How does everyone feel about iPhones?

Surprise.

Bet you didn’t see this one coming.

This week’s post has been pretty late. I’m a bit troubled by yesterday’s thread on Apple. So, a foreword: It’s OK to prefer something over another, it’s not OK to say people who like different phones than you are somehow more childish or less intelligent than you. Again, we are going for casual, yet intensely helpful here, so please don’t call people names over petty reasons, we have rules here.

Previously on Lemmy:

Past Discussions:

In this post, it’s not about saying how bad iPhones are, but I’d just like to hear the perspective on iPhones from Android users. I, for one, had an old iPhone 4 for a long time (call it nostalgia, or laziness, or just being cheap), and it was my general frustration with the device that ultimately led to my preference for Androids, (It was quite a while back though).

  • It was absolutely painful to transfer files from the phone to my computer (Ugh, iTunes).
  • I got it pre-jailbroken and didn’t realize you can’t just update the system casually, so it was really fun trying to find ways to downgrade the system until I realized that I can’t and have to pray for the next jailbreak to get half my things working again.
  • The 40-pin cable wears out so fast, and always in the same spot on the strain relief. I swear I’ve gone through 3 of these cables in one year just from normal use.
  • All the browsers are somehow flavors of Safari. To do anything, I will have the choice of ad-filled websites, or ad-filled apps.

It always just seemed like I’m fighting against the system. Never did I have that “it just works” moment, until I’ve got my first Android, and realize I have the freedom to do whatever I want with it, and I can install what I want, and if there’s a problem, I can look things up and fix it myself.

(Having a back button is also a game changer.)

Of course, there is a lot that Android manufacturers can learn from Apple as well, one of the most obvious one is the time for software support: I think my old iPhone has gone through like 3 version updates over the years, whereas currently I’m lucky to get 2 out of any Android manufacturer.

But it seems that Android manufacturers are more content on copying things that works for iOS, but doesn’t work for Android, like removing the headphone jack. Or big notches. (It makes no sense to do that because of Android’s notification system uses the full length of the bar.) It’s gotten to the point that I don’t think people who makes Android phones actually uses Android but are content to copy superficial features from Apple without understanding why Apple do them.

Like a bunch of lemmings. (Heh)

Again, these are my personal preferences, I have nothing against people who prefers iPhones, nor do I think they are lesser for it, but it’s just not for me.

I’d use a one as a work phone/for iMessages though.

Zerfallen,

I’m considering moving to Apple just for a “mini” phone, and i know it would be supported for a good few years yet. Android has no comparable phone.

But I prefer pretty much everything else about Android. Not just prefer, actually I really dislike iOS, the way it’s organised, the way it handles “Back” gesture, etc.

echodot,

the way it handles “Back” gesture, etc.

Literally they put it in the worst possible place for 95% of the population. The top left hand corner is the hardest part of the screen to touch if you are a right-handed. Such a bizarre decision.

hellishharlot,

You can just swipe off from the left hand side of the screen

Supercharger,

It’s got better recently, but it used to be that you can only do that sometimes, and it wasn’t clear when the gesture would work and when it wouldn’t. Fortunately, it seems that most apps have added support for that recently, so it’s closer to the Android back gestures.

Zerfallen,

Not sure how recently you mean “recently”, but i last tried (for 6 months) iOS last year, and it was still exactly as you described.

signs23,

I have an iphone 13pro as second phone because of work. A lot of times i cant use the back gesture and then i need to hit a small button in the app. Its super annoying…even after a year it is not consistent

Zerfallen,

I want to swipe in from the right edge of the screen though, where my thumb already is…

Plus it doesn’t even work consistently, some apps use different “back” swipe direction, depending on where in the app you came from to the screen you’re on. I hate it.

root,

I ended up using my Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact for 4 years, waiting for Sony (or any other manufacturer) to release another phone of the exact same size. No, the Xperia 10 is not compact at all. I ended up with an Asus Zenfone 8. I still miss the dedicated shutter button the thw Sony.

dingus,

The Asus Zenphone line seems to get great reviews in terms of small Android phones

Zerfallen,

Yes, but it’s not small imo, it’s the same size as the iPhone 14 (regular/Pro, not Mini) or S23, etc.

Coffeemonkepants,

Apple is winning the communications game and I’m afraid I’ll wind up switching once they go usb c. I’m sick and tired of the iMessage walled garden when messaging nearly everyone I know, and also tried of the hit or miss debacle of rcs. I will miss the customization freedom (currently using Niagara launcher and it’s super unique ux), but Android phones have deleted all of the other benefits that separated them from iPhones, like expandable storage, ir blasters, headphone jacks, etc. I hate to jump on the bandwagon, but I’m sick of waiting for this all to be worked out. Before anyone says to use signal or Whatsapp, etc, it just isn’t a standard here in the US. Folks will never switch off iMessage.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

I think having Sup. will change that, since you can tell them “Hey, check out this cool Instagram/Twitter/reddit/Facebook thing! It also comes with this cool messager!” and they’ll switch.

Hopefully.

Coffeemonkepants,

I don’t know what you’re referring to

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Oh, the maker of Pixelfed (Instagram equivalent) announced that he’s making a secure messanger called “Sup.” with the Signal protocol that should work for ALL Fediverse accounts (Mastodon, Lemmy/Kbin, Pixelfed, Friendica, etc.).

DharmaCurious,
@DharmaCurious@startrek.website avatar

Damn, really? Anywhere to follow the progress? Not a techie, and I do not understand GitHub. Lol. Mastodon account or lemmy community to follow?

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

lemmy.ml/post/3697221

Dan Sup’s Mastodon should have some progress, but he works on multiple projects at once.

He said the beta should be out at the end of month though.

DharmaCurious,
@DharmaCurious@startrek.website avatar

Whoops, just saw this. Thanks!

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

I haven’t seen much new info on this even though its supposed to be coming out soon.

DharmaCurious,
@DharmaCurious@startrek.website avatar

Just scoured the mastodon, and haven’t really seen anything. It sounds like a huge undertaking, so I’m guessing it’s probably delayed? The dev seems like a good guy, though!

Coffeemonkepants,

I’m literally the only person I know who uses any of these platforms. A new messaging service out of those won’t ever be on their radar.

weeeeum,

Yeah I understand your pain too, in the US almost everybody has iPhones. Thankfully you can get iMessage on Android by having an old iPhone and connecting it to an open source app on Android.

As for the lost features, it is extremely unfortunate too. I can’t fathom why execs would even attempt copy them because no one does apple better than apple (undying loyalty and brand). All they are doing is alienating those who want an alternative to apple by making a shitty knock off iPhone.

Sony is a god send though keeping the android spirit alive. New phones have a headphone jack, expandable storage, fingerprint sensor, light indicator, dedicated focus and shutter button, assistant button, 4k 120hz display and probably more. They are expensive but you can get the last gen top model for like 700$ (or last last gen for 500$ which is almost identical). A good deal since it’s only 1 years old and MSRP was like 1200$

Seriously Sony does not get anywhere near the attention they deserves despite everyone bitching about their lost headphone jack and microsd storage.

xio,

Just a small correction- the latest Xperia 1 V lost the notification light led. Everything else is good though. Replying on my Xperia 1 ii

cyberwolfie,

Over the course of 14 years, I had five different iPhones: 3GS in 2009, iPhone 4S in 2011, iPhone 6 in 2014, an iPhone XS in 2018 and now a work-only phone owned by my company which I don’t know the model of - I barely use it. I also had a brief Android-spell from mid-2010 until the release of the 4S with an HTC Legend which was a truly awful experience, and turned me off from Android for a long time until I bought a Fairphone 4 for personal use end of last year and installed CalyxOS on it. No regrets making the switch.

But yeah, I liked iPhones for a while. My prejudice against Android was unfortunate, but HTC Legend was a truly awful phone that lost support for updates quickly after I got it, and was also not prioritized by the modding community. I was going to get an HTC Desire, but they were sold out at the time, and I was about to go into the military, so waiting was not an option. If I got the Desire, I think the experience would’ve been better, but instead I sat with the impression that you could not count on long-term support for Android-devices, and that the hardware was rubbish.

I adopted iPhones at the same time as I departed from my teenage more tech-oriented years in favor of more social stuff at high school and university, so avoiding spending time on customization through the whole “you get what exactly we want you to get”-vibe of Apple worked fine for me then. It is the same shit that eventually drove me mad and made me ditch both iOS and macOS last year in favor of Android and Linux.

The hardware itself is quite good. They lasted increasingly longer for my use, but battery performance was shit towards the end and I was not going to spend a fortune changing the battery. My new phone has an easily changeable battery. Other than repairability, new features of smartphones have not excited me for many years.

The Apple ecosystem never really worked for me. I had iCloud only because the price point was much better than Dropbox for my use when I made the change. Other than that I really didn’t use much of their stuff, which made the transition a lot easier than it could’ve been. Exporting iCloud-stuff from a non-Apple device was a chore though… But since I also did not use much of the ecosystem, that was also a big “why bother”-point. But my main grievance is the lack of openness and control over your own device. I also have an old iPad now that sits with no use cases, because I can’t get a recent enough iOS-version installed, and I can’t install another operating system as far as I know. It’s so wasteful.

eee,

There are things i like about ios and things I like about android. And to be fair, both companies have somewhat converged slightly over the years (and learnt from jailbreakers/rooters).

The main thing I still like about ios is that swipe up for control center works better, especially when screen sizes are now all >5".

Things I still like about android:

  • you can sideload apps without resorting to exploits
  • you can transfer files directly onto your phone without using itunes or some weird hack

Ultimately I usually end up on android because the sideload/file transfer thing becomes a deal breaker, but I like that ios provides Google and other phone manufacturers with a reason to continue innovating.

TheBenCommandments,
@TheBenCommandments@infosec.pub avatar

ITT: people who haven’t used anything later than an iPhone 6 /s

Seriously though, I am curious if anyone has spent more than a month with a 13 Pro or later; it sounds like most of the gripes are about shittier/older iPhones/iOS versions.

Lots of good points here (like the universal back button/gesture 🤤) and it’ll be interesting to see how things change after the 15 gets USB-C and maybe some sideloading at some point over the next couple of years 🤞

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Can’t wait for USB-C on iPhone so everyone can share cables.

I feel like I’m the only one on Lemmy who isn’t confused by USB specs though.

TheBenCommandments,
@TheBenCommandments@infosec.pub avatar

I mean, I think it’s pretty easy to get confused by all of the different protocols there are that can’t all run on the same looking cable/connector.

Just by picking up an errant wire, it’s pretty hard to tell if it has power delivery, can do Thunderbolt 3 or 4, a low wattage, but high throughput USB 3.2 cable (which in itself could do 5, 10, or 20Gbps), or just basic USB 2.0 especially if both ends are USB-C.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Oh, it’s actually not that hard. Now Lemmy explain:

The 3.x are spec revision numbers, it’s the fhe Gen number that indicates the data speed, so USB 3.0/3.1/3.2 Gen 1 are all 5Gbps.

All USB-C cable can do 100W PD regardless of data transfer, EPR labeled ones can do 240W but it’s very recent and not very popular.

You can just look at the number of pins inside the plug to see if the cable only supports USB 2.0, as the 3.0 data pins will be missing and there will only be 14 or 16 pins total instead of the full 24.

Deftdrummer,
Klystron,

I was iPhone only from whenever the pixel 1 launched until the 12 pro max. I had a nexus 6p when the pixel 1 happened and was pumped for the next nexus and then got pissed at what Google replaced the nexus lineup with. So I jumped ship and was very happy with apple for a while. iOS has matured a lot and now lets you do a lot of things android does; widgets, always on display, USB c soon, file explorer. That’s not to mention the ecosystem; airpods are incredible to use, apple watch is so much better than android wear, everything syncing and It Just Working ®. The thing that ultimately got me to switch was the z fold 3. I believe foldables are 100% the future and using one for the past 2 years now has been incredible. I actually bought a 14 pro max just to try going back but it just wasn’t the same at all. Apple is still really good and I understand why people cling to it so much. When I was younger green bubble hate was a legit thing if you weren’t a nerd so that social pressure helps. Ultimately the flexibility that android offers is what’s worth it for me but if apple makes a foldable I’d definitely be tempted to come back.

I wrote this very drunk so I apologize if this stream of consciousness text makes no sense. I just get very enthused when I can somehow segue a conversation back to foldables👍

Uli,

I’m planning on getting the iPhone 15, now that they’re switching to USB C. My last iPhone was an iPhone 4.

To be honest, some of the cultish gimmicks have swayed me. The “in group” mentality of having the right color of text messages. The ability to send videos that aren’t garbage quality. The ease of having shared photo albums with people in my family who also have iPhones. I know these are mostly underhanded tactics from Apple to make their product a status symbol, but I’ve grown tired of being on the outside. Still, I’m keeping my Android as a second line for various reasons.

There are a few hardware components that made me consider spending the money on an iPhone. The biggest one is the Lidar sensor. I don’t know of any other phone that gives you the ability to combine Lidar and camera technology to create full color 3D models of your surroundings. I can’t wait to 3D print my cat.

TheBenCommandments,
@TheBenCommandments@infosec.pub avatar

It’s those social life things like mostly the garbage quality of MMS that makes it so hard to switch away from iPhone. I know it’s a tactic but damn does it suck because half of my friends are on android and I use Signal with most of them, but sometimes SMS/MMS just happens and it’s SO BAD.

glockenspiel,

I feel this as well. I’m in a mixed device household, and sharing images and videos between each other is a real pain. Nobody wants to mess around with going to an iCloud or Google Photos link and grabbing images or video. In the USA, few people want to use third party messaging apps. My family certainly doesn’t. My kid’s friends certainly don’t, and so everyone sticks to iMessage.

Because iMessage really is the best in this region given what is actually used by non-outliers. I use both Android and iOS, Windows and Mac. There’s no comparison. iMessage has more features than Google’s solution. Google’s “RCS” is better than SMS/MMS but isn’t equivalent to iMessage. And cross-device support for it is a joke. Samsung has their own little bridge if you buy entirely into their ecosystem–apps included (sorry, Google Messenger). But there isn’t the same identical experience that happens like with Apple: iMessage on iPhone is the same as on iPad is the same as on Mac. No web QR codes to scan, no weird per-device limitations, it really just works. Handoff works like magic. I know, cliche, but Google doesn’t have anything that competes with the feature set. iMessage is so much more than group chats and text messages and pictures like Android users tend to characterize.

Google has no room to call out Apple for its b.s. with iMessage, either; Google has its own proprietary messaging apps. They’ve tried several times to replicate iMessage and lock people in. Their latest is RCS, which is really a misnomer because Google took the actual RCS standard and made it proprietary. That’s why there aren’t third party apps outside of a tiny number of outliers with special business arrangements with Google (such as Samsung). That’s why Google’s entire campaign to “shame” Apple (really, remind iPhone users of the pain of interacting with Android users) doesn’t go anywhere. Google is just as proprietary as iMessage. Google requires all traffic route through Google’s proprietary Jibe middleware and cloud infrastructure.

At this point I doubt Google would actually share their proprietary RCS with Apple given that they don’t share it with anyone else except Samsung, and only then because Samsung was moving to fork Android (or abandon it entirely) after Google got into the hardware business. We know Google has a private API for their RCS implementation and that they actively choose not to share it, because they’ve accidentally leaked it before and XDA devs picked up on it. There are a million SMS/MMS apps available, not so much for “RCS.”

applejacks,
@applejacks@lemmy.world avatar

It is ironic that many Android fans complain that iPhone users are ignorant about what features Android phones have (“haha, we’ve had that feature for years!”) yet seem to have just as little of a clue what modern iPhones can do.

I recently got a 13 pro for work, and had to admit I was surprised at how good their software has become.

Langoddsen,

Used an iPhone 13 Pro Max for six months, ended up going back to Android in January this year. There were just many small things adding up that made me switch back. I think notifications were the biggest issue, and the fact that it’s so difficult to tweak things to my liking.

Loved the build quality, battery life, smooth OS and apps, and the lightning charger was not a problem for me. Still have my Apple Watch and Airpods Pro.

TheBenCommandments,
@TheBenCommandments@infosec.pub avatar

They’ve tried so hard and got so… nowhere with notifications. It’s truly a clusterfuck. I don’t blame ya on that one.

You’re using your Apple Watch without an iPhone? How?

Langoddsen,

I have an iPhone SE that I connect it to now and then so it’s updated. Works for now, so I’m happy.

SilenceInTheVoid,

Yup have a 13pro just now, it for me is an ergonomic slab of less than ideal comfort, like who thought that sides sharp enough to grate cheese was a good idea?

It was ok on the iPhone 4 as it was small and light, but the newer iPhones are just too damn heavy in my opinion.

I keep going back and forth between iOS and Android, for me the iPhone 11 was a design sweet spot.

Being stuck with an none sizeable keyboard is also a constant niggle in iOS.

Texas_Hangover,

Apple products are for the technologically feeble.

Earthwormjim91,

Personally, after being on Android since the first Motorola droid and switching to iPhone a few years ago with the 12, I wouldn’t move back to Android at all.

I had Motorola for a while, then the LG g series for a bit, then galaxies until the s8, and then a pixel 4xl.

Google pissed me off with their warranty and support. My pixel had the internal battery cable fuck off and they wouldn’t repair it even though they acknowledged it was design fault. Because I was one week out of warranty.

I hated Samsungs bloatware, Lg was gone, Motorola was pretty nonexistent, and I didn’t want a Chinese owned brands like one+, oppo, or Huawei.

So Apple was pretty much it. I got a regular iPhone 12, and everything I wanted to do was easier than Android. Apple had a built in app for it without me having to fuck around with side loading or installing third party apps.

Android is undoubted better for customization and if you love having extremely fine grained control over your phone. Plus the benefit of being able to side load completely different loads of Android. You have MUCH more control over your environment than an iPhone.

Personally, I don’t give a shit about that. I do that shit at work 60 hours a week. For my personal devices I just want the shit to work. I also want Google in my life as little as possible.

onlyDoesGayCrimes,

Had the same issue with the battery cable on my 4xl as well! I didn’t known it was a design fault. I swapped the battery out on my own but the screen eventually died. Worst pixel experience for me.

Earthwormjim91,

Yeah I opened a ticket a month before my warranty was up. My battery meter kept going to just a ? and not doing anything. After a while of fucking around with settings, and going back and forth between beta and release versions of android (which google said it was my own problem for being on their beta in the first place), I just got tired of it.

I was able to factory reset it and get it to stay on a battery percentage for long enough at the store to trade it in and I was do0ne. After I traded it, Google finally emailed me back saying it was a known battery issue but since I was out of warranty it would cost me a $250 charge to fix. A slap in the face.

dingus, (edited )

Just curious, why don’t you want Google in your life but you’d want Android in your life? Both are mega corporations that are taking our data.

I’m personally not a privacy focused individual, but your sentiment is just odd to me because it seems inconsistent.

Earthwormjim91,

I assume you mean Apple there instead of Android? I got rid of Android because I wanted less Google in my life.

Sure Apple collects some data, but comparing them to Google is like comparing a broom to an industrial vacuum. Apple doesn’t collect nearly the same amount of data and makes privacy features much more integrated with the phone. With the advanced data protection, virtually everything is end to end encrypted where they don’t even have the keys, including iCloud.

It’s not perfect at all, but of the two OSs, I’ll take iOS every day.

root,

I borrowed an old iphone 4 (or was it iphone 5? Can’t tell the difference) about 7 years ago when i had to send my Sony Xperia Z3 Compact in for repair). Couldn’t get it to work thw way i wanted it to. There was no way to properly configure the notifications. I think i could not have the vibration on for messages but not calls or something silly.

I also don’t like being forced to install itunes just to copy music from my computer to phone. No idea if that is still the case nowadays.

There are people who like that convenience and that’s ok.

evidences,

I own an iPad and wanted to copy a gig worth of shit onto it, I think I ended having to resort to Google drive but I still have no clue how to get files onto that damn thing. I’m not sure why apple needs to lock down file transfers on iOS so hard.

root,

Best guess is they wanted a very well defined and controlled file structure, where there’s a place for each type of file, and the only way to do that is to lock it down and have their tool do all the work. Good for some people, but heck, I bloody well want to store my MP3s together with my photos, even if it means I can’t find it later. :D

glockenspiel,

I agree that this is needlessly nuanced, but it is possible. If you have a Mac you can transfer files between Mac and an iPad wirelessly or with a cable. iPads can also connect to external storage devices or Windows PCs if they are sharing the files. But it isn’t like Android where you can basically just plug it into a Windows or Linux machine and have direct instant access to its entire directory.

43dc92z0,

I have arch and I can also copy files. I use Documents as file manager on ipad.

Franzia,

Im using a motorola that’s ~3 years old and not top of the line. It has a headphone jack, and a stylus.

My opinion on the iPhone is that it is the industry leading phone. But it’s taking the industry in directions I just have no interest in.

I used to love the Iphone back when app devs followed strict design standards. And offered a good product for a few bucks up-front. So now I use launchers with icon-replacements, and I try to pay for FOSS apps that I use.

So nowadays, I’m looking forward to more counter-culture designs. I’m definitely looking for a phone with a physicaly keyboard or a way to attach a small bluetooth keyboard physically to the phone. But I digress.

IGameShit,

It’s only “industry leading” in the US. Everywhere else it gets trampled on. It’s a status symbol and nothing more.

glockenspiel,

A bit pedantic, but it is also industry leading in revenue/profit. Even in Europe and parts of Asia. A first glance it is a pretty “duh” statement. But companies, like Samsung, see Apple’s price action and then move in unison toward it. Sure, you can get plenty of phones for relatively cheap these days. Often times with huge drawbacks or a lot of additional spying built in (or “features” like advertisements in notifications). Or you pay for it in other ways, such as not receiving more than a year’s worth of updates.

Knusper,

I think that iPhones are unacceptably locked down. But I also think that stock Android is unacceptably privacy-invasive (as in, illegally so, here in the EU).

So, I actually recommend iPhones to non-techies, while running an Android Custom ROM myself. Not particularly happy with that solution either, though. Might see, if I can help push along the Linux phone ecosystem…

TheBenCommandments,
@TheBenCommandments@infosec.pub avatar

I agree and wish we had more options aside from basically just Google or Apple.

recreate,

What’s your current phone and which custom rom are you using? I’m in the market for a new phone but I’m not sure which will have good custom rom support.

Knusper,

I’m using this thing with GApps-less LineageOS: www.shift.eco/en/shift6mq/

(GApps = Google Apps)

It is expensive. But if I remember correctly, they’re the only manufacturer I could find, who actually officially advertised basic Custom ROM compatibility.

So, they obviously can’t promise compatibility with all Custom ROMs and forever, but unlocking the bootloader is literally just a toggle in the Developer Settings and your warranty doesn’t expire, if you do dabble with Custom ROMs.
(They do also actually help out the Custom ROM community, and therefore the community does support that phone quite well.)

As for LineageOS, I’ve never looked around terribly much for other Custom ROMs. I find stock ROMs too limited in features and I especially appreciate being able to wipe all that pre-installed crap by just installing a fresh OS. LineageOS is perfectly alright for that and it’s widely supported.

Alternative phones that I’d also expect to work fine:

  • FairPhone 4. My mum still uses my old FairPhone 3 with LineageOS. Unlocking the bootloader was also just one ADB command, if I remember correctly.
  • Google Pixel phones. I wouldn’t buy one myself, because they make me feel icky, but from what I’ve heard, they generally work well with Custom ROMs. In particular, they have a special encryption chip, so for example GrapheneOS only really works on them.
  • Most flagship phones of non-stupid manufacturers. If it’s a popular phone from a manufacturer, who doesn’t lock down the bootloader to ridiculous levels, then there’s usually folks who’ve made Custom ROMs available for those phones and written guides for installation.

But yeah, this list is basically sorted from easy to not-so-easy, as the concrete steps can vary wildly.
I should also add that “easy” is on your second rodeo. The first rodeo is always a bit tricky, even for techies.

IGameShit,

I see iPhones as remarkable feats of technology shrouded by greedy business practices and a cultish fan base that alienates everyone that doesn’t conform to the Apple way. If Apple had an execute shakeup and started becoming pro-consumer instead of pro-shareholder then the Apple ecosystem could be an amazing tool that everyone can use, not just iPhone fanatics. I’d love to bring a Macbook around with me because of the portability and reliability, but the cost and lack of support for anything non-apple makes me consider other options, like Framework, Samsung or Lenovo, which I’m fine with. They all build fantastic machines, but they’re limited by the instability of the operating systems I can choose from.

dsmk,

iOS is too restrictive for me. Not being able to access the file system, no sideloading, no background apps, limited app access to the hardware, etc. Apple has the best mobile SoCs, but then you can’t even run an app like Syncthing to keep some folders in sync (it can’t even access those folders) or use some app to re-encode a video in the background.

I like the UI consistency between apps and OS (Android is a bit more “messy”) but overall it’s a bit like ChromeOS. Good for basic stuff and sometimes the best for specific tasks, but try to do anything more advanced and you’ll quickly find a wall.

On my phone I have apps like Syncthing running in the background. Sometimes I run an app that gives me detailed info about battery usage, track/map the signal of mobile networks, contribute to Mozilla Location Service, can see to which bands my phone is connected to (and if rooted, even control which are used). If an app needs to use bluetooth to send a file or NFC, it can. On the other hand, Android still struggles to do fast file transfer well (at least it never works as well as Airdrop for me)… there are trade-offs.

Again, it’s a bit like ChromeOS/Chromebook vs Linux/Windows/macOS. Perfect for my parents, but not enough for me.

The hardware is fine. Things like the display (Samsung), modem (Qualcomm), cameras (Sony) can be found on Android devices (or at least similar hardware). Their SoC is the best there is, but then is restricted by software… a bit like buying a Ferrari to drive it in a city. Imagine a “gaming phone” with the latest A16?

Regarding software updates, Google and Samsung (at least on the more expensive devices) now have 5 years of software updates. Not as good, but not a problem for those buying a new phone today. Some brands are still bad though.

cordlesslamp,

It has been so long so I couldn’t remember the details. But when I got an Iphone 4 back in the day (1st ever iPhone, after many Androids). It got me so frustrated doing anything on it.

One of my biggest frustration was: There’s no “bulk selection” AT ALL! Want to delete pictures? One by one. Delete phone history? One by one. Delete Contacts? ONE! BY! ONE!.

I thought to myself “How could ANYONE use this thing?”

Get rid of it after 4 months and never looked back.

LaughingFox,
@LaughingFox@lemmy.world avatar

I worked at AT&T when iphones first were a thing. Everything was proprietary (still is) with them, and employees weren’t allowed to own phones for the first few years on employee accounts for some unknown reason. When I became a case manager for the executive response team, I finally got to have an iPhone. And… It was boring. I couldn’t customize it (granted this was the iPhone 3G in 2008) and it just really didn’t excite me. Then I got an Android phone on a whim, and fell in love. All the options!! The things you can do or choose not to do! Amazing! And still to this day whenever I play with an iPhone… It bores me to death.

Defaced,

Had an iphone11 and it was fine. I switched to a pixel 6a for multiple reasons though, mainly Google Fi. The iPhone would use data when it didn’t need to and I couldn’t control the data limits easily because the cellular settings would switch whenever the phone would get an update. I was hesitant but I’m glad I switched. Face id is the only thing I really miss.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Face id is the only thing I really miss.

Is that what your username is referring to? 🙂

Defaced,

Ha, not exactly but that’s a good catch!

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