass is not always greener. With all this said, I will probably feel the itch in a year or two and try android again.

This might sound stupid but I looks at my htc one again and I want it to work do I'm going to give it more time.

 

[GadgetGator]

I was just like you OP and literally went through this this week. I was getting bored and parts of IOS 7 look ugly to me. I researched and researched about it and all the different things I could do and was so excited.

My advice is to stick with your iphone. While I think both IOS and android are good, the migration to android is very frustrating. Here are my thoughts on the HTC One based on my experience with it:

Pros:
-The HTC One may be the most beautifully crafted piece of technology I have ever held. It is just so beautiful and feels good in the hand.
-Screen and speakers are amazing.
-The general android UI, both sense and google edition (I converted it to GE to try), are nice looking and for the most part smooth.
-Surprisingly, battery life was pretty good for me
-Swiftkey is a great way to type

Cons:
-Compared to iphone, you still notice a lot of lag and it became annoying. You see most of it when in apps. If you had never been an iphone user, you probably wouldn't notice as much. But it is still there.
-The phone gets really warm from doing basic things like installing apps and web surfing. I saw in other forums this is the norm.
-Basic apps like phone, texting, and email client are not very good, including non-stock versions in the play store.
-The apps just are not as good in looks and function.
-Tinkering and customizing gets old.
-While using Swiftkey is great, normal typing is just terrible. I thought it would be better on a bigger screen and with different keyboard choices but it is not.
-Notifications when you receive a text message, email, etc. are better with the iphone
-Things are just easier and faster to do with the iphone.

I know people are not going to like what I just said, but it is my opinion and experience. Some will say I should have use this app or this app, and my response is that I tried several third party apps and they were not that great. I wanted so badly to like it more. I posted it on eBay and took it off once because I wanted to make it work so badly.

I started believing that Apple was getting complacent and not innovating. I still think they could be innovating more, but they are at least giving quality in most phone basics and ensuring higher quality with third party apps. Android might throw out a lot of new features first but when apple copies, they make them work really well most of the time.

Again, this is my opinion but the grass is not always greener. With all this said, I will probably feel the itch in a year or two and try android again.

if you think tinkering and customizing gets old, but the lack of customizing and innovation is too stale and old, then you've gone some serious problems here as it seems like neither platform will make you happy. Don't know what to tell you on that one!

 

[Rule9]

if you think tinkering and customizing gets old, but the lack of customizing and innovation is too stale and old, then you've gone some serious problems here as it seems like neither platform will make you happy. Don't know what to tell you on that one!

Windows Phone? Lol j/k that's a sad joke. It's sad because we really need a stronger 3rd player to keep Google and Apple on their toes. Duopolies suck and always have

 

[AZBoy28]

iOS is good, but feels too controlled and when I jailbroked I didn't feel safe. I wouldn't regret the move to Android if I was you but perhaps you could consider the S4?

 

[FishenFool]

There are no huge differences between 4.1.2 and 4.3 that a user will notice... My N7 has 4.3....I do know what I'm talking about



Sent from my HTCONE using AC Forums mobile app

Having a paid keyboard app stay as default on reboot comes to mind unless that is only an issue on Samsung devices below 4.2.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using AC Forums mobile app

 

[mhans311]

Having a paid keyboard app stay as default on reboot comes to mind unless that is only an issue on Samsung devices below 4.2.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using AC Forums mobile app

Haven't had this problem on my note 2 running 4.1

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