I did a little experiment recently. I got a Moto X, in order to Android again (stuck with it for 2 months). My last Android phone was a Droid 2. I enjoyed the phone especially the features native to the Moto X. Android has really grown over the years.
But here is my opinion...
1. There is subtle but noticeable lag in some parts of the OS, and certainly in some resource hogging apps like Facebook and that is not good enough.
2. Apps like Skype don?t work well in the background. I had trouble receiving calls especially if the app was not recently used.
3. The OS theme is not uniform, and that can be a bit jarring at times. Dark or light? Decide Google.
4. Devs do not seem to spend as much time developing Android apps as they seem to do for iOS apps and it shows in design and performance.
5. Some apps don?t seem to work well with the system. PocketCasts for example won't restart immediately when you click the action button on your headsets. I took a picture once with the Moto X camera, and went back later and it wash?t there. How does that happen? My wife was witness to that event.
6. Hands free interaction with your phone (in my case a Moto X) still seem to need a lot of hand interactions, like unlocking or confirming. I find SIRI to be more helpful as a personal assistant than Google Now.
7. The icons... What?s with all the dimensionally different icons. Different shapes I get, but they should all be dimensionally equal. Then some devs just give you a totally flat edged squared icon that simple looks ugly (see Microsoft apps). Others give you huge icons (see Amazon), and other way too small (see Feedly). I am not sure whose icon is the correct size though).
8. Safari on iOS is better than Chrome on Android, it seems to handle the web better. That?s strange since Google ?owns? the web.
9. The camera sucks on the Moto X compared to 2 year old iPhone 5. But that is a Moto X problem.
10. Some apps are simply ugly, haphazardly designed.
After all is said and done, I like Android, and I like Google apps running on Android. My problem with Android are the 3rd party apps. They may be up there in quantity, but they are not up there in quality, and a smartphone is as good as its apps for many people. After all apps are what you use when you own a smartphone.
In some ways Android seems to be a fun and versatile OS, still rough on the edges. It is as though Google experiments with everything, throws all new experimental features on the devices, but never really sees them though. If they would truly give it their all, and follow through on the development of all the features on Android, Android would probably be infinitely better than iOS.
I am back on my iPhone 5. I wish the screen was bigger, and the OS more customisable (I think), but everything works just as it should and I can depend on it working. For me and my normal day to day routine, that is what really matter.
P.S. The only thing I will truly miss about Android is the Gmail app, that is as close to perfection as a Mail app can get in my opinion. It is solid.
But here is my opinion...
1. There is subtle but noticeable lag in some parts of the OS, and certainly in some resource hogging apps like Facebook and that is not good enough.
2. Apps like Skype don?t work well in the background. I had trouble receiving calls especially if the app was not recently used.
3. The OS theme is not uniform, and that can be a bit jarring at times. Dark or light? Decide Google.
4. Devs do not seem to spend as much time developing Android apps as they seem to do for iOS apps and it shows in design and performance.
5. Some apps don?t seem to work well with the system. PocketCasts for example won't restart immediately when you click the action button on your headsets. I took a picture once with the Moto X camera, and went back later and it wash?t there. How does that happen? My wife was witness to that event.
6. Hands free interaction with your phone (in my case a Moto X) still seem to need a lot of hand interactions, like unlocking or confirming. I find SIRI to be more helpful as a personal assistant than Google Now.
7. The icons... What?s with all the dimensionally different icons. Different shapes I get, but they should all be dimensionally equal. Then some devs just give you a totally flat edged squared icon that simple looks ugly (see Microsoft apps). Others give you huge icons (see Amazon), and other way too small (see Feedly). I am not sure whose icon is the correct size though).
8. Safari on iOS is better than Chrome on Android, it seems to handle the web better. That?s strange since Google ?owns? the web.
9. The camera sucks on the Moto X compared to 2 year old iPhone 5. But that is a Moto X problem.
10. Some apps are simply ugly, haphazardly designed.
After all is said and done, I like Android, and I like Google apps running on Android. My problem with Android are the 3rd party apps. They may be up there in quantity, but they are not up there in quality, and a smartphone is as good as its apps for many people. After all apps are what you use when you own a smartphone.
In some ways Android seems to be a fun and versatile OS, still rough on the edges. It is as though Google experiments with everything, throws all new experimental features on the devices, but never really sees them though. If they would truly give it their all, and follow through on the development of all the features on Android, Android would probably be infinitely better than iOS.
I am back on my iPhone 5. I wish the screen was bigger, and the OS more customisable (I think), but everything works just as it should and I can depend on it working. For me and my normal day to day routine, that is what really matter.
P.S. The only thing I will truly miss about Android is the Gmail app, that is as close to perfection as a Mail app can get in my opinion. It is solid.
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