Do you need a Mac for it to work ? I see all these apps that allow iMessage for android, but all require a Mac, which I do not have. My computer is a windows computer.
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Trying to fight the urge to go back to iPhone - S23 Ultra
- Thread starter shenfrey
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Do you need a Mac for it to work ? I see all these apps that allow iMessage for android, but all require a Mac, which I do not have. My computer is a windows computer.
No Mac needed, I have a virtual Mac set up on my office PC which is powered on 24/7. You don't even need to port forward. You need to edit 1 or 2 config files and spoof some Mac info, but once set up properly you'll be good to go. I followed this video step by step, it's the best tutorial I've seen on this and actually works.
It's all about familiarity... that's why those post exist. Because Samsung and Google have solid ecosystem offerings, I have a Samsung Watch along with Galaxy Buds... I wouldn't categorize them as janky fragmented offerings.
Now I agree... Apple should not have to bring iMessage to Android nor play nice with RCS.
I think RCS is Google version of iMessage and people seem to downplay that as you mention Blackberry had BBM on their phones. I would rather have Google build up RCS to compete with iMessage... not take out ads to influence Apple to implement it on their platform.
That logic just doesn't add up to me. iPhone and Android users can still communicate via SMS, so that's not going anywhere. Google needs to focus on making RCS as good as it can be...
Familiarity is the biggest "issue" when jumping between platforms. Since we're on MacRumors, most of us are (probably) iPhone users, and as a result, we are comfortable with and appreciate a lot of what Apple offers and what iOS does for us. Android is different, Samsung's One UI is (in my opinion) the polar opposite of iOS, it's full-featured, yet it's heavy, and it's overwhelming to say the least. It's unfair to the Samsung S23 Ultra to give it only a few days and run back to iOS. We're still settling in, we're still getting the hang of what Android / One UI does, it's a learning curve!
I say this because I've had my S23 Ultra for about two weeks now. I went all in, and I sold my iPhone 14 Pro, iPad mini, Apple Watch, MacBook, etc. I've tinkered with Android phones over the past few years, but I've always kept running back to iOS after a week or two, maximum. The more time I spend with the S23 Ultra, the more I like it and appreciate the core differences between Samsung's customizations to Android and iOS. There are definitely still things that I miss about the iPhone and iOS, but I think, with iOS 16 being problematic (unfixed outstanding bugs and several little annoyances in general, I won't go into detail) it's the perfect time for ME to step away from the iPhone and iOS.
EDIT: iMessage is nice, but it's not a dealbreaker in any way, shape, or form. I'm cool with being a green bubble.
I say this because I've had my S23 Ultra for about two weeks now. I went all in, and I sold my iPhone 14 Pro, iPad mini, Apple Watch, MacBook, etc. I've tinkered with Android phones over the past few years, but I've always kept running back to iOS after a week or two, maximum. The more time I spend with the S23 Ultra, the more I like it and appreciate the core differences between Samsung's customizations to Android and iOS. There are definitely still things that I miss about the iPhone and iOS, but I think, with iOS 16 being problematic (unfixed outstanding bugs and several little annoyances in general, I won't go into detail) it's the perfect time for ME to step away from the iPhone and iOS.
EDIT: iMessage is nice, but it's not a dealbreaker in any way, shape, or form. I'm cool with being a green bubble.
Your post gives me hope. I've had the S23U for a week now and while I love the phone I am still getting "I miss my iPhone" zingers pretty frequently. Had I not traded it in I likely would have switched back already.
I've been reminding myself that I need to appreciate the differences rather than hate them.
I echo this. Really, just switch for a few days. It's not as bad as it's put out to be.
What's throwing me the hardest is the auto fill. I've loaded all of my logins from Keychain into Samsung Pass, Google itself and most recently Microsoft Authenticator. No matter which one I select in Settings, it works less than half the time and the UI is inconsistent. Sometimes it'll be a white box that pops up off the field itself, other times it'll show up in a bar above the keyboard and yet other times I'll see something come down from the top of the screen.
I think people are thinking too much about fear based decisions. This is exactly why I jumped the Apple ship. I don't want to base my decision on a phone based on a fear of what I might lose.
Also a few really ignorant posts on iPhone from an iphone user again. Look if you like iPhone and it's "ecosystem" that is great. Good reasons to enjoy the ecosystem. But there are equal reasons to venture beyond the walled garden.
Personally having my tablet and computer be it a Mac or Windows PC give me a notification every time I get a text or email becomes fatiguing. I think having my phone separate is actually a good thing. I don't mind making a text or occasional phone call from those devices when I am doing work on them but using a phone as a phone works better than using a computer/tablet as a phone.
iPhone is great but the 14 was a miss and iOS 16 is a hot mess. Samsung s23 ultra is a better phone than the 14 Pro Max. If you have an iPhone 13 Pro Max then you should just enjoy one of the best iPhones made in a long time. Maybe iPhone 15 will be better with a better chip but I am thinking it might be as far out as the 16 before iPhone makes some serious improvements and refinement with a 3nm chip. Hopefully iOS bugs will be ironed out by then.
If you just switched from iOS give it some time for your fear response to die down and you will see that life will not end without everything connected and without iMessages. You can still text just fine.
To the Apple fans that can't see past their noses give it a rest with your rants of superiority. 2023 is here and most Apple new iOS features have been on Android for a long time. Calm down. iOS is nice and polished but it is not as vastly superior as it once was.
Samsung will give longer OS updates than ever before and resale value on all phones suck right now.
Also a few really ignorant posts on iPhone from an iphone user again. Look if you like iPhone and it's "ecosystem" that is great. Good reasons to enjoy the ecosystem. But there are equal reasons to venture beyond the walled garden.
Personally having my tablet and computer be it a Mac or Windows PC give me a notification every time I get a text or email becomes fatiguing. I think having my phone separate is actually a good thing. I don't mind making a text or occasional phone call from those devices when I am doing work on them but using a phone as a phone works better than using a computer/tablet as a phone.
iPhone is great but the 14 was a miss and iOS 16 is a hot mess. Samsung s23 ultra is a better phone than the 14 Pro Max. If you have an iPhone 13 Pro Max then you should just enjoy one of the best iPhones made in a long time. Maybe iPhone 15 will be better with a better chip but I am thinking it might be as far out as the 16 before iPhone makes some serious improvements and refinement with a 3nm chip. Hopefully iOS bugs will be ironed out by then.
If you just switched from iOS give it some time for your fear response to die down and you will see that life will not end without everything connected and without iMessages. You can still text just fine.
To the Apple fans that can't see past their noses give it a rest with your rants of superiority. 2023 is here and most Apple new iOS features have been on Android for a long time. Calm down. iOS is nice and polished but it is not as vastly superior as it once was.
Samsung will give longer OS updates than ever before and resale value on all phones suck right now.
I'm using 1Password - after having a few issues with getting it set up and configured just right, it's pretty reliable for me. I haven't given Samsung Pass too much attention, I'm sorry to say!
I never gave a fig that I could start typing a text message on my iPhone, finish it on my iPad and then receive replies on my Mac. I don't need all my devices to work together. I don't need an ecosystem. Not sure why others do either but hey, each to their own.
It all seems massively pointless but it's how Apple keep their victims so they must be doing something right! 😄
It all seems massively pointless but it's how Apple keep their victims so they must be doing something right! 😄
1,000% this. I stayed on Apple for so long based on the wrong reasons. Felt like I "should" stay on Apple. To the point in your 3rd paragraph, that's also spot on. I had the watch, the iPad, the MacBook. Everywhere I went...notifications. My fiance even said that she would be watching me on the Blink camera when I'm doing lawn work, and I'd be peaking at my watch every 30 seconds. The freedom I have to put my phone down and actually miss a text or a sports alert is a huge breath of fresh air.
I agree with this - I appreciated being able to reply to messages on my iPad when I didn't have my iPhone with me, but at the same time, I don't want to always be connected?
My phone is always next to me. That's my 'do it all' device and main comms gadget. I use my iPad for consumption but can also email and use FB Messenger when necessary. Same on my laptop, I can email and use FB Messenger. I just don't encounter any issues whatsoever and am so glad that I haven't fallen into this ecosystem nonsense.
I'm in the same boat as you *three* I haven't sold my 14 pro, I am trying to offload a series 5 edition if anyone's interested
, but this is actually the first time in using an Android device and haven't really had the urge to activate my 14 pro again. I also did get the watch 4 classic and while the band selection is meh the watch is nice. I'm just bummed that there's no Starbucks app or apple music app for it. Also noticing i can't use it for my duo mobile approvals (could be doing something wrong here) but I'm really liking Android auto (they actually really did a nice update on it since I last used it in November with the pixel 7 pro).
I'm also sticking it out cause I took advantage of that Fi deal, I've also been an avid iOS user since returning in 2012 and this is such a breath of fresh air. It's definitely been a learning curve for sure and it sucks I've had to work so haven't been able to really tinker with it.
If anyone knows of a good app for watch faces for the watch I'd be grateful!
One last thing this beast is amazing on battery!
Granted there are little charging peaks buts that being connected in my car for Android auto but this is off the first full charge after setting up the phone on Monday.
Yeah, I'm bummed by the lack of an Apple Music app as well and I highly doubt Apple would make one. I have to resort to using YT Music app, which is okay.. but prefer to use Apple Music.
I suggest going to reddit and check Galaxy Watch Faces community, they often give free or discounted watch faces.
And these two creators tend to offer BOGO below. I have a few of their watch faces loaded onto my Galaxy Watch.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=5591589606735981545
https://play.google.com/store/apps/dev?id=8326277671626175898
Cool, thank you! Yeah I guess I could use YT music when I want to workout without having my phone on me.
Why try so hard? If you like the iphone and it works just use ir
My issue is the constant frustrations with the ecosystem as a whole. If it were just the iPhone, I'd probably be mostly content; I normally don't have most of the bugs I read about here. But I'm so tired of being fed up.
It's at a point where I don't even try to use my HomePods because I know they're not going to connect. Also, notification center is an embarrassment. I've been reading about how superior Android's system is and just never really cared because I was happy with what I had. I really hope they do something with that soon. Something drastic.
I'm not sure how long this experiment of mine will last. I'm really happy with the phone aside from some autofill woes and look forward to having everything situated so I can go on living with the phone as a background prop.
It's at a point where I don't even try to use my HomePods because I know they're not going to connect. Also, notification center is an embarrassment. I've been reading about how superior Android's system is and just never really cared because I was happy with what I had. I really hope they do something with that soon. Something drastic.
I'm not sure how long this experiment of mine will last. I'm really happy with the phone aside from some autofill woes and look forward to having everything situated so I can go on living with the phone as a background prop.
I totally feel this. I'm really loving the phone and experience so far but it does make you appreciate all the little things about apple. The auto fill has been very hit and miss with me versus iOS.
I did get a watch 4 classic as well to just experience the Samsung side of things and while the watch is great there's already things I'm noticing I can't do like approve my duo mobile login for work from my wrist, no apple music app on the watch, also can't use my mobile access card on the watch which gets me into the office.
I prefer devices that use open standards, not protocols that try to lock me in.
Similar experience with auto fill. I've tried Keeper and Bitwarden, it feels like I always need to log in when prompted for passwords. I've disabled optimized battery for these apps, for some reason I am unable to add them in the battery settings to prevent them from sleeping. It is incredibly annoying, not a deal breaker, but I'd love to rectify it.
**Edit: Figured it out. Need to go into accessibility settings and enable Bitwarden from there as well. Now it stays logged in and the auto fill box pops up allowing me to select the appropriate log in.
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I just tried this and tested when logging into my liberty mutual account and nothing showed up for auto fill using dashlane after I enable in accessibility.
I’d love to see iMessage go to android. But look what happened to blackberry once they opened it up to other platforms! Coincidence maybe but that company took a nose dive around the time it let go of the one message platform millions used on only blackberry devices.