Should I switch, and do it now?

[heycal]

Hi guys,

Forgive the newbie questions, but I'm a recent convert to Mac (Mac air 13") and am now thinking of switching from android when my verizon contract is up in two weeks. Looking at the iphone 5s. Couple of questions though:

1) Can you change the strength of the vibration option? Sometimes I'd like it to be weak, other times strong. My current phone -- LG Lucid -- has one strength only, and I consider that an annoying drawback. (Particularly since my phones 10 years could.)

2) Any other cool vibration options? A favorite I had on an old Startac was a vibrate 4 times, then ring two times.

3) Is it stupid to buy an iphone 5 now, when there are rumors of a larger 4.7 model coming in the fall? (I would prefer a phone with a slightly wider width than the current iphones.)

Anything else I should know or think about?

 

[53kyle]

Hi guys,

Forgive the newbie questions, but I'm a recent convert to Mac (Mac air 13") and am now thinking of switching from android when my verizon contract is up in two weeks. Looking at the iphone 5s. Couple of questions though:

1) Can you change the strength of the vibration option? Sometimes I'd like it to be weak, other times strong. My current phone -- LG Lucid -- has one strength only, and I consider that an annoying drawback. (Particularly since my phones 10 years could.)
Yes.

2) Any other cool vibration options? A favorite I had on an old Startac was a vibrate 4 times, then ring two times.
I don't know about combining ring tones and vibrations, but I know that you can make custom vibration lengths and patterns easily.

3) Is it stupid to buy an iphone 5 now, when there are rumors of a larger 4.7 model coming in the fall? (I would prefer a phone with a slightly wider width than the current iPhones.)
Unless you really need a phone before fall, I would personally recommend waiting if you want a bigger screen.

Anything else I should know or think about?

My comments are in red ^^^

 

[heycal]

My comments are in red ^^^

Thanks, Kyle. So to confirm, you can definitely change the vibration strength from, say, a weak setting when it's resting on a table in a quiet office, to a strong setting that will get your attention in your pocket if you're at loud party, for example?

Presumably, if this can be done in iphone 5, the 6 will have it too. Do we believe the 6 will indeed arrive by September? (And definitely be a little wider? The 5 wasn't any wider than the 4…)

 

[acfusion29]

Thanks, Kyle. So to confirm, you can definitely change the vibration strength from, say, a weak setting when it's resting on a table in a quiet office, to a strong setting that will get your attention in your pocket if you're at loud party, for example?

Presumably, if this can be done in iphone 5, the 6 will have it too. Do we believe the 6 will indeed arrive by September? (And definitely be a little wider? The 5 wasn't any wider than the 4…)

the 5 wasn't wider than the 4 because they changed the aspect ratio away from the very outdated 4:3

the 6 will be wider and longer.

 

[53kyle]

Thanks, Kyle. So to confirm, you can definitely change the vibration strength from, say, a weak setting when it's resting on a table in a quiet office, to a strong setting that will get your attention in your pocket if you're at loud party, for example?

Actually, sorry. I thought that I could change the vibration intensity, but I just tried it and it didn't change, so no, the vibration intensity can't be changed

 

[heycal]

the 5 wasn't wider than the 4 because they changed the aspect ratio away from the very outdated 4:3

the 6 will be wider and longer.

Yes, sounds like it.

Actually, sorry. I thought that I could change the vibration intensity, but I just tried it and it didn't change, so no, the vibration intensity can't be changed

Wow. Interesting. Thanks for the clarification. This is a feature I desire and miss from older phones I've had.

 

[heycal]

A couple of other questions about iphone:

1) It is possible to go quickly and easily back and forth between ring, vibrate, and completely silent? My current phone can do all in a split second with just with the volume keys, but I'm sensing its not so easy with the iphone.

Must one really go into settings to do some or any of this? If so, that seems a pain.

2) I realize it's posible to increase the text size in messaging and some apps which my aging eyes I appreciate. But what about the text size on everything else? The settings, menus, notifications, etc? It would be nice to increase the size a litttle bit on some of those as well so they would be easier to to read too. The ZOOM feature from what I can tell is not a solution here -- it zooms things really big and seems unwieldly and pretty much useless for all but the most specific of occasions.

 

[BeefJerky]

A couple of other questions about iphone:

1) It is possible to go quickly and easily back and forth between ring, vibrate, and completely silent? My current phone can do all in a split second with just with the volume keys, but I'm sensing its not so easy with the iphone.

Must one really go into settings to do some or any of this? If so, that seems a pain.

2) I realize it's posible to increase the text size in messaging and some apps which my aging eyes I appreciate. But what about the text size on everything else? The settings, menus, notifications, etc? It would be nice to increase the size a litttle bit on some of those as well so they would be easier to to read too. The ZOOM feature from what I can tell is not a solution here -- it zooms things really big and seems unwieldly and pretty much useless for all but the most specific of occasions.

Hi there heycal!

I would just like to start of saying that I believe going to an iPhone is an excellent choice, and you won't regret it.

1) To answer your first question: There is a silent switch on the left hand side of the device which has been present on all iPhone models and we are expecting the new iPhone 6 to have this same silent switch. This switch makes everything vibrate, so that if you're in a cinema, it won't ring aloud. There is also a 'Do Not Disturb' feature which blocks all notifications and you can set these settings from within your settings app. Once you have set it up, you can easily turn it on and by sliding up from the bottom of the device, to open control centre, which I'm sure you've heard about.

2) I have just tested out the 'Larger Text' function on my iPhone and found that stock Apple apps only enlarge if it's an app where you can input text. Such as the messaging, notes and reminders app. Other apps such as the app store do not have this functionality. All websites you can enlarge with the pinch and zoom function, which you can make insanely large and won't have any trouble seeing.

I hope this has helped you! Let me know if you need anything else, I'd be happy to help!

PS: I am new to this forum (even though I've read the articles for months), but I am quite unsure as to why this is in the iOS - iOS 5 & earlier section.

BeefJerky

 

[heycal]

Hi there heycal!

I would just like to start of saying that I believe going to an iPhone is an excellent choice, and you won't regret it.

1) To answer your first question: There is a silent switch on the left hand side of the device which has been present on all iPhone models and we are expecting the new iPhone 6 to have this same silent switch. This switch makes everything vibrate, so that if you're in a cinema, it won't ring aloud. There is also a 'Do Not Disturb' feature which blocks all notifications and you can set these settings from within your settings app. Once you have set it up, you can easily turn it on and by sliding up from the bottom of the device, to open control centre, which I'm sure you've heard about.

2) I have just tested out the 'Larger Text' function on my iPhone and found that stock Apple apps only enlarge if it's an app where you can input text. Such as the messaging, notes and reminders app. Other apps such as the app store do not have this functionality. All websites you can enlarge with the pinch and zoom function, which you can make insanely large and won't have any trouble seeing.

I hope this has helped you! Let me know if you need anything else, I'd be happy to help!

PS: I am new to this forum (even though I've read the articles for months), but I am quite unsure as to why this is in the iOS - iOS 5 & earlier section.

BeefJerky

Hi. Thanks for your response. It sounds like the iphone has some limitations in the areas I'm talking about:

1) You can't toggle easily between silent/ring/vibrate, but must go into setttings at some point. That seems a major flaw.

2) You can not increase the text size of any of the words in the settings/menus, but only in some apps. Another drawback.

If I'm wrong about this, I hope someone will tell me. Otherwise I may to think about whether any advantages an iphone might bring are worth trade offs like these.

 

[BeefJerky]

Hi. Thanks for your response. It sounds like the iphone has some limitations in the areas I'm talking about:

1) You can't toggle easily between silent/ring/vibrate, but must go into setttings at some point. That seems a major flaw.

2) You can not increase the text size of any of the words in the settings/menus, but only in some apps. Another drawback.

If I'm wrong about this, I hope someone will tell me. Otherwise I may to think about whether any advantages an iphone might bring are worth trade offs like these.

1) You can easily toggle between silent, and ring through the switch on the left of the device.

2) Both my parents are older and have trouble using their iPhones without their glasses. They only have the regular ones from a pharmacy/chemist/drug store. I haven't actually seen any phones with a feature that enlarges everything, have you seen one on the market?

 

[C DM]

1) You can easily toggle between silent, and ring through the switch on the left of the device.

2) Both my parents are older and have trouble using their iPhones without their glasses. They only have the regular ones from a pharmacy/chemist/drug store. I haven't actually seen any phones with a feature that enlarges everything, have you seen one on the market?

You can't do silent or vibrate with that switch, just one or the other based on the settings you setup in Sound settings

As for enlarging, the iPhone has zoom functionality that can be used for that in accessibility settings. Also making text bold makes it somewhat larger and more noticeable in a sense (aside from text size that can also be changed that applies to a lot of areas, but not all).

 

[heycal]

2) I haven't actually seen any phones with a feature that enlarges everything, have you seen one on the market?

Yes. There are several androids that do this, including the one I presently own. (An older LG Lucid). You just increase font size and almost all text you'll see anywhere in the menus and elsewhere is larger. Very appealing for those with aging eyes.

You can't do silent or vibrate with that switch, just one or the other based on the settings you setup in Sound settings

As for enlarging, the iPhone has zoom functionality that can be used for that in accessibility settings. Also making text bold makes it somewhat larger and more noticeable in a sense (aside from text size that can also be changed that applies to a lot of areas, but not all).

Right. No toggling easily between all three (silent, vibrate, ring). Must go into settings at some point.

As for size of text, bold helps a little, but zoom is pretty useless for the most part; you can't just make things a little bigger -- only huge -- or keep them that way permanently, etc. Not a practical solution.

Such a shame because the iphone has much else going for it, and the text does enlarge quite nicely in the messaging app.

 

[BeefJerky]

Right. No toggling easily between all three (silent, vibrate, ring). Must go into settings at some point.

Well, the switch makes it silent and silent includes it vibrating. What more do you need though, honestly? Surely going into the settings to change a few things won't be too hard to manage.

I don't mean to be short, but the iPhone does have the vibrate and silent functionality, but not everything can be built into the hardware or front page of the home screen. This is just not possible.

My older parents manage with the iPhones really well, and rarely need my help for anything. Whenever they are in the theatre they just slide the switch on their iPhone to make it silent and to vibrate only.

 

[heycal]

Well, the switch makes it silent and silent includes it vibrating. What more do you need though, honestly? Surely going into the settings to change a few things won't be too hard to manage.

Well, I don't know what more I "need", but I'd certainly like many other phones have, which is the ability to easily toggle between silent/vibrate/ring. It's something I can do on my 2 year old LG right now, and something I can do with one hand while my phone is in my pocket in a darkend movie theater if I need to.

You may be fine with such limitations in a smartphone, but I'd prefer to have this ability since I'm already used to it and it does come in handy on many occasions.

 

[BeefJerky]

Well, I don't know what more I "need", but I'd certainly like many other phones have, which is the ability to easily toggle between silent/vibrate/ring. It's something I can do on my 2 year old LG right now, and something I can do with one hand while my phone is in my pocket in a darkend movie theater if I need to.

You may be fine with such limitations in a smartphone, but I'd prefer to have this ability since I'm already used to it and it does come in handy on many occasions.

I don't find my iPhone to be limiting. It silents and rings when I want it to. If I didn't want any ring, vibrate or silent I'd turn it into Airplane mode.

I'm beginning to think the iPhone isn't for you and that you should look for another smartphone on the market or keep your current LG phone. Perhaps, if you were still interested in a smartphone you could go to an Apple store or reseller?

 

[C DM]

Well, I don't know what more I "need", but I'd certainly like many other phones have, which is the ability to easily toggle between silent/vibrate/ring. It's something I can do on my 2 year old LG right now, and something I can do with one hand while my phone is in my pocket in a darkend movie theater if I need to.

You may be fine with such limitations in a smartphone, but I'd prefer to have this ability since I'm already used to it and it does come in handy on many occasions.

You can do it with one hand without looking on the iPhone too. You just either do vibrate or silent. Most of the time people prefer vibrate and never go for silent as it's still quiet but they can still feel the vibration when needed, and the few times they might need for it all to be silent they can do it in settings for those few times once in a while. In fact Do Not Disturb that is quickly accessible from Control Center will basically do what silent does when needed.

 

[heycal]

I don't find my iPhone to be limiting. It silents and rings when I want it to. If I didn't want any ring, vibrate or silent I'd turn it into Airplane mode.

I'm beginning to think the iPhone isn't for you and that you should look for another smartphone on the market or keep your current LG phone. Perhaps, if you were still interested in a smartphone you could go to an Apple store or reseller?

You can do it with one hand without looking on the iPhone too. You just either do vibrate or silent. Most of the time people prefer vibrate and never go for silent as it's still quiet but they can still feel the vibration when needed, and the few times they might need for it all to be silent they can do it in settings for those few times once in a while. In fact Do Not Disturb that is quickly accessible from Control Center will basically do what silent does when needed.

Maybe the iphone is indeed not for me. You guys are trying to tell me that a feature that I currently have on my phone, and can find on many other phones, is not an important feature even though I'm telling you I use this feature often and like it, and that I should instead be happy with the workarounds you guys use.

It's very simple to me, and I'm not sure why we are even debating it further. I would like to be able to toggle quickly and easily with one hand and without looking at my phone between silent/vibrate/ or ring. What I would hope to hear in response to this question would be a simple "No, sorry. iphone can't do this unfortunately". Instead I'm getting variations of "why do you need to do that?" and "but it's so easy just to open up the phone and go into settings and press some other button, so don't worry about it!", etc.

I do appreciate you guys trying to help, but it's a rather strange mentality I'm witnessing here, and on other occasions with other people in discussions of the iphone, this weird refusal to admit a flaw in the design of the phone and instead trying to minimize or even deny it's a weakness, and almost making ME out to be the problem for even wanting a particular feature.

Maybe Apple really is a cult

 

[MF878]

Maybe the iphone is indeed not for me. You guys are trying to tell me that a feature that I currently have on my phone, and can find on many other phones, is not an important feature even though I'm telling you I use this feature often and like it, and that I should instead be happy with the workarounds you guys use.

It's very simple to me, and I'm not sure why we are even debating it further. I would like to be able to toggle quickly and easily with one hand and without looking at my phone between silent/vibrate/ or ring. What I would hope to hear in response to this question would be a simple "No, sorry. iphone can't do this unfortunately". Instead I'm getting variations of "why do you need to do that?" and "but it's so easy just to open up the phone and go into settings and press some other button, so don't worry about it!", etc.

I do appreciate you guys trying to help, but it's a rather strange mentality I'm witnessing here, and on other occasions with other people in discussions of the iphone, this weird refusal to admit a flaw in the design of the phone and instead trying to minimize or even deny it's a weakness, and almost making ME out to be the problem for even wanting a particular feature.

Maybe Apple really is a cult

I may have your solution. If you set the phone to vibrate on ring, and not vibrate on silent, toggling the silent switch will turn off all vibration and sound. If you want no sound, but still vibration, just hold the volume down button to turn ringer volume to 0. It is still technically set to "ring", so it will still vibrate, but without the ringer sound. I'm pretty sure you said you already use the volume buttons with your current phone to turn off ringer volume at the moment? That would get you what you want without having to resort to Control Center or Settings all the time.

 

[Silverrune]

Well, I don't know what more I "need", but I'd certainly like many other phones have, which is the ability to easily toggle between silent/vibrate/ring. It's something I can do on my 2 year old LG right now, and something I can do with one hand while my phone is in my pocket in a darkend movie theater if I need to.

You may be fine with such limitations in a smartphone, but I'd prefer to have this ability since I'm already used to it and it does come in handy on many occasions.

I myself would never use such a feature, but to put things in perspective: you will always lose something when switching to a new platform, you will also gain other things though.

----------

Maybe the iphone is indeed not for me. You guys are trying to tell me that a feature that I currently have on my phone, and can find on many other phones, is not an important feature even though I'm telling you I use this feature often and like it, and that I should instead be happy with the workarounds you guys use.

It's very simple to me, and I'm not sure why we are even debating it further. I would like to be able to toggle quickly and easily with one hand and without looking at my phone between silent/vibrate/ or ring. What I would hope to hear in response to this question would be a simple "No, sorry. iphone can't do this unfortunately". Instead I'm getting variations of "why do you need to do that?" and "but it's so easy just to open up the phone and go into settings and press some other button, so don't worry about it!", etc.

I do appreciate you guys trying to help, but it's a rather strange mentality I'm witnessing here, and on other occasions with other people in discussions of the iphone, this weird refusal to admit a flaw in the design of the phone and instead trying to minimize or even deny it's a weakness, and almost making ME out to be the problem for even wanting a particular feature.

Maybe Apple really is a cult

If that is the type of deal breaker you have then there is almost no phone out there that will meet everyone one of your standards. Not every phone has every little feature, that's just the way things are.

It's not a flaw, it's a feature that almost no one uses anymore. People stick with ring and vibrate because they want to know when things are happening. Silent doesn't offer that. It is still capable of being silent with just a few touches, but isn't built into the hardware because it would take up unnecessary space. To be frank you are literally the first person I have heard complain that the iPhone doesn't have all the settings (ring/vibrate/silent) as a physical button.

----------

I may have your solution. If you set the phone to vibrate on ring, and not vibrate on silent, toggling the silent switch will turn off all vibration and sound. If you want no sound, but still vibration, just hold the volume down button to turn ringer volume to 0. It is still technically set to "ring", so it will still vibrate, but without the ringer sound. I'm pretty sure you said you already use the volume buttons with your current phone to turn off ringer volume at the moment? That would get you what you want without having to resort to Control Center or Settings all the time.

Correct me if I am wrong, but you cannot set the ringer volume all the way to zero, it only goes down to 1. Atleast it does on my iPhone.

 

[C DM]

Maybe the iphone is indeed not for me. You guys are trying to tell me that a feature that I currently have on my phone, and can find on many other phones, is not an important feature even though I'm telling you I use this feature often and like it, and that I should instead be happy with the workarounds you guys use.

It's very simple to me, and I'm not sure why we are even debating it further. I would like to be able to toggle quickly and easily with one hand and without looking at my phone between silent/vibrate/ or ring. What I would hope to hear in response to this question would be a simple "No, sorry. iphone can't do this unfortunately". Instead I'm getting variations of "why do you need to do that?" and "but it's so easy just to open up the phone and go into settings and press some other button, so don't worry about it!", etc.

I do appreciate you guys trying to help, but it's a rather strange mentality I'm witnessing here, and on other occasions with other people in discussions of the iphone, this weird refusal to admit a flaw in the design of the phone and instead trying to minimize or even deny it's a weakness, and almost making ME out to be the problem for even wanting a particular feature.

Maybe Apple really is a cult

You did get the "nope sorry" in some replies, and others tried to provide some workarounds in case those might be fine for you as they might be for many others. No one cares what you end up going with, as in fact has been mentioned by suggesting that he iPhone might not be for you.

But, sure, why not come for help and then just try to poke those who try to help and and put them down by saying they are in some cult or something like that. It's not like you simply can say "thanks for the info, sounds like the iPhone is not for me" and just move on.

Good luck.

 

[MF878]

Correct me if I am wrong, but you cannot set the ringer volume all the way to zero, it only goes down to 1. Atleast it does on my iPhone.

You're right. I totally forgot about that.

 

[heycal]

Yes, all phones have drawbacks and tradeoffs. But what I find odd and is the refusal of many to admit that something actually is a drawback when it comes to the iphone, and it's continuing to happen here. I would have happily said "thanks for the info and moved on" if people didn't try to justify a bad design along the way.

I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world who likes the ability to move quickly and easily between silent/ring/vibrate without looking at their phone. If I were, I doubt they would make so many phones that offer this feature, including both my current phone and another model I'm eyeing. I suspect there are many other phones that offer this too since it's highly convenient.

And that one poster is correct, you can not lower the volume all the way. That's another drawback -- oops, I mean a great feature of the iphone! No one would hardly ever want to lower the the volume all the way, so who cares, right?

Guys, the iphone is really great in many ways. But it also blows in others. Why can't you seem to accept that instead of defending the flaws? Very strange.

 

[C DM]

Yes, all phones have drawbacks and tradeoffs. But what I find odd and is the refusal of many to admit that something actually is a drawback when it comes to the iphone, and it's continuing to happen here. I would have happily said "thanks for the info and moved on" if people didn't try to justify a bad design along the way.

I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world who likes the ability to move quickly and easily between silent/ring/vibrate without looking at their phone. If I were, I doubt they would make so many phones that offer this feature, including both my current phone and another model I'm eyeing. I suspect there are many other phones that offer this too since it's highly convenient.

And that one poster is correct, you can not lower the volume all the way. That's another drawback -- oops, I mean a great feature of the iphone! No one would hardly ever want to lower the the volume all the way, so who cares, right?

Guys, the iphone is really great in many ways. But it also blows in others. Why can't you seem to accept that instead of defending the flaws? Very strange.

We all know and accepted that a long time ago. We also know what works for us and perfectly fine with what we have, and really don't care what others have as that's their own personal choice that has nothing to do with anything.

We were essentially just trying to help with potential workarounds and alternatives as we talked through some scenarios. You seemed to take the extra information and potential help as some sort of irrelevant fanaticism. Perhaps a misunderstanding, perhaps not, but in any case, doesn't seem like there's anything more that needs to really be said beyond what's already been said.

 

[iamMacPerson]

Yes, all phones have drawbacks and tradeoffs. But what I find odd and is the refusal of many to admit that something actually is a drawback when it comes to the iphone, and it's continuing to happen here. I would have happily said "thanks for the info and moved on" if people didn't try to justify a bad design along the way.

I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world who likes the ability to move quickly and easily between silent/ring/vibrate without looking at their phone. If I were, I doubt they would make so many phones that offer this feature, including both my current phone and another model I'm eyeing. I suspect there are many other phones that offer this too since it's highly convenient.

And that one poster is correct, you can not lower the volume all the way. That's another drawback -- oops, I mean a great feature of the iphone! No one would hardly ever want to lower the the volume all the way, so who cares, right?

Guys, the iphone is really great in many ways. But it also blows in others. Why can't you seem to accept that instead of defending the flaws? Very strange.

First off, when you slide the switch on the left side of the iPhone, it puts the iPhone is silent mode. Silent mode is basically where the iPhone won't "sound off" for the lack of a better term. Your ring tone won't play, but it will vibrate. The way the iPhone's vibrate motor actually vibrates, its silent when its in your hand, in your pocket, etc. When placed on a table, it will be louder to alert you then when the iPhone is in your pocket or hand. Why? Because when its in your pocket or hand, you feel it. When its on the table, you don't feel it, you hear it. If you need the iPhone completely silent, no vibrate and no notifications, unlock the iPhone (which on the 5s with Touch ID, just press the home button and wait a second) and slide up for Control Center. Then tap the "Moon" to enact Do Not Disturb. This is mainly for when you are sleeping, but can be used during the day. The settings are customizable in the settings app.

Second. There is a "Bold Text" option under Settings>General>Accessibility. This makes all the system text on the iPhone bigger without having to zoom. You can also change the Dynamic Text size which is used by a few apps in the OS.

Maybe Apple really is a cult

With this, you pretty much called everyone on this forum, and people who tried to help you, cult members.

 

[heycal]

Second. There is a "Bold Text" option under Settings>General>Accessibility. This makes all the system text on the iPhone bigger without having to zoom. You can also change the Dynamic Text size which is used by a few apps in the OS.

With this, you pretty much called everyone on this forum, and people who tried to help you, cult members.

Yes, I am calling everyone on this forum who refuses to acknowledge obvious flaws like this in the iphone cult members. It doesn't mean I don't also appreciate the suggestions to help workaround this flaw, should I end up getting this phone and thus have to take a step backwards in this particular department from my current 2 year old LG.

I'll check the "bold text" option you mention and see what it changes, thanks.