It has been quite a few years…. Hello Samsung/Android.

[AugustVance]

Hello everyone. It’s been awhile since I’ve been in these forums. It’s been an even longer time since I have even thought about making my daily device an android phone. I am moving away from the Apple ecosystem and coming back over to the green side. iOS 26 didn’t impress me and honestly it’s been sometime coming. This isn’t your typical I’m leaving apple forever and never going back thread however there will be some similarities.

I am on the hunt for advice.

I have done weeks of decion making on if I really want to do this and I’ve played with a few devices and have decided I am doing this. I will miss a few things from the iOS world but what I have to gain I am looking forward to it.

With that being said… I am looking for some help/recommendations to help my switch.

1st. I use the stock apple notes app like it is going out of style. Is there a comparative android replacement? Or a good third party cross platform app I can download on my iPhone, move all my notes over so they are there and ready when I download the app on my 25 Ultra when it finally gets here?

2nd. Like the notes app, I also use the stock Apple password manager. I know I will have to manually transfer over most if not all of my passwords. What is a good alternative to this? Is there a native password manager on googles/samsung side? Or do I need to use a third party app? If that’s the case…recommendations as the Apple password app is the only one I have ever used.

3rd photos. I’m going to assume I should just upload everything to google photos? Essentially I will be starting fresh on the android side as the email address to my previous account is no longer in existence so I will be “starting fresh” when moving over!

4th. Is there an android alternative to iMessage games? (If you know what that is) in case you don’t it’s basically an iMessage app that allows you to play mini games inside iMessage with other iPhone users. Or is there an app that’s cross platform that allows this?

5th. I use an Apple Watch Ultra 2 and looking for a solid replacement. From my research I’m looking at the Samsung ultra watch or what else would you recommend? I would like something rugged as I’m kinda hard on my watches as I wear it every where everyday and it’s gets banged on walls because my wrist just flop while I walk apparently and decide to hit every corner of everything I walk by.

I hope everyone will take it alittle easy on me but I’m looking forward to this change. It’s been some time coming as I’m ready for something new and tired of the same ole thing.

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome back to Android! I don't use a Samsung phone as my daily driver (there are plenty of other folks here who can weigh in about that), but I can give you some general thoughts:

1. Google Keep is a great note-taking app that is easily accessible on any device (phone, tablet, laptop, regardless of OS). Unfortunately, I'm not aware of any way to easily transfer your Apple Notes to Google Keep -- you would basically have to copy/paste each note.

2. Google definitely has its own integrated password manager (that also handles passkeys): https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/6208650?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform=Android. Samsung also has its own password manager, Samsung Pass: https://www.samsung.com/uk/apps/samsung-pass/. However, like many Samsung apps and services, it assumes you're staying within the Samsung ecosystem, and therefore may not be easily available on other devices or platforms. There are of course plenty of other 3rd party managers, like LastPass and Bitwarden.

3. I highly recommend using Google Photos, as it is very convenient for photo backup, has some great editing tools, and has a powerful search function. Space can be limited, though, since it's part of your total Google account storage space (all users get 15 GB free, but you can purchase more via Google One). If you're an Amazon Prime member, you can get unlimited cloud photo storage on Amazon Photos (but then again, I'm not sure I entirely trust Amazon with my photos ...)

4. As far as I know, there are no RCS games, at least not yet.

5. Samsung makes some great watches, but I have a Pixel Watch 2, so I can't comment directly. Again, there are plenty of people here who can help you with that.

Hope that helps!

 

[Bkdodger1]

I'd also do some research on the below password services

1Password

Nordpass

Bitwarden

 

[mclarryjr]

I've used Enpass to save my passwords for years now and it works great.