Whether I regret it, not sure, I mean Android isn't _that_ bad really and the Samsung phones are good, but I think Apple have nailed the ecosystem thing a lot better than what google have.
From a support after the sale perspective? Yes it is.
The $399 2016 iPhone SE is still getting security updates today.
The original Google Pixel is also from 2016 but stopped getting any sort of updates at the end of 2019.
If you want a basic phone that will be supported as long as possible after the sale, the support length per dollar spent proposition of the SE models is pretty unbeatable.
I think this is a major factor that is driving market share towards iPhone.
I have looked to get out of apples grasp, but nothing else comes close in terms of long term support, which is absolutely necessary for a device that touches all of my digital life.
Few people outside of the tech nerd bubble care about this.
What they do want is an inexpensive phone that still runs the latest software. Because Apple models are supported so long, people can buy used, old iPhones that still run the latest software.
Others trade in their phones often because they always want the new shiny. Because Apple models are supported so long, the used phone they trade in has more value, allowing them to fork over less cash for the latest Pro phone.
These are the sort of factors that drive Apple’s market share up.
You (usually) can run the latest software on an old Android nowadays - the reason is that many of the functions which were previously baked into the system are now part of Google Play Services, which are upgraded like any other software package.
The only app to tell me that it will stop updating on my 5-year-old Android phone was... Slack.
I personally couldn't care less about this. I just want a phone that works well for me.
If it were just security updates, I wouldn't mind automatic installations. But feature updates are too disruptive. So I avoid automatic updates where I possibly can.
I accept that there's a security risk associated with doing this, but for me, it's a risk that's worth taking.
Security updates are not optional.
I'm considering an iPhone for my next phone, although I'm a Google Voice user which makes me a little nervous about that prospect, plus I've been less than impressed with Safari's extension ecosystem.
If you read the OP linked report, contrary to the popular sentiment here and on Apple sites, that more people hold on to their Android phones longer than iPhones despite the lack of security updates
What is the point in "security updates" for a CPU that can't be made secure?
[0] https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerability-list/vendor_id-1224...
I kinda want to go back but we'll see.
I still use google photos because I find it better and it works fine. My next phone will be a pixel again though.
One of the things i unticked removed the words list you get for editing its errors, so i have to edit the mistakes by hand. Very annoying. (And the suggestions were crap anyway.)
Then when I switched back from iPhone->Android (Pixel 4) the change was a lot more jarring. I noticed a lot of polish and batteries issues and I missed my iPhone until I finally switched back.
My theory is it's similar to lifestyle creep. You wont appreciate improvements as much as you'll notice regressions.
> Every once in a while I boot up my old android phone (oneplus 6) and use it and it's snappier than I remember and feels way better in my hand than my iphone does.
I wonder if you'd use it as a daily driver for a longer time if you'd have the same experience as me.
This was clear as day over 10 years ago, and is just as clear today.
Back in the early days of iPhone vs Android, there was a huge meme of iPhone users praising Apple for "inventing" features that Android had years ago [0]. I remember (but can't find right now) a screenshot of a conversation of an iPhone user all happy about iPhone getting SwiftKey and then saying "When is Android getting this? XD" and the other person responding with "About 4 years ago".
While the meme of "iPhone is better than Android because iPhone can do X" while Android has been able to do X for over 2 years no longer applies, there's still the meme that iPhone is somehow still a superior device. Apple has somehow convinced people that the iPhone is a luxury device, and there are some iPhone users that look down on Android users and think that Android is for people that can't afford iPhone, even though flagship Androids cost just as much.
It's just personal preference these days. I can't stand Apple's walled garden approach, but people that have multiple devices (laptop, tablet, phone, watch, etc) love it since it guarantees compatibility and functionality.
I also use Android when I need more access to different things e.g. portable pocket pc that runs Linux.
It applied as recently as 2020 with iOS 14 releasing picture in picture video, which Android has had since 8 in 2017.
Apple mobile devices are absolutely luxury hardware.
Apple mobile OS/software is... functional to a most generous description.
Of those, only Apple Pay has a touch point with non-Apple products, no? And enabling it was more business bludgeon than software feature.
"iPhone is better than Android because iPhone can do X" was never why anyone used iPhones. iPhones generally did things years later than Android but did them significantly better.
And Apple didn't need to convince people, they straight up were luxury devices compared to decay prone Android devices. Android lagged in locking down background services so battery would worsen over time as random apps did random garbage in the background. Lots of devices had weird eMMC and virtual FS bugs that'd also slow them down over time. And for a truly embarrassing length of history, top apps for things like flashlights would install lock screen ads on your device.
I agree it's more personal preference these days, but that's mostly because Google went and copied Apple's walled garden approach. Things power users loved got gutted, more and more core functionality became part of Google Play Services that vendors aren't allowed to modify. Because of Project Mainline even the Android runtime is about to start getting updated via Google Play.
One thing I like is that I have an iPhone 12 and have no need to upgrade, the phones have a much longer life imo.
The statement "apple stuff is just so easy and it works" is EXTREMELY misleading. When it works it works but when it doesn't you generally won't find much good advice.
Can't install any app I want.
Locked into OS.
That's false. You can backup to a computer, including to Windows. https://support.apple.com/en-au/guide/iphone/iph3ecf67d29/io...
For whole phone backup it’s either iCloud or hook it up to a computer.
Does Android allow whole phone backups to third parties without rooting?
Appstore - can't install Gameboy emulator for games I've paid 20+ years ago because daddy Apple said so...
“Meepmorp you’re totally right, it doesn’t cost anything at all! However, I do highly recommend paying this meager sum because the benefits are quite substantial.”
That sounds like more of an example of lock-out, than lock-in.
Japan uses LINE. Network effect implies a convergence to one app (pick your poison) and I am certain WhatsApp is better than the US situation.
And nobody has made fun of me for having an android phone. Videos and group chats just work.
For interoperability, nothing beats SMS/MMS/POTS/SMTP.
I use Verizon and use iPad Pro and Apple Watch also on cellular. Works really well together.
I've been a Mac fan since OS X came out in 2000/2001, and had iPhones and android phones for years. Just a general "I like all the OSes... and I hate all the OSes" kinda person....
The worst thing about being caught in a situation where something doesn't work right, or is just outright broken? If you go to an iphone/mac themed discussion place to discuss it, you'll probably just get called an idiot and insulted. A lot.
I also hate how iOS kinda has dark patterns to keep you locked into Apple's iCloud services. Lately, MacOS has been getting worse about that too. I think the only Apple service I can log into without causing an Apple device to freak out and have iCloud take everything over is Apple Music.
My biggest beefs are trying to export a tens-of-thousands picture library out of icloud - there's no good reliable way to do it except to tell the Photos app on a Mac to download everything locally and then wait an eternity (like literally weeks) to do so. Then you can use a python script to read the sqlite db and dump everything with correct EXIF data... (if you don't, it's a complicated mess)
My favorite is how bad the ECG app on the Apple Watch is. Especially if your older parent who has the watch on the largest text size uses it. Basically, it becomes almost impossible to dismiss the legal warning screen that pops up if you touch the grey "sine wave, 65bpm" summary thing. If you do, you have to hit a teeny tiny target at the top left of the screen to go back to that summary screen, scroll down without touching the grey box, and then hit 'done' at the bottom.
THEN you reach for your iphone and open the health app you had open before. But it doesn't show the ECG you just recorded - unless you tap the notification from the home screen. When you do, it'll exit the health app and reopen it, so that the latest ECG loads.
It is the most hilarious and fucked interaction I've seen. Like, the Apple Health App is LITERALLY BROKEN and their workaround is to make the notification force-restart the app.
I suppose it's equal parts {stricter locks} + {smaller number of devices} + {fewer dev resources?}
Last time for me, it was MacOS never having implemented USB-C DisplayPort MST (daisy chaining monitors).
If you are more focused on the curated ecosystem Apple does it much better.
I mostly use Android because of my work flow but I do not think many people in the grand scheme work like this.
Give iOS a try you could be plesantly surprised with it.
But last time, I realized that while both types of phones were fine, the ecosystem between Apple and Android was like night and day. Even if the iPhone was a way worse phone, there'd be so much in the Apple ecosystem I'd also have to ditch. That's just a no-go.
Here's what I found from my last Android adventure:
1. The iPhone gets the basics right. It might not have the flashy AI stuff of Pixels or the folding thing from Samsungs, but it doesn't drop the ball on the basics like some others I mentioned.
2. Apple usually doesn't rush out half-done features to get people talking. New stuff is generally thought out and polished.
Adding a bit more to this, here are some things about iPhones not talked about much:
3. Attention to detail. There are loads of tiny things that on their own don't seem like a big deal, but when you put them together they make a huge difference in the experience. A lot of other phone makers overlook this in their race to jam more features in.
4. Consistency across phone generations. You usually don't see features on iPhones popping up one year only to vanish the next. Even 3D Touch hung around for 3-4 years.
5. Easy data migration between generations. I've got texts going back to 2012 when I first got an iPhone. That might not matter to some, but I don't want to lose my stuff just because I swapped phones. This is becoming more common on Android, but it's not consistent across all phone makers - unless you plug in a wire to transfer your data when you upgrade. Really, needing a wire in 2021? It's nice to have the option, but it shouldn't be the only way.
6. Generally better quality apps. There are a few Android apps that are better than their iOS counterparts, but in my experience, the scales are usually tipped in iOS's favor.
7. Apps that are only on iOS or get there first. Lots of high-quality (Apollo RIP) are still only on iOS and the developers don't seem to be in any rush to move them to other platforms. Can't say the same for many top Android apps. Also, lots of apps launch first on iOS, while the Android version drags its feet for months.
8. The iOS API. It's not perfect - it has its problems, but compared to the hot mess that the Android API can be, it's not half bad. How does this impact me as a user? Well, good APIs mean more developers can make better apps.
9. The camera. No, not the camera hardware or the fancy photography stuff. I mean how the camera works with the rest of the system and the camera APIs. Did you know that a lot of Android apps that use the camera just open it up and take a screenshot?
10. A consistent story. Apple is trying to tell a consistent story, slowly replacing many single-purpose items in your life like your wallet, keys, and ID, and even eventually your passport, with your iPhone. This is done consistently, not just stuffing whatever's new and hot into this year's phones only to toss it next year.
I could keep going, but this post is already pretty long. Maybe I'll add more another time.
There are a few other things people mention, but they aren't unique to Apple, like the hardware mute switch and Apple Pay.
Don't get me wrong - there are things about iPhones that really bug me, but this isn't the post for that. :-)
I just upgraded my Android phone, different manufacturer, the migration was done via my Google account I didn't have to plug in a cable.
> Did you know that a lot of Android apps that use the camera just open it up and take a screenshot?
I don't think I've ever seen that. I switched from iOS to Android quite some time back, I found iOS annoying because it felt like apps couldn't easily share with each other and a lot of tasks took too many steps. That was from an iPhone 5 so I imagine it's very different now, but I tried out a 14 and thought it still wasn't for me.
Nice copypasta. Edit it better next time?
As for UX, I feel like it's hit and miss for me. With the huge caveat that I haven't used Windows 11, Windows beats MacOS in a lot of areas. For example, I prefer older versions of Windows to MacOS for window management, and Explorer is a lot better than Finder in my opinion. Those are two major pieces of the user experience!
I recently sold a bicycle to a guy, over Craigslist. He sent me the funds with Venmo from his Pixel 7. Not only did it take tens of seconds for Venmo to initially draw itself, after that the platform offered, in a pop-up dialog, to kill the process every few seconds. The entire experience was pure jank. I don't know what that person had done to their phone but it should have been up to Android to have prevented it. That's Google's flagship phone!