Cell Phones

iPhone vs. Android?

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Jr. Member
Jun 28, 2012
167 posts
24 upvotes
Toronto, ON

iPhone vs. Android?

Thinking about changing to android. I've been an iphone and apple guy forever, but for what I'm doing lately they just seam too locked down. For example, a simple NFC picture transfer can't happen.

Who has gone to android from iphone and happy they did?
48 replies
Deal Fanatic
Jun 22, 2004
6461 posts
213 upvotes
Personally, I have known many folks, a few who do tinker that started off on Android, had high praises on Android and then they switched to iPhone. One person who was an iPhone user was quite frustrated with Apple (for personal reasons) and preferred the Note's display size.
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Mar 22, 2013
1862 posts
882 upvotes
Markham
I went back and forth between android and iphone but in the end, went back to iphone (6s plus). Android was good because you can do so much with it BUT it's kind of unstable. I don't know about others but I notice android OS goes crazy at random times, like some processes killing my battery. I can have 4-5 hrs of SOT but sometimes just 2.5 hrs. I had a Note 3 and recently the s7 and I would also get random lags probably due to Samsung's Touchwiz. The iphone can be pretty boring but I just need stability and good battery life, which it does give me so that is why I'm back on iphone.
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Deal Fanatic
Nov 15, 2013
5761 posts
3916 upvotes
Toronto
myinglin0318 wrote: I went back and forth between android and iphone but in the end, went back to iphone (6s plus). Android was good because you can do so much with it BUT it's kind of unstable. I don't know about others but I notice android OS goes crazy at random times, like some processes killing my battery. I can have 4-5 hrs of SOT but sometimes just 2.5 hrs. I had a Note 3 and recently the s7 and I would also get random lags probably due to Samsung's Touchwiz. The iphone can be pretty boring but I just need stability and good battery life, which it does give me so that is why I'm back on iphone.
Your lag was probably Touchwiz. Sense never bogs down my M9. I do get the odd day where something locks the process and kills battery life but those are usually every couple months so not enough to bug me, I don't find the OS unstable though.
Deal Fanatic
Jun 22, 2004
6461 posts
213 upvotes
It's true. Even with Android vanilla (nexus 7 second generation) acts on occasion oddly. It requires a full reboot cache partition wipe. It does other odd things as well. Some people might be oblivious to them but I on the other hand notice them. If I would switch to Android, it would be the Google Nexus, Pixlr line. The fragmentation with Android OS will remain for a very long time. I even think Google gave up on trying to reducefragmentation.
Deal Addict
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Mar 22, 2013
1862 posts
882 upvotes
Markham
Jep4444 wrote:
myinglin0318 wrote: I went back and forth between android and iphone but in the end, went back to iphone (6s plus). Android was good because you can do so much with it BUT it's kind of unstable. I don't know about others but I notice android OS goes crazy at random times, like some processes killing my battery. I can have 4-5 hrs of SOT but sometimes just 2.5 hrs. I had a Note 3 and recently the s7 and I would also get random lags probably due to Samsung's Touchwiz. The iphone can be pretty boring but I just need stability and good battery life, which it does give me so that is why I'm back on iphone.
Your lag was probably Touchwiz. Sense never bogs down my M9. I do get the odd day where something locks the process and kills battery life but those are usually every couple months so not enough to bug me, I don't find the OS unstable though.
Yeah most likely TW. I did use a Nexus 6p for the stock android and it was great but the phone ruined it because it gets uncomfortably hot which is a known issue, that's too bad. I didn't experience anything crazy with pure android so yeah.
RTX 4090 FE & 5800X3D
Deal Fanatic
Nov 15, 2013
5761 posts
3916 upvotes
Toronto
myinglin0318 wrote:
Jep4444 wrote:
myinglin0318 wrote: I went back and forth between android and iphone but in the end, went back to iphone (6s plus). Android was good because you can do so much with it BUT it's kind of unstable. I don't know about others but I notice android OS goes crazy at random times, like some processes killing my battery. I can have 4-5 hrs of SOT but sometimes just 2.5 hrs. I had a Note 3 and recently the s7 and I would also get random lags probably due to Samsung's Touchwiz. The iphone can be pretty boring but I just need stability and good battery life, which it does give me so that is why I'm back on iphone.
Your lag was probably Touchwiz. Sense never bogs down my M9. I do get the odd day where something locks the process and kills battery life but those are usually every couple months so not enough to bug me, I don't find the OS unstable though.
Yeah most likely TW. I did use a Nexus 6p for the stock android and it was great but the phone ruined it because it gets uncomfortably hot which is a known issue, that's too bad. I didn't experience anything crazy with pure android so yeah.
Ya unfortunately the Nexus devices always seem to have some sort of hardware quirk to them that lowers the experience. It's a shame that HTC can't seem to hire a working marketing department because their phones are always well built and Sense is about as unobtrusive of a Android skin you'll find.
Deal Addict
Apr 17, 2014
1129 posts
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Corunna, ON
I switched to Android from the 4s about 4 years ago and it's been great. I do not know what they are referring to above with quirkiness. Any quirkiness I've had is very limited and I had it on iPhone too.

I hate iTunes.
Member
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Nov 26, 2014
359 posts
153 upvotes
Quebec
proplayer44 wrote: I switched to Android from the 4s about 4 years ago and it's been great. I do not know what they are referring to above with quirkiness. Any quirkiness I've had is very limited and I had it on iPhone too.

I hate iTunes.
+1

I switched from 4s to nexus 5, then lg g3, might change for Pixel XL or whatever the name it will be.

I'd say iphones are a little bit more stable, but sooo much restricting.. it's insane. can't even plug your phone in a pc and use it as a usb key to transfer any files on it. and I hate itunes too.
Deal Fanatic
Nov 15, 2013
5761 posts
3916 upvotes
Toronto
proplayer44 wrote: I switched to Android from the 4s about 4 years ago and it's been great. I do not know what they are referring to above with quirkiness. Any quirkiness I've had is very limited and I had it on iPhone too.

I hate iTunes.
It depends on the phone. Some are more stable than others.
Deal Addict
Jul 23, 2012
1025 posts
28 upvotes
Ottawa
Concerning the stability, I doubt it's actually the operating system. Both are Unix-like. It's more likely the apps that get installed on top of it that are unstable.
Deal Addict
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Dec 20, 2011
1692 posts
289 upvotes
Calgary
I switched from iPhone 4s to android a few years ago and would never go back. That being said I still use an ipod and the stupid itunes, but I only listen to podcasts so it seems ok for that. I can't seem to find any other mp3 portable small players that work well besides the ipod. I am using a oneplus one and have been for a little over a year. I bought a second one so I could fool around with rooting it and using different roms. I keep one of them stock just in case something goes terribly wrong and I brick the phone lol. So far so good. I'm running Resurrection Remix from XDA and I LOVE how it makes my phone work. So many little just work, and adaway keeps my web browsing tolerable. I am used to the size of the oneplus one and can't ever see myself going to a smaller device. I can't afford apple anymore anyways. Except for used ipods on kijiji.
Deal Expert
Sep 3, 2007
16039 posts
400 upvotes
I used to have the Note 2 and it was awesome. I rooted it, removed the bloatware I didn't need and from time to time ran CCleaner. Best android device I ever had (Nexus4/5 were awesome too).
Newbie
Sep 7, 2006
84 posts
26 upvotes
I just switched from many years of iPhones to my first Android, along with a cheap data only plan using VoIP for my rare phone calls. I love the ability to add an SD card, better battery life, cost effectiveness, and tweakability. The rest of my family remains in the Apple world. I share a Spotify account with the kids, so iTunes doesn't matter much to me.

I started considering the switch when I bought an iPhone 6 outright for my daughter to replace her old iphone. The days of cheap subsidized phones on reasonable.plans are long gone - maybe they never really existed, but I am blown away at the current expense of cell plans/phones.

I was a bit intimidated at first, but I took the plunge and got lots of extra time to read up on Android phones, roms, etc during the time it took for the phone (Redmi note 3)to ship from China. Setting it up involved a bit of a learning curve, but I am now becoming fluent in both Apple and Android.

I couldn't be happier.
Sr. Member
Oct 1, 2009
662 posts
325 upvotes
West coast
I switched to a one plus one because i wanted a larger screen. I would say that customizability is great up to a certain point.

I miss the swipe back and forth and I'm probably in the minority that i hate the back button when I'm in a browser. Give me the swipe and it'll be great and oh yeah no android equivalent to mctube (offline YouTube)
Deal Expert
User avatar
Jan 27, 2006
19792 posts
3421 upvotes
Woodbridge
If you invested on iTunes AND don't care for Customization I wouldn't bother switching.

As much as I love android if I had to pick one I would go with iOS. Especially now that the Plus is an option.

I love the Wallet app and Apple Pay which I dont understand why android is taking forever to bring it over here.
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Deal Addict
Apr 17, 2014
1129 posts
525 upvotes
Corunna, ON
doradxplorer wrote: I switched to a one plus one because i wanted a larger screen. I would say that customizability is great up to a certain point.

I miss the swipe back and forth and I'm probably in the minority that i hate the back button when I'm in a browser. Give me the swipe and it'll be great and oh yeah no android equivalent to mctube (offline YouTube)
Look Up TubeMate in the Amazon app store. It's free and you can download from youtube to the phone no problem. Can even convert video files to just the audio portion.
Deal Expert
Jun 15, 2012
15662 posts
10440 upvotes
Southern Ontario
Just read a lifehacker story published today saying Chome Beta 54 allows video in the background on android. Aside from YouTube Red, is there not something that already does that?

I use Mikoto on jb iOS, it has option toggles to remove ads, age restriction, allows always playback in HD and play in background. Gonna miss it when I move to iP7+ today, like MXtube that allows direct YT downloads to phone... at least until next jb.
Deal Addict
Aug 20, 2008
2097 posts
971 upvotes
With Android there is always a risk of malware if you are a non-technical user. I have used both iOS and Android, I like the openness of Android but I hate the bugs. All kinds of bugs in stock Android. I think a lot of it has to do with drivers and other manufacturer-specific software that Google has no control over. There is also practically no security. But I guess for me the price is right with Android. I don't get people dishing out 700+ on a Samsung, but for $150 Android is a good deal. If I didn't care about money I would buy a Plus iPhone.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Apr 16, 2002
26216 posts
39767 upvotes
Toronto
for phones I'm definitely and Android fan. Tried IOS but like others have said, a bit too locked down for a tinkerer like me who wants to quickly load movies, music, etc. Also IR blaster is so nice on phone for both my home and work use.

However, with tablets I'm totally IOS . It seems like after Honeycomb that the Android tablet user experience just got worse and worse. I'm running a Nexus 9 with official Android 7 Nougat but Ipad user experience just is a little better due to their stringent app controls.
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