iPhone 11 Pro So, the reasons that I have religiously chose Android over iOS for the past 10 years are now becoming very sparse...

[Killerq]

That is,

Here are some of the reasons I was staunch against Apple and how that has changed over the years.

Whenever a new iPhone came out, the first test I would do, one that always failed, was to see how quickly I could rip an mp4 from YouTube, rip an mp3 from a different YouTube video and then combine them in my own creation in imovie.

For several reasons, this always seemed impossible - until I tired it on the iPhone 11 Pro Max today. It was instantaneous and easy - just like in my android devices.


I was always into rooting and modding, and sideloading and all of that good stuff which was pretty straight forward, and, seemingly encouraged, on Android. This, as you know, wasn't the case, and still isn't for the most part, with Apple.

The reason I would do this, however, was to get the phone to work in the way that I thought it should right out of the box. As the years went by, the android OS matured a lot and I find no need to root or side load or any of that. So, the desire to 'tinker' is gone. That will make my possible switch to IOS Easier, I believe.

I have always owned 2 or 3 flagships a year on Android. Recently, I have stuck with the Pixel, Pixel 2, Pixel 3, and Pixel 4. My current phone is the the Pixel 4XL and the OnePlus 7 Pro (12GB of RAM and 256GB of Storage). The reason for the pixels was the absolutely outstanding, lag-free photos. Again, the iPhone 11 Pro Max has now caught up, and some would even say, surpassed the pixel in the photo department now.


I always use swype on android.... That's now baked into the iPhone.

I loved having a file system I could explore.... Now baked into the iPhone.

Storage used to be an issue with the iPhone... But now with 256GB or 512GB, especially when paired with Google Photos, that's plenty!

Another reason I avoided the iPhone was because of the dumpster fire (formerly) known as iTunes. However, now I never have to connect my phone to a computer at all to get up and running. No iTunes needed.... That was a big plus for me with Android - one Gmail login to rule them all!


This year, I feel that the pixel 4 value was simply not there... Way overpriced for sub-par hardware.

The apple hardware is top notch.

Now that Android phones are fast and powerful, the unpolished state of the apps is painfully obvious. It's like the apps are all 2 or 3 years behind in interface integration. Plus, all the premium apps are made with iOS in mind and then haphazardly ported over to Android.

The screen and haptic feedback are still light years beyond Android...

So, with all that being said, I'm sick of settling with the overpriced, under-valued Pixel 4XL, and I believe I'm ready to come over to to a device and os that didn't take a ton of shortcuts as well as decide to drop features while still charging a premium price *cough* Pixel 4XL *cough*.

I'm the biggest Android Fanboy you'll ever meet as well as the biggest hater of Apple you'll ever meet. That being said, I'm ready to come over to the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

 

[Txguy82]

U have your reasoning to try, like and buy what you want. Pixel is a boring and ugly looking device so good decision to ditch that phone.

Pro Max is super over priced especially if you plan on getting the bigger storage options. Just my opinion

GL with iOS.. Truly polished device that works!!

 

[marzfreerider]

Any reason you only want a Pixel? What's wrong with other Android phones that have more features than the Pixel? I agree the Pixel is very underwhelming for the price but their are alternatives for a fraction of the cost of the iPhone with just as many features. Anyways good luck.

 

[Killerq]

Any reason you only want a Pixel? What's wrong with other Android phones that have more features than the Pixel? I agree the Pixel is very underwhelming for the price but their are alternatives for a fraction of the cost of the iPhone with just as many features. Anyways good luck.

All other Android phones have horrible cameras. The camera is #1 priority for me.

 

[marzfreerider]

All other Android phones have horrible cameras. The camera is #1 priority for me.

Opinions vary I know, not all other Androids cameras are terrible. I use a Note 10+ for personal use and a Xs Max for work, the camera on the Note is more than capable to my XS Max.

 

[Killerq]

Opinions vary I know, not all other Androids cameras are terrible. I use a Note 10+ for personal use and a Xs Max for work, the camera on the Note is more than capable to my XS Max.

After using a pixel, I feel shutter lag on all other Android phones. It may be in my brain, but it drives me nuts!

 

[eustachio]

Interesting post, my journey mirrors yours, including modding, rooting, etc. I have owned 2 pixels, but now crave the seamless hardware/software integration and the polish it brings.

I personally wouldn't buy a Samsung, owned a few over the years, I hate their UI.

Good luck with the purchase, iPhone 11 or pro is top notch!

 

[maxjohnson2]

I used android since almost the beginning, the HTC Hero, wasn't the first, but among them. Using linux, I understood rooting before I heard of Android, so what got me interested in getting an Android device was to mess with the rooting.

The reason I moved to iPhone is more to do with my concern with privacy and Google overreaching their power, particularly in the political area. I won't elaborate, but some people know what I'm talking about. I've reduced my reliance of Google down to two services which I can't give up yet, Google Voice and YouTube. I think it's realistic to possibly drop Google Voice. Really they already know all about me, this is more out of principle.
(Edit: I've ported out my Google Voice number, it was painful to do. So now YouTube is the only Google service I actively use.)

One of the biggest barrier to moving to iOS was the Maps app. Frankly I think Apple Maps gives horrendous directions compared to Google Maps, such as telling me to turn the wrong way onto a one way street, but the interface is much improved with iOS13, so it is now usable.

Also because being in the IT field, it's not possible for me to drop Android completely and then not know how to support it. I'm always going to have an Android phone on the side, but it won't be my main phone anymore.

Until I can drag and drop any files I want from my computer to an iPhone, I will always have at least another alternative. I accept and understand why Apple will never allow it to happen. It's why having an iPhone with storage larger 64GB is useless to me, but I can fill up a 4TB Android phone if I want to. I know it's possible to store files into apps through iTunes, or jailbreak and then use a third party app to transfer files, but that's not the samething as free drag and drop any files without jailbreaking.

 

[AlphaGuitarist]

What's wrong with other Android phones that have more features than the Pixel?

Lack of timely updates/manufacturer support, bloatware and carrier meddling. That's enough for me to avoid Android like the wildfire.

 

[Falhófnir]

I'm the biggest Android Fanboy you'll ever meet as well as the biggest hater of Apple you'll ever meet. That being said, I'm ready to come over to the iPhone 11 Pro Max.

If the last sentence is true, the first one is self evidently not! There are people out there who would never buy an iPhone, simply on the principle that it's an iPhone (and vice versa of course). For me the benefits of the iPhone platform are ease of use, security and stability above all. I came from Windows phone before that, and arguably the hardware (Nokia) was better at the time than what Apple was putting out, but the software support from both Microsoft (especially) and developers was lousy. I don't think Android has ever been quite as bad as that, but ultimately in offering the unique benefits it does, it by necessity loses a lot of what I like about iPhones.

 

[Bandaman]

I'm the exact opposite. Finally switched to a Pixel 4 XL and I'm incredibly happy. So far I'm not missing iOS. A couple years ago I went Android, but then quickly jumped back to iOS because of the complete lack of comparable apps that were on iOS. Now 99% of the apps I use on iOS are on Android. Got quite tired of the walled garden and Apple injecting their own weird political agenda with their App Store ... such as supporting China's nonsense by pulling the app that all the young people were using for getting together for protests. I had the Note 10+ but prefer the simplicity of vanilla Android ... plus I'm able to root it without voiding the warranty. I also carry around a tiny 512 GB MicroSDXC card with a tiny adapter that I can just plug into my Pixel ... so I can always have a bunch of music and movies and whatnot no matter where I am ... which is great when I'm entertaining my nephews and little cousins. I think the Pixel just fits my personality more and what I want to do with my phone. It really sucks that there aren't any comparable smart watches such as Apple's ... but the newfound freedom makes it okay.

Lack of timely updates/manufacturer support, bloatware and carrier meddling. That's enough for me to avoid Android like the wildfire.

Even though I don't particularly like Samsung's UI overlay ... the Note 10+ doesn't feel bloated at all ... and it has 12 GB of RAM. It's a very buttery smooth experience. And Samsung lets you manually disable all of their software, including Bixby, if you don't want to use it. So there's no bloatware.


Honestly ... phones are very personal ... and from what I can tell right now ... both iOS and Android are incredibly viable and stable operating systems these days and you can't go wrong with either. Just use what you like. There is absolutely no reason to crap on someone else's phone choice. Technology exists to improve our lives and make things easier. Find what does that best for you.

 

[Jimmy James]

How do you rip from Youtube on iPhone? I wasn’t aware that was possible any more.

 

[circatee]

Once you have purchased and received your iOS mobile, give us a little write up of your experience.
Looking forward to it. I just switched from a Note 10+, back to an iPhone (11 Pro Max), as my daily driver...

 

[Rodneyp]

Your path is similar to mine. I do like android and have to know it to support it. I would root my phone back in the day so I could tether at no extra cost. I would tweak and customize every thing. I was a huge Android fan boy. Most of my family was Apple users then my wife switched over. I started getting worried about privacy and security with slow Samsung updates and switch to a 6s+. After a year I bought a Pixel XL within 30 days I had a hardware issue and the phone was replaced. The pixel updates were a bit to frequent and each update would break something else while fixing others. They announced the end of updates date on the Pixel about 60 days after I got it, which was disappointing. I sold it and went back with a 7+ and have not looked back.

With that said the 11 Pro Max is the phone I have wanted for years. I have had it for a little over 2 months and love it as much as I did when I bought it. This will be the first phone I keep more than a year.

 

[Azathoth123]

Yep, interesting discussion for sure.

I grew up with IBM 360 mainframes and Fortran (yes I’m old), and don’t understand ‘hating’ any operating system. I have nothing against Android in principle.

Google is another story. They’re a trillion dollar company built on surveillance capitalism, and you can’t opt out, they even buy your credit card purchase data. If Google/Samsung want me to use their phones/OS, then they need to give me a flagship phone and pay me a lot to use it. Google mail, docs, search aren’t enough. If they're making money on me, I want a piece of the action!

But hate Android as an OS? Nope.

 

[circatee]

As much as I agree somewhat, the difficulty is that most companies share hardware now, no?

Example, doesn’t Samsung provide screens for Apple?
All that to say, in a way, aren’t you still ‘paying the man’?

Yep, interesting discussion for sure.

I grew up with IBM 360 mainframes and Fortran (yes I’m old), and don’t understand ‘hating’ any operating system. I have nothing against Android in principle.

Google is another story. They’re a trillion dollar company built on surveillance capitalism, and you can’t opt out, they even buy your credit card purchase data. If Google/Samsung want me to use their phones/OS, then they need to give me a flagship phone and pay me a lot to use it. Google mail, docs, search aren’t enough. If they're making money on me, I want a piece of the action!

But hate Android as an OS? Nope.

 

[Wide opeN]

Yeah, basically if you want your phone to be a phone with outstanding app and 3rd party support then iPhone is the one to rule them all.

I need my phone to be clutch at all times. iPhone has always been that.

 

[CoronaOnTap]

As much as I agree somewhat, the difficulty is that most companies share hardware now, no?

Example, doesn’t Samsung provide screens for Apple?
All that to say, in a way, aren’t you still ‘paying the man’?

No one can make everything they need to build a product. Even a thing like a small desk lamp uses parts from various vendors. That’s not technically sharing hardware. You do what you do best and outsource the rest.

 

[pcd213]

Though it’s been improved on the iPhone, IMHO, notifications still have a ways to go before they’re on par with Android.

 

[TrueBlou]

I used android since almost the beginning, the HTC Hero, wasn't the first, but among them. Using linux, I understood rooting before I heard of Android, so what got me interested in getting an Android device was to mess with the rooting.

The reason I moved to iPhone is more to do with my concern with privacy and Google overreaching their power, particularly in the political area. I won't elaborate, but some people know what I'm talking about. I've reduced my reliance of Google down to two services which I can't give up yet, Google Voice and YouTube. I think it's realistic to possibly drop Google Voice. Really they already know all about me, this is more out of principle.

One of the biggest barrier to moving to iOS was the Maps app. Frankly I think Apple Maps gives horrendous directions compared to Google Maps, such as telling me to turn the wrong way onto a one way street, but the interface is much improved with iOS13, so it is now usable.

Also because being in the IT field, it's not possible for me to drop Android completely and then not know how to support it. I'm always going to have an Android phone on the side, but it won't be my main phone anymore.

Until I can drag and drop any files I want from my computer to an iPhone, I will always have at least another alternative. I accept and understand why Apple will never allow it to happen. It's why having an iPhone with storage larger 64GB is useless to me, but I can fill up a 4TB Android phone if I want to. I know it's possible to store files into apps through iTunes, or jailbreak and then use a third party app to transfer files, but that's not the samething as free drag and drop any files without jailbreaking.

I can understand your sentiments with dragging and dropping files, it’s an area I’m not entirely sure Apple will ever allow in a broader sense.

At least it’s not quite as bad as it used to be. With iCloud Drive on Mac, iOS and Windows, I can at least drag any file I want into there and have access to it everywhere. It’s certainly not as simple and straightforward as true drag-and-drop. But it’s hellish better than it was even just a few years ago.

 

[jettie1767]

I've been back and forth between IOS and Android as well but I've had every single iPhone and keep going back to an iPhone. My last Android phone was the Note 10+ and I do agree about the endless customization but nothing beats the fluidity of IOS.

 

[m0sher]

I’ll reverberate privacy & iOS fluidity.

In addition, on a technical level, Apple phones are quality built. Couple that with Unrivaled software support for older phones, create a phone that you can hang onto for more than a couple years and still be relevant.

I hand down my phone after 2-3 years to one of my children. When I was doing that with android, in 3 years time, that phone was a piece of crap. However with Apple my son just upgraded my old iPhone 6s to my iPhone X. He will have that iPhone X for another two years before I upgrade again and it still will be a relevant phone after 4 years when we’ll do it again like the 6S. Can’t do that with Android.

Having said this, I strongly feel that the Google pixel will one day be as good as an Apple iPhone. Google just has a long way to go on the hardware level. But I cut them a break because it’s only their fourth iteration of a phone. I just don’t want to own one yet until that hardware level is met.

 

[naturalguy]

I was similarly anti Apple but got so frustrated with Samsung phones being laggy and buggy that I made the switch and love the iPhone, it works so much smoother

 

[Wide opeN]

I was similarly anti Apple but got so frustrated with Samsung phones being laggy and buggy that I made the switch and love the iPhone, it works so much smoother

Good for you keeping an open mind. I would love to take the One Plus 7T McLaren edition for a spin however.

 

[jimmy_uk]

I’ll reverberate privacy & iOS fluidity.

In addition, on a technical level, Apple phones are quality built. Couple that with Unrivaled software support for older phones, create a phone that you can hang onto for more than a couple years and still be relevant.

I hand down my phone after 2-3 years to one of my children. When I was doing that with android, in 3 years time, that phone was a piece of crap. However with Apple my son just upgraded my old iPhone 6s to my iPhone X. He will have that iPhone X for another two years before I upgrade again and it still will be a relevant phone after 4 years when we’ll do it again like the 6S. Can’t do that with Android.

Having said this, I strongly feel that the Google pixel will one day be as good as an Apple iPhone. Google just has a long way to go on the hardware level. But I cut them a break because it’s only their fourth iteration of a phone. I just don’t want to own one yet until that hardware level is met.

Google have the money, people and patents to make a better phone. They been in the hardware game for a long time so should easily be able to do much better if they actually want to rival the iphone.