Switching to an iPhone this time. Enough with Android.

[ibex333]

This fall I am going back to iOS after many, many years with Android. (my last iPhone was a 4S)

This is happening mainly because Samsung has lost all my trust. I used 3 or 4 Samsung phones over the last years and they all had an issue of some sort, despite plenty of advantages.

The Note 3 and 4 had major issues with GPS and sound. Some people could barely hear me in calls and I always could barely hear them. GPS would not find my location or would take forever to find it. I was hoping to see true innovation in Note 5, but it's just a Note 4 in a new shell.

Still all those things I could somewhat tolerate/live with, until Samsung completely sold out and became like the iPhone. (No removable storage, no removable battery)

I ran away to the last bastion of true Android goodness, which was the LG G4. But... I was shocked when I started using it and realized there's no fingerprint sensor! What the hell is this? 2010? (yes, I know I should have done my homework)

Yes, it's nice to be able to customize Android, but less and less phones can be rooted and Cyanogen Mod installed. Tons of crapware which can only be disabled but not removed.
Every time I get a new Android phone, I need to spend about an hour configuring everything just right to work exactly as I want it.


All this in tandem gives more reason to move to an iPhone.


Sure, its ridiculous how Apple only now introduced split-view on Macs and iPads, it's crazy how just now they got web content blocking, but the point is, these things are finally here. It's a phone that just works, even though it has no back button. It's cool to be able to iMessage from an iPad and MacBook. Yes, I know Android has Pushbullet and the like, but these apps suck and they don't work as well as iOS integration.

Now, when so few Android phones have removable battery and storage, I might as well move over to Apple. iPhone 6s Plus 128GB, here I come!


I want to see an Android phone that will come out with some new feature which is truly new and useful and not just a gimmick like Samsung array of nonsense features.
At least Apple came up with a new 3d touch pressure sensitive screen. Where's innovation on the Android side? I haven't seen any in a while. I'll gladly come back when there's an Android phone which happens to have BOTH good in-call sound AND something truly, really new.

 

[Zodiark1593]

Well, that Move to iOS should be on your list.

 

[Crono]

I love how everyone forgets how behind Apple is in features until they catch up every once in a while. Then the one or two features they do have versus the competition suddenly becomes a must have, and of course none of them are gimmicky.

That said, I don't care if anyone wants to go Apple. I like plenty of their products for different reasons. But I'm not a fan of the iPhone because I think it's not very good value, especially their starter 16GB phones. Neither is Samsung, for that matter. Samsung isn't a good representation of Android, in my opinion. I think Motorola and the Nexus phones are better, as well as other manufacturers that make quality hardware and stock or near stock phones.

 

[WelshBloke]

...

Ummm... OK?

 

[postmortemIA]

iOS, where things mostly work (read about iOS 8 WiFi woes), but Apple rakes almost 50% of the cost of the device in the profit. Where basic features are advertised as ground breaking Apple's ideas. Where OS is locked down so that only things that Apple deems as good are allowed.

But yeah, why would you pay as much for Samsung, that got the OS for $10 from Google (Google Play store fee per device) , and added their useless crapware on top of it? Which radios, camera, GPS, are never as good? Sure, screen is probably better and it also has all other fancy specs.

I've tried many Android handsets since OG Droid, each of them had some big problem that was never resolved, and pretty much deal breaker.

Many say the best Android experience is on Nexus devices. There at least OS is optimized for hardware.

 

[dawheat]

The Note 3 and 4 had major issues with GPS and sound. Some people could barely hear me in calls and I always could barely hear them. GPS would not find my location or would take forever to find it.

Ehh I never understand complaints like this. Unless you bought it secondhand, this is an easy return/exchange at a carrier or even through Samsung. Clearly most people don't have call or GPS issues - I certainly never had using a Tmo Note 4 on AT&T. Not sure why you wouldn't just resolve it unless you live in some odd service area and you did try multiple devices.

Now, when so few Android phones have removable battery and storage, I might as well move over to Apple. iPhone 6s Plus 128GB, here I come!

Honestly...who cares anymore? Switching between OSes is common as at the end of the day, no one really does anything different with their smartphones and features are all parity.

Before you go spend $950 + tax, why not at least wait to see what the new Nexuses look/price are at the end of Sept.

 

[lopri]

I apologize ahead for this post which might be thread-crapping and potentially construed to be a personal attack, but here goes anyway: Didn't you go through this process - "Enough with Android" - already? I thought I had seen a similar post of yours a while ago. (It seems like a periodic thing? )

 

[Crono]

I apologize ahead for this post which might be thread-crapping and potentially construed to be a personal attack, but here goes anyway: Didn't you go through this process - "Enough with Android" - already? I thought I had seen a similar post of yours a while ago. (It seems like a periodic thing? )

I'm surprised he didn't permanently switch sooner:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2316391
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2289866
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2394864
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2163396
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2380308

 

[zaza]

Might I also add, Android UI stutters whereas IOS is a realtime OS which never stutters. And games are infinitely better optimized for IOS than they are for android, which means IOS gets 3 or 4 times the framerate of Android plus doesn't have the in-game skips and freezes that Android has.
And the best part is iPhones have metal API now (5s and up) which makes games run even double or triple as fast than they already do.
And on the hardware side iphones usually have the most powerful GPU and best CPU, android manufacturers however try to deceive the buyers by adding more cores (quad core, octa core, etc...) when it's been said by all the technical people that more than 2 cores on an Android makes absolutely no difference on performance and is just a marketing gimmick, same as android's advertized higher CPU speeds which the phones can't maintain for more than 5 minutes before thermal throttling kicks in (in contrast with iphone CPUs which throttle far less)

All of the above makes iphones more than worth the price, and shows that only ignorant people buy android.

 

[ControlD]

....

Well, that didn't take long.

 

[zaza]

Well, that didn't take long.

The truth never takes long.

 

[Mai72]

I just purchased the Note 5 a few days ago. I should get it by Tuesday. First time user.

TBH, the gripe over the lack of sd card and removal battery is stupid. I have the Nexus 5 (32 gb) and I never once had issues with storage. In this day and age with cloud storage do you really need a sd card? If you really need the storage Note 5 comes in 128 gb. That should be plenty for most people.

The same can be said for the battery. I use the Anker charger whenever I'm running low. Its small, compact and does a good job at charging my phone. Why do I need to carry around an extra battery?

 

[Ns1]

The same can be said for the battery. I use the Anker charger whenever I'm running low. Its small, compact and does a good job at charging my phone. Why do I need to carry around an extra battery?

bold, meet underline.

 

[bradly1101]

I just purchased the Note 5 a few days ago. I should get it by Tuesday. First time user.

TBH, the gripe over the lack of sd card and removal battery is stupid. I have the Nexus 5 (32 gb) and I never once had issues with storage. In this day and age with cloud storage do you really need a sd card? If you really need the storage Note 5 comes in 128 gb. That should be plenty for most people.

The same can be said for the battery. I use the Anker charger whenever I'm running low. Its small, compact and does a good job at charging my phone. Why do I need to carry around an extra battery?

I like having all my high-bit music on my phone, so SD's are great if you want a lot of storage on a cheaper phone. I have a cheaper Galaxy with SD/replaceable battery/NFC.

And having a replaceable battery is all about extending the life of the phone, not for when you temporarily run low. It's much easier to charge up with an external like your Anker.

Some of us don't want to reinvest in a new phone every time the battery starts failing (or sooner ). It's good to have a second battery and swap them weekly, you'll get double the life.

 

[openwheel]

you and billions of Chinese users are following the same sheep. Apple must be doing something right.

 

[Ns1]

Apple must be doing something right.

making good phones that people want to use?

 

[annomander]

you and billions of Chinese users are following the same sheep. Apple must be doing something right.

Well as there are more android devices then iPhone, that makes them sheep really.

I had a nexus 7 and that was great, so I got a nexus 9, the update to 5.1.1 has totally bricked it that I've had to send it back to be repaired, as soon as its back going to sell it, already replaced it with a mini 4 and it is a lot smoother and polished.

 

[lopri]

I'm surprised he didn't permanently switch sooner:
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2316391
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2289866
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2394864
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2163396
http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2380308

ty.

 

[Commodus]

To me, this illustrates the inherent strategic dangers involved with Android. The diversity and choice is great, but Google may be forced to watch as vendors alienate customers. When you give up control of your platform, don't be surprised when your platform gets out of control.

And yeah, the OP could go with the future Nexus to solve most of these problems (including the fingerprint reader), but the problem is that Google's Nexus models... well, they're patterned after the iPhone model, where the vendor controls both the hardware and software. You're a stone's throw from going with Apple at that point. While there are advantages to the Nexus line in pricing and customizability, those may not matter for a lot of people.

 

[Commodus]

Well as there are more android devices then iPhone, that makes them sheep really.

I had a nexus 7 and that was great, so I got a nexus 9, the update to 5.1.1 has totally bricked it that I've had to send it back to be repaired, as soon as its back going to sell it, already replaced it with a mini 4 and it is a lot smoother and polished.

I'm always amused by the claims that Apple users are "sheep..." from people using the most popular mobile platform, and frequently one of the most popular phones for that platform. It's like claiming that you're totally a musical rebel because you enjoy Taylor Swift.

Not that you're counterculture if you use an iPhone, but going with a typical Android phone (especially a Samsung Galaxy S or Note) is the definition of conformity.

 

[WelshBloke]

I'm always amused by the claims that Apple users are "sheep..." from people using the most popular mobile platform, and frequently one of the most popular phones for that platform. It's like claiming that you're totally a musical rebel because you enjoy Taylor Swift.

Not that you're counterculture if you use an iPhone, but going with a typical Android phone (especially a Samsung Galaxy S or Note) is the definition of conformity.

I always assumed that the sheep jibe was referring to the way that (some) Apple fans take the official Apple announcements as gospel.

Small phones are the perfect size. We made bigger ones, bigger is the perfect size.
Styluses are crap. Oh look! We made a stylus. You should totally buy it!

 

[ControlD]

And yeah, the OP could go with the future Nexus to solve most of these problems (including the fingerprint reader), but the problem is that Google's Nexus models... well, they're patterned after the iPhone model, where the vendor controls both the hardware and software. You're a stone's throw from going with Apple at that point. While there are advantages to the Nexus line in pricing and customizability, those may not matter for a lot of people.

Google does not control the software on my Nexus phone. All I have to do I flip the toggle (it's right there in my settings menu, not hidden somewhere) to unlock my bootloader and I can do whatever I want with it.

 

[slackerinabox]

I think you're being a little unfair. I hated my galaxy s6 edge and eagerly await my iphone 6s plus, but low-to-mid android makes a lot of sense. For $150-400, unless I want to go used, android will get my money. Too much of the s6 edge didn't work right (battery, fingerprint scanner was 50/50, stutters in games, overheats even) - unacceptable for $700, so I probably won't buy an android flagship again. but my free android tablet works great, my mom's moto g is a great value, and I'd get my kids an alcatel if the price is right. Gaming on android just sucks in comparrison as well, I'm looking forward to going ios 100% to enjoy the apple tv and guitar hero without a hulking console. the way everything pieces together, from carplay in our car's pioneer head unit to apple tv and maybe the watch (xmas?), it's just kinda slick and works right. Lots of tinkering to get things to work on android (still can't get my s6 to work with my car's android auto) while the apple is just plug it in and it works.. Forgivable on a $200 phone, annoying on a "flagship"

 

[Artdeco]

you and billions of Chinese users are following the same sheep. Apple must be doing something right.

Curious, do you not see the stickied thread in this forum?

It'd be nice to see the rhetoric slow down a bit, particularly from you.

 

[openwheel]

You have a problem with me saying Apple is doing something right? I don't think you are curious, but confused maybe.

btw how's that iWatch working out? Still Dick Traceying around town with it?