So first, I will say that the phrase “stopping me from switching” kind of implies that I’m looking to switch but can’t.
I used to have android between the iPhone 4s and the iPhone X. Back then, there were significant features that I wanted that I couldn’t get from iOS. Tho now there isn’t much that android has that I don’t feel I have access to that is significant .
As for what keeps me around and happy with iPhone is
- I’m in software engineering and I have always been mac person. I know windows has had the Linux subsystem for a long time now but it feels like a new feature and clunkier than max being freebsd based. My current job forces me to use windows, and I hate it but it’s been 4 years, so I’ve adjusted. That said, the Mac/iPhone/iPad interoperability is great
- I love my Apple Watch. I’m sure Android wearable have gotten better but the integration feels complete and well supported. I don’t have to worry about my phone getting updated and my watch stopping working
- The find my network is pretty great. I know there are other solutions but airtags are great. All of my devices also have seamless location tracking and sharing out of the box.
- I pay for the TB of iCloud storage (it’s outrageously priced but I’m used to it now). It’s great to have all my devices able to just all be using it. Latest addition to my icloud usage was using the Logitech Circleview doorbell and camera. It saves directly to icloud. I don’t have to worry about storage and I also don’t have to worry about the company sharing my footage with cops cause the data is stored in my icloud drive.
- it’s not flawless nor perfect but knowing that there is app review before something gets published makes me feel better about the entire ecosystem. Kind of like how a bouncer at a bar let’s ya know that when you go inside, the riffraff had to at least sneak in
- apple pay works great for me
- having all my devices made by the same company is a pro for me but I know others might see it as a con. But my Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePods, AirPods, etc all just being from apple means I have less to keep up with. I don’t have to worry about a matrix of who makes what and when it’s gonna get updated or dropped
- resell/trade in value is great cause old devices have such a long life due to software updates
- my shit just works and I’m happy
- I know it might be contraversal but I trust Apple. Be it them having a pretty good record on user privacy, or them not allowing bloatware cause of user experience, or them not cramming AI into shit the same way everyone else did (even with the upcoming IOS, their implementation seems well thought out and conservative
- backups and transferring to new devices has been completely painless (which I do suprisingly often)
Over the years, I’ve gone from being a major tech enthusiast to now not wanting to have to futz around when I’m not on the clock. I still like getting tech and adding it to my home, but I don’t get in the weeds anymore. I just want my shit to work. I want my stuff to just work for my family.
I dunno, tweaking and futzing used to be important to me. But now confidence and simplicity matter more to me now
As someone who used to make apps, but run Android myself, here are the things I usually hear
- App quality tends to be worse on Android
- I have a MacBook, airpods, and Apple watch
- I don’t know if a good Android phone that has the same camera quality and longevity as an iPhone
The subtle reason is also status. People feel rich/different with an iPhone
Apple def doesn’t have the status symbol effect that it used to.
It’s still there for some other Apple products, especially outside the US. I went to a generic electronics shop to buy some headphones and mentioned they’re for my new MacBook, and the worker replied “Congratulations”
I considered the jump to iPhone and did some testing on one of my kids iPhones. The common apps were essentially identical to my android, but the weird thing is free apps on iPhone all seem to just captive webpages or some other crap quality thing. You have to pay for good apps on iPhone. On android the free stuff is consistently better. Just my experience.
Why would I? My phone works fine tyvm
As long as you stay in your box.
Most people don’t need and thus don’t want to exit the box in their daily lives. They just want something that works and both iOS and Android provide that. It’s not shameful to stay in that box, if all you need or want is a functional box.
For those that can afford to enter the box and maintain all of its required ancillary pieces, you may very well be able to have that experience and save yourself “the burden” of thought or choice, yes.
Voting is hard too, having to research multiple candidate’s histories against their stated intentions, marketing and funding sources can be downright exhausting at times, maybe you can let Apple do it for you?
Raising your kids includes so many difficult and impactful choices… Maybe we can send our kids to Apple, pay a subscription, and they can raise them as might best boost shareholder value?
It’s not shameful.
That’s a bad analogy because A. iPhones work very well on their own, you don’t need to buy anything else, especially nothing expensive, and B. buying an iPhone is just as well a choice as buying any other phone. I‘m not letting Apple decide for me, I’m deciding to get an Apple device. If I‘d have preferred something else, I‘d have gotten that.
And for most people, it doesn’t matter. All they want is a device with a webbrowser and a chat app. Any phone can provide that. I know a lot of people with android phones. Used some myself over the years. And all but the most techy and tinkerhappy people will ever sideload an app, install a third party launcher, root their device or do anything but stay inside the same box iPhones are. And sure, you can’t exit the box while using an iPhone and you could on the android device but why would you, when you just need your phone to work so you can concentrate on things that actually matter, like preparing for the next election or raising children.
See, just stumbled across this on another thread, you box folk are just the open butt of the joke everywhere…
Sure. I wouldn’t buy shoes that need an app in the first place though. I think that’s more of a joke.
Again, when there comes a point where I need to exit the box, I will. I just don’t have to because I’m not buying shoes that require an app to function.
App controlled shoes aren’t the outlier though by any means? Just about everything has a companion app these days and through enshitification they eventually lock away features and charge subscription (if they didn’t from start) until they inevitably shut down servers and brick devices or at lady severely restrict usability.
The android community often revives these products, giving them a second life and retaining their core functionality at least - because the platform allows for it in its design.
This same thing doesn’t happen in the box, because the box doesn’t want its friends ability to pull the plug denied them. Again this is objective fact at this point and ubiquitous to the point that you routinely see casual reference to this style of joke.
And to “most people will never use X functionality” that’s a self fulfilling prophecy because most people in the box have never known those features as any kind of possibility. “Most people held hostage in a basement from birth, fed only saltines, won’t want Oreo cookies” is the same idea.
Idk what you mean by ancillary pieces. I have a phone. That’s it. Nothing additional.
I hate google.
- There is no reasonably sized android phone. They’re either huge (>6“) or tiny (<4“) and the smaller variant usually has ancient and slow specs.
- I passionately dislike google. Big parts of that is privacy, which Apple might not care about as much as they should but Google isn’t caring about at all. And yes, it’s possible to use Android without Google but it’s quite a hassle.
- I prefer the UI of most apps on iOS to the equivalent on Android. It’s fairly consistent, usually following certain standards (like the menu bar on the bottom).
- Most android phones I’ve used over the years have an ungodly amount of bloat. Why would anyone want to use a second, worse app store? Why are facebook and tiktok preinstalled and can’t be uninstalled?
- I also have a Mac and an AppleTV. The iPhone fits right in.
- I’m used to it. It works. As long as Apple doesn’t do a major privacy oopsie or someone releases a small android flagship phone again, I have no reason to leave because android offers nothing I desire beyond what I already have.
Edit: structure
#1 is the most legit reason itt. I had an iPhone for work. Perfect size even with a rubber case. Despise almost every other feature… Size was perfect. Now I’m stuck with 6" after 6" (gigiddy)… At least they’re cheap and fit in my pockets.
4 might be where people are getting their phone. Haven’t had this on the last 2 phones at least (unlocked, not bought from carrier)
Carrier phones aren’t really a thing here in Germany. You usually just get the exact same as retail. I believe the problem is just with some brands more than others and probably also price point.
If u really care about privacy that much then why are u using the closed source system of apple. Also the bloat apps of android are removable,u dont even need to root, just use https://github.com/0x192/universal-android-debloater
Because it’s more convenient. I trust Google less than Apple and degoogling android is a hassle. Or rather getting all the apps you need with a degoogled android. I do want privacy but I also don’t want to give up useability.
Also, the point is less, that you can’t remove or deactivate bloat apps but that they’re there in the first place. I‘ve got a similar issue with Windows.
And the other factors still play a large roll. If I could have a reasonably sized, speced and priced android phone, I might consider it and maybe will in the future when my iPhone 13 mini gives up the ghost.
Fair enough,I misjudged ur threat model. But is there any reason as to why u trust apple more than companies like google even tho both are closed source and non auditable by the general public. Is it cuz of the privacy font that apple tries to show?
To some degree, as apple tries to appear privacy conscious, at least, while Google is very open, that all they want is your data. But that gets enforced by their business models. Google is first and foremost an advertising company. That’s how they make money. Less so with hard and software. Apple is first and foremost a hardware company. They do sell some software and services but it’s not their main business. Advertising even less.
I just saw an article about Google adding pop-ups during navigation to Google Maps.
https://www.androidauthority.com/google-maps-pop-up-ad-3458170/
I technically have both since I’m a developer but my daily driver is my iPhone because when I have an android phone, I constantly want to put different roms on it so it ends up unstable. So, Apple’s walled garden saves me from myself making my phone unstable when I need a phone for calls/messages and not tinkering.
I don’t notice much of a difference these days, though. Sometimes, I charge my iPhone and grab my Pixel and I don’t even notice. Back in the day, iOS was generally more polished and Android was either slightly behind or ahead on specific features but I find that both are pretty much mature at this point. Flagship cameras are both excellent. Accessory ecosystems exist. There’s really not an overwhelming reason to switch, (especially if the Android phone is also a walled garden, which seems more common now).
First thing: Privacy. I am aware that iOS is not entirely private too, but I trust Apple Photos much more than Google Photos. You can even enable end-to-end encryption iirc.
Second point is control over my data. I can easily export my photos from Apple Photos as files, whereas Google maliciously separates Photos and Metadata upon export. In my experience this is the same for a lot of other services as well. Being able to easily export my data enables me to escape the walled garden more easily should I get fed up with one system. I also try to use as many open source services as possible for this as well as other reasons.
Apple has a lot of malicious practices too, especially when it comes to EU citizens and third-party app stores, etc. - but in my experience Google is no better.
Lastly, I considered switching to an Android with Graphene OS (privacy focused Android derivate) a couple of times, but the added control over your data comes with a lot of other inconveniences. So for now, I’m just sticking to iOS.
Apple Photos is more private than Google Photos
Sure, but if you care about privacy at all, then surely you wouldn’t use either of them anyway? You’d use Ente Photos (available for both OS), or Immich (available for both OS), or any other private solution? So this shouldn’t really be a factor in choosing between Android and iOS. Same with the export point. Both have good options for photo backup, and neither Apple Photos nor Google Photos are one of them.
I dislike this logic. It’s really a black and white / all or nothing approach. Also, I think the photos app is just a microcosm of a bigger consideration. That being which OS do I trust more overall if I trust some of the built I apps more?
Agree, you should look at the overall picture, not make a decision based on an individual app (which, in case of Google Photos, isn’t even built in unless you buy a Pixel or something, it’s just some app that happens to be available, for both iOS and Android).
Google.
I used to have Android, from HTC Desire upto Pixel 4a 5g. But Android 11 and 12 really ruined the experience for me. And I went to iPhone. I’m not going back anytime soon.
I’ve used both for years. iPhone is simply the better device compared to any Android phone I’ve tried, including Pixel and other high end phones.
iOS is a better OS for me. I’m a software eng, and so I’m able to do all sorts of things to androids, and some things to iOS, but at the end of the day I want my phone to work and that’s it. I don’t tinker in my free time because I tinker all day at work.
As others have mentioned, the Apple ecosystem is pretty fantastic.
Finally, I’d rather buy hardware/software from a hardware/software company than an advertising company.
I came to the same conclusion. Also, the year I was going to try a top of the line android device was when they started bursting into flames in people’s pockets.
Used to use android, but switched to iPhone when the 12 came out. I simply don’t care about the flexibility anymore… I used to tinker a lot, but now I personally don’t find it amusing. And even if I did want to tinker, the Shortcuts app provides a lot of cool features. iOS is refined, sleek, and I enjoy the UI. AirPlay works miles better than anything on android. CarPlay is a better experience. The ecosystem just works. Apple Maps street view is available in places google maps isn’t. I’m currently on the 15 pro max, and the design and feel of the phone is awesome. Probably a handful of other things that don’t immediately come to mind.
As an Android user, I’m considering switching to iPhone due to how much worse the Android experience is becoming without Google Play Services. I’m using a custom ROM with microG, which potentially means no RCS since it is only available through Google Messages which doesn’t work with microG.
As much as it would suck jumping ship, at the very least, Apple is still a consumer hardware company first & foremost while Google will always be an ads company. Android exists to that end & that end alone.
History: I used/preferred Android until the iPhone 4S. I still have Android phones/tablets laying around for software testing.
- I’m a developer and as much of a PITA the App Store is to deal with, their APIs are really productive to work with, especially in the SwiftUI world.
- I’m a Mac user (have been since 1990) and the platform integration is really good.
One fun story: I had to implement the Google Pay equivalent of Apple Pay QR code passes and holy crap was that a shit-show. One Android phone I had had literally two different things called Google Pay, one as an app and one hidden in the Settings menu, with different feature sets and different passes. What the hell???
ITT people who seemingly haven’t used an Android phone in ~10 years
ITT people who seemingly haven’t used an Android phone in ~10 years
Well yeah, no shit. When was the last time the average Android user used an iPhone as their daily driver? Same is gonna be true in the other direction.
That said, as I scroll through I’ve seen a post from someone who still uses Android and a post from someone who switched in 2020.
I myself switched in 2022.
Not an iPhone user but if there’s one thing that is making me want to switch it’s the ads and bloatware. Spending $1000+ on a device that shows ads inside the system apps and includes software like ESPN and Facebook that you can’t uninstall without serious technical know-how is insane. Are the profit margins really that bad on smartphone hardware??
