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.

SirSnufflelump,

I had no small amount of issues with the one iPhone I ever owned, and have had no interest in trying a new one since switching to android. I’m further discouraged from even giving one a shot because of how difficult Apple made it to switch to android the first time, so if I didn’t like the phone I’d have to jump through hoops to switch back. That being said, I will never care what kind of phone someone else uses. If you’ve had great experiences with iPhones, I’m happy you found something you like.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Looks like many people here have had the same experience as me.

fritobugger2017,

I haven’t liked iPhones in over a decade. The locked down OS, iTunes, no MicroSD, etc just make them a non-starter for me. Android is far from perfect but I cannot stand to use an iPhone. My wife loves hers and so do some of my in-laws but I won’t be getting one.

Schooner,

Really expensive over here, so people only buy them for status basically. Having an iPhone signifies that you’re well off enough to not worry about price.

I had a friend who said exactly this. She was just buying it to show off basically. She didn’t even believe me when I said the back was glass for some reason lol. And when she got it, she had to get used to counter-intuitive behaviour like the power button cutting a WhatsApp call. She did this multiple times on a call with me, it was pretty funny!

Another friend kinda regrets buying it now because he feels locked in to the Apple ecosystem.

Personally, I don’t think I’ll ever switch because F-Droid is a huge part of my phone experience. When my Pixel runs out of support, I’ll probably just root it.

It’s a great phone. Solid hardware, good software. Just not for me.

Moonwalk,
@Moonwalk@lemm.ee avatar

I’m so used to Android that when I try to use a friend’s iPhone it just doesn’t seem intuitive to me. But to be fair the same happens with heavily modified versions of Android, like MIUI.

I think iPhones are mostly ok, but I can’t stand the fact that something so expensive feels so laggy because of the 60Hz refresh rates.

They have pretty damn good face recognition though, but at the price of a gigantic pill/notch on the screen.

kadu,
@kadu@lemmy.world avatar

If iPhones had USB-C and allowed sideloading without a billion limitations, I’d probably be using one right now.

vervein,
@vervein@sopuli.xyz avatar

Next phone could be an iphone then

nocturne213,

My first smart phone was a used iPhone 3, loved it at first but after a bit i switched to an Android. I have been an Android user since then… Until this February when i dumped my dying moto Z4 for an iPhone 14 Pro. I was so sick of being behind on os updates and security patches.

I did custom ROMs for years so i would have all of that stuff, but sometimes an update would break everything so i had to hope my backup worked, or that i remembered to make a back up at all. All of my uSD cards were full of backups and different ROM downloads, i decided when i got the Z4 i was staying stock, i never even rooted or unlocked the bootloader. I kept having to wipe the phone and reinstall everything or it would run like shit.

Cris_Color,

I would desperately miss customization, and I’m hoping to increasingly move to open source options, so iOS wouldn’t really be a good fit for my needs

vjprema,
@vjprema@fosstodon.org avatar

@MargotRobbie I used iPhones for 7 years when they first came out. Almost always kept it jailbroken where possible. Eventually switched to Android and I found I could do the things out of the box, that previously required jailbreak with iPhone. Around that time, Android UX had caught up to iPhone as well. Custom app stores (F-Droid), custom launchers and more.

Eventually got sick of Android too. Now I use #lineageos (only a subtle difference) and now I feel like I actually own my smartphone.

fuckwit_mcbumcrumble,

I actually use an iPhone as my main phone. I prefer it over android for normal daily tasks 9/10 times. It’s those 1/10 things/abnormal tasks that makes me also carry a secondary android phone. But that’s more just me being weird.

After shitting on apple for years I was eventually “forced” to use an iPhone for a short period of time and never looked back.

MargotRobbie,
@MargotRobbie@lemmy.world avatar

Anything particular you like about the iPhone over the Android?

fuckwit_mcbumcrumble,

UI/UX mostly. Especially in gesture land I much prefer how iOS handles it over androids gestures. Guaranteed updates for a long time are also nice, only really Google offers that.

The biggest thing though is iOS’ lack of customizability. I eventually just realized I don’t give a shit and I want my phone to work instead of fiddling with ROMs/root all the damn time.

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.

NumbersCanBeFun,
@NumbersCanBeFun@kbin.social avatar

I just told my wife she can have my iPhone. I’m buying a pixel and loading Unbuntu mobile on it. I don’t use my phone hardly at all so she will get a lot more benefit from having this device than I currently do.

Before anyone jumps to conclusions. I offered to buy a new one first and she declined.

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.

ImaginaryFox,

I would miss the ability to multitask by split screening apps or doing floating app with my S23U. I would miss my spen which I use to take quick notes, and then can slot back into the phone which even the iPad Pros can't do. I would miss having a non Safari browser like Firefox and its addons. I would miss the easy access to foss apps like NewPipe, and apps not allowed on the Apple store like tachiyomi, emulators, and torrent clients. I would miss that syncthing type apps don't properly work for syncing across different platforms. I would miss the launcher, since I'm not a fan of Apple launcher and app library aesthetics. I would miss the Android folder system's easy access to everything in there compared to the iPhone. I would miss one hand operation+ method of navigating over Apple gestures.

I would like the long term updates of the iPhone though. Using the iPad though made me never want to get an iPhone.

s7ryph,

So have been on both sides and prefer the iPhone. The logic being that I have no advanced needs that require the adaptability of android. If I wanted to root a phone for more control then iPhone would not be the way to go.

In the past the big turn off for android was carriers adding spyware (ie Facebook, etc) by default that required rooting to get rid of.

BURN,

This is a big part of it for me. I use my phone for web browsing and that’s about it. Any advanced needs are managed on my pc.

If I wanted to do more an android would probably be necessary, but I just don’t do enough with my phone.

BillDaCatt,
@BillDaCatt@kbin.social avatar

At first it was cost. Android phones and tablets were (and mostly still are) less expensive. Now that I have used both, I very much prefer Android devices.

For most people I'm sure the difference is negligible or maybe they even find Apple devices easier to use. For me iOS has always been a struggle between what I want to do and what the software requires before it will do it. Although Android devices are not as open as they once were, they are far more customizable than the iPhone.

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