iOS to Android, another thread!

[Gooose]

Just starting another thread for this, i'm sure there's plenty on here but thought i'd ask anyway!

I've been an apple user since the iphone 4, always loved them but apple are starting to get on my nerves really, mainly down to the cost of everything. i'm on the apple upgrade program but I've cracked a camera lens, and even though i have apple care plus as part of this i'm looking at a £100 bill. rip off! icloud storage, rip off!

Now I've always loved how simple the iphones are but even these are getting more complicated with millions of settings etc and i know Android is worse but if they are similar then why pay more

In the past i have tried Andoid but they were piss poor back in the day, juddery scroling, crashes, stupid complicated. I hope the user experiece is better these days!

A few issues which is holding me back:

Facetime - the misses, daughter and mother all have iphone and this is a good feature but we have used whatsapp in the past, can you have whatsapp with a phone number?

iMessage - again great but whatsapp could take this place

icloud keychain - i've used the strong password service for this, can i migrate them to chrome password?

Dropping photos over airdrop, so easy, could i do this from android to an iphone?

Camera quality, i have the iphone 13 pro and the camera is amazing, are there any andoid phones around £300 that could offer a great camera?

[Zoon]

I tried moving to Android with a google pixel.
Needless to say I have an iPhone again.

[pistonheadforum]

Currently going through the swap.

If it was somebody else money then yes please I'll have an iPhone thanks. Nice hardware, feels weighty in the hand etc etc.

When it's my own cash then no chance am I paying that kind of money for a "basic" phone. I don't mind Apple coming up with nonsense additions that don't actually improve the product and selling it to others for a fantastic profit but I ain't funding it for them!

Spent £180 quid on a Motorol G32 and whilst it's not as hefty as an Apple product is a whole lot of tech for not much money.

Most of the apps are on both so I will see how it goes after a longer period but having bought the Motorola G32 can't say I'm disapointed.

[Mammasaid]

Gooose said:

Just starting another thread for this, i'm sure there's plenty on here but thought i'd ask anyway!

I've been an apple user since the iphone 4, always loved them but apple are starting to get on my nerves really, mainly down to the cost of everything. i'm on the apple upgrade program but I've cracked a camera lens, and even though i have apple care plus as part of this i'm looking at a £100 bill. rip off! icloud storage, rip off!

Now I've always loved how simple the iphones are but even these are getting more complicated with millions of settings etc and i know Android is worse but if they are similar then why pay more

In the past i have tried Andoid but they were piss poor back in the day, juddery scroling, crashes, stupid complicated. I hope the user experiece is better these days!

A few issues which is holding me back:

Facetime - the misses, daughter and mother all have iphone and this is a good feature but we have used whatsapp in the past, can you have whatsapp with a phone number?

iMessage - again great but whatsapp could take this place

icloud keychain - i've used the strong password service for this, can i migrate them to chrome password?

Dropping photos over airdrop, so easy, could i do this from android to an iphone?

Camera quality, i have the iphone 13 pro and the camera is amazing, are there any andoid phones around £300 that could offer a great camera?

Android now is nothing like what it was years ago, in fact I'd say it's surpassed iOS in many ways, my Pixel 6 Pro is easty to use, and performs faultlessly. I spend more time sorting the Apple devices in our family (that could be just down to my daughter though!)

We're a mixed family and use Whatsapp for all messaging, can even do this from PC if needed.

I use a mixture of Chrome passwords and biometrics, seems to work fine for me, not sure if you can migrate Apple ones though however. Google does have a migration app - https://www.android.com/intl/en_uk/switch/

Airdrop is Apple only, so anything we want to share either goes on Whatapp, or put in a Google Photos shared folder.

Camera quality is difficult, obviously your iphone 13 pro was ~£1k new, you can't really compare it to a £300 Android, however either the Pixel 7 or the Samsung S22 are comparable.

[McAndy]

Check handset support timescales. While the upfront cost of an iPhone is typically higher like-for-like on specs, many Android handsets lose security patches after only a few years (better than it was, but only 3-4 years rather than 2). iPhones are typically supported for ~6 years. For me and my buying habits, purchasing an iPhone through Apple that is 1-2 generations old gives me a lower monthly cost over the lifetime of the handset (or two handsets, for Android!)

I know not everybody cares/thinks about security, but it's on my consideration list. Also half the number of handsets over a lifetime of purchasing, which is better for the environment.

For transparency: I used to hate Apple. Over-priced fashion accessories with a fanboi culture. I have made the move based upon a mixture of personal rationale (privacy and security featuring highly), and then had my change-point decided when I did the maths on lifetime cost and found myself surprised by the results. I currently have no intention of going back.

[Mammasaid]

McAndy said:

Check handset support timescales. While the upfront cost of an iPhone is typically higher like-for-like on specs, many Android handsets lose security patches after only a few years (better than it was, but only 3-4 years rather than 2). iPhones are typically supported for ~6 years. For me and my buying habits, purchasing an iPhone through Apple that is 1-2 generations old gives me a lower monthly cost over the lifetime of the handset (or two handsets, for Android!)

I know not everybody cares/thinks about security, but it's on my consideration list. Also half the number of handsets over a lifetime of purchasing, which is better for the environment.

For transparency: I used to hate Apple. Over-priced fashion accessories with a fanboi culture. I have made the move based upon a mixture of personal rationale (privacy and security featuring highly), and then had my change-point decided when I did the maths on lifetime cost and found myself surprised by the results. I currently have no intention of going back.

Pixels and Samsung S series have security updates for at least 5 years.

[paulrockliffe]

The thing with Android isn't so much the OS, it's miles better than iOS, it's that you have a myriad of Launcher's available and it's usually that that you interact with, so it's worth spending your time finding a launcher that works for you, especially if you're coming from iOS where it's all so basic and inflexible.

The best Android devices are Google's and Samsung's generally, but their stock Launcher's aren't very good.

I use Action Launcher, been using it for years because the Cover Folders make it so easy to keep simple while having quick access to all the apps. It's features like that and being able to backup the settings and install them on other devices so it's trivial to make you tablet mirror your phone that make it stand out.

[Tycho]

Mammasaid said:

Gooose said:

Just starting another thread for this, i'm sure there's plenty on here but thought i'd ask anyway!

I've been an apple user since the iphone 4, always loved them but apple are starting to get on my nerves really, mainly down to the cost of everything. i'm on the apple upgrade program but I've cracked a camera lens, and even though i have apple care plus as part of this i'm looking at a £100 bill. rip off! icloud storage, rip off!

Now I've always loved how simple the iphones are but even these are getting more complicated with millions of settings etc and i know Android is worse but if they are similar then why pay more

In the past i have tried Andoid but they were piss poor back in the day, juddery scroling, crashes, stupid complicated. I hope the user experiece is better these days!

A few issues which is holding me back:

Facetime - the misses, daughter and mother all have iphone and this is a good feature but we have used whatsapp in the past, can you have whatsapp with a phone number?

iMessage - again great but whatsapp could take this place

icloud keychain - i've used the strong password service for this, can i migrate them to chrome password?

Dropping photos over airdrop, so easy, could i do this from android to an iphone?

Camera quality, i have the iphone 13 pro and the camera is amazing, are there any andoid phones around £300 that could offer a great camera?

Android now is nothing like what it was years ago, in fact I'd say it's surpassed iOS in many ways, my Pixel 6 Pro is easty to use, and performs faultlessly. I spend more time sorting the Apple devices in our family (that could be just down to my daughter though!)

We're a mixed family and use Whatsapp for all messaging, can even do this from PC if needed.

I use a mixture of Chrome passwords and biometrics, seems to work fine for me, not sure if you can migrate Apple ones though however. Google does have a migration app - https://www.android.com/intl/en_uk/switch/

Airdrop is Apple only, so anything we want to share either goes on Whatapp, or put in a Google Photos shared folder.

Camera quality is difficult, obviously your iphone 13 pro was ~£1k new, you can't really compare it to a £300 Android, however either the Pixel 7 or the Samsung S22 are comparable.

You can only export Apple passwords from a Mac IIRC. I did this and got a CSV which I imported into Lastpass and it worked great.

[cb31]

I would say Android is a lot better than it used to be. I've had both iPhone and android and prefer android, using my wife's' iPhone 13 she seems to have to enter her apple id password quite often when installing things and the back button in the top left and not being able to gesture would drive me mad.

I am a pixel fan but that is the big differentiator with android, you can spend £49 or you can spend £1449 on a phone. Apple phones are around £1000 for a new upper range one so a £300 android isn't going to be able to have the same hardware specs. If you want similar you have to spend similar, a few hundred less maybe, to get similar.

Having said that I wasn't tempted by the Pixel 7 pro just released as my Pixel 4XL is still working perfectly for me and it is worth way less than £150. Maybe get a secondhand refurbished pixel 6 and save costs that way?

[paulrockliffe]

Tycho said:

You can only export Apple passwords from a Mac IIRC. I did this and got a CSV which I imported into Lastpass and it worked great.

Apple let you export your passwords to .csv? What could possibly go wrong.....

[sjg]

Security updates isn't the same as new major software version support though. With Apple in the last decade at worst you'd have got four major versions, five if you exclude the hobbled 5c. Many models got 6 or 7 major annual versions.

Security support is longer still. There was a security update in late August that covered back to the 5s, which was nearly 9 years old at that point.

The Android vendors are getting better (particularly if you go for a Pixel) but many churn out the models and drop them as quick as they can. The Android phones I've been given for work have tended to get one or two major releases, often delayed by months, then get forgotten about.

Cloud prices for somewhere to back up your photos and the like is much the same with Google or anyone else as Apple so no real differentiator there. Repair costs if you break it are pretty comparable IME, and things like battery replacement can be quite a bit cheaper on Apple.

If there's something pulling you to Android, even if that's just curiosity, fine. Don't try to kid yourself that you'll have as good as experience on a £300 Android phone as a £1000 Apple one though. Good screens, cameras, processors cost serious money whichever OS the phone runs.

[hurstg01]

Just been given a Samsung A134 as a work phone instead of using my personal iphone

god its awful - first thing I've noticed thats pissed me off, there's not enough room for all the characters needed for names in the contacts and you cna only store one number per contact - crap crap crap crap crap

[Gooose]

I can’t say the new iPhones have really added much over the years apart from Face ID (which is awesome!) And a great camera, I gave my 6s Plus to my daughter and it still works great, a bit slower yes but not by a great deal.

Maybe wishful thinking with £300 but I did think I could get a refurb or something with a great camera?

I can’t fault iPhone, I think they are great but they are monetising everything and anything to produce more profits, it inevitable really and android will end up down that route as well most probs.

Maybe I’m just setting myself up for disappointment again!?

[David_M]

hurstg01 said:

Just been given a Samsung A134 as a work phone instead of using my personal iphone

god its awful - first thing I've noticed thats pissed me off, there's not enough room for all the characters needed for names in the contacts and you cna only store one number per contact - crap crap crap crap crap

This is not directly helpful, but this sounds impossible. Google's stock contact app lets you store all sort of information and it is hard to imagine that the Samsung one is so much worse (and if it is, you can just install another app).

The actual problem here (which I have in reverse) is that you are entirely accustomed to how your iphone works, and don't know how the android phone works. Which is why I don't like my work iphone, and you don't like your work android.

[Gooose]

hurstg01 said:

Just been given a Samsung A134 as a work phone instead of using my personal iphone

god its awful - first thing I've noticed thats pissed me off, there's not enough room for all the characters needed for names in the contacts and you cna only store one number per contact - crap crap crap crap crap

It does worry me, how can a manufacturer get things so wrong!

Ive been setting a YouTube account for my daughter today, Jesus it’s awkward, I tried to add a profile picture expecting it to give me the option of picking one from Google photos, YouTube is owned by Google after all, but no. I had to go into Google photos, download it then try and find it somewhere, really crap design.
Same for the banner picture. Downloaded it again but it’s in a wrong format for YouTube! I remember photos in wrong formats decades ago, I really can’t believe I couldn’t upload a photo taken on my iPhone to the biggest video site in the world..

Are Google phones still like that?

[anonymous-user]

hurstg01 said:

Just been given a Samsung A134 as a work phone instead of using my personal iphone

god its awful - first thing I've noticed thats pissed me off, there's not enough room for all the characters needed for names in the contacts and you cna only store one number per contact - crap crap crap crap crap

That's strange as I'm on a Samsung right now and I have tons of space for contact names and can add extra numbers, with several category options

[McAndy]

Mammasaid said:

Pixels and Samsung S series have security updates for at least 5 years.

Good to know that they’re getting more responsible, thank you.

[768]

Gooose said:

Facetime - the misses, daughter and mother all have iphone and this is a good feature but we have used whatsapp in the past, can you have whatsapp with a phone number?

Both parties need WhatsApp installed, you can invite a phone number to WhatsApp.

Gooose said:

iMessage - again great but whatsapp could take this place

icloud keychain - i've used the strong password service for this, can i migrate them to chrome password?

Probably, I think you can export to CSV from Safari and import to bitwarden.

Gooose said:

Dropping photos over airdrop, so easy, could i do this from android to an iphone?

I think there are Android airdrop equivalents, not sure if they're compatible. I use this.

Gooose said:

Camera quality, i have the iphone 13 pro and the camera is amazing, are there any andoid phones around £300 that could offer a great camera?

Not sure about £300, but there are certainly Android phones with great cameras. Just check the reviews for the models you're looking at. I tended to find rear cameras to be really very good but the front facing ones a bit rubbish.

I prefer Android by a mile, only major downside is lack of software updates at 3 or 4+ years for most manufacturers. Grumpily typing this on my iPhone 13. Look at OnePlus if you haven't yet.

[stevoknevo]

Pixel 6a is £399 - released a few months ago and is the entry Pixel, it discounted to £349 for a bit but is full price again however black Friday soon; has the same SoC as the 6 and 6 Pro but loses niceties like IP rating/wireless charging and uses the older camera module (still takes fantastic pics though)

If you're open to used I've seen 6 Pros going recently for £350 (and Google do two years of warranty so still one year left) 6 Pro is the Google equivalent to the 13 Pro Max.
And Pixels depreciate like Tory Prime Ministers, 7 Pros have been going for low £600s unopened since launch as they were giving away the new Pixel watch free (happens every year, they give a really decent freebie and people punt either the phone or the freebie - have a look on AVForums but you'll need to bide your time until what your looking for shoes up, last 6a went for £275 unopened)

We use Google Meet for video calls, I think you can get that on IOS? I personally use Signal for messaging but WhatsApp is cross platform also. You've got far less restriction on dialers/messaging/browsers/keyboard etc, however even like for like apps tend to be more polished on iOS than on Android but you can do stuff on Android that you can only dream of on iOS (short of jailbreaking the latter, if that's even possible nowadays?)

The Google integration of apps is excellent on the Pixel though, and some of the Pixel only features like call screening, closed captioning of videos, and text transcription on the Voice recorder app are absolutely top notch.

[Corso Marche]

Gooose said:

Ive been setting a YouTube account for my daughter today, Jesus it’s awkward, I tried to add a profile picture expecting it to give me the option of picking one from Google photos, YouTube is owned by Google after all, but no. I had to go into Google photos, download it then try and find it somewhere, really crap design.
Same for the banner picture. Downloaded it again but it’s in a wrong format for YouTube! I remember photos in wrong formats decades ago, I really can’t believe I couldn’t upload a photo taken on my iPhone to the biggest video site in the world..

Are Google phones still like that?

Definitely nothing like that, and haven't been for approximately 7 years - maybe longer.
Generic android devices from other companies (incl. big names such as Samsung) are still capable of running people in rings though - but the main reason for this is OEM apps cross-purposing with the mainstream Google apps and services, rather than just leaving it to Google apps. I'm all for choice - that's precisely what android provides. But it's also it's Achilles heel - because few people setup an android phone correctly at the outset. iPhone doesn't need a setup really, by comparison.
For example the first things I've to do setting up a Samsung phone are to disable/remove/ditch all the Samsung apps for contacts, gallery, keyboard, mail, messages, calendar, pay, etc etc etc and then replace them with G Contacts, Photos, G Board, GMail, Messages, etc etc etc and even after all that the experience isn't as fluid or seamless as a Pixel.