Productivity on the iPhone 6S?

[crucial bbq]

First off, I have been a Mac fanboy since 1998; always bought, owned, and used Mac desktops/laptops. I also own an iPod Touch, and two iPads. However, for mobile I have been a BlackBerry addict since the mid-2000s. As many of you may know, BB10 is looking quite "dead" and Android on BlackBerry is now a thing. I am looking to upgrade my handset and am considering the iPhone as I am not a fan of Google.

So here I am. My specific question regarding the iPhone has to with productivity. I have been searching this topic for a while now and all I find returned are apps. Coming from a BlackBerry user this is confusing. Puns aside, let me explain: other than the Priv, the BB OS has built-in functionalities that make a lot of tasks feel as though they are a part of OS itself. No need to explain what this is like as I am not looking for a comparison here and it is something that needs to be experienced first hand to understand. However, to give an example let us say that I type a note in Remember (BB10s task/to do list app). If I set a reminder to the task, the task is sent to Calendar. I could also choose to send the task to say email, SMS, BBM, Evernote, OneNote, and so on and if I do so email, SMS, etc. will open on a card within the Remember app; not open in its own respective app. I am thinking that 3D touch might provide a similar experience, but am not too sure as this functionality seemed severely limited on the iPhones I have played around with at my local Verizon store. I imagine this is because of a lack of content on the device?

As I wrote, when I search this topic all I get back are apps and it seems that all reviews are your standard Android/iPhone review (that is; let's talk about build, resolution, speed, specs, and for some odd reason an inordinate amount space discussing the camera)--you know, specs and functions but not any actual real-world usage scenarios.

My #1 need is communications: telephony, email, SMS. I need the ability to easily share and edit content/docs/info, in particular PDFs.

Anyways, if anyone has any real-world experiences with productivity on the iPhone, please share them with me.

*note* the word "productivity" means different things to different people. For some, it means the ability to record and/or edit music, to others, posting to Instagram. For me it means the ability to open, edit, share, and archive documents when I am away from my laptop.

 

[kjung7]

If you're looking for integration of tasks with your calendar then you won't find it on the default iPhone apps. You'll have to download third party apps. Unfortunately iOS doesn't allow you to choose your default app either. However, you can enable widgets in the notification drop down and view both calendar and reminders together. I find that this workflow works well for me.

For email I do prefer the stock email app as it has many useful features that third-party apps don't have yet (for example when you're composing an email you can swipe the compose window down when referring back to another email). I also use Microsoft Outlook when I need to reply with an attachment since the stock mail app doesn't allow attachments from Google Drive/Dropbox.

For PDF management/viewing I use Goodreader. It allows annotation and allows tabbed PDF viewing. It can also connect to Google Drive/Dropbox/iCloud and sync with them.

As for document editing you can use the Microsoft Office Suite or iWork suite. They all work fairly well for quick editing.

If you want more flexibility with your workflow you may want to look at Android. Blackberry just released their first Android phone with a PKB.

 

[crucial bbq]

Thank you for the reply, kjung7. The Priv is a great handset but I find Android annoying, not a fan of Google anything outside of GMaps, so this device is not on my radar. Hence why I am looking at the iPhone.

I have not used Mail on my iPad for quite some time now. For one, I find it to be less functional than the OSX version, and two, my iPad has become a shared device between Ms. BBQ and her mom as if it is her own--so Mail is not set to my own account anyways. I would however use Outlook.

I am fine with both iWork and Office for general drafting but I create docs in LaTex, anyways.

In retrospect, I what I am really asking about is how well does the iPhone handle "work flow"? I am not opposed to learning a new way of doing things and for what it is worth all of that "BB10 functionality" I mention above are all apps at the end of the day, too.

 

[kjung7]

No problem crucial bbq!

Overall the iPhone is great at productivity. It has been getting better and better with each iOS update. I think once you figure out which apps you need and work best for you you'll be very productive. A great productivity booster is Handoff. It allows you to continue what you were doing on your iPhone on your iPad/Mac shamelessly.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that iPhone is a secure and solid phone that will allow you to be productive as long as you harness the power of various apps. I hope that helps somewhat.

 

[Just_Me_D]

When I initially left Blackberry to give the iPhone a shot years ago, I hated the change. Blackberry was so ingrained in me that the simplicity of the iPhone and the way things were done in iOS irked the heck out of me so when the iPhone I had at time fell in the ocean off the coast of South Carolina, I didn't care. I went to an AT&T store later that evening and purchased another Blackberry device. Looking back, however, I can honestly say that I left BB for the iPhone for the wrong reasons at the time. I was curious about the iPhone, but I never considered its day to day use in my life, and that was my mistake. I was all-business back then, but with the way the iPhone and available apps are now, the transition would have been smoother for me if they were available back then. I use my iPhone as primarily a business tool and the apps I have on it, I use. The device and OS fits me so well to the point where I won't even consider another device, no matter how better spec'd it might be, and I'm not alone. It's not a fanboy thing. It's an "it works best for me" thing. With the right combination of apps and services, you can be very productive with the iPhone.

 

[lkveggie]

I know how you feel! I was a BlackBerry power user for a long time, even had the Z10/Z30/Q10 before finally switching to iPhone because I needed the apps. As far as productivity goes, BlackBerry will always win. That doesn't mean, however, that an iPhone can't do it's fair share. You are correct that iPhones are all about apps, mostly because we have them all. You can use Word, PowerPoint and Excel on your phone, as well as edit and publish PDFs. If you're planning on doing this often, I would highly recommend the plus, whether 6 or 6S just because it will be so much easier to see and use. I use my iPhone and iPad for all my tasks now, I can't remember the last time I powered up my laptop. With the combination of apps and accessories, you really can't go wrong with iOS.

 

[circlez]

I'm a sales representative and a full time student. I find that I agree with a lot of the things everyone here has to say. With iOS, you get a massive suite of apps. I move documents between my Mac and my iPhone at the push of a button. While I don't really draft things on my iPhone, the ability is there. I have office 365, google docs, and pages. I also have google drive and iCloud Drive. Using a mix of mostly Google and Apple services, I can accomplish pretty much anything I need. I use stock mail, and have absolutely no complaints about it.

Part of my job involves some event planning as well, and I have created event schedules and spreadsheets on the fly with my iPhone. Then, later on, thanks to handoff I can pick up where I left off on my Mac. I would suggest a 6S Plus for pure productivity and battery life. My 6S can feel a bit limited at times if I'm really trying to churn things out. For reading and receiving notes and documents and PDF's it's great.

 

[mikeo007]

I'm more productive with my iPhone than I've ever been with a blackberry or other phone. The specific sharing functionality you're talking about has been available since iOS 8 with the addition of App Extensions. It allows 3rd party apps to pop up their own windows within other apps, and even edit content within another app (photo filters, safari content extensions, etc).

It's the rich ecosystem of 3rd party apps that makes me so productive. The built in stuff is fine for basic tasks for me (email, calendar, etc). But for specialized things like monitoring/updating websites, I use Koder, and for editing photos/graphics, I use Pixelmator. Having the full official MS Office suite on my phone also really helps when I've got to work on something on the go.

As for the iPhone reviews, they concentrate on what most people care about. Camera quality is important to me, so I really appreciate how in depth reviews go to cover this. When you're in a minority who are looking for a specific functionality (like HTML editing for me) you need to dig beneath the surface to find what you're looking for. But there will almost always be an app or multiple apps that can help you accomplish any task.

 

[john_v]

First off, I have been a Mac fanboy since 1998; always bought, owned, and used Mac desktops/laptops. I also own an iPod Touch, and two iPads. However, for mobile I have been a BlackBerry addict since the mid-2000s. As many of you may know, BB10 is looking quite "dead" and Android on BlackBerry is now a thing. I am looking to upgrade my handset and am considering the iPhone as I am not a fan of Google.

So here I am. My specific question regarding the iPhone has to with productivity. I have been searching this topic for a while now and all I find returned are apps. Coming from a BlackBerry user this is confusing. Puns aside, let me explain: other than the Priv, the BB OS has built-in functionalities that make a lot of tasks feel as though they are a part of OS itself. No need to explain what this is like as I am not looking for a comparison here and it is something that needs to be experienced first hand to understand. However, to give an example let us say that I type a note in Remember (BB10s task/to do list app). If I set a reminder to the task, the task is sent to Calendar. I could also choose to send the task to say email, SMS, BBM, Evernote, OneNote, and so on and if I do so email, SMS, etc. will open on a card within the Remember app; not open in its own respective app. I am thinking that 3D touch might provide a similar experience, but am not too sure as this functionality seemed severely limited on the iPhones I have played around with at my local Verizon store. I imagine this is because of a lack of content on the device?

As I wrote, when I search this topic all I get back are apps and it seems that all reviews are your standard Android/iPhone review (that is; let's talk about build, resolution, speed, specs, and for some odd reason an inordinate amount space discussing the camera)--you know, specs and functions but not any actual real-world usage scenarios.

My #1 need is communications: telephony, email, SMS. I need the ability to easily share and edit content/docs/info, in particular PDFs.

Anyways, if anyone has any real-world experiences with productivity on the iPhone, please share them with me.

*note* the word "productivity" means different things to different people. For some, it means the ability to record and/or edit music, to others, posting to Instagram. For me it means the ability to open, edit, share, and archive documents when I am away from my laptop.

As someone who started off with a BlackBerry 7250 and then went through a myriad of Curves, Bolds, Torches, Z10, Q10, and Z30, I totally get what you mean with your definition of "productivity".

I can't add too much to what others have already posted here. Evernote and OneNote both play very well with iOS - in fact IMO Microsoft's apps on iOS are fantastic. I personally use a mix of Dropbox for work and OneDrive for personal. I also use iCloud Drive and Pages for a couple of things. I don't edit PDF's so I can't help you in that department.

For tasks/to-do's (I totally know where you're coming from with Remember - really good app) I've totally gone over to Wunderlist. I've tried 3 or 4 task manager apps, Wunderlist is my personal preference for being most efficient. It integrates well with iOS, including the Notification tab and Today Widgets, uses 3D Touch for home screen shortcuts and Peek & Pop within the app itself. Personally, I use Google Calendar and Wunderlist has an extension for it so if I have a Task due today, it will put it on my calendar.

I don't have a Mac or Macbook (Puhleeeeeeeeeaze, Santa?) but as others have said, I love love love how my iPhone 6S and iPad Air 2 work together. Very rarely do I ever bring my laptop home from work any more.

One limitation that I think it's fair to mention - if you're used to downloading files and saving them to your device/memory card, that won't work so well on iOS. There's not a built in, user accessible File Manager like in BB10. That used to be one of the things on my big "must have features" list...now I manage very well using Dropbox and OneDrive. But obviously your needs/experience may vary.

Hope that helps, as one former BB addict to another!

Edit to add: Just noticed that Wunderlist Calendar extension will work with iCal and Outlook calendar as well as Google.

 

[mikeo007]

File management isn't the same as other devices, but it's a million times better than it used to be thanks to the iOS file picker. You can now download a 3rd party file manager like Transmit and have it function that same as file managers on other platforms. Even without a dedicated app, the file picker at least allows you to open files from one app, inside another app, and it organizes each app as a folder. So now you can attach files from the stock email app, upload files using Safari, etc.

 

[john_v]

File management isn't the same as other devices, but it's a million times better than it used to be thanks to the iOS file picker. You can now download a 3rd party file manager like Transmit and have it function that same as file managers on other platforms. Even without a dedicated app, the file picker at least allows you to open files from one app, inside another app, and it organizes each app as a folder. So now you can attach files from the stock email app, upload files using Safari, etc.

This is something I did not know. Learn something new every day. I will have to take a look at that.

And yes you're right, the native file picker has improved vastly

 

[crucial bbq]

I apologize for the delay in response but the "reply" window was not showing up...

I appreciate the responses from former BlackBerry users, too, but this question was not specific to them/you.