Phones Thinking of switching. Advice please

[vhl71]

Been using iPhones for a few years now. Getting bored of the iPhone 11 Pro and thinking of switching to pixel 4. Few things I need some comments on:

1. Face ID Authentication on apps. I use this almost for all apps in iphone including banking. It works flawlessly. I don’t think Face ID is available for the same apps on android. How big an issue will this be for me? May be it won’t be a big deal??

2. Mail app. I’ve used android in the past. No email app works like iOS mail app. I spent hours trying every android mail app. Hopefully outlook on android will close the gap

3. Battery life. Still debating on pixel 4 or XL. I don’t like big phones. But I heard bad stories about pixel 4’s poor batter life. How bad is it??

4. Podcasts app. Same story as mail app. Any good android podcasts app that’s comparable to apple podcasts

Main reasons for switching — sell iphone while it’s still worth the money. Getting a great deal on pixel now.
Pixel camera is still better then iphone. Plus google assistant. Siri is Not even close.

Anyone switched from iPhone 11 Pro? Comments welcome.

 

[jpiszcz]

Been using iPhones for a few years now. Getting bored of the iPhone 11 Pro and thinking of switching to pixel 4. Few things I need some comments on:

1. Face ID Authentication on apps. I use this almost for all apps in iphone including banking. It works flawlessly. I don’t think Face ID is available for the same apps on android. How big an issue will this be for me? May be it won’t be a big deal??

2. Mail app. I’ve used android in the past. No email app works like iOS mail app. I spent hours trying every android mail app. Hopefully outlook on android will close the gap

3. Battery life. Still debating on pixel 4 or XL. I don’t like big phones. But I heard bad stories about pixel 4’s poor batter life. How bad is it??

4. Podcasts app. Same story as mail app. Any good android podcasts app that’s comparable to apple podcasts

Main reasons for switching — sell iphone while it’s still worth the money. Getting a great deal on pixel now.
Pixel camera is still better then iphone. Plus google assistant. Siri is Not even close.

Anyone switched from iPhone 11 Pro? Comments welcome.

If might be boring I agree but it works. I’ve switched a few times: nexus 6p, Samsung s9 plus, Samsung s10 plus.

Every time I ran into issues.. example: audio with google duo is horrible compared to FaceTime (you can hear echo) when on speaker.

Fingerprint on the s10 plus barely functions to unlock a $$$$ device are you serious?

If you use iMessage often you are now screwed, SMS/MMS is horrible, RCS is in the works but not ready for prime time yet.

There are so many pitfalls going to Android you will likely be back in 1-2 weeks to iOS.

 

[Stevie jobz 2.0]

If might be boring I agree but it works. I’ve switched a few times: nexus 6p, Samsung s9 plus, Samsung s10 plus.

Every time I ran into issues.. example: audio with google duo is horrible compared to FaceTime (you can hear echo) when on speaker.

Fingerprint on the s10 plus barely functions to unlock a $$$$ device are you serious?

If you use iMessage often you are now screwed, SMS/MMS is horrible, RCS is in the works but not ready for prime time yet.

There are so many pitfalls going to Android you will likely be back in 1-2 weeks to iOS.

You mention so many pitfalls, but your first one is audio quality on one of the least used video calling apps?
That alone suggests you have some agenda , not sure why?

SMS is horrible ? Text messaging thats been around since the birth of christ is now horrible?

More agenda stuff going on, aside from not being able to use a locked down proprietary messaging app, there's very little between both platforms.

 

[jpiszcz]

You mention so many pitfalls, but your first one is audio quality on one of the least used video calling apps?
That alone suggests you have some agenda , not sure why?

SMS is horrible ? Text messaging thats been around since the birth of christ is now horrible?

More agenda stuff going on, aside from not being able to use a locked down proprietary messaging app, there's very little between both platforms.

Here's some takeaways from testing an unlocked S9 Plus on AT&T

CONS:

1) AT&T at the time did not support VoLTE calls (no HD Voice) on unlocked android phones. This isn't an issue if you buy the carrier phone but that has its own drawbacks that I am not going to get into here.

2) I have various macs/ipads lying around, it is very convenient getting messages/phone calls on all my devices transparently. With service on an Android phone, I don't get texts on the mac or ipad anymore, so I have to keep picking up the phone to respond. Verizon and AT&T web have workarounds but it doesn't compete with the iOS experience across multiple devices. Samsung does have something similar to continuity but the audio quality is horrible, it lags to send the notification (inbound calling notification) to the Samsung Tablet.

3) Sending messages to iOS users of audio/video shows up as a postage stamp. My contacts don't want to use another messaging app.

4) When you put the iPhone over the credit card reader for mobile payments (if they accept apple pay) the **** just works and it lights up on the screen and it pays. For Samsung you need to get the app ready-- and get this, the second or third time I was checking out to pay, the device was "updating" the Samsung Pay App so I couldn't use Samsung Pay-- wow! Just a poor user experience overall. Not impressed.

5) I miss voice transcriptions of voicemail that Apple does automatically, Android does not do this (at least not at the time of testing)

6) Waze crashed when I was driving on a 3 hour+ road trip on Android. This is not looking good.

7) Battery life drops 5-10% in 10-15 minutes of general usage.

8) Videos were limited to 10 minutes for 4k (and 5 minutes for 4k/60fps)

9) You cannot *easily* set a tone/ringtone for each person that texts you (also depending on the phone dialer, it is kind of a pain just to change the ringtone for an individual if you have more than 1 file manager installed)

10) The sounds for EVERY APPLICATION -- they are all the same sound! With iPhone for eBay or Paypal they have their own app-specific sounds when there are notifications, which is VERY useful-- you know what is going on by the audio cue without hearing the same beep for every notification. With Samsung by default its more or less the same sound for all apps (except text message and a couple other very basic things you can change)

PROS:

1) The screen is amazing and it sucks to have to let that go.

---

I will say the experience on the Nexus 6p (and if you test a Pixel) will be much better than any Samsung for the UI experience however. There are annoyances with Samsung that are less so on the Pixel.

 

[Aika]

Email app: Outlook

Podcasts app: Pocket Casts

 

[TiggrToo]

SMS is horrible ? Text messaging thats been around since the birth of christ is now horrible?

There's a reason why there's a massive push to migrate away from the slow, easily hackable and extremely limited SMS standard to RCS.

 

[sracer]

Been using iPhones for a few years now. Getting bored of the iPhone 11 Pro and thinking of switching to pixel 4. Few things I need some comments on:

1. Face ID Authentication on apps. I use this almost for all apps in iphone including banking. It works flawlessly. I don’t think Face ID is available for the same apps on android. How big an issue will this be for me? May be it won’t be a big deal??

2. Mail app. I’ve used android in the past. No email app works like iOS mail app. I spent hours trying every android mail app. Hopefully outlook on android will close the gap

3. Battery life. Still debating on pixel 4 or XL. I don’t like big phones. But I heard bad stories about pixel 4’s poor batter life. How bad is it??

4. Podcasts app. Same story as mail app. Any good android podcasts app that’s comparable to apple podcasts

Main reasons for switching — sell iphone while it’s still worth the money. Getting a great deal on pixel now.
Pixel camera is still better then iphone. Plus google assistant. Siri is Not even close.

Anyone switched from iPhone 11 Pro? Comments welcome.

I don't think you'll get many, if any, replies from someone who switched from an iPhone 11 Pro to a Pixel. In what ways is your iPhone boring and what "excitement" are you anticipating with a Pixel? The answers might help offer some insight.

I have ping-ponged back-n-forth between Android phones and iPhones... and am currently on an Android.... a budget Galaxy A20. Looks, feels, and acts like a premium phone. Although I can easily afford flagship phones, I don't see them as good value propositions. I don't ever see myself going back to an iPhone.

Since you've used Android before and have some hesitancy about switching back, I'd recommend sticking with the iPhone.

 

[ian87w]

Been using iPhones for a few years now. Getting bored of the iPhone 11 Pro and thinking of switching to pixel 4. Few things I need some comments on:

1. Face ID Authentication on apps. I use this almost for all apps in iphone including banking. It works flawlessly. I don’t think Face ID is available for the same apps on android. How big an issue will this be for me? May be it won’t be a big deal??

2. Mail app. I’ve used android in the past. No email app works like iOS mail app. I spent hours trying every android mail app. Hopefully outlook on android will close the gap

3. Battery life. Still debating on pixel 4 or XL. I don’t like big phones. But I heard bad stories about pixel 4’s poor batter life. How bad is it??

4. Podcasts app. Same story as mail app. Any good android podcasts app that’s comparable to apple podcasts

Main reasons for switching — sell iphone while it’s still worth the money. Getting a great deal on pixel now.
Pixel camera is still better then iphone. Plus google assistant. Siri is Not even close.

Anyone switched from iPhone 11 Pro? Comments welcome.

1. Reading various anecdotes, seems like app developers need to update their apps to take advantage of the Pixel 4's new face unlock system. Not sure about the progress there, but I guess expect to be using passwords for some.

2. On Android, I just use the Gmail app and connect it to other services if needed. It's not a really great app tbh, but it works. It doesn't support push email on some services like iCloud, so that's a caveat. Other options include Outlook and Blue mail that I have used.

3. Due to the small batteries of the Pixel 4, don't expect much. You might need to opt for the XL version.

4. This is a big issue for me. I can never find an ideal podcast app on Android. Google's own app is junk. Some podcast apps that were great are old and still carry the holo UI from Android 3.0 era. I ended up using Podcast Republic, which is decent, but sometimes it has downloading issues. Your option seems better if you don't mind streaming your podcast. Apps like Spotify will do the trick.

Pixel camera is not "better" than the iPhone. It's just different. If you switched, you lose the wide angle lens, and one of the best video recording device.

If you really want to switch, consider Samsung. The Galaxy S20/S20+ are great phones, and they offer a much more complete experience than Google Pixel imo for similar premium pricing. If you're in the US, unfortunately the mid-range offerings are not too exciting compared to Asia.
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I don't think you'll get many, if any, replies from someone who switched from an iPhone 11 Pro to a Pixel. In what ways is your iPhone boring and what "excitement" are you anticipating with a Pixel? The answers might help offer some insight.

I have ping-ponged back-n-forth between Android phones and iPhones... and am currently on an Android.... a budget Galaxy A20. Looks, feels, and acts like a premium phone. Although I can easily afford flagship phones, I don't see them as good value propositions. I don't ever see myself going back to an iPhone.

Since you've used Android before and have some hesitancy about switching back, I'd recommend sticking with the iPhone.

Agree that phones from the last few years, even budget ones, have been quite sufficient for normal uses.

As for the Galaxy A series, I would avoid anything below the A50 as the models lower than that uses the old and slow eMMC storage. A50 and up uses the faster UFS2.1. I have used Android phones with eMMC storage before, and boy do they slow down pretty quickly, especially when you're in the middle of updating or downloading files.

 

[vhl71]

I don't think you'll get many, if any, replies from someone who switched from an iPhone 11 Pro to a Pixel. In what ways is your iPhone boring and what "excitement" are you anticipating with a Pixel? The answers might help offer some insight.

I have ping-ponged back-n-forth between Android phones and iPhones... and am currently on an Android.... a budget Galaxy A20. Looks, feels, and acts like a premium phone. Although I can easily afford flagship phones, I don't see them as good value propositions. I don't ever see myself going back to an iPhone.

Since you've used Android before and have some hesitancy about switching back, I'd recommend sticking with the iPhone.

A little history - I was an iphone user since the original iphone till iphone 5. Bought everyone of them on launch day. Then for a change I tried the blackberry z30 and loved the BB10 OS. So ended using it till bb10 died as an operating system. After that used Lumia 950 for about a year. Great camera and decent user interface. But it had its issues and Microsoft stopped making anymore windows phones.

Then I tried a whole lot of android phones - ever flagship there is. More than the hardware, I just didn’t stick to one coz of android clumsiness.
Constantly fiddling with the phone just because I can.
Then when iPhone X got released, came back. As we know it just works.

But being a phone addict doesn’t help. The pixel camera is so good (I found this out when we had a party a few months ago. My buddy’s night photos were so much better than my 11 pro).
So It’s not surprise I got the itchy feeling again. So specific reason. Just craziness

 

[tbayrgs]

A little history - I was an iphone user since the original iphone till iphone 5. Bought everyone of them on launch day. Then for a change I tried the blackberry z30 and loved the BB10 OS. So ended using it till bb10 died as an operating system. After that used Lumia 950 for about a year. Great camera and decent user interface. But it had its issues and Microsoft stopped making anymore windows phones.

Then I tried a whole lot of android phones - ever flagship there is. More than the hardware, I just didn’t stick to one coz of android clumsiness.
Constantly fiddling with the phone just because I can.
Then when iPhone X got released, came back. As we know it just works.

But being a phone addict doesn’t help. The pixel camera is so good (I found this out when we had a party a few months ago. My buddy’s night photos were so much better than my 11 pro).
So It’s not surprise I got the itchy feeling again. So specific reason. Just craziness

For context, my daily driver is an 11 Pro Max--been using iPhones since their inception but have bounced over to Android periodically dating back to the Galaxy Nexus. I have had a second line for a few years that's incredibly inexpensive due to a work related discount, so I now alway have a secondary Android device, usually a Pixel (previously, mostly Nexus devices). In fact, I just took delivery yesterday of a new Pixel 4 XL to replace a broken and 'not worth the cost to repair' Pixel 3 XL. Without elaborating further as I've done it numerous times on other threads over the years, I know I prefer iOS for my daily driver and won't be leaving the iPhone, but like many here, have gadget lust/envy and genuinely do like how Android does a few things better, so I love having one around to play with. Some recommendations:

1) I too love FaceID and it's one of the reasons why I chose the Pixel 4 XL over the new OnePlus 8 Pro. I haven't been able to test my regular apps but can confirm it does work great with my password manager of choice (1Password) so worst case I have to just autofill the password on apps that have yet to implement Face Authentication on Android.

2) Outlook is good but my preferred email app across all platforms is Spark--use it on iOS, MacOS and now Android. It was only added to Android within the past year so needless to say I was super happy to see it now available. Lots of customization of features I love. It replace the iOS mail app for me years ago. Outlook was my previous choice.

3) Can only comment on what I've seen online in regards to battery performance. I have yet to see anyone say the regular 4's battery life is even average. The 4 XL doesn't get rave reviews either but appears to be better. Neither will get anywhere close to the latest iPhones so just be prepared for that.

4) I'll second the recommendation for Pocket Cast...easily best I've found...on Android. I'd still be using it on iOS if it wasn't missing one key feature that I must have now--offline listening on the Apple Watch. Consequently, I switched to Overcast on iOS a couple years ago because it added this functionality. I exercise, cycle or hike without by iPhone almost daily and not having offline podcasts was a dealbreaker. That being said, Overcast is iOS only, so on Android I use Pocket Casts. I actually prefer its UI vs. Overcast but again, missing that one key feature.

With regards to messaging, unless you're going to be able to have your regular contacts switch to something like WhatsApp or Signal, you'll just have to live with SMS/MMS, at least until RCS is more widely implemented (don't hold your breath on this one). Not sure if it matters for you but Android Auto and CarPlay are comparable...each has advantages over the other, IMO. Camera...yes the Pixel excels at stills and I'd rate it slightly ahead of the iPhone but as another mentioned, you'll be giving up wide angle shots and video capture is far, far better on the iPhone.

My advice...if you're OK with eating the $35 restocking fee Google charges for returns should it come to that, give the Pixel 4 of your size preference a go for a two week test drive. No matter what 'advice' you get here online, it's really the only way to see if it fits with your personal preferences and daily workflow.

Best of luck.

 

[mi7chy]

Don't listen to the scare mongering. Instead, experience it yourself and form your own opinion.

1) Pixel Face Unlock supported apps:

https://www.androidcentral.com/these-apps-support-pixel-4s-face-unlock-feature

2) Aqua Mail is solidly reliable with multiple email accounts from Yahoo, Gmail, Microsoft, etc. and can be set to announce new email headers via text-to-speech.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.AquaMail.UnlockerMarket
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.kman.AquaMail

4) Podcast Addict

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.bambuna.podcastaddict

 

[jpiszcz]

If and when you switch please include a list of pros and cons here I’m curious on your feedback. I’ve not made a full switch to android since the s10 plus.

 

[hallux]

2. Mail app. I’ve used android in the past. No email app works like iOS mail app. I spent hours trying every android mail app. Hopefully outlook on android will close the gap

In what way are you looking for it to "work like iOS mail app"? Just saying it doesn't work like it doesn't help the rest of us to maybe suggest apps for you.

4) When you put the iPhone over the credit card reader for mobile payments (if they accept apple pay) the **** just works and it lights up on the screen and it pays. For Samsung you need to get the app ready-- and get this, the second or third time I was checking out to pay, the device was "updating" the Samsung Pay App so I couldn't use Samsung Pay-- wow! Just a poor user experience overall. Not impressed.

My Pixel 2 XL generally works for mobile payments (Google Pay) wherever they're accepted, which is generally anywhere Apple Pay is also accepted.

5) I miss voice transcriptions of voicemail that Apple does automatically, Android does not do this (at least not at the time of testing)

My Pixel 2 XL gets transcriptions, but I'm on Fi so I also have cross-device text capabilities (including from my Mac!). A lot of this is because the carriers want to force their own app for this, and those apps won't work on devices not branded by that carrier. This is 100% a carrier issue, not an issue with Android as a whole.

 

[aggie99]

In what way are you looking for it to "work like iOS mail app"? Just saying it doesn't work like it doesn't help the rest of us to maybe suggest apps for you.



My Pixel 2 XL generally works for mobile payments (Google Pay) wherever they're accepted, which is generally anywhere Apple Pay is also accepted.



My Pixel 2 XL gets transcriptions, but I'm on Fi so I also have cross-device text capabilities (including from my Mac!). A lot of this is because the carriers want to force their own app for this, and those apps won't work on devices not branded by that carrier. This is 100% a carrier issue, not an issue with Android as a whole.

Agree on Google pay. It's been nearly as flawless as apple pay in my experience. Have a Pixel 4XL, S20+ and 11 Pro Max right now and I always seem to end up back with the Pixel. Sold my first one when I got the S20 but picked up another last week. Just seems to have the most consistent performing camera to me and like the iPhone seems to do everything smoothly and without issues.

For voicemail transcriptions, I don't use it because I don't care for it that much, but I believe Google Voice and YouMail both offer voicemail transcriptions.

 

[Zaft]

you will most likely be bored with the pixel as well. It runs stock android and is very vanilla.

 

[hallux]

It runs stock android and is very vanilla.

Then again - that can be a BENEFIT. If one doesn't like certain apps Samsung or other manufacturers include, they're not clogging up the storage and you can pick exactly the apps you want for whatever functions.

I, for one, don't care for Samsung including CleanMaster or Mcafee as device care functions. I don't much care for CleanMaster's parent company, Cheetah Mobile.

 

[N0ddie]

you will most likely be bored with the pixel as well. It runs stock android and is very vanilla.

Like any Android phone though it can be changed up using different launcher options.

I've always used Nova Launcher on my previous Android phones but done so to make them appear more "stock Android". So finally made sense to buy stock Android next ? (Pixel).

 

[jr866gooner]

I actually may consider switching the opposite way to Apple again after nearly 2 years away. Galaxy Note 9 here, great device but a little on the large size. I am glad I can say I have tried it and enjoyed the larger screen but the camera sometimes lets it down with moving subjects. My children obviously move a lot and taking their picture can be a nightmare lol The curved screen gets to my OCD of needing a screen protector and the glass ones just dont sit right on these surfaces.

Easiest transition will be the iPhone 11 for me potentially. All of my wifes family including my wife too have iphones so that will be better for iMessages etc. Being the green bubble guy using whatsapp instead whilst it works, sometimes iMessage is more convenient.

Main plus going back to iOS, I used to use the iCloud photo sharing feature naturally within the photos app. This was super convenient for quick photo sharing from a day out and wanting my wife to get copies of the pictures instantly. Forcing her to use and have installed the Google photos app is a painful experience

 

[N0ddie]

I get the gripe with Samsung cameras and moving targets (the kids for example). The new Note still suffers this in our experience.

What's wrong with Google photos? We share our photos using it with no issues.

It must be a Yank thing, but WhatsApp is so much more convenient. It means you don't need to be exclusively friends with iPhone owners ?

 

[Stevie jobz 2.0]

I get the gripe with Samsung cameras and moving targets (the kids for example). The new Note still suffers this in our experience.

What's wrong with Google photos? We share our photos using it with no issues.

It must be a Yank thing, but WhatsApp is so much more convenient. It means you don't need to be exclusively friends with iPhone owners ?

If someone wont use a non iMessage way of communication, are they really worth bothering with? ?

 

[jpiszcz]

If someone wont use a non iMessage way of communication, are they really worth bothering with?

No

 

[hallux]

Yeah, just tell your spouse, boss, kid’s teacher, mom and dad or other family, friends etc, **** off. I’m a selfish, juvenile brat who must have my own way. Yup, that’s the mature, sensible choice.

That goes both ways. It's not really mature/sensible for them to force someone else to get an iOS device just to use iMessage with them rather than a multiplatform messaging service.

People who are expected to keep in contact with a wide range of people should also expect to have challenges with that, and embrace different platforms. It's the narrow-minded "iMessage or nothing" kind of thinking that leads us places some of us would rather not go

 

[tbayrgs]

That goes both ways. It's not really mature/sensible for them to force someone else to get an iOS device just to use iMessage with them rather than a multiplatform messaging service.

People who are expected to keep in contact with a wide range of people should also expect to have challenges with that, and embrace different platforms. It's the narrow-minded "iMessage or nothing" kind of thinking that leads us places some of us would rather not go

Notice, I didn’t mention Apple Messages in my post. I don’t profess that people should be locked to a specific app, device or platform but rather was addressing the narrow minded and ’me first‘ response of the previous post. We could easily replace ‘iMessage’ with anything. For example, I won’t adopt anything from Facebook (including WhatApp) as a default because of that company’s business practices. But if I had contacts that relied on Facebook, Facebook Messenger, Instagram or Whatsapp for communication, I wouldn’t refuse to interact with them...I’ll use what they need me to use. I’m not thrilled about using Zoom but if I need to interact with someone and that’s what they’re using, I may suggest an alternative and explain why, but I’ll still use it regardless.

And yes, if I’m in the minority in comparison to all of my regular contacts in choosing to not use an application, etc, I will likely tend to default to what the others use, both for simplicity and ease of use, but also because I’m not an obstinate ******* who insists it be done my way.

 

[vhl71]

Update:
So finally ended up doing it. Got an amazing deal for a new Pixel 4 XL for about CAD600. Its been good so far. Initial transfer of data from iPhone to Pixel was quite smooth except for WhatsApp After a lot of struggle got all my WhatsApp messages transferred as well.

Spent a few hours on finding the right email app for my taste/needs. Looks like I found one that I liked during BlackBerry days. Yes. The BB Hub is quite nice for all my communication needs. Let's see how it goes

Battery is what I'm worried about. The last couple of days isn't really a good measure as I was constantly on it setting it up. Hopefully it will last a day.

Surprisingly, I don't find the XL too big. Maybe it's because of the narrow width.

 

[N0ddie]

Surprisingly, I don't find the XL too big. Maybe it's because of the narrow width.

I too was pleasantly surprised by its "not too big" feel. I have lady sized hands and thought the iPhone X was the perfect "just right" size.