iPhone user thinking of switching to Android... Samsung or Pixel?

[MtnTravel]

I am a long-time time iPhone user, since the 3G. I've got an iMac and iPad (mostly used for reading the paper), and all of my personal files are saved in the iCloud, so I'm pretty invested in the Apple ecosystem.

I was waiting for the iPhone 15 to come out before upgrading, but now that it has been announced I'm pretty underwhelmed. It's basically the same iPhone as the 12, with a marginal camera upgrade and USB-C.

A friend showed me their Samsung Galaxy S23 and it was pretty impressive. Much better screen, just as fast, and the camera was incredible. And it can be had for less than the iPhone. So I was thinking of looking at it or the Pixel, but have some hesitation. The iPhone pro is nice, but I am not a content creator and can't justify the added price for one extra camera and a nicer screen. The S23 and Pixel seem to be much much better value.

1. how big of a deal is not having iMessage? I understand that the EU is trying to force Apple to open the messaging system up to WhatsApp, etc. but who knows if that will happen. 95% of my family and friends and co-workers use iPhones, and iMessage is definitely very convenient. Whenever someone with an Android sends a picture or video, it's a mess on the iPhone (very small and low quality).

2. is it easy to switch? I use Google for email already and I assume transferring my contacts from iCloud won't be a big deal.

3. are there any other limitations I should be aware of?

4. I want a small, light phone. I like the size of the S23, but the Pixel interests me because of the neat Google-specific features like auto-hold and the AI camera tech that are only on the pixel.

5. my spouse and I have an iCloud "family" and pay for the 200GB of storage where ALL of our photos are stored. Would I not be able to use iCloud Photos anymore on Android? That would be a major bummer having to transfer many many GB of photos to a new service and not being able to have our shared albums or sync to my iMac.

I don't like how Apple and Android purposely try to wall off their systems, but hopefully the EU cracking down on that will make cross-platform uses better and more open, but until then I need to know if it's going to be more hassle than it's worth.

[Toons]

My spouse and I have used Samsung phones for a while
we had the S22 ultras.
I did my homework and we both recently upgraded to the
"Flip 5","Not the fold "
It seems to be extremely popular
We both talk to each other about much we enjoy the design ,engineering ,features
Not to say it is for everyone but take a look

[nitpick]

I tried that before. User experience and reliability is much more with iOS compared to Google OS, may be because it’s open source. Apple has lot more privacy and spyware protections. I will stay with Apple even though it might cost little more on long run just for peace of mind.

[dukeblue219]

You will not be able to access iCloud anymore. If Apple users want to share photos with you'll they'll have to send you an MMS or adopt Amazon/Google Photos apps.

If you run in a heavily Apple family and friends group you will be the "odd person" that nobody can share videos with correctly.

I am a dedicated Pixel user from 1 through 7 but my wife is an Apple user. Obviously life goes on, but I also have an iPad to access our family photos. Don't expect it to all be seamless, though you certainly will have no issues with email, basic texts, browsing, mainstream apps, etc.

[kevinf]

Samsung S23 class has has the fastest processor available for Android while Google Pixel has the best camera available on Android. Apple has the fastest overall processor for smartphones. These may be a huge deals or entirely unimportant depending on your use case. All three smartphones are fast and take excellent photos.

Pixel uses stock Android, Samsung runs a modified version. I prefer Samsung's modifications, especially the fact that I can remove the search bar from my homescreen.

Lack of imsg interoperability (poor quality images) is on Apple due to their closed protocols, but that doesn't change the fact that you'll be annoyed by this unless you convince your friends to use something like whatsapp or discord.

[heartwood]

You will not be able to access iCloud anymore. If Apple users want to share photos with you'll they'll have to send you an MMS or adopt Amazon/Google Photos apps.

If you run in a heavily Apple family and friends group you will be the "odd person" that nobody can share videos with correctly.

I am a Pixel users from 1 through 7 but my wife is an Apple user. Obviously life goes on, but I also have an iPad to access our family photos.

You can still access icloud via a browser. I just checked and it worked and I haven't used it in many years.

However, something like appletv is a problem. I'm a long time pixel user. Early this year I got a deal from Best Buy for 3 months of appletv for free. I found it almost impossible to activate/manage/cancel an appletv account even with continued icloud access, w/o an iphone or an apple laptop or tablet. I had to call apple CS each time and work around over the phone. at least a half hour each time. great CS, but no simple interface.

As above, I'm long term pixel using google Fi for service. I'd never switch to iphone (my wife has one so I know). Just got the new pixel 7a. Love it, but if a do over I get the bigger phone.

[bloom2708]

Seems like an over reaction to me.

The Samsung or the Pixel will do nothing that your iPhone doesn't do. You'll just be in a different ecosystem with different devices.

Maybe this thread will "get it out of your system". Don't just do something. Stand there.

[bendix]

I have a Pixel 7 and it is faster than an iPhone as far as I can tell and the camera is A LOT better. Now, Androis isnt as stable as iOS I think and I dont think the Pixel phones last as long... but you can pick them up real cheap if you´re e.g. Google Fi customer.

[02nz]

I am a long-time time iPhone user, since the 3G. I've got an iMac and iPad (mostly used for reading the paper), and all of my personal files are saved in the iCloud, so I'm pretty invested in the Apple ecosystem.

... I need to know if it's going to be more hassle than it's worth.

Yeah it's more hassle than it's worth. The two systems are more similar than they are different, but if you've already got iPad and Mac, the advantages of also using iPhone are too great to overlook.

[ee_guy]

Being in the tech world, our household is agnostic. Our household system is Windows 10. This system holds our photos. Our home theater system (a dedicated PC) is Windows 10. Both of us have Macbook Pros and Ipads. (Macbook Pros are the best laptops.) I have Android tablets. I run Ubuntu on another PC and virtually. My wife has an iPhone while I use a Pixel 6a. We use the Google cloud as our share photo storage. We could switch phones either way without much difficulty. I am currently looking at switching to Microsoft 365 family plan. This will provide 1TB of storage for each of us for $99. Our photos are stored online and also on external HDD.

I am a long-time time iPhone user, since the 3G. I've got an iMac and iPad (mostly used for reading the paper), and all of my personal files are saved in the iCloud, so I'm pretty invested in the Apple ecosystem.

The icloud storage basically locks you into the Apple ecosystem unless you move your photos.

1. how big of a deal is not having iMessage? I understand that the EU is trying to force Apple to open the messaging system up to WhatsApp, etc. but who knows if that will happen. 95% of my family and friends and co-workers use iPhones, and iMessage is definitely very convenient. Whenever someone with an Android sends a picture or video, it's a mess on the iPhone (very small and low quality).

With my Pixel 6a, I can read/write messages on my phone and tablet just like imessage. I can read/write on Windows desktop and MBP using a browser.

2. is it easy to switch? I use Google for email already and I assume transferring my contacts from iCloud won't be a big deal.

To switch from iphone to android and get the phone working is easy. You have to accept the other consequences.

3. are there any other limitations I should be aware of?

It depends on how many Apple accessories you have. New ear pods? Speakers?

4. I want a small, light phone. I like the size of the S23, but the Pixel interests me because of the neat Google-specific features like auto-hold and the AI camera tech that are only on the pixel.

Pixel 6a or 7a is very small and fits well with small hands.

5. my spouse and I have an iCloud "family" and pay for the 200GB of storage where ALL of our photos are stored. Would I not be able to use iCloud Photos anymore on Android? That would be a major bummer having to transfer many many GB of photos to a new service and not being able to have our shared albums or sync to my iMac.

As others mentioned, you will have to access via a browser.

[flyingcows]

You could migrate out of Apple services and continue using their devices, personally I've always used the Google ecosystem of services: photos, docs, drive, gmail, maps, chrome, etc...I don't use any of the Apple services yet I'm also a long time Iphone user, makes it easier to use my data across my different devices, not all of which are apple devices

[pizzy]

God forbid

[dukeblue219]

You will not be able to access iCloud anymore. If Apple users want to share photos with you'll they'll have to send you an MMS or adopt Amazon/Google Photos apps.

If you run in a heavily Apple family and friends group you will be the "odd person" that nobody can share videos with correctly.

I am a Pixel users from 1 through 7 but my wife is an Apple user. Obviously life goes on, but I also have an iPad to access our family photos.

You can still access icloud via a browser. I just checked and it worked and I haven't used it in many years.

Please clarify a bit. As I understand it, there is no way to view an iCloud album shared by another iPhone user unless that user shares his album as a public link. While nobody can see it without the link, it isn't password protected or anything so if the link gets "out" your photos will be accessible by anyone.

[wander]

If you care about privacy, Iphone is better option than any Android phone. I do, however, own a Android since I can use it for tools like software defined radio which I think is not available on any Iphone. I prefer Pixel mainly for up-to-date security fixes and software update. I also like the cameras on the Pixel.

[gavinsiu]

I switched from Android to iOS and have been a long term android user. I mostly gotten the android initially due to the lack oif customizable features on IOS. Over the years, I have gotten less and less insterest in customization. Let's try to answer some of your quesitons.

For imessage, that would depend how many of your contacts are on imessage. Apple uses marketing to get people to peer pressure others with the blue/green bubble. Because I only send text, it didn't matter to me, but I think imessage and facetime is probably one of the harder thems to switch.

You will lose the Apple IOS eco-system. If you have lots of apps under Apple, you may not get the same app. Android app are often crappier than the ios version. You will lose other things like airdrop, facetime, and icloud app. You can still access icloud through a web browser.

The camera on the android phone can be better than iphone, but for some reason video recording on iphone is almost always better for some reason.

You may want to be careful about compatibility with perpherials. A lot of printers will handle ios and android. The screen mirroring uses different tech. For example, if you have been screen mirror to a roku, you won't be able to do the same for android.

If you are a heavy user if the apple keychain, you may want to think about migrating. You would have to move all that to the google side. I personally use a password manager to avoid being locked into the eco-system.

IOS has good integration with Mac OS. You can make calls and get message on the Mac. I do not use this feature a lot but some people swear by it. If you switch to android you won't be able to have this feature, but android integrates with chromeos if you have chromebook to get similar set of feature as Mac OS on chromebooks.

Check to see if your air has IOS or android integration. If it supports onlyi one, you will lose that aspect when you switch.

For updates, iphone tend to have long updates usually over 5 years. For this reasons, I refused to buy any expensive android phone in the past because the update was only for 3 years. Nowadays, Samsung and Google appears to go for 4 years of major update and 5th year security upgrade (from phone release). Be careful of what Android phone you buy. Some have no update or 1 year.

Iphone have considerable faster cpu. However in real life, it's not really that noticable. Android phone tend to have more memory, but that is also not that noticable to most users. They also have more storage and some will allow you to add a SDcard. The SDcard tend to be problematic to use since you really can't use it as program storage without issues.

It's much easier transfer things out of the android. Unless you own a mac, accessing iphone is a real pain using itunes through a PC. Transfer rate from cable on iphone is a crappy usb2 480mps. On all of my android, I get usb3 speeds and can basically access the phone like a hard drive.

Android phones tend to have some more experimental features like high refresh rate, etc. Android phones can have faster charging. Apple phone seems to be limited to 25W charging, but many of the android phonoe can go higher. Some of the crazy Chinese phones can charge at 200W. They can charge in 5 minutes but are not available in the US.

5Generally, the pixel phones have lower spec then the Samsung phones. However it's basically more minimalistic and streamline. They are seem as a value type flagship phone. Samsung makes lots of phones and have barebone phones that you can get for about $200 or less to flagships. Samsung phone tend to have more features, but in the past a lot of their features are gimicks such as being able to control your phone from far away. However, they have gotten better in the recent years. Samsung phone are still way more bloatware than google.

Samsung has their own eco-system. If you have those, then Samsung phone will be better. On the other hand, google may lock you out of certain things like mirroring to a google chromecast. Google appear to have restricted this on just google phone, though you can still mirror from youtube and some other apps.

There are switching app that copy your iphone data to android. It may or may not work. I have had issues of stuff not being transfer over, so it's not going to be seamless.

[Watty]

I have always used Android so I do not know much about iPhones.

One thing to watch out for with Android is that some models may get very limited updates, including security updates after a couple of years which may in effect make your phone obsolete because of the security issues. If you buy some sort of clearance phone which was introduced two years ago then it may be getting updates for a very limited time.

This can especially be a issue if you buy a locked Android phone from your carrier since they may used a modified version of Android which they may stop updating sooner.

I just bought a new Google Pixel 6a which was priced reduced to $220. In reading reviews it seems to be comparable to low end iPhones. It should be getting updates for five years from when it was introduced because of Google's policy and it was introduced last year so I should still be getting updates for four more years.

I don't know how long Apple does updates for but I would not be willing to spend $1,000 or more on a high end Apple or Android phone that I knew would not be getting security updates in four or five years.

I have only had my 6a for a few days and I am happy with it and the camera quality blows away my old cheaper Android phone and that is mainly why I got it.

[123]

Apple seems to be a champion for user privacy and security. Google not so much since advertising is their business.

[Kenkat]

If you are a person that likes to keep their phone a long time before upgrading, my experience with Samsung phones (S6 thru S8 era) was that they will not last as long. 3 years and they started having issues with charging port connections, battery life, screen burn in, etc. Between that and the exploding washer fiasco, I am off Samsung as a brand for the time being at least. I’ve had better experience with Pixel and Motorola phones since.

If you are a frequent updater, Samsung may be fine or perhaps they have improved since (or I had a unique experience).

[GuineaPig]

I have a Pixel 6a and the rest of my family has Samsung Galaxy phones. We are all happy with them. But reading your post, it sounds like you should stick to an iPhone. You are deeply in the Apple system and so is the rest of your family. All of your devices and services have been designed to work together and designed not to work well with Android.

You should only switch to Android if you are very angry with Apple for intentionally making their compatibility with non-Apple devices be inferior and are willing to put up with headaches and frustration when you try to use an Android device in a household that is overwhelmingly tied to Apple.

Again, my response is not related to the quality of the devices: I think iPhones, Pixels, and Galaxy phones are all high quality. If you were using an iPhone, but weren't otherwise as tied into Apple hardware and services, my answer would be different.

[Point]

Security is number one for me. Most iPhones are up to date with OS releases, approaching 90%. Two things come to mind: the opportunity for nefarious activity decreases as update adoption increases; iPhones are able to stay current with software updates.

Secondly, I use number of devices and the data flow well between them, and with the family apple devices.

So, my frustration level is low as I don’t spend time tweaking things to keep them working.

Besides the above, the things just keep working for me. I have an 11 max and will probably go to the latest iPhone this month.

[randomguy]

If you are a person that likes to keep their phone a long time before upgrading, my experience with Samsung phones (S6 thru S8 era) was that they will not last as long. 3 years and they started having issues with charging port connections, battery life, screen burn in, etc. Between that and the exploding washer fiasco, I am off Samsung as a brand for the time being at least. I’ve had better experience with Pixel and Motorola phones since.

If you are a frequent updater, Samsung may be fine or perhaps they have improved since (or I had a unique experience).

My s8 was 4 years old when I traded it in. Looks like my Pixel 6 is going to last 18 months before dying to a swelling battery. My iphone 6s lasted 30 months before the charging connector broke. I don't pretend any of this is large enough sample sizes to matter. But I am definitely feeling soured on android right now.

[Kenkat]

If you are a person that likes to keep their phone a long time before upgrading, my experience with Samsung phones (S6 thru S8 era) was that they will not last as long. 3 years and they started having issues with charging port connections, battery life, screen burn in, etc. Between that and the exploding washer fiasco, I am off Samsung as a brand for the time being at least. I’ve had better experience with Pixel and Motorola phones since.

If you are a frequent updater, Samsung may be fine or perhaps they have improved since (or I had a unique experience).

My s8 was 4 years old when I traded it in. Looks like my Pixel 6 is going to last 18 months before dying to a swelling battery. My iphone 6s lasted 30 months before the charging connector broke. I don't pretend any of this is large enough sample sizes to matter. But I am definitely feeling soured on android right now.

It truly is hit or miss it seems. Most major electronics and appliance vendors have spent some time in my doghouse it seems. Sometimes stuff just breaks or doesn’t last or sometimes you are surprised. No brand is probably completely safe (or completely terrible) from my experience.

[Leesbro63]

Kinda reminds me of when my dad bought a Sony Betamax just as VHS was becoming a thing. He couldn't get the pre-recorded movies on Beta and finally threw in the towel. I get it that Android is not Betamax, but I think it makes sense to accept the love-hate relationship with Apple and be on "the same standard as everyone else".

[William4589]

Welp, everyone I know (family & friends) has an iPhone.

I'm the lone holdout with my Samsung. I'll continue using their product and yeah I'm also in the Google ecosystem.

[greg24]

I am a long-time time iPhone user, since the 3G. I've got an iMac and iPad (mostly used for reading the paper), and all of my personal files are saved in the iCloud, so I'm pretty invested in the Apple ecosystem.

1. how big of a deal is not having iMessage? 95% of my family and friends and co-workers use iPhones, and iMessage is definitely very convenient. Whenever someone with an Android sends a picture or video, it's a mess on the iPhone (very small and low quality).

5. my spouse and I have an iCloud "family" and pay for the 200GB of storage where ALL of our photos are stored. Would I not be able to use iCloud Photos anymore on Android? That would be a major bummer having to transfer many many GB of photos to a new service and not being able to have our shared albums or sync to my iMac.

Given how invested your lifestyle is into the iOS ecosystem, I think it would be a huge mistake for you to switch. It would not take long for you to regret the move. Loss of iMessage and iCloud would be a giant change.

[the_wiki]

1. how big of a deal is not having iMessage? I understand that the EU is trying to force Apple to open the messaging system up to WhatsApp, etc. but who knows if that will happen. 95% of my family and friends and co-workers use iPhones, and iMessage is definitely very convenient. Whenever someone with an Android sends a picture or video, it's a mess on the iPhone (very small and low quality).

2. is it easy to switch? I use Google for email already and I assume transferring my contacts from iCloud won't be a big deal.

3. are there any other limitations I should be aware of?

4. I want a small, light phone. I like the size of the S23, but the Pixel interests me because of the neat Google-specific features like auto-hold and the AI camera tech that are only on the pixel.

5. my spouse and I have an iCloud "family" and pay for the 200GB of storage where ALL of our photos are stored. Would I not be able to use iCloud Photos anymore on Android? That would be a major bummer having to transfer many many GB of photos to a new service and not being able to have our shared albums or sync to my iMac.

I don't like how Apple and Android purposely try to wall off their systems, but hopefully the EU cracking down on that will make cross-platform uses better and more open, but until then I need to know if it's going to be more hassle than it's worth.

1. You will be just using basic text message. For basic communication, it is the same thing. If you frequently do things like send full size pictures or large group chats with other iPhone users, you may be sad.

2. Depends on what you do with your phone. The apps are not compatible. You will have to make sure the apps you use have Android versions. Most of them will, but they may have slight differences. You will basically be starting over. Things like contacts and pictures are easy enough to transfer.

3. No use of Apple services or applications.

4. Honestly the smallest nice phone is the iPhone 13 mini. I don't know of many on the Android side. Zenfone? Pixel a series? Although if you think the S23 is small (it's a full size phone), you shouldn't have a hard time finding something.

5. No. iCloud is ONLY for apple products. You will have to migrate to another service like Google Photos or One Drive or any other cloud service. You can actually do that before you switch as every other cloud service also works on Apple. Just the reverse is not true.

Basically the biggest obstacle to switching is that Apple makes it harder than it needs to be by intentionally blocking interoperability.

[Inframan4712]

I haven't seen this feature mentioned in this thread:

"With iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, or iPhone 15 Pro, you can connect your iPhone to a satellite to text emergency services, request roadside assistance, and share your location with friends and family — all while you're off the grid with no cellular and Wi-Fi coverage."

This is a feature that could literally save your life. We regularly travel by car to places near our home that have absent or spotty cell coverage. Mostly in rural areas on the way to the beach. If we have a car accident, a heart attack, or just break down on the side of the road, this service could be invaluable.

We are an iPhone family since the iPhone 3g, and Macbooks for about 10 years. The ecosystem is great.

I just ordered the iPhone 15 Pro Max (Max for the 5x zoom) to replace my iPhone 13 Pro. We will replace my wife and children's phones in the coming months with various models of 14s and 15s.

More details about satellite features here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT21388 ... 20coverage.

[buckeye7983]

I haven't seen this feature mentioned in this thread:

"With iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, or iPhone 15 Pro, you can connect your iPhone to a satellite to text emergency services, request roadside assistance, and share your location with friends and family — all while you're off the grid with no cellular and Wi-Fi coverage."

This is a feature that could literally save your life. We regularly travel by car to places near our home that have absent or spotty cell coverage. Mostly in rural areas on the way to the beach. If we have a car accident, a heart attack, or just break down on the side of the road, this service could be invaluable.

We are an iPhone family since the iPhone 3g, and Macbooks for about 10 years. The ecosystem is great.

I just ordered the iPhone 15 Pro Max (Max for the 5x zoom) to replace my iPhone 13 Pro. We will replace my wife and children's phones in the coming months with various models of 14s and 15s.

More details about satellite features here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT21388 ... 20coverage.

Android:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01 ... han-apple/

[LookinAround]

<snip>
However, something like appletv is a problem. I'm a long time pixel user. Early this year I got a deal from Best Buy for 3 months of appletv for free. I found it almost impossible to activate/manage/cancel an appletv account even with continued icloud access, w/o an iphone or an apple laptop or tablet. I had to call apple CS each time and work around over the phone. at least a half hour each time. great CS, but no simple interface.

I don't have a problem with AppleTV.

I have a Samsung (Android) phone and TV. While you can't run the AppleTV app on a Samsung phone or TV

• I can watch AppleTV on my Samsung phone or Windows PC using a browser and logging into the AppleTV website - though don't use these options
• I watch AppleTV on my Samsung TV using Roku as the streaming device
• I access and control my AppleID account using a Chrome browser on my Windows PC. I imagine a browser on any machine will let you login to your account to control it

[FIRWYW]

1) switching is easy either way in my experience. Both have good auto migration in my opinion. There are some apps that work in one but not the other OS.

2) drawbacks- can’t speak to current security but at time of our last switch to apple, apple was much less prone to hacking and Ios has better privacy policies. Androids generally come with bloatware that you can remove. Some people like androids more because of customization. Didn’t really do anything for me previously and you can now do a lot of that on iOS. BIGGEST thing for me is reliability. Dejunking the house right now and have a pile of android devices that just quit working (ranging from cheap to flagship). Only IOS devices to die were old with shattered screens that weren’t worth replacing at that point. ( we have replaced batteries along the way for $60-100). Opinions vary but I reached a point where I like apple more because they consistently work long term.

3) never missed iMessage with android- in fact in low signal rural areas, hate it when iMessage won’t send and I have to force to send through regular messaging.

[Inframan4712]

I haven't seen this feature mentioned in this thread:

"With iPhone 14, iPhone 14 Pro, iPhone 15, or iPhone 15 Pro, you can connect your iPhone to a satellite to text emergency services, request roadside assistance, and share your location with friends and family — all while you're off the grid with no cellular and Wi-Fi coverage."

This is a feature that could literally save your life. We regularly travel by car to places near our home that have absent or spotty cell coverage. Mostly in rural areas on the way to the beach. If we have a car accident, a heart attack, or just break down on the side of the road, this service could be invaluable.

We are an iPhone family since the iPhone 3g, and Macbooks for about 10 years. The ecosystem is great.

I just ordered the iPhone 15 Pro Max (Max for the 5x zoom) to replace my iPhone 13 Pro. We will replace my wife and children's phones in the coming months with various models of 14s and 15s.

More details about satellite features here:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT21388 ... 20coverage.

Android:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/01 ... han-apple/

That is a chip product announcement from January.

Serious question: What Android phones can you buy today or are announced for this quarter, that have this feature?

[LookinAround]

That is a chip product announcement from January.

Serious question: What Android phones can you buy today or are announced for this quarter, that have this feature?

As a Samsung user, I wanted that same answer. Unfortunately, I dont think any existing phones support it (including my S23 Ultra which is still less than a year old) Found this article dated Aug, 2023

What is Snapdragon Satellite? Everything you need to know

[protagonist]

I have both- a Samsung S20FE and, as a backup, a Pixel 7 that I got as a promo deal from Xfinity very cheap.
They are both excellent phones. The camera of the Pixel is better, and better than that on my wife's iPhone as well. Overall I prefer the Samsung but a new one is much more expensive I believe, and the differencein quality is not great.
In fact, the difference between state of the art Samsung, Pixel and Apple phones is negligible- competition is so fierce that when one adapts something the others are quick to follow. It's a matter of personal preference.
My wife is an iPhone user.
I have had both Android and iPhone and I prefer Android for the customizability. iPhone is quicker to learn right out of the box but more limited in how you can customize it. iPhone also uses more , and more expensive, proprietary stuff which I really don't like....it sort of locks you into their universe and makes it more difficult and costly to switch, whereas with Android there are way more possibilities. I disagree with the person who stated that Android apps are scarcer and of lower quality. I think that was true years ago, but comparing what is available for my Android vs. my wife's iPhone it's pretty much a crapshoot.
A big advantage of older Android phones (like mine) was expandable storage, but I don't think that is any longer the case.
I want to emphasize that my preference for Android is personal choice. Androids and iPhones are pretty comparable.

[GreenLawn]

I have a Pixel 6a and the rest of my family has Samsung Galaxy phones. We are all happy with them. But reading your post, it sounds like you should stick to an iPhone. You are deeply in the Apple system and so is the rest of your family. All of your devices and services have been designed to work together and designed not to work well with Android.

You should only switch to Android if you are very angry with Apple for intentionally making their compatibility with non-Apple devices be inferior and are willing to put up with headaches and frustration when you try to use an Android device in a household that is overwhelmingly tied to Apple.

Again, my response is not related to the quality of the devices: I think iPhones, Pixels, and Galaxy phones are all high quality. If you were using an iPhone, but weren't otherwise as tied into Apple hardware and services, my answer would be different.

Agreed. The OP should stick with Apple and it's ecosystem for the reasons stated. The OP has historically restricted their device choices to those offered by Cupertino. Now is not the time to change.

I'm on the Windows/Android side because of the lower cost and better selection, but I've heard nothing but praise for Apple products from its fans. So I'd advise shelling out the extra money and enjoy:)

[acegolfer]

As a Pixel owner, I'd caution against the current Pixel phones because of Tensor chip. Google is giving up this in-house chip in 2-3 yrs.

[opus360]

I switch from Samsung phone to iphone 14 last year because someone gave it to me as gift. I tried mini mac M2 for a few months. I have both ipads and Samsung tablets at home. I used windows laptops.

Bottomline: The switch is quite annoying and lots of learning curve. My suggestion is to stay in whatever system you have now. Grass isn't greener on the other side, just different.

[ichee_marone]

Check out Oneplus 11.

[jabberwockOG]

We replace our iphones approx every 5 years. Neither one of us have any desire to replace based on the latest and greatest. Only had to replace iphone once early at 4 years because I accidentally put it in the washing machine and it came out very clean but very dead.

At a 5 year change interval the higher price for an iphone over competitors is trivial compared to increased reliability, security, and the general lack of hassle factor that comes with using ios/iphone.

[rebellovw]

You should try it - I switched from a iPhone 4 "something" to a Samsung 6. I ended up hating the Samsung after a while - very glitchy - and switched back to an iPhone X.

I'm much happier with the iPhone X. In fact I just got an email from work that we get 750 off the iPhone 15. I'm sticking with the X as it does everything I need it to do and it is in perfect shape.

Perhaps when the XX comes out - I'll buy it.


Edit: I do have terrible reception - people are like - I can't hear your - you are breaking up - and I end up calling from the land line. I expect that to simply be my work provided network provider - as my wife's iphone XS works just fine - so I doubt a phone upgrade would help with that.

[zie]

I don't like how Apple and Android purposely try to wall off their systems, but hopefully the EU cracking down on that will make cross-platform uses better and more open, but until then I need to know if it's going to be more hassle than it's worth.

Yes in your situation it will probably be WAY more hassle than it's worth. Some Apple services like iCloud can be accessed from non-Apple products, but it's generally annoying to do so, it's not integrated at all as you have to do it through a browser window by visiting: https://www.icloud.com Apple Music & TV works natively on Android, but that's about it. On your friends Samsung, open the Play Store and search for 'Apple' and see what comes back.

Why even upgrade, if your current phone works and is at least an iPhone XR or newer? See the IOS 17 compatibility list: https://support.apple.com/en-ca/guide/i ... a5df43/ios .

It used to be that phone upgrades were very large upgrades and arguably worth the change, but these days phone upgrades are basically noise, regardless of vendor. They all do the same-ish things, and they have all been "good enough" for most every use-case for many years now. Certainly there are some niche cases, but most of us are not served by constant phone replacing. Actually scratch that, this is an investing forum, and I encourage your consumerism to help my investments! Apple has gotten very good and encouraging upgrades and making loads of money, it's sad to my investments that they didn't manage to hook you this cycle.

[zie]

Edit: I do have terrible reception - people are like - I can't hear your - you are breaking up - and I end up calling from the land line. I expect that to simply be my work provided network provider - as my wife's iphone XS works just fine - so I doubt a phone upgrade would help with that.

It could be your phone has a bad microphone or something, but it probably is the network provider. Does it work fine in some spots but not others? If so, that's definitely your network provider. If it's always bad no matter where you are, then it could be hardware related like a bad microphone.

[rj49]

I'm also completely immersed in the Apple ecosystem, but don't want to pay for an expensive phone and be on the upgrade hamster wheel. What I do is have a personal phone for family/texting/Apple Pay, but I use the iPhone SE from 2020, which works perfectly and fits in my shirt pocket and comes in red, which I like.

Then I also got a Pixel 6a, which was $75 on the Google store last Black Friday, the price after a very generous $250 or so trade-in for a barely-working iPhone 7 in my closet with a cracked screen. The problem with Samsung is that they have their own apps which nag you to try to get you into their ecosystem, whereas Pixels are pure Android, so I only get the usual Google nagging. I use my Pixel for photos, having a public number for businesses, so I don't get spam on my personal number, for surfing (not on Chrome, since it doesn't do ad blocking). It has some nice features, like automated response for incoming calls asking to prove they're a real person and not a marketer or bot, and other user-friendly things. I also drive Lyft part-time, and I use the larger screen for that. For a second line, I use Red Pocket, which currently has a 5GB yearly plan for $10/mo on ATT network, or 10GB for $16. With my phone, Google was subsidizing the trade-in to get people into the Pixel system, since they have deep pockets, whereas I'm completely overwhelmed by the choices on Samsung and the various gimmick phones they have, and when I've tried them, it simply doesn't feel intuitive or pleasant as an iPhone user. I like pixel have the -an option phones, which have high quality screen and cameras, and a non-glass back, but without things I don't need, like wireless charging, so there's not as much of a drop-off as between flagship and pieces of junk Samsung phones. I just saw that Google has the Pixel 7 for $450 and with a generous trade-in allowance, so you might price it with any old iPhone you have.

[RobLyons]

I am a long-time time iPhone user, since the 3G. I've got an iMac and iPad (mostly used for reading the paper), and all of my personal files are saved in

1. how big of a deal is not having iMessage?

I only have an opinion on the first question. The rest I didn't really get into when I switched from Apple to Android and back.

1. how big of a deal is not having iMessage?

Answer: HUGE. This was basically the deal breaker for us. Sending/receiving pics/videos is crazy going from one platform to another. It looks like the videos were taken through a kaleidoscope.

Other things I didn't like about certain Androids was drop in resale value, slowing over time, ads, and the interface. The Android phones I tried just did not stand the test of time. I'm sure others with more expertise than I may offer more insight but that was my experience at a glance.

[vnatale]

Looks like my Pixel 6 is going to last 18 months before dying to a swelling battery.

This if the first time I've ever read of anyone with this similar problem.

I bought my first cell phone ever (finally in 2018). A Motorola Moto G. I was mystified for a while why the phone seemingly kept coming out of its case and I kept trying to push it back in.

Then it reached a point where it became completely detached from the back cover / case and I could see that what had caused the problem was a swelling battery.

In 2021 I replaced that phone with another Motorola phone.

However, that original phone still works fine as a portable internet device. Just can no longer make any phone calls or send texts with it since it no longer an active phone.

Is a swelling battery more prone to explode? In other words, is there a danger to keeping this phone charged?

[vnatale]

Dejunking the house right now and have a pile of android devices that just quit working (ranging from cheap to flagship). Only IOS devices to die were old with shattered screens that weren’t worth replacing at that point. ( we have replaced batteries along the way for $60-100). Opinions vary but I reached a point where I like apple more because they consistently work long term.

I have lot of older IOS devices. All still work other than Apple's system of planned obsolescence wherein apps that had worked fine on the devices now are inoperable because the IOS system cannot be upgraded to what is needed for the upgraded apps. Not completely convinced that the older apps should no longer be operable. With Windows computers you could have three different sets of software that all worked under three different operating systems, e.g., XP, Vista, Windows 7.

[kevinf]

I've had three Motorola phones (Moto G7 Power, Moto G Play models) and all had swelling batteries within 18months that I had to have replaced by a repair shop.

Swelling batteries should be replaced when noticed. They aren't dangerous because of the swelling itself, but rather that the swelling may make them more susceptible to punctures when the case starts separating and pokey bits like keys can get at the battery, and then you've got a metal fire on your hands (or in your pocket).

That is a tragic decline in battery life for Motorola because I have a Motorola Xoom tablet from 2011 that is still going strong on the original battery.

[vnatale]

Only had to replace iphone once early at 4 years because I accidentally put it in the washing machine and it came out very clean but very dead.

Sorry that you made me laugh at your misfortune!

[MathWizard]

Duplicate

[02nz]

As a Pixel owner, I'd caution against the current Pixel phones because of Tensor chip. Google is giving up this in-house chip in 2-3 yrs.

Why does that matter? The phone will get updates for the time period to which Google committed. And Google axes projects/products all the time, so no one should buy/use any Google product besides the search engine and Android itself with any expectation Google will make new versions years down the road.

[vnatale]

For the many here who are so knowledgeable about all things cell phones.

When I finally got cell phone service in 2018 I chose Google Fi because it allowed one to make phone calls over WiFi. At the time they sold certain phones which allowed you to do that (which was why I bought my Motorola Moto G).

I needed that feature because I live in a rural area and when I was in my office I'd always see people either going outside to make their phone calls or in the foyer. On the other hand, once I got my phone I was always able to easily make calls in my office since they were over WiFi.

In 2023 are ALL phones now able to make calls over WiFi? And, do the phones have a means of making WiFi the first choice for phone calls / texts over whatever service is otherwise connected to the phone?