Left the Apple Ecosystem, now having second thoughts.

[Shanghaichica]

Well at least in Finland many subscriptions come with unlimited SMS/MMS, so cost isn’t that much of an issue. People use WhatsApp as it’s just more convenient when you can have working group chats and send images in good quality without having to care if the other person is running iOS or Android (or Windows Phone back when it was still a thing).

I get unlimited free SMS messages but I have to pay to send pictures or videos which is why I prefer to use what’s app.
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If you have unlimited data you don’t need to worry about data charges etc.

What’s good about iMessage especially if you have kids is you know that the message was delivered and read. You can also set up where they’re located. It’s also nice to know when someone is responding to your text.

What’s app will tell you when the message has been delivered and read and you can also tell when someone is online and in the what’sapp application.

 

[macher]

I get unlimited free SMS messages but I have to pay to send pictures or videos which is why I prefer to use what’s app.
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What’s app will tell you when the message has been delivered and read and you can also tell when someone is online and in the what’sapp application.

Are you in the USA? Here in the USA I’m pretty sure AT&T, Verizon, TMobile and Sprint doesn’t charge to send or receive cause it’s included with data whether you have unlimited data or a tiered plan.

 

[PhoneMe1]

Everyone has unlimited texts here and everyone i know family/friends and business that has iPhones uses Apple message sent as blue or green, unless you are are teenager and then its only between themselves with other apps.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Are you in the USA? Here in the USA I’m pretty sure AT&T, Verizon, TMobile and Sprint doesn’t charge to send or receive cause it’s included with data whether you have unlimited data or a tiered plan.

UK. I get charged 40p for every video/pic I send via sma (if it’s not via iMessage) which is another reason why I prefer to just use WhatsApp as there isn’t any ambiguity about it. It’s simply free.

 

[macher]

UK. I get charged 40p for every video/pic I send via sma (if it’s not via iMessage) which is another reason why I prefer to just use WhatsApp as there isn’t any ambiguity about it. It’s simply free.

Well yea different story. In USA like I said we don’t have to worry about that.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Everyone has unlimited texts here and everyone i know family/friends and business that has iPhones uses Apple message sent as blue or green, unless you are are teenager and then its only between themselves with other apps.

Where are you?

The problem I have is it’s only free to send pics/videos if it’s blue. If it’s green then I get charged 40p for every pic/video I send.
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Well yea different story. In USA like I said we don’t have to worry about that.

If I were in the USA then I’d be iMessage all the way. All my stuff is Apple anyway. I’d use it more if my husband would get an iPhone. I’m still trying to get him to come back lol but he’s sticking with his Samsung phones.

 

[macher]

Where are you?

The problem I have is it’s only free to send pics/videos if it’s blue. If it’s green then I get charged 40p for every pic/video I send.

In the USA the carriers don’t charge per video or pic when you send a MMS. It goes against your data and most people have unlimited data.

 

[PhoneMe1]

Where are you?

Australia where green is free

 

[The_Interloper]

I'm one of the few people who has managed to completely remove themselves from the Apple ecosystem, only to come back. Due to the nature of my work, I get to use a lot of devices – PC, Mac, Android and iOS. I have to use all of them at various points for technical writing and testing. But when it comes to my day-to-day usage, I've finally settled for good with Apple.

And, no, I don't use iMessage as literally nobody else I know does either – we are all on WhatsApp and it works flawlessly across all my Apple devices (there are first and third party apps for both Mac and iPad).

I tried really hard to make a Windows PC and Android device work for me (and my needs are just that so it may be different and perfectly manageable for others). I've had the Pixel 2 XL and Samsung Galaxy S8 as my main devices along with a Surface Pro and desktop PC. All lovely hardware. Unfortunately, the lack of a mobile solution really hurts Microsoft. You can use things like PushBullet for some integration, but it's limited and requires paid subscriptions for full functionality.

For some things, there is nothing comparable. The Apple Watch is killer; you can have something as basic as an iPhone SE in your pocket and get all the benefits that being in the ecosystem brings. I tried using a Huawei Android Wear watch and a Fitbit Versa as replacements – none of them come up to scratch. Many Wear devices are too dressy for fitness and lacking in things like NFC for payments; the Fitbit is superb for fitness but cannot make and receive phone calls or respond to messages and has no virtual assistant functionality.

It's all the little things that add up with Apple that just work. Controlling your music, making mobile payments, scheduling an appointment, taking a call on your watch, iPad or Mac when your phone isn't nearby… The list goes on and on. The flipside is death by a thousand cuts in a disjointed ecosystem. For example, the Samsung Gear S3 is a lovely watch but doesn't run Android Wear, so no Google Pay. That's a problem for me in the UK as both Samsung and Fitbit payment solutions support virtually no major banks.

I wish Apple would get their act together on the Mac side of things as this is now the weakest link. There is far more powerful hardware out there but Apple's ecosystem is the only one that works holistically with no gaps in functionality. For me, the Watch is as important a piece of the puzzle as anything else – if you have no interest in it, you may be able to make a Windows/Android combination work just fine.

 

[americafirst]

Are you in the USA? Here in the USA I’m pretty sure AT&T, Verizon, TMobile and Sprint doesn’t charge to send or receive cause it’s included with data whether you have unlimited data or a tiered plan.

It would depend on which plan you're on. I still have an old grandfathered Verizon plan and have a separate unlimited texting package.

 

[sunking101]

I'm one of the few people who has managed to completely remove themselves from the Apple ecosystem, only to come back. Due to the nature of my work, I get to use a lot of devices – PC, Mac, Android and iOS. I have to use all of them at various points for technical writing and testing. But when it comes to my day-to-day usage, I've finally settled for good with Apple.

And, no, I don't use iMessage as literally nobody else I know does either – we are all on WhatsApp and it works flawlessly across all my Apple devices (there are first and third party apps for both Mac and iPad).

I tried really hard to make a Windows PC and Android device work for me (and my needs are just that so it may be different and perfectly manageable for others). I've had the Pixel 2 XL and Samsung Galaxy S8 as my main devices along with a Surface Pro and desktop PC. All lovely hardware. Unfortunately, the lack of a mobile solution really hurts Microsoft. You can use things like PushBullet for some integration, but it's limited and requires paid subscriptions for full functionality.

For some things, there is nothing comparable. The Apple Watch is killer; you can have something as basic as an iPhone SE in your pocket and get all the benefits that being in the ecosystem brings. I tried using a Huawei Android Wear watch and a Fitbit Versa as replacements – none of them come up to scratch. Many Wear devices are too dressy for fitness and lacking in things like NFC for payments; the Fitbit is superb for fitness but cannot make and receive phone calls or respond to messages and has no virtual assistant functionality.

It's all the little things that add up with Apple that just work. Controlling your music, making mobile payments, scheduling an appointment, taking a call on your watch, iPad or Mac when your phone isn't nearby… The list goes on and on. The flipside is death by a thousand cuts in a disjointed ecosystem. For example, the Samsung Gear S3 is a lovely watch but doesn't run Android Wear, so no Google Pay. That's a problem for me in the UK as both Samsung and Fitbit payment solutions support virtually no major banks.

I wish Apple would get their act together on the Mac side of things as this is now the weakest link. There is far more powerful hardware out there but Apple's ecosystem is the only one that works holistically with no gaps in functionality. For me, the Watch is as important a piece of the puzzle as anything else – if you have no interest in it, you may be able to make a Windows/Android combination work just fine.

The Huawei Watch 2 does all of those things.
As an aside, I think that people should be very wary of a cashless society and ditch paying for things with their phone/watch. It's completely unnecessary.

 

[americafirst]

As an aside, I think that people should be very wary of a cashless society and ditch paying for things with their phone/watch. It's completely unnecessary.

You mean people still carry and use cash?

 

[nviz22]

I have an Apple Watch Series 3 that I wear daily and it works great. But it won't keep me with apple in the future if I decide to go to another brand.

What would you switch to if you decided to go for an Android device? Samsung watches suck. Google is rebranding Android Wear.

 

[Roadstar]

The Huawei Watch 2 does all of those things.

Depends on where you live. In Finland we don’t have Android Pay or Samsung Pay, but we do have Apple Pay on one major bank, so the Apple Watch is the only watch you can pay with. The same bank offers credit cards to various brands and that’s how I have a free Apple Pay compatible credit card even though my main bank account is in a different bank that doesn’t have Apple Pay.

 

[macher]

It would depend on which plan you're on. I still have an old grandfathered Verizon plan and have a separate unlimited texting package.

Yea but I bet the old texting package doesn’t charge for MMS.

 

[macher]

I'm one of the few people who has managed to completely remove themselves from the Apple ecosystem, only to come back. Due to the nature of my work, I get to use a lot of devices – PC, Mac, Android and iOS. I have to use all of them at various points for technical writing and testing. But when it comes to my day-to-day usage, I've finally settled for good with Apple.

And, no, I don't use iMessage as literally nobody else I know does either – we are all on WhatsApp and it works flawlessly across all my Apple devices (there are first and third party apps for both Mac and iPad).

I tried really hard to make a Windows PC and Android device work for me (and my needs are just that so it may be different and perfectly manageable for others). I've had the Pixel 2 XL and Samsung Galaxy S8 as my main devices along with a Surface Pro and desktop PC. All lovely hardware. Unfortunately, the lack of a mobile solution really hurts Microsoft. You can use things like PushBullet for some integration, but it's limited and requires paid subscriptions for full functionality.

For some things, there is nothing comparable. The Apple Watch is killer; you can have something as basic as an iPhone SE in your pocket and get all the benefits that being in the ecosystem brings. I tried using a Huawei Android Wear watch and a Fitbit Versa as replacements – none of them come up to scratch. Many Wear devices are too dressy for fitness and lacking in things like NFC for payments; the Fitbit is superb for fitness but cannot make and receive phone calls or respond to messages and has no virtual assistant functionality.

It's all the little things that add up with Apple that just work. Controlling your music, making mobile payments, scheduling an appointment, taking a call on your watch, iPad or Mac when your phone isn't nearby… The list goes on and on. The flipside is death by a thousand cuts in a disjointed ecosystem. For example, the Samsung Gear S3 is a lovely watch but doesn't run Android Wear, so no Google Pay. That's a problem for me in the UK as both Samsung and Fitbit payment solutions support virtually no major banks.

I wish Apple would get their act together on the Mac side of things as this is now the weakest link. There is far more powerful hardware out there but Apple's ecosystem is the only one that works holistically with no gaps in functionality. For me, the Watch is as important a piece of the puzzle as anything else – if you have no interest in it, you may be able to make a Windows/Android combination work just fine.

You use WhatsApp because you’re in the UK and get charged per MMS?

 

[americafirst]

What would you switch to if you decided to go for an Android device? Samsung watches suck. Google is rebranding Android Wear.

I had a Garmin Forerunner in the past so I would probably get the new Garmin Forerunner 935 or a Samsung watch. But probably the Garmin because I liked the Forerunner I had in the past.

Yea but I bet the old texting package doesn’t charge for MMS.

I must have misunderstood what you meant then. You are correct my package has unlimited SMS and MMS.

 

[sunking101]

You mean people still carry and use cash?

Yes. I make a point of it and so should you. Control your money and they control you.

 

[The_Interloper]

The Huawei Watch 2 does all of those things.

Yes, and it's completely mediocre at all of them. Plastic casing, a screen that's too small and an ancient SOC that chugs and stutters with every swipe. The NFC chip is notoriously temperamental and doesn't work half the time, either.

I've had two Sony watches, a Gear S3 and the Huawei W1 so forgive me if I don't want to blow more money on a third Android Wear watch only for the same old story - NFC chips that Google refuse to allow to work with Pay (Sony SW2) and devices that generally get abandoned and left on old software. Even Samsung is allegedly ditching Tizen for their next watch, leaving that out in the cold. No thanks, I've had enough.

Again, the FitBit Versa is quite nice but it's too feature-crippled to genuinely qualify as a smartwatch.

As an aside, I think that people should be very wary of a cashless society and ditch paying for things with their phone/watch. It's completely unnecessary.

No it's not. If I'm going for a run/bike ride etc I don't want cash jangling around in my pockets. Also, it doesn't have to replace cash, it can merely complement it. Should we ditch email and instant messages because carrier pigeons and the postal service still work? Some progress is good.

I don't know where you are based, but in the UK we have had 'chip and pin' and contactless payments for over a decade so being 'cashless' is a way of life. Using your watch/phone is no different to a contactless card. It's all just numbers in a system anyway and 'cash' is merely paper and metal.

Control your money and they control you.

It's impossible to control all of it. Part of living in a functioning, modern society requires electronic payments. You can't buy something from Amazon with cash, for example. Try going to buy a new car with a bag full of paper money - the dealership will call the police. You don't have to go all-in with any one thing, but the convenience of progressive technology is not something to always fear.

You use WhatsApp because you’re in the UK and get charged per MMS?

Partially. I have unlimited SMS but MMS is, as someone else mentioned, roughly 40p per message and heavily compressed (video is useless). It's an unnecessary cost. But I also use WhatsApp as everyone I know is on it and it can be used on any device - phone, tablet, Mac, PC, Android, iOS, even Web. It's iMessage functionality without the platform lock-in. In my family, I'm the only one with an iPhone so iMessage is a non-starter.

 

[macher]

Yes, and it's completely mediocre at all of them. Plastic casing, a screen that's too small and an ancient SOC that chugs and stutters with every swipe. The NFC chip is notoriously temperamental and doesn't work half the time, either.

I've had two Sony watches, a Gear S3 and the Huawei W1 so forgive me if I don't want to blow more money on a third Android Wear watch only for the same old story - NFC chips that Google refuse to allow to work with Pay (Sony SW2) and devices that generally get abandoned and left on old software. Even Samsung is allegedly ditching Tizen for their next watch, leaving that out in the cold. No thanks, I've had enough.

Again, the FitBit Versa is quite nice but it's too feature-crippled to genuinely qualify as a smartwatch.


No it's not. If I'm going for a run/bike ride etc I don't want cash jangling around in my pockets. Also, it doesn't have to replace cash, it can merely complement it. Should we ditch email and instant messages because carrier pigeons and the postal service still work? Some progress is good.

I don't know where you are based, but in the UK we have had 'chip and pin' and contactless payments for over a decade so being 'cashless' is a way of life. Using your watch/phone is no different to a contactless card. It's all just numbers in a system anyway and 'cash' is merely paper and metal.


It's impossible to control all of it. Part of living in a functioning, modern society requires electronic payments. You can't buy something from Amazon with cash, for example. Try going to buy a new car with a bag full of paper money - the dealership will call the police. You don't have to go all-in with any one thing, but the convenience of progressive technology is not something to always fear.


Partially. I have unlimited SMS but MMS is, as someone else mentioned, roughly 40p per message and heavily compressed (video is useless). It's an unnecessary cost. But I also use WhatsApp as everyone I know is on it and it can be used on any device - phone, tablet, Mac, PC, Android, iOS, even Web. It's iMessage functionality without the platform lock-in. In my family, I'm the only one with an iPhone so iMessage is a non-starter.

I’m assuming like us in the USA if you weren’t charged for MMS you would use iMessage is my point. Not that WhatsApp is better than iMessage.

 

[sunking101]

Yes, and it's completely mediocre at all of them. Plastic casing, a screen that's too small and an ancient SOC that chugs and stutters with every swipe. The NFC chip is notoriously temperamental and doesn't work half the time, either.

I've had two Sony watches, a Gear S3 and the Huawei W1 so forgive me if I don't want to blow more money on a third Android Wear watch only for the same old story - NFC chips that Google refuse to allow to work with Pay (Sony SW2) and devices that generally get abandoned and left on old software. Even Samsung is allegedly ditching Tizen for their next watch, leaving that out in the cold. No thanks, I've had enough.

Again, the FitBit Versa is quite nice but it's too feature-crippled to genuinely qualify as a smartwatch.


No it's not. If I'm going for a run/bike ride etc I don't want cash jangling around in my pockets. Also, it doesn't have to replace cash, it can merely complement it. Should we ditch email and instant messages because carrier pigeons and the postal service still work? Some progress is good.

I don't know where you are based, but in the UK we have had 'chip and pin' and contactless payments for over a decade so being 'cashless' is a way of life. Using your watch/phone is no different to a contactless card. It's all just numbers in a system anyway and 'cash' is merely paper and metal.


It's impossible to control all of it. Part of living in a functioning, modern society requires electronic payments. You can't buy something from Amazon with cash, for example. Try going to buy a new car with a bag full of paper money - the dealership will call the police. You don't have to go all-in with any one thing, but the convenience of progressive technology is not something to always fear.


Partially. I have unlimited SMS but MMS is, as someone else mentioned, roughly 40p per message and heavily compressed (video is useless). It's an unnecessary cost. But I also use WhatsApp as everyone I know is on it and it can be used on any device - phone, tablet, Mac, PC, Android, iOS, even Web. It's iMessage functionality without the platform lock-in. In my family, I'm the only one with an iPhone so iMessage is a non-starter.

Yeah I buy online and use a card but I always carry cash and use it for most purchases. There is room and heck even a necessity for electronic payments but a truly cashless society is not to our benefit at all. The younger generations see cash as uncool and paying for things with their phone as being somehow cool. I'm doing my bit to keep cash alive as long as possible....

 

[The_Interloper]

I’m assuming like us in the USA if you weren’t charged for MMS you would use iMessage is my point. Not that WhatsApp is better than iMessage.

The cost is there, sure. But, again, nobody I know uses iMessage so it's a no-go. It's much more prevalent in the US than in the UK and Europe.

Yeah I buy online and use a card but I always carry cash and use it for most purchases. There is room and heck even a necessity for electronic payments but a truly cashless society is not to our benefit at all. The younger generations see cash as uncool and paying for things with their phone as being somehow cool. I'm doing my bit to keep cash alive as long as possible....

Oh, I agree. I'm middle-aged but have found myself using cash less and less. Even parking meters are cashless here now. But I still always try to leave cash tips in restaurants, cafes etc. I do think a generation will never use it, though. That's definitely happening. It's a worry for a society where cards/bank accounts/welfare payments etc can be locked or frozen at the touch of a distant keystroke somewhere...and that's just the official channels, never mind hackers.

 

[spinedoc77]

In which ways does privacy apply?

Eh? I don't get the question.
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The amount of iPhone users who opt for Apple over privacy concerns and then use the Google search engine..

I switched over the startpage.com as my search engine a long time ago. I also use tools like Adguard to protect myself when on a PC, it gets me pretty close to the same protection as Safari in regard to cookies, tracking, etc.

 

[americafirst]

Yes. I make a point of it and so should you. Control your money and they control you.

What do you mean by "Control your money and they control you." I carry cash, but I don't use it because it is easier and quicker to use one of my cards. Plus I get airline miles with my American Express which is a benefit.

No it's not. If I'm going for a run/bike ride etc I don't want cash jangling around in my pockets. Also, it doesn't have to replace cash, it can merely complement it. Should we ditch email and instant messages because carrier pigeons and the postal service still work? Some progress is good.

I don't know where you are based, but in the UK we have had 'chip and pin' and contactless payments for over a decade so being 'cashless' is a way of life. Using your watch/phone is no different to a contactless card. It's all just numbers in a system anyway and 'cash' is merely paper and metal.

I carry cash, but I cannot remember the last time I used it. Cash doesn't give me airline miles like my American Express does!

It's impossible to control all of it. Part of living in a functioning, modern society requires electronic payments. You can't buy something from Amazon with cash, for example. Try going to buy a new car with a bag full of paper money - the dealership will call the police. You don't have to go all-in with any one thing, but the convenience of progressive technology is not something to always fear.

I agree that electronic payments are easier. But they are also safer because I don't have to carry a lot of cash around.

Yeah I buy online and use a card but I always carry cash and use it for most purchases. There is room and heck even a necessity for electronic payments but a truly cashless society is not to our benefit at all. The younger generations see cash as uncool and paying for things with their phone as being somehow cool. I'm doing my bit to keep cash alive as long as possible....

I carry cash but it is only for emergencies because I don't carry a large amount of cash. Not only is it unsafe to carry a large amount of cash but cash doesn't give me rewards like my credit cards do.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Yeah I buy online and use a card but I always carry cash and use it for most purchases. There is room and heck even a necessity for electronic payments but a truly cashless society is not to our benefit at all. The younger generations see cash as uncool and paying for things with their phone as being somehow cool. I'm doing my bit to keep cash alive as long as possible....

I wouldn’t consider myself young, (34) but I prefer to be cashless as much as possible. Don’t have to carry it around and don’t have to go through the hassle of going to a cash point to take money out. I use my card, Apple Pay, buying online wherever possible because its just more convenient. I find cash to be cumbersome in a lot of cases.