Trading in my iPhone for a Nexus 4

[ring o fire]

So I have always been a huge fan of the iPhone. It always worked great for me. I decided I'd venture out and try something new one day and traded my iPhone for a HTC one x. Still missed my iPhone. I traded again for an iPhone. Same thing happened again only I received a Samsung galaxy S3. Again traded it for an iPhone. And that's where I am at. But ever since the nexus was announced I've wanted one. But I'm not sure I'll enjoy it.

The things I like about my iPhone are conveniences that I wish other phones had. Like the switch that turns the phone to silent or back to normal volume. Or being able to double tap the home button and being able to play music.

I liked one x more than the galaxy but I'm starting to get sick of the iPhone and its more than dated look and feel. I love my nexus 7 and I am looking to hopefully bring that to a phone.

I'm hoping someone can help me with some insight if they themselves have made the switch. Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

 

[Chillidog66]

Good luck! I hope you turn to really like your phone.

Sent from my Galaxy s3 using Android Central Forums

 

[Tall Mike 2145]

Clearly, this is an Android OS-oriented message board, so let's for a moment put aside the obvious anti-iOS bias that exists (and the anti-Apple bias that also exists) and just look at this situation objectively.

Apple has poured literally hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of man-hours into iOS. It is extremely well-tested and, in many ways, is well-designed. There have been a lot of "little things" that Apple has put into iOS just the same as they have into Mac OS X, or Classic Mac OS, etc. and so forth. And, in many ways, these are good things that other technology developers classically have never bothered with. Fit-and-finish, ease of use, and intuitiveness have always been the watch-words of Apple, going back to the Macintosh 128, and despite what I or anyone else here may think of Apple, especially at present, this focus on design cannot be honestly denied.

In my view lo these past 27 years I've been in the world of technology, it is my impression that Apple has proven the importance of good design and has served as an inspiration for other companies which write software or sell hardware. Most of the tech industry is and has always been staffed and run by people who are tech heads and coders and engineers first and foremost, and often lack the more artistic bent or even the human social skills and other soft skills required to make a product friendly. This sort of attitude is borne out by the long-time attitude about Linux, that it is "by geeks, for geeks".

The reason I say all of this is to give a bit of background here. I think -- and indeed I have always thought -- that Android OS has been more geek-oriented than iOS, and that has shown, either positively or negatively, since the beginning. And if you are going to judge the suitability of either iOS or Android based on various aspects of its interface and refinements, then you will naturally find your opinions shaped by that; and I'd like to be the first (perhaps the only?) AndroidCentral member to say your views are not necessarily invalidated by that.

Android 4.1/4.2 has brought with it a lot of refinements; however, it does not have exactly what you are asking for. That doesn't mean there aren't other things which will make access to those features easy and quick, but they aren't the same as what you're used to. Only time will tell if you'll find it equally decent. Another possibility is third-party software to accomplish some of this for you, which of course (whether such software, widgets, etc. actually exists or not) is a strength, not so much of Android itself, but of the Android ecosystem. Because, unlike Apple, Google doesn't mind letting people do whatever they want with their own devices.

And that's also a downside to iOS, to be fair. Apple tries to pick what they think is the cleanest, most Zen-minimalist approach to the interface, but the trade-off is that Apple takes the our-way-or-the-highway attitude when it comes to the interface. This sort of straightjacketing of users has driven many people away from them as a company as well as their products. It's a philosophical objection, of course, but that doesn't invalidate it, either.

 

[ring o fire]

Thanks Tall Mike. I think that the "straightjacketing of users" is an excellent way of putting things.

 

[Sir Alex]

If you don't like to tweak your phone, stay with the iphone.

 

[wildmangk]

Android gives me endless possiblities to customize my phone to my liking. With an iphone youre stuck to their ecosystem and having an app drawer on your homescreens. I couldnt do without some widgets and thats why Im not going back to an iphone.

I just came from the Note II and loving the Nexus...no bloatware and Im using the 8gb model and as long as you dont store too much in your phone you should be fine. All my stuff is in the cloud so I have about 5-6gb left in my phone to use.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[pcdebb]

I was like you, went back and forth a few times. One thing you can look into for "one-click" tasks so to speak is automating your tasks with something like Tasker. You may even get something out of NFC, which iPhone does not have

Just a thought

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[ring o fire]

I think my other issue is space. I have a 16GB iPhone and I am thinking about just getting the 8GB Nexus just due to budget and things of that sort. I am evaluating because I think I do use Pandora or would use Google Music if I had the option rather than just trying to load everything on my phone. The music I do have on my phone doesn't really get used as well because of podcasts and things of that nature. I just get a little worried when and if I get on an airplane or something I won't have access to that stuff. I don't travel a lot but it seems that it could be an issue. I suppose I could just plan for those situations and pin songs to my phone before I head out. I also have the N7 so I suppose I could offset some of this stuff on to it rather than my phone? Thanks for all of your opinions! I will update on my final decision.

 

[Guidos Dad]

I've owned my N4 for a month now and really like it. I had a Verizon GN for about 8 months before it. I liked it, but after getting a Nexus 7 for Christmas I wanted the N4 for the same "plain" android experience and knowing I'll get the next android update in pretty short order owning a nexus phone. I've looked at and played with other android phones, Samsung, HTC ,Moto, etc and though they all have good features which like the S3 has, I think many people once they get the chance to use a Nexus phone with "clean" android on it as I like to call it, the others with their customized and carrier and manufacture boating apps on them just turn me off.

The thing is with the N4 you start out with the basics and then you pick what you want to put on it as far as apps, Widgets, custom launchers, keyboards, etc to make it look and do what you want sort of from the ground up. That is what I love about android, is being able to play with the looks and functions of it. I'm always messing with my home screens trying out different looks.

That brings me to what I feel it comes down to in decking if you or anyone is going to choose between an iPhone or any kind of android. If you like to keep playing around with your phone and changing its looks around even once in awhile then I highly recommend getting the N4 in place of the iPhone. Again recommending the N4 for reasons said above.

If your not into caring about changing the looks and functioning of the phone and care more for having the set structured way Apple makes and manages the iPhone for you and want to have access to the best array of apps out there, which iOS has, then I would recommend you keep with an iPhone.

If the flexibility of the android is still a bit tempting though to you, then take the dive and try that N4. I really feel you'll like it over that iPhone once you see stock android and can starting making a phone look how you want it to look without a bunch of extra stuff on other androids that you can't get rid of for the most part unless you root the phone. Another reason I got the N4 so I didn't have to root and custom ROM to make a "clean" phone.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Ribs85]

If you already have a nexus 7, then I'd say you already know what you're getting yourself in for.

In many ways, a nexus 4 is just a shrunken nexus 7 that can make calls...

 

[Tall Mike 2145]

Here's where I'm at, ring o fire and everyone else... (bear in mind objectivity was the purpose of my previous post, not this one)

You couldn't pay me to use an iPhone. Actually, that's a lie. You could pay me to use an iPhone. You could pay me to clean your toilet. But you'd have to pay me a LOT of money to do it. And I mean a lot. Like piles and piles of $100s. Dig?

I really don't care about on-board storage space. 8GB is fine for me. I don't shoot videos much, I do take photos but not tons of them, and while I do like to store OGGs of some of my favorite music locally, what I mostly use my phone for is web surfing, email, and instant messaging, none of which benefits from having 16GB of storage space. Yes, I do have a few apps on the phone, but not tons, and none of them are really heavy-hitting apps, either. Besides, I have to be in the mood to listen to music. Generally, I find it too distracting to accomplish anything mentally productive.

Also, I've tried all of the various different desktop environments for Android 4.2, and while some are interesting in different ways, I don't really care for any of them. They for the most part feel too... I dunno... gimmicky to me. Or, at a minimum, they really don't do anything better than what stock Android does where my own needs are concerned, and then I have them taking up more RAM and more storage space, and for what? So here I have an 8GB Nexus 4, running the stock OS with a 3rd party clock widget that looks like one of the TRON discs, apps organized into groups, with some apps I like installed, and that's just about it.

 

[return_0]

I'd like to quickly add something.

Like the switch that turns the phone to silent or back to normal volume.

You actually can do that. If you hold down the power button, you get a menu with many controls (see attached image), one of which mutes the volume. Pressing it again will bring the volume back to normal.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Android Central Forums

 

[quicksilver53]

I too got myself an N7 after Christmas and am awaiting the delivery of my N4 on wednesday. I really like HTC and was going to upgrade to the One, but decided against it. I love the stock android on my N7. I use wifi a lot so the lack of ltd is no issue. I am sure you will love an N4 if you give it a go.

Sent from my HTC One X using Android Central Forums

 

[darkoman4]

If you are on GSM, why not have both? You have smartphone mania like the rest of us and no one phone can treat it successfully. That's why I have one of each OS'. IOS, Android, BB, WP8 and webOS. When I get bored with one, I just switch SIM and I am good to go.

 

[chrisdiaz73]

I am heavily vested in the apple ecosystem, however, being the nerd that I am, have to have some hand in the android environment. So, I carry both an iphone 5 and a Nexus 4. Which do I like better? For right now I'm leaning more on the Nexus 4 side. Screen size is perfect, and the little things like google now and NFC are very convenient. Iphone will get those things in maybe 2-3 years. Now apple as an ecosystem cannot be beat. From iphone to iPad to appletv to Mac, as a fully integrated system, it all makes sense and is super convenient to let's say, continue an iMessage conversation seamlessly from my phone to computer. And that's all from stock, no special apps required. I need to carry 2 phones around anyway, one personal and one work, so I chose iphone and android to get the best of both worlds! Nexus 4 is an amazing device, only lacks LTE and it would be absolutely perfect.

 

[Tall Mike 2145]

Your investment in Apple's ecosystem is your choice, but consider you have to use their products and you have to do it their way. How do you use Time Machine if you don't either use a local HDD or an Apple Time Capsule? What about being able to store your videos locally on an AppleTV? You used to be able to do that, until of course they pushed a firmware update that disallowed you from doing that (and also pushed out new hardware that doesn't have the capacity to do that) and so forth and so on.

Even in Lion, I don't participate in any of Apple's ecosystem, and I never will.

 

[chrisdiaz73]

I completely agree, it is truly the limiting factor being stuck into their system the way they want you to use it, but I also have a large collection of "bought" digital movies. 60% of which are for my kids viewing pleasure. They can easily access their movies through appletv and either stream or watch locally via a home server. My wife who is as computer illiterate as anything, can actually work the appletv, which she uses to watch hulu and local movies, as well as rent movies. Not to mention her and the kids have their own ipads and macs and once again, they synced ecosystem provides a level of sanity for their skill and ages. For me, I like venturing out, I do have those macs and ispads myself, but I also have a Nexus 4 & 7. Sometimes with all the same apps as my iphone and ipad. Sometimes the convinience counts for something.

 

[Golfdriver97]

So I have always been a huge fan of the iPhone. It always worked great for me. I decided I'd venture out and try something new one day and traded my iPhone for a HTC one x. Still missed my iPhone. I traded again for an iPhone. Same thing happened again only I received a Samsung galaxy S3. Again traded it for an iPhone. And that's where I am at. But ever since the nexus was announced I've wanted one. But I'm not sure I'll enjoy it.

The things I like about my iPhone are conveniences that I wish other phones had. Like the switch that turns the phone to silent or back to normal volume. Or being able to double tap the home button and being able to play music.

I liked one x more than the galaxy but I'm starting to get sick of the iPhone and its more than dated look and feel. I love my nexus 7 and I am looking to hopefully bring that to a phone.

I'm hoping someone can help me with some insight if they themselves have made the switch. Thanks

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Android Central Forums

It's all about learning the new phone. Take the Galaxy S3...For muting/sound, there is the notification pulldown that has quick toggles with features like wifi, sound, bluetooth, etc. As for music, you can also add the music player widget that allows you to start playing music without opening the app.

Between widgets, multitasking, and downloading launchers (Launchers are User Interfaces that allow you to customize home screens and the app drawer), is what sets Android apart from iOS.

But I have also seen people who just can't get over that 'I like the look/feel of Apple', and that's fine. But also take this into consideration: You ARE changing Operating Systems, hence, a longer learning curve needs to be considered. Just ask anyone you know who has switched from Windows 7 to Windows 8. I did in December, and I am STILL learning things about the new platform. The one thing I would suggest to do is keep the iPhone as your primary device, and get an Android to play with without attaching it to your line. You can still play with it through the web, see what Play offers, etc.

 

[ring o fire]

I wanted to giv eyou guys an update and let you know I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Nexus 4. I am super stoked. I will give another update when I actually get it. Thanks for all of the help!

 

[Guidos Dad]

I wanted to giv eyou guys an update and let you know I decided to take the plunge and purchase a Nexus 4. I am super stoked. I will give another update when I actually get it. Thanks for all of the help!

I feel very confident your going to love the N4 and the pure android experience.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2