Time to Give Android a Shot?

LlamaFace on 31/08/2019 - 21:24

Hi team,

I’ve used iPhones since 2010 but have only owned three. My iPhone 6 is getting long in the tooth and by all accounts the 2019 set of iPhones will remain incredibly expensive but not be very exciting.

Is now the time to jump ship? I have an education email so I can get an S10e for less than $800 (at least for the next couple of days). I single out the S10e because it’s been widely reviewed as an excellent device, has a nearly identical footprint to the iPhone 6 and has stuff I care about (like a headphone jack) but also expandable storage.

What do you think?

Mobile Mobile Phone Android

Comments

  • imurgod on 03/09/2019 - 19:13
    -1

    I had an iPhone since the first one. Switched to Samsung Galaxy when the S7 came out. My wife wouldn't take the risk of a new OS and stayed with Apple.
    After using my phone for a year, she switched as well.

    For a few years I had an Apple work phone and Galaxy personal phone - Galaxy was far nicer to use in every way.

    Android just does everything better and it doesn't try to lock you into buying any particular products for it's ecosystem.

    I've only ever had high end phones though so if you're going for the cheap/old ones, YMMV.

  • Black Brown Blue on 03/09/2019 - 20:44

    I will also be switching to android next. I have had iphone 4, 5, 7 and do not like apple phones anymore. The prices have doubled in last few year. A phone worth 600-800 is now 1500 plus. Cannot afford it.

  • TheHungryHippo on 03/09/2019 - 21:08

    As a employee in Telco industry I can say that I've had my share of customer experiences when it comes to iPhone and Android devices. Some people stay with iPhone because they're using Apple products and don't want to risk moving. Others move from a product because they're bored if it and want to try something new.

    I've been an iPhone user for a few years. Work gave me a Galaxy s10 + to use. The first few weeks were trying to figure out where everything is. I have to say I am loving my Samsung a lot more than my iPhone. It's a new and fresh experience for me. I love the camera, display and battery life. Faster charging is a bonus and USB C is great, I can charge my laptop,phone and headphones with one cable.

    My friend has an S10E and he is loving it so far. Not too big, easy to fit in one hand and takes great photos.

    Good luck in your decision.

  • fozzie on 04/09/2019 - 00:08

    Why not? Perhaps before moving as somebody else said buy a cheaper device and see how you go. I love the flexibility Android devices give (I still use android tablets), however I have been kind of forced to use an iPhone. My kids have iPhones and I need the flexibility to control their time on them. It’s also easier when I want to text them. I bought an iPhone XR which cost me an harm and a leg last year. I hope to keep for as long as possible, by then kids will be older so I might be able to go back to an Android phone.

  • conan2000 on 04/09/2019 - 01:42

    I use both on a daily basis, and find the Android (Pixel 3) to be far more intuitive than the iPhone 8. I also like that with the Andorid I can be portable with aps to different brands at a future point rather than being stuck in the Apple ecosystem. I also find that every application I use that has an equivalent across both platforms seems to work better on Android.

  • [Deactivated] on 04/09/2019 - 09:25

    Dude, I have a Samsung S5 and a comparable age HTC. Buy a HTC they are 1000% better experience. Just a tip. My S7 and two small Samsung phones have made me give up on Samsung for ever. I won't go into details but just a genuine opinion.
    I'd go with cheaper popular chinese brands, they've been much more fun.

  • phocus on 04/09/2019 - 09:30

    If you are after an apple like experience on android, I would be looking at pixel phones.

    • Updates as soon as they are available
    • Unlimited full resolution photo and video cloud storage on google photos (this is almost by far the best feature as I have gotten away with just having a 64GB phone instead of having to buy a large storage phone)
    • Google cloud services I would say are a tonne easier to use vs icloud
    • UI is minimal and intuitive
    • Less ecosystem lockin
  • xejerh on 04/09/2019 - 09:31
    +1

    If u wanna extend the functionality of your iPhone then you should consider jailbreaking it. iOS 12.4 is able to be jailbroken and is still currently signed firmware (but won’t be for long) so you can still upgrade/downgrade to it if you’re not on that version. Jailbreaking lets you customise your phone similar to android and lets you change pretty much everything about your phone. iPhone 6 isn’t going to get iOS 13 anyway so there’s not much reason not to. Some apps detect jailbreak but most of the time you can get around it with a tweak called liberty lite. (a few it doesn’t work on include fortnite, CUA, and Pokémon go etc). If it does interest OP or anyone then u should watch some YouTube videos on it or check out /r/jailbreak. (Posted from my jailbroken iPhone 6)

  • sovereign01 on 04/09/2019 - 09:40

    Bit of a false economy here - You got 5 years out of you last phone.. That's pretty amazing value considering if you bought the equivalent Samsung galaxy S5 at the time you would have stopped receiving software updates after October 2015.. The iPhone 6 still officially supports the latest iOS release.

  • lonewolf on 04/09/2019 - 09:58

    I have been and am currently still using both Apple (work) and Android (personal) for close to 10 years i believe now since the Iphone 3G came out. My experience is overall Android is a much better product, cheaper overall with accessories and 3rd party items as well as much easier to do things with / have control over what you want to do. Apple can be quite smooth and easy to use for the basic / usual stuff and for people who are not tech savvy may be easier overall.

  • centrelink on 04/09/2019 - 10:22

    Haven’t used an android flagship for years. Got a pocophone and that’s alright but I prefer the smoothness of the iPhone XS over it. Perhaps I should try a Samsung flagship phone next time. I do like how it’s has a bit more freedom and some nifty features. Oh and there is google opinion rewards too for the android and dual screening

    • Bad Company on 01/10/2019 - 08:59

      If you want a smooth phone you need a phone with high refresh rate screen. Google it, there's several model on the market with 90 Hz even a 120 Hz screen. I was sceptical until I tried a 120 Hz smartphone myself. God the smoothness ruined normal 60 Hz screen for me which was perfectly fine up until that point.

      Apple iPad Pro has a 120 Hz screen, but none of their phone offerings do.

  • sauce2k on 04/09/2019 - 10:35

    I went from iPhone die hard , now an Android user (Huawei M20P).

    I have to admit, for the price I paid for (which is similar to an iPhone), there are a lot of better features than iPhone.

    • Fast charge (depending on the phone you own)
    • Better camera (sometimes overexposed though)
    • Better battery life (extremely important to basically everyone nowadays right?)
    • Ability to do split screen e.g. watching youtube and replying whatsapp the same time..I barely use this feature but it's good to have

    Some of the stuff I don't like about Android

    • Some apps are not as smooth as they operate on iOS
    • I feel like iOS gets better updates with apps as well

    This is pretty much it for me…

  • ruddiger7 on 04/09/2019 - 13:47

    Go android, love the galaxy and the wife's iPhone XS is a heap of shit in comparison.

  • ketchmeup on 04/09/2019 - 16:34

    After having iPhone from 5 to X, I moved to Oneplus 7 pro and could not be happier. Android have improved massively since when I tried it 8 or so years ago. Cant see myself going back anytime soon.

  • colossus on 05/09/2019 - 09:01

    The answer is it depends. I strongly recommend a review of your phone usage patterns with a strong focus on where any dependencies and content exist.

    Think specifically about from where you source entertainment content, online storage, contacts, calendar. If you're doing all these within the Apple offerings, part of the switch will likely include the migration of these services to those supported on Android.

    Then think about dependencies between devices. If you need to connect and synchronise data between devices, how will this look on Android?

    Finally, and perhaps, most importantly, understand how your data can potentially be used. Apple offers excellent privacy credentials. Services like Google and Facebook frequently appear in news articles identifying less than stellar practices. This is not to say they should not be used but you need to configure and control how your data may be used. That said, if you're so inclined, you can run an Android phone using mostly services from Microsoft (if I restarted my smartphone usage, I would do this).

    The decision you make should be following consideration of these all things. A change can be fun if you accept minor problems along the way.

  • yummypinacolada on 05/09/2019 - 21:27

    I have only used iphone 6s and have used various of Android phones. The thing that I missed a lot from iphone is their quality control and their warranty. iPhone is not the greatest phone but you can expect what you get and if there's a problem with your iPhone you can simply return it to get a brand new one without any hassle.

    Android devices are great but sometimes the android update can ruin your devices. I don't remember how many times Android update have ruin battery life of my phones in the past, and if you do get this problem you can't do anything besides hoping that the next update(if there is one) will fix it.

    I don't buy iphone anymore cause my wallet can't keep up with the price, but just letting you know that iPhone is not as bad as people say.

    • Bad Company on 09/09/2019 - 09:57
      +1

      Pretty fair and balanced views there. Thanks for sharing.

      From my personal experience, Apple products have always been premium devices, and in return you certainly do get one of the best, if not the best, experiences in the industry. Whether or not the price of new iPhones are worthwhile is up to you. (For most people it really isn't, unless your phone usage is really heavy and one of the monthly plans makes sense).

      Good job bringing up broken Android updates. I've been using Google Nexus line of phones for a while, one of the reasons being fast Android updates. A few years back, major Android OS updates often brought very useful features, and it killed me to wait for them to arrive on a non-Nexus device.

      However, like yourself said, some updates are bad news. Nowadays, mobile OS have evolved to a point where major updates no longer bring significant gains. I find myself going after stability istead of novelty.

      Apple phones are still supported for longer, but if you want a good overall experience, their realistic lifespan ends long before support ends. Instead of buying a $2,000 phone every 3 years, you'll be much better off buying $1,000 phones every 2 years. Just an example.

      SO yeah, given Android a try. This will save you a lot of money.

  • mychips on 13/09/2019 - 13:44

    For a fraction of the price of buying an iPhone, you can get the same spec'd phone. It's really a no brainer and the fact that iTunes is no longer as relevant as it once was, there are even less reasons to pay a premium for an Apple device. For those who are used to the Apple feel, get a pixel and you will have a similarly built phone in terms of specs and minimalism.

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