General iOS vs Android - Anyone use both recently?

[ScubaCinci]

No this isn't a fight/argument thread...
I've been on the fence about switching to Android just to change things up and the fact that in general, the devices are cheaper.
A little over a year ago, I drowned my iP6 and bought a burner Samsung Galaxy 5(?) because it was right before the iP7's were coming out. Not sure what Android OS it was maybe Lollipop)
I thought the OS was ok, but the thing that bugged me is that some of the apps that cross platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) did not look as polished and were clunkier to use (i.e. more navigation required or not as intuitive).
Not having a close friend/family member who uses Android, can anyone tell me if this is still the case or do those apps that are platform agnostic seem pretty equal? I'm guessing the Android OS has progressed and the app makers have improved things over time.

 

[sparksd]

I have an Air 2 on iOS 11.1 Beta 5 and also a Galaxy S7 Edge phone and Galaxy Tab S2 8" tablet, both running Nougat. I regularly use all three and all three work equally well for me. I particularly like the form factor of the S2. As to the apps, I don't use Facebook and don't have any particular issues with the Twitter app on Android.

 

[Aneres11]

I can only talk on behalf of my experience - but Facebook in particular is not good on Android.
I am an active Facebook user, and it does the job, but the iPhone version is so much better.

My biggest bug-bear with the Android version is when I get a notification, I'll click the bell to go into the notifications list and it will just show me a blank white screen. I have to exit the app and re-open and try again. It did this on both my KEYone and XZ Premium, so it isn't an individual device problem.

Also, the interaction bar is on the bottom for iPhone and if you click into 'most recent' with iPhone, the interaction bar remains at the bottom. On Android, you click 'most recent' and the interaction bar disappears. So if you get a notification(s) whilst in 'most recent' you won't see them unless you back out.

No idea why they haven't fixed this yet but it has forever infuriated me with Android's FB app.
Twitter seems just as user friendly across both to my eyes and use.

 

[ScubaCinci]

Thanks...I'm trying to ween off of FB so not a huge deal. I just wonder if it's pretty common overall for the Android versions to be less polished. I do recall the Sonos, Kindle and Hue apps were nearly a spot on match on both platforms. Honestly, there aren't a whole lot of apps that I use frequently...especially games. I think these are my top used apps (outside of the core camera, photos, app store. etc):
1. Waze (should be good on both platforms)
2. Hue
3. Good For Enterprise (mentioned in the OP)
4. Messaging - I understand I lose the iMessage which has its perks but no big loss for me
5. Sonos - no worries here
6. Safari - I have no issues switching to Chrome though
7. MyFitnessPal
8. Audible
9. Anylist - this does not exist on Android and this will be tough to replace because my wife (iPhone) use it in sync for groceries etc
10. Accounts2 - A financial app, checkbook register. Also not on Android but I'm sure I could find a replacement

I also use several fitness apps in conjunction with my Apple watch but there are alternatives if I get the gear S3 or something. Though I have like 15 bands for the watch (most are knock-offs) which sucks. Honestly though I only use my watch for a few things:
1. Time/date
2. Receiving/answering texts
3. Receiving/answering phone calls (rare, only if my phone is not nearby)
4. Step counting/fitness tracking for walking/running
5. Occasionally I'll use the timer or stopwatch for something like cooking

 

[widgeteer]

No this isn't a fight/argument thread...
I've been on the fence about switching to Android just to change things up and the fact that in general, the devices are cheaper.
A little over a year ago, I drowned my iP6 and bought a burner Samsung Galaxy 5(?) because it was right before the iP7's were coming out. Not sure what Android OS it was maybe Lollipop)
I thought the OS was ok, but the thing that bugged me is that some of the apps that cross platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) did not look as polished and were clunkier to use (i.e. more navigation required or not as intuitive).
Not having a close friend/family member who uses Android, can anyone tell me if this is still the case or do those apps that are platform agnostic seem pretty equal? I'm guessing the Android OS has progressed and the app makers have improved things over time.

I've used both OS's dailly for a few years. Android apps have gotten leaps better. I don't really notice much difference between the platforms for the popular apps.

 

[sparksd]

I've used both OS's dailly for a few years. Android apps have gotten leaps better. I don't really notice much difference between the platforms for the popular apps.

Yeah, I use both daily and am happy enough with Android that I bought the Tab S2 new 2 months ago and my next new phone will again be an Android device.

 

[ScubaCinci]

thx for the feedback guys!

 

[Tsepz]

No this isn't a fight/argument thread...
I've been on the fence about switching to Android just to change things up and the fact that in general, the devices are cheaper.
A little over a year ago, I drowned my iP6 and bought a burner Samsung Galaxy 5(?) because it was right before the iP7's were coming out. Not sure what Android OS it was maybe Lollipop)
I thought the OS was ok, but the thing that bugged me is that some of the apps that cross platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) did not look as polished and were clunkier to use (i.e. more navigation required or not as intuitive).
Not having a close friend/family member who uses Android, can anyone tell me if this is still the case or do those apps that are platform agnostic seem pretty equal? I'm guessing the Android OS has progressed and the app makers have improved things over time.

The app's have become a lot more equal overtime. I have actually had more crashes on my iPad than even my old Note4, using current apps.

Difference that was there in the S5 days has long been greatly reduced.

 

[convergent]

I used iPhone since the 3G days, and everyone in my family is on iPhones. I attempted to try Android a couple years ago with a Galaxy S5 and hated it. Just switched a few weeks ago to a Note 8 and absolutely love it. Was an Apple Watch user ever day for 2 years, and love the Gear S3 even more. So a current Galaxy with Gear S3 is a great experience that.

Looking at your list, here are some comments.

Gym experience with Gear S3 - I use the built in Samsung health and fitness apps with the Gear 3 and they are excellent. All the things you mentioned I do with the Gear S3. I go to the gym, leave my phone in the car. I use Spotify to listen to music and the fitness app to track my workout. I've received and answered both texts and phone calls with the Gear S3 (LTE version), and better than Apple Watch, I can use a keyboard on the watch to type a custom text response. I have Beats earbuds paired to the Gear S3 when doing this. The whole workout including break down of my running by 0.5K is in the Samsung app on my phone. For sleeping, you do nothing and the Gear S3 figures out you are sleeping and plots it. It will also automatically figure out you are doing a workout or running, but I usually initiate that instead.

For the Apps, I have not found any apps that I don't like on Android. Here are my most used:
Google Maps
Waze
Uber
Facebook
LinkedIn
Tapatalk
Groupme
Player FM
Spotify
MLB At Bat
U-Verse
YouTube
USA Today
Firefox
Dolphin
OneDrive
OneNote
MS Office
Ring
1Password (not crazy about this, testing LastPass... still not figured it out)

I also use most of the Samsung apps that come with it
Messages
Email
Calendar
Contacts
Clock
Gallery
Camera

etc..

I was using CarPlay and now Android Auto. Having Google Maps and Waze at my usage instead of Apple Maps... priceless.

 

[KingslayerG5]

Used iOS since 2008. Used iOS & Android together from 2011-2013. Then stuck exclusively with Android until 2017. Now I use both concurrently.

The apps being inferior on Android is kinda a myth to me. I actually have more paid apps from the Play Store. Then again, I don't use social media apps like FB, Instagram, and Snapchat.

SwiftKey is much superior on Android and it's the most important app I need next to Nova Launcher Prime. The iOS' lacks the robust settings like changing the keyboard size.

I have some apps that are better on iOS like Yahoo Sports, Flixster, and Ridge Racer Slipstream. I prefer SwiftKey and Dasher on Android. My notification for orders come late on Dasher with iOS.

The rest are generally even in quality across the board including my Chase and Google Photos. One of the reasons why I prefer Android are apps like Nova Prime, MX Player Pro, GPlayer, TubeMate (sideload app), Private Notepad, Flud, QuickPic.

I like to LISTEN to my movies and TV shows like they were a radio show or audio book since I do DoorDash and drive alot with no time to watch. Would take me over 5 years to watch everything I downloaded from a torrent app.

MX Player can play the audio in the background. I can be laughing all day listening to audio from Family Guy while I drive around. They are both great platforms but neither one is perfect. No ecosystem, OS, or phone truly is.

They wouldn't want to make a perfect device because less upgrading and switching. You lose one, you lose something that they can do better. Each OS or phone always has something they can do better than the other.

Android just has more versatility like playing different video codecs that iTunes won't recognize unless you convert them. I just use them both for the hell of it. I need both my Google Maps and Apple Maps.

Been carrying two phones since 2004, so I tend to be brand/OS agnostic. I was Captain2Phones before Michael Fisher. You don't really need to pick a side. Most Androids work fine with Mac. Like having Windows and Mac or Xbox One X and PS4 Pro at home.

 

[KGB7]

In my experience using both, Android apps are less polished and some are free But on iOS you have to pay for same apps or pay more than you would on Android.

 

[Zaft]

No this isn't a fight/argument thread...
I've been on the fence about switching to Android just to change things up and the fact that in general, the devices are cheaper.
A little over a year ago, I drowned my iP6 and bought a burner Samsung Galaxy 5(?) because it was right before the iP7's were coming out. Not sure what Android OS it was maybe Lollipop)
I thought the OS was ok, but the thing that bugged me is that some of the apps that cross platforms (i.e. Facebook, Twitter) did not look as polished and were clunkier to use (i.e. more navigation required or not as intuitive).
Not having a close friend/family member who uses Android, can anyone tell me if this is still the case or do those apps that are platform agnostic seem pretty equal? I'm guessing the Android OS has progressed and the app makers have improved things over time.

I have a 7 + and used an S8+ for a couple weeks.

In my experience all the apps I use are basically the same on Android. They did not seem less polished to me.
At this point Android and IOS are more similar than different.

 

[ScubaCinci]

Super great feedback everyone...it is extremely helpful for me...especially about the Gear S3. I really like having notifications come to my watch. I see the Gear Sport is coming out this week which looks interesting as well.

I want to head to Verizon and play with the different phones but I recently had surgery on my Achilles and can't really get out without help and my wife works pretty long hours...not to mention she wants me to stay on iPhone

 

[KGB7]

Super great feedback everyone...it is extremely helpful for me...especially about the Gear S3. I really like having notifications come to my watch. I see the Gear Sport is coming out this week which looks interesting as well.

I want to head to Verizon and play with the different phones but I recently had surgery on my Achilles and can't really get out without help and my wife works pretty long hours...not to mention she wants me to stay on iPhone

Your wife is a smart woman.

 

[SurferMan]

Yeah I don't see a difference, few years ago no doubt apps like FB was horrid on Android, to the point I didn't use the app and made an icon as a bookmark for the mobile site through chrome. But today, no issue.

 

[ScubaCinci]

Your wife is a smart woman.

She is! I'm the type that likes to change things up periodically - I lease cars because I like to get a new one every few years. I even switched from BMW which I drove for 10 years to Mercedes last year because I feel like the interior of the BMW's are pretty much the same YOY. I need some variety (though I'm sticking with the wife)

 

[KingslayerG5]

Using a microSD card on an SD adapter is way faster to transfer than syncing iPhone to iTunes or connecting to Android File Transfer. But MacBook Pros lost SD slot last year. One of the reasons why I left iOS was how frustrating iTunes was when I had an iPod. My computer would crash and lose EVERYTHING with no backups. Back in 2006, it was difficult to have songs on my iPod to put back to the computer..

I also use mostly the pro version of apps without the ads. I would spend over $100 just to get every pro version because I feel ads is like malware. I even got games I beat years ago and got the ad-free version. I didn't care losing $2-$5 for them. Every fav apps from PvZ, Cut the Rope, Merriam-Webster, ConvertPad, Flud, Voice Recorder, All-In-One Toolbox, etc.

Google Android will always be ridiculed as SPYWARE. Even services like Google Photos and such. I can't do anything about that. Everyone watches us now once we log online. So the best way is to now just pay for every app. Nomore piracy like finding the apk from a website and get it for free. Less ad-supported apps, the better.

Pi Music Player is a great music player. I got the pro version of that, MX Player, and GPlayer. Beware of free apps with ads. Dasher (makes me money), Google Maps, Nova Launcher Prime, SwiftKey, and Chase (check my balance) are my Top 5 most important apps.

QuickPic took a backseat once I got Google Photos but still use it as a gallery app to view photos. Then 0.5x animation under Developer Option, search Zedge for wallpapers, and use different icon packs. You need to dig deep into every settings of every app to understand its versatility.

 

[lowendlinux]

She is! I'm the type that likes to change things up periodically - I lease cars because I like to get a new one every few years. I even switched from BMW which I drove for 10 years to Mercedes last year because I feel like the interior of the BMW's are pretty much the same YOY. I need some variety (though I'm sticking with the wife)

BMW is the only German car interior I like. My wife is itching to replace hers and fortunately she's planning another BMW I don't think I could handle the table interior

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Same with most comments above, cross platform apps are pretty much the same, with the obvious slight UI differences.

I rotate between the Note 8 and iP7+, using the Note 8 the most. Don't feel any real difference in performance from the apps overall. But there are specific apps that perform better on either iOS or Android.

 

[ScubaCinci]

BMW is the only German car interior I like. My wife is itching to replace hers and fortunately she's planning another BMW I don't think I could handle the table interior

I like it but darn man, they need to change it up a bit! Get a new car and feel like I'm driving the same one as before.
BTW, I probably grew up somewhere near you (Lake George) based on your location description.

 

[KingslayerG5]

One app I forgot to mention that probably ranks in my Top 5 is Opera Mini. I've been using this browser since 2008 on my Nokia N82 with Symbian S60. I like that it saves data and also battery life.

Opera Mini on iOS is horrendous. I can't even turn off the news. It will always show me something graphic that I don't want to see. CM Browser and Chrome will kill battery faster than OM.

I'm forced to use Safari on iOS which works well anyway. But Opera works perfectly on my MBA. I prefer if the browser compresses the site to save data and battery life with less refresh.

Level of importance to me...

Third-party apps
1. Dasher (used to have Fleet for Postmates)
2. Nova Launcher Prime
3. SwiftKey (default kb since 2013)
4. Opera Mini (my fav browser)
5. Chase (love checking money in the bank)
6. Notification Toggle (volume/brightness)
7. QuickPic
8. MX Player Pro
9. Textra (no ads)
10. Private Notepad

11. ES File Explorer (old apk)
12. All-In-One Toolbox
13. Flud
14. TubeMate
15. CM Browser
16. Screen Off & Lock (link to Nova gesture)
17. GPlayer (for PiP feature)
18. Pi Music Player
19. ConvertPad+
20. Shazam

21. Moon+ Reader
22. Pocket
23. Voice Recorder
24. Merriam-Webster
25. Netflix
26. Flixster
27. Compass
28. Pandora
29. Open Camera (fixes front cam reversal)
30. AZ Screen Recorder

31. Equibase Yearbook
32. Tag Music

* Wave Up app on my HTC One M7 helps wake the screen since it lacks 2x tap to wake or no fingerprint scanner. Something to use to not wear out power button.

** Would use Zedge Wallpapers and then delete it once I get the wallpapers I like.

Default phone apps
1. Google Maps
2. YouTube
3. Gmail
4. QuickRemote (LG)
5. File Manager (LG)
6. Google Photos
7. Google Voice
8. Google Contacts
9. LG Backup
10. FM Radio (LG)

11. Android Pay

Google Hangouts, Chrome, Google Drive, and many Google bloat I just disable. Would disable the default Messages app too for whatever skin. I don't like wakelocks turning on while screen is asleep. Uninstalled Greenify since Doze.

My main apps are Dasher & Google Maps, then browse on Opera Mini and YouTube. It's why I needed an iPhone because GMaps messes me up on voice nav and Apple Maps "might" get it right. They are both prone to sending to the wrong directions or zigzag though. Apple Maps looks cleaner.

Favorites
1. Android (2011-Present)
2. iOS (2008-2013, 2017-Present)
3. Windows Phone (2011-2012, 2016)
4. webOS (2011, fav UI)
5. Symbian (2008-2010)
6. BBOS5 (2011)

Just my thoughts on using Android for six years.

 

[convergent]

One app I forgot to mention that probably ranks in my Top 5 is Opera Mini. I've been using this browser since 2008 on my Nokia N82 with Symbian S60. I like that it saves data and also battery life.

Opera Mini on iOS is horrendous. I can't even turn off the news. It will always show me something graphic that I don't want to see. CM Browser and Chrome will kill battery faster than OM.

I'm forced to use Safari on iOS which works well anyway. But Opera works perfectly on my MBA. I prefer if the browser compresses the site to save data and battery life with less refresh.

Level of importance to me...

Third-party apps
1. Dasher (used to have Fleet for Postmates)
2. Nova Launcher Prime
3. SwiftKey (default kb since 2013)
4. Opera Mini (my fav browser)
5. Chase (love checking money in the bank)
6. Notification Toggle (volume/brightness)
7. QuickPic
8. MX Player Pro
9. Textra (no ads)
10. Private Notepad

11. ES File Explorer (old apk)
12. All-In-One Toolbox
13. Flud
14. TubeMate
15. CM Browser
16. Screen Off & Lock (link to Nova gesture)
17. GPlayer (for PiP feature)
18. Pi Music Player
19. ConvertPad+
20. Shazam

21. Moon+ Reader
22. Pocket
23. Voice Recorder
24. Merriam-Webster
25. Netflix
26. Flixster
27. Compass
28. Pandora
29. Open Camera (fixes front cam reversal)
30. AZ Screen Recorder

31. Equibase Yearbook
32. Tag Music

* Wave Up app on my HTC One M7 helps wake the screen since it lacks 2x tap to wake or no fingerprint scanner. Something to use to not wear out power button.

** Would use Zedge Wallpapers and then delete it once I get the wallpapers I like.

Default phone apps
1. Google Maps
2. YouTube
3. Gmail
4. QuickRemote (LG)
5. File Manager (LG)
6. Google Photos
7. Google Voice
8. Google Contacts
9. LG Backup
10. FM Radio (LG)

11. Android Pay

Google Hangouts, Chrome, Google Drive, and many Google bloat I just disable. Would disable the default Messages app too for whatever skin. I don't like wakelocks turning on while screen is asleep. Uninstalled Greenify since Doze.

My main apps are Dasher & Google Maps, then browse on Opera Mini and YouTube. It's why I needed an iPhone because GMaps messes me up on voice nav and Apple Maps "might" get it right. They are both prone to sending to the wrong directions or zigzag though. Apple Maps looks cleaner.

Favorites
1. Android (2011-Present)
2. iOS (2008-2013, 2017-Present)
3. Windows Phone (2011-2012, 2016)
4. webOS (2011, fav UI)
5. Symbian (2008-2010)
6. BBOS5 (2011)

Just my thoughts on using Android for six years.

That's quite an analysis!

 

[mi7chy]

13. Flud

Time for a replacement for Flud which was also my former favorite.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teeonsoft.ztorrentpro

Android app ecosystem is like Windows desktop to MacOS. Simple economics of much greater marketshare means more profitable for developers so Android has more quality and quantity of apps.

 

[lowendlinux]

I like it but darn man, they need to change it up a bit! Get a new car and feel like I'm driving the same one as before.
BTW, I probably grew up somewhere near you (Lake George) based on your location description.

I work for the Army and have lived in Germany for the last 13ish years so they decided I needed to come back to the states so they sent me to Fort Drum again

 

[Septembersrain]

I use both an LG V30 and an iPhone 7 Plus.

You'll find that some apps do run better in iOS still.

I got an android simply because I can't get stable data and calls on my 7 Plus.

So honestly, it really depends on why you want to get an android.