Switched from iPhone - convince me not to switch back!

[Pixel Hunter]

Hi all. I'll try not to make this sound all whiney. A few months ago, I got my very first Android phone; a Galaxy S24 Plus. I've used iPhones since the 3GS. I was tired of having to do things "The Apple Way", and was hoping the Galaxy/Android would be a breath of fresh air. I also wanted better integration with my Gmail, Google/Nest smart home, etc. Instead, what I'm finding is to get that freedom of being able to "do whatever I want" with Android, I've lost things that "just work" like they did on Apple. Now I'm at a point where I wonder if I made a mistake and should go back.

Mind you, it's a lot of little things that irk me. But enough paper cuts can still kill a man. Here's a list of things I can think of as I type this that are bugging me and driving me to want to go back to being an Apple zombie.

• Notifications are horrible. Sometimes the phone makes noise (what I want), other times it just vibrates. Such as I'll get an email. Buzz. Two minutes later, another email, Ding! WTF? Red notification dots don't always go away when I check an app unless I open the notifications screen and clear them all there.
• Voicemail to text transcription doesn't work. I've tried multiple voicemail apps. I've called AT&T. Nothing. It "just worked" on the iPhone all the time without needing to do anything.
• Duplicated apps between Samsung and Google. Why do I have/need two different wallet apps? Messages apps? Stores? Etc. It's just confusing.
• Face ID on the iPhone was just superior. Hands down.
• Sometimes the keyboard just freaks out! I'll try typing something and it will duplicate a letter 3-6 times with a single press. Other times it works fine. (Seems to depend on what app I'm using...)
• And probably a bunch of other little things too. Maybe it's just lack of familiarity. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

Right after I switched to the Galaxy, the latest iOS update fixed some of the things that drew me to Android, such as much more customization on the home screen(s) and app layout. So here I sit, wondering if I should just go back. I don't want to... I wanted to really like Android. Maybe the Pixel would have been the better choice? What do you think?

 

[Bkdodger1]

]Notifications are horrible. Sometimes the phone makes noise (what I want), other times it just vibrates. Such as I'll get an email. Buzz. Two minutes later, another email, Ding! WTF? Red notification dots don't always go away when I check an app unless I open the notifications screen and clear them all there.

Go to settings notifications app notifications and over there you can set how you want each app to send you notification including changing only vibrating or turning them off.

[*]Voicemail to text transcription doesn't work. I've tried multiple voicemail apps. I've called AT&T. Nothing. It "just worked" on the iPhone all the time without needing to do anything.

I don't have AT&t but I do use Google voice as my voicemail message system across all my mobile phones including my iPhone


[*]Duplicated apps between Samsung and Google. Why do I have/need two different wallet apps? Messages apps? Stores? Etc. It's just confusing.

I personally like to use the Google apps but other than disabling some apps you basically can just use the ones that you want and hide the others.

[*]Face ID on the iPhone was just superior. Hands down.

I do enjoy my iPhone face ID the best

[*]Sometimes the keyboard just freaks out! I'll try typing something and it will duplicate a letter 3-6 times with a single press. Other times it works fine. (Seems to depend on what app I'm using...)

I hate the Samsung keyboard just a personal preference but I go with the Google Gboard keyboard

 

[Windroid 2483]

• Duplicated apps between Samsung and Google. Why do I have/need two different wallet apps? Messages apps? Stores? Etc. It's just confusing.

You don't! Avoid the Samsung apps. They're not even available on non-Samsung Androids, while the Google apps work on both Android and iOS (iPhone operating system). And avoid Apple apps too, because they're iOS only.

If you use the Google apps, and other apps which work on both Android and iOS: You'll have a much easier time switching between the two! It's better that way, because then you have more options when it comes time to get a new phone.

 

[Laura Knotek]

]Notifications are horrible. Sometimes the phone makes noise (what I want), other times it just vibrates. Such as I'll get an email. Buzz. Two minutes later, another email, Ding! WTF? Red notification dots don't always go away when I check an app unless I open the notifications screen and clear them all there.

Go to settings notifications app notifications and over there you can set how you want each app to send you notification including changing only vibrating or turning them off.

[*]Voicemail to text transcription doesn't work. I've tried multiple voicemail apps. I've called AT&T. Nothing. It "just worked" on the iPhone all the time without needing to do anything.

I don't have AT&t but I do use Google voice as my voicemail message system across all my mobile phones including my iPhone


[*]Duplicated apps between Samsung and Google. Why do I have/need two different wallet apps? Messages apps? Stores? Etc. It's just confusing.

I personally like to use the Google apps but other than disabling some apps you basically can just use the ones that you want and hide the others.

[*]Face ID on the iPhone was just superior. Hands down.

I do enjoy my iPhone face ID the best

[*]Sometimes the keyboard just freaks out! I'll try typing something and it will duplicate a letter 3-6 times with a single press. Other times it works fine. (Seems to depend on what app I'm using...)

I hate the Samsung keyboard just a personal preference but I go with the Google Gboard keyboard

Microsoft SwiftKey is another good keyboard app.

 

[mustang7757]

I'm not going to convince you , if you like the iPhone more stick with it , Samsung has lots of customization, maybe try pixel , I use iPhones, pixels, Samsung because I like what all 3 bring to the table some are unique.
A lot of things can be adjusted on your Samsung or replaced with 3rd party apps and then we have Good Lock to further customize the stock experience.

 

[bkeaver]

Don't let people talk you into what you are not comfortable using. If IPhone is your thing then stick with it.

 

[justafew]

Hi all. I'll try not to make this sound all whiney. A few months ago, I got my very first Android phone; a Galaxy S24 Plus. I've used iPhones since the 3GS. I was tired of having to do things "The Apple Way", and was hoping the Galaxy/Android would be a breath of fresh air. I also wanted better integration with my Gmail, Google/Nest smart home, etc. Instead, what I'm finding is to get that freedom of being able to "do whatever I want" with Android, I've lost things that "just work" like they did on Apple. Now I'm at a point where I wonder if I made a mistake and should go back.

Mind you, it's a lot of little things that irk me. But enough paper cuts can still kill a man. Here's a list of things I can think of as I type this that are bugging me and driving me to want to go back to being an Apple zombie.

• Notifications are horrible. Sometimes the phone makes noise (what I want), other times it just vibrates. Such as I'll get an email. Buzz. Two minutes later, another email, Ding! WTF? Red notification dots don't always go away when I check an app unless I open the notifications screen and clear them all there.
• Voicemail to text transcription doesn't work. I've tried multiple voicemail apps. I've called AT&T. Nothing. It "just worked" on the iPhone all the time without needing to do anything.
• Duplicated apps between Samsung and Google. Why do I have/need two different wallet apps? Messages apps? Stores? Etc. It's just confusing.
• Face ID on the iPhone was just superior. Hands down.
• Sometimes the keyboard just freaks out! I'll try typing something and it will duplicate a letter 3-6 times with a single press. Other times it works fine. (Seems to depend on what app I'm using...)
• And probably a bunch of other little things too. Maybe it's just lack of familiarity. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.

Right after I switched to the Galaxy, the latest iOS update fixed some of the things that drew me to Android, such as much more customization on the home screen(s) and app layout. So here I sit, wondering if I should just go back. I don't want to... I wanted to really like Android. Maybe the Pixel would have been the better choice? What do you think?

In addition to the comments above, if I recall the S24 comes with the customization of Notifications turned off by default. You can really tailor it a LOT. Go to Settings, then Notifications, then choose Advanced Settings. Scroll down to "Manage notification categories for each app". Ensure that is toggled on. Now go back and Choose App Notifications at the top of the Notifications page in Settings. Choose your app, i.e. Gmail

Now towards the bottom you will see "Notification Categories" and you can see all kinds of settings you can adjust. For each item, there is the button to turn On/Off, but if you just click on the Notification Category (i.e. Attachments Download), you can then fine-tune the notification for that specific action. You can turn it Off, make it Alert or Silent, change the Sound, Vibration, whether it shows on the Lock Screen or has App Badges. All for just the one notification type within Gmail. Some apps have more notification "channels" than others, but it really allows you to customize how you get notifications for many types within each app.

And DON'T use the default Samsung keyboard. Ugh, it is the worst. Use either gboard or swiftkey. Far superior in every way, especially prediction and auto-correct.

 

[spARTacus]

Hi all. I'll try not to make this sound all whiney. A few months ago, I got my very first Android phone; a Galaxy S24 Plus. I've used iPhones since the 3GS. I was ...

Most of your annoyances I think can be overcome with additional familiarization and getting used to ways of working for Android vs Apple, plus the nuances of Samsung Android mixed in there. I was going to say give it some more time and keep a real open mind about things, and you should find that you'll start liking the S24 more and more as time goes on. However, you said it's already been a few months and you were previously with Apple for years. There's not too many long term deep Apple users that I know who would ever want to switch Android, let alone convince themselves to tolerate such a switch. Same thing for the other direction. Hopefully you're not in the subset of folks that dislike too much about the situation of both/either.

 

[srgonu]

Nothing like an iPhone is your thing, or android is your thing. There are a lot of people who enjoy both. Since you were using an iPhone for long enough time, you are comfortable with it. There is a learning curve for everything, and we will get it. If you want to be productive, I think at this time, one UI is superior. Dex, edge panel, split screen multi tasking, pop up screen, Samsung notes, and Samsung calendar make a great impact. I suggest giving it some time just like you have for iOS and you can decide what works best for you. Also, don't disregard Samsung apps. Samsung calendar has amazing widgets for quick glance. Samsung notes is very powerful to edit pdf's and to take notes and record voice at the same time. Samsung keyboard takes some time to learn your way, and it is well integrated with useful AI features, and i love it. Samsung reminders can remind you based on time, date and LOCATION (Google tasks can't remind you based on LOCATION). Samsung gallery is very organised and superiror to google photos. Secure folder, there is no competition. And last, the most powerful "modes and routines". It can make you an automation engineer and makes everything seamless

 

[Pixel Hunter]

Thank you all for the replies. I have spent a lot of time adjusting the notification settings and just can't seem to get them to work the way I like. I've upgraded to gboard as well and still run into occasional wackiness while typing. And most of the other issues I'm facing just seem to be my inability to transition from one ecosystem to another without consternation.

The S24+ and One UI/Android does have features and functionality I like better than Apple's iOS. And the iPhone has some features and functionality I like better than Android. I was hoping to get away from the things on iPhone that DID annoy me and that Android would just be the perfect solution with no problems. But that's just not how the real world works. I need to decide to I stick with what I'm more familiar with but have to live with Apple's quirks and annoyances, or deal with the growing pains of learning something entirely new after all these years.

If... I decide to switch back. I'd need to sell the S24+ since I'm on contract with AT&T. They said I can get out of the contract by paying off the phone. Any recommendations for determining the current value of the phone and a safe place to list/sell it?

 

[mustang7757]

Thank you all for the replies. I have spent a lot of time adjusting the notification settings and just can't seem to get them to work the way I like. I've upgraded to gboard as well and still run into occasional wackiness while typing. And most of the other issues I'm facing just seem to be my inability to transition from one ecosystem to another without consternation.

The S24+ and One UI/Android does have features and functionality I like better than Apple's iOS. And the iPhone has some features and functionality I like better than Android. I was hoping to get away from the things on iPhone that DID annoy me and that Android would just be the perfect solution with no problems. But that's just not how the real world works. I need to decide to I stick with what I'm more familiar with but have to live with Apple's quirks and annoyances, or deal with the growing pains of learning something entirely new after all these years.

If... I decide to switch back. I'd need to sell the S24+ since I'm on contract with AT&T. They said I can get out of the contract by paying off the phone. Any recommendations for determining the current value of the phone and a safe place to list/sell it?

You can try swappa