The simple act of trying to transfer ownership of an iPhone from one daughter to another this week almost broke me. I hate how difficult they make everything.
There were some self inflicted complications to be fair. I couldn’t fully back up the broken phone because it was in a family group with an expired payment card. My wife hadn’t had her iPhone for years so that was a pain in the arse to resolve which included waiting nearly two weeks for an email from Apple. Even when I got into her iCloud account updating the bank card failed every time, also you can’t modify a family group in the browser. I ended up borrowing a family members old iphone so I could set it up as my wifes and disband the family group, then update the payment method directly on the broken phone. We could then pay the 70p or whatever for additional storage and back it up. I couldn’t factory reset the other phone because in addition to the passcode, you also needed the screen time passcode which nobody could remember. I eventually installed iTunes on my PC and wiped it that way. I mean if you know all the security information I imagine it’s a lot easier but I wouldn’t have had this much trouble had they been android phones.
Not an Apple fanboy in the slightest but one could argue that the fact it was so difficult (without knowing ALL the security details) is a feature not a bug.
I could post why I do not like Apple, but that isn’t why I prefer Android.
I like how there are a ton of options on Android. I can control what hardware I have, from an ultrabudget $100 phone to a $2000 foldable flagship. I can choose how I control my device, I can choose how my device looks. All of these things add up to letting me have the best experience.
I also like how you can install custom ROMs on many devices. This allows even more options in terms of personal control.
I may be one of the last hangers-on for this issue, but: my Android phone has a headphone port! That was non-negotiable for me last time I got a new phone. Earbuds do not stay in my ears, are super uncomfortable, and I don’t want to charge a wireless headset or mess with an adapter all the time. I have cheap wired headphones for going out and about that I don’t lose when they fall out because the wire catches them, and really nice wired headphones at home that are much better quality than wireless ones. My car also has a 3.5 mm hookup that sounds a lot better than Bluetooth audio.
Besides that: Having more customization and control. Firefox + adblockers and other extensions. ReVanced for YouTube. Easier access to the phone’s storage and files. Being able to block ads adds so much quality of life.
I absolutely agree with the 3.5mm headphone port. I use mine all the time as every wireless set of earbuds that I’ve tried has hurt my ears in minutes. I also can’t forget to charge my wired ones. It’s getting harder to find a decent phone that has both a headphone port and a micro SD card slot.
I literally can’t keep the wireless earbuds in! I don’t know if my ears are too small or weirdly shaped on the inside or what. Sometimes I can kind of wedge them in for a minute, but only by having them actively digging into the sides of my ear. That hurts and it still falls out as soon as I move my head.
My current phone doesn’t have a micro SD card slot, but that’s another improvement I would really like to have. I like to keep a lot of pictures and files on my phone and it would be great to be able to upgrade the storage as it fills up.
I dislike Apple alot, stupidly Expensive, more than they devices worth, very restrictive on what you can do with them (treat their customers as kids) and their monopoly.
There is also a wide variety of Android phones with different price ranges, and features (like my beloved headphone jacks), wider customisation and a somewhat better repaiability sometimes.
things I dislike about Apple + things I like about android = preference.
I dislike Apple alot, stupidly Expensive, more than they devices worth, very restrictive on what you can do with them (treat their customers as kids) and their monopoly.
There is also a wide variety of Android phones with different price ranges, and features (like my beloved headphone jacks), wider customisation and a somewhat better repaiability sometimes.
I first made the switch to android after my iphone 5 died and found out the newer models wouldn’t have an aux output. I have significantly more chances to use a 3.5mm plug than bluetooth in my life, so it was an easy choice.
7 years later, and I still have the same phone. No bloat, and updated the way I want it. I charge it once per day at high-performance mode, and the battery is holding strong.
I keep an iphone dongle in my car for friends, because I am a gentleman, but they always remark on how easy it would be to just have the damn aux port.
I want my app icons close to the bottom of the screen where my hands are and not at the top of the screen just because Apple demands it. Also I can have ad free apps like ReVanced
Because I can use LineageOS or some other ROM. This allows me to live without Google apps and still have a working phone that I can customize to my hearts content.
If you can turn off swipe left to Google news, get a RSS feed reader, put a full screen widget on page one and all your apps on page 2. Make page 2 your default for home.
I’m unsure whether a drop-in replacement exists. I use Lawnchair. It doesn’t have the newsfeed when swiping left, but if you’re okay with changing your flow a bit it could be good (enough) for you. You could create something with widgets (or maybe plugins) that replicate what you currently have.
Sorry for the my previous post, I hit ‘publish’ instead of exiting preview, lol.
What phone are you using?
Samsung Galaxy A11, Android 12/One Ui Core 4.1. I bought it in November 2020, amid a problem with not accessing Whatsapp and communicating with my schoolmates.
Are you happy with it? What are its best and worst qualities?
Yeah. I don’t know how to say exactly about the best and worst things about it, I’ll just say that at least it’s satisfying me.
Which phones have you had previously? Which were the best and worst of the lot?
Samsung Galaxy J2 Prime and Motorola G6 Play. About the first one, it had terrible storage: 16GB, which was small even back then and it was one of the reasons I switched phones. About the second one, it lasted a few years, but as I used it a lot, it ended up with the battery becoming addicted and it stopped working during the pandemic. I still kept it, waiting for some repair, but then I had to give it to another relative.
How often do you upgrade to a new phone?
I use it until it is very old or with some defect. Yes, I know it’s kind of weird to do that, but the wages here don’t help much in the exchange for a decent phone.
What other Android ecosystem devices do you have? Watches, headphones/earbuds, etc.
None.
Do you also use any Apple products, or are you Android all the way? (And/or Windows, Linux, ChromeOS, etc.)
I have a tablet (Galaxy Tab A, 2019 version. Android 11), two cell phones that belonged to my parents (Galaxy J7 Prime and Galaxy A10, the latter being with the screen broken) and a notebook with Windows 10 that I also bought in 2020 (Samsung Essentials E20). Yes, I’m technically kind of a Samsung fan.
I will agree it’s limiting, but it isn’t anywhere close to confusing. The one thing I will say is that some app settings are tucked away in the iOS settings app, which I would prefer them to be in the actual app.
Both are correct. You can hand an iPhone to a 3 year old and they’ll figure it out. If you’re used to Android and care about changing things or accessing files, iPhone is a pain in the butt.
There’s always a learning curve going from one thing to another. Like you said, going from Android to iOS, learning the UI and where things are placed may take some time to get used to at first. I went from Android to an iPhone 12 a couple years ago, and it took some time to learn. Same goes for switching from iOS to Android. That being said, it doesn’t mean the UI is confusing.
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