Exactly my experience. I finally bit the bullet and switched to the Apple side. There are things I miss from android but I trust Apple not to self sabotage much more than I trust Google these days. Which is weird, and exactly the opposite of the feeling I had 5 years ago.
I also made the switch somewhat recently, as I've had iPhones as company devices for awhile now. I'm no Apple fan-boy, but at least having a relatively solid feeling device that does what you expect 90% of the time and doesn't change core functionality without at least some warning is a great feeling.
Well hang around long enough and you might see some of that ... but yeah broadly speaking the experience is a lot more stable; you cant take chances with your phone ...
I just replaced my Pixel XL with a used iPhone X last week. One thing that I'm struck by is I don't get the feeling that the device is trying to monopolize my attention. It could just be because I still have more friction with it (due to it being unfamiliar), but I wonder if it's also because Apple and Google have very different business objectives: Apple doesn't have nearly the same interest in the quantity of my engagement with the device.
I have to disagree on that one. One thing iOS does better to not let apps allow notifications by default. But other than that notifications are much better on Android and it's also a lot easier to disable notifications on Android now.
I think it has to do with you being unfamiliar with the phone and more friction that comes with it.
I made the switch a month ago, and while I miss some things from Android (e.g. a clean way to change default apps, and a nice share menu/framework), the overall experience is so much better I am regretting not switching two years ago with a iPhone SE, instead of getting my previous One Plus 5.
And regarding Messaging, in EU the default is pretty much Whatsapp anyway, with some pockets of Viber and Telegram, so iMessage or Google Hangout was never a real option here.
Not the parent, but I recently switched to an iPhone and I'm liking it.
On Android, I was constantly using new Apps, looking at /r/android for release announcements, and getting excited about all the new releases. Then, at some point, I realized I just wanted a phone that works. That's when I switched to Apple. That's not to say my Pixel didn't do everything my iPhone does. It could do it all and in many cases it could even do it better or in a more customized way. But, it also required effort. Effort to learn the new apps, effort to change all the settings, and effort every time Google decided to change something that I thought was already working just fine.
Then I switched to Apple and I realized I didn't want necessarily want to spend all my time learning my phone, I wanted to spent my time USING it. To me, my iPhone is more like an appliance than a new tech gadget. It doesn't necessarily provide you with all the options and capabilities that an Android phone does, but it absolutely nails its core competencies and is very easy to use. I don't spend a single extra second trying to figure out HOW to use it, it just works.
Couldn't you use your Android phone as you are using your iPhone? It was your choice after all to go to /r/Android and try out new apps. I am pretty sure you are using the same 90% of apps on iPhone now that you used on your Android. And for the other 10% you could very well have settled on something and be done with it.
I bet you will be looking at /r/Apple in a few months.
I’ve used non-Google devices most of the time, now trying out an iPhone.
Just did a factory reset and restore via iCloud. My fear of loosing my phone, incomplete backups and messed up restore is gone. Works.
Might be possible with Google phones, too. For all the others it’s just messy.
(I‘d agree with you, until I tried it three weeks ago. Working with computers all day, I need others to take care of my personal and pocket computers...)
I have upgraded from Nexus 4 to Nexus 6p to Pixel 3 and have never started off fresh. Have factory reset my phone a couple of times and have been able to restore where I was. So I can't relate to you to what you are saying.
Sort of unrelated - I hate these kinds of comment chains. One clarifies something, other comes up - what about this though. And this whole chain itself when the article is about RCS.
That's how I tried to use my Pixel but between losing Hangouts, having the UI changed seemingly randomly (how many different homescreen changes are really necessary?), and the constatn bait and switch of Google releasing core apps and dropping them (Allo and Duo), I gave up. Using Nova for my homescreen helped, and I probably could've stuck to Messages but I would lose the ability to see my messages from my computer. I've had my iPhone going on a year now and haven't needed to look at /r/Apple a single time.
I appreciate and agree with lots of your commentary, but just wanted to point out that Messages on the web is a thing now via https://messages.google.com/ and scanning a QR code in the Messages app. (It's one of the things I was looking for after leaving the iMessage ecosystem.)
My iPhones usually got janky after using tons of apps but always after jailbreaking them (and installing yet more apps). Same with Android. Stay clean on mobile!
3D Touch is dead. It’s not in any of the current generation phones. Also in iOS 13, undo is swiping three fingers to the left and redo is swiping three fingers to the right. The shake to undo still works.
I actually think it’s easier. It’s hard to do a three finger swipe while holding the phone.
Does the redo gesture double as 'forward' in browsers? My biggest pet peeve with the new Android update is accidentally swiping back on a webpage and not be able to go forward (or if there a way, I haven't figured it out).
I just switched to iPhone after 10 years, and have to say I love it so far.
For me Apple Watch is the star, the battery life is a bit short but it can do everything I need in a wearable device (calendar, notifications, chat) and nothing I don't need which is a bonus.
I would buy a cheaper phone and get the best watch, but your use case might be very different.
Switched about a year ago, very satisfied with that decision and the whole experience.
Everything just works great, I never need to worry about stuff randomly slowing down or my battery dying midway through the day (mind you, my previous device was a flagship android phone Galaxy S8+, so it isn't like I am comparing my iPhone to a cheap entry-level android device).
First week or two were a bit confusing, because the UI/UX shortcuts and flow are so different from android. But after that, I found things to be more intuitive and efficient. The phone displays zero signs of battery degradation or slowing down, everything is just as blazing fast as it was the day I bought it. Battery lasts me easily over a day of normal usage, almost 2 days if I use it lightly.
OS updates arrive fast and to all phones at the same time, without me having to wait 6+ months for my manufacturer to finally push them. With Android, it was extremely annoying to see all those cool new features that people got, but I have to wait many months for (not even talking about security patches). And that's assuming I will ever receive any kind of OS updates on Android 2+ years after the release.
Also, App Store experience is definitely more refined than the garbage pile that Play Store is.
Switching out iPhones is painless too, as all your session data is included in the (encrypted) backups. So you don't need to log-in again into every single app and set up all your custom settings again when you get a new phone. You just wait until the restore from backup completes, and you are set.
I realize that my take might sound a bit biased, and it probably is, but I am just very glad I've made the jump. My last iPhone before going all android until the last year was iPhone 4, and imo it is miles ahead of where it is used to be in terms of overall user experience.
tl;dr: if you want a solid device that just works well and performs exactly as you want it to, you won't be disappointed. If you want to fully customize your phone, sideload a different OS, do some hacky stuff, then Android would be a better choice.
For some context, I switched the other way, and still use both, and ever so slightly prefer the Pixel 2XL to an iPhone XS. It's probably more the integration of google services than anything, and google has taken some major steps backwards, but theres a ton of little silly features that I enjoy about the Goog.
Like it telling me what song is playing from lock screen, while offline. Certain maps and local features are just better.
i've been in that boat, too - inherited a 6S after SO upgraded to an 8 and it does everything i need it to except crap battery life (that's after battery replacement last year). there were a few apps that i missed, but not terribly. it takes calls, it makes calls, google maps work, all of these were not reliable on the nexus 5x i switched from. figured setting up would be about as hard as starting from a wiped android and it's about right.
