Hello all,
I've been using Android for about 3.5 years, starting with the Droid Incredible in May 2010. I decided to get an iPhone 5s for work, because.... well, why not?
I'm not one of these people who have had any real issues with Android, as I normally stick with Nexus devices and stock Android. Anybody who says stock Android has performance issues on a good phone like the Nexus 4 is either lying, or grossly misinformed. My Nexus 4 right out of the box is EVERY BIT as smooth as the 5s is, but, hey... that's not why I'm posting here
I'm just saying that I am not one of these disgruntled Android users, and I have rooted & installed custom roms, so I am well aware of what Android is capable of.
The first thing I noticed about iOS is that, while it is definitely limited in some ways vs Android, it tends to lay things out how I would normally use them anyway, and I get out of the box what I would normally have to install 3rd party apps or launchers for to get the same functionality on Android. And a lot of times, it's the little things that make the most difference. Like the contact favorites list is presented as a list, rather than the weird grid view that Android uses. Even though I didn't want to, I had to upload images to my Android phone, even for people I didn't have pictures for, just to keep from accidentally dialing the wrong person in my favorites list. Notifications on the lock screen is another thing I LOOOOVE! I haven't seen a lock screen widget on Android that is as good at this as iOS.
I also like having the 'unread count' numbers over app icons, something you don't get on stock Android either. And unlike Google Now on Android, I've found that dialing contacts using Siri actually works reliably, and the camera... well, the iPhone wins hands down
And the lightning connector... being able to plug it in from either orientation is worth whatever markup Apple is charging for these cables, IMO. I haven't played with the do not disturb mode, but that's another thing stock Android doesn't have that I really wanted, and this is DEFINITELY not something I wanted to rely on some janky 3rd party app for, which could force close and leave my phone in silent mode.
I've only had the phone for about a day, so I haven't had a chance to play much with apps. But I DID have a chance to play with Google Voice. And, although it's not as tightly integrated as it is in Android (which I thought would be a deal-breaker), I find its layout to be cleaner than the Android version, and it seems good enough to be used as the primary dialer. And since my phone contacts are synced with Google, I don't have to keep up with separate contact lists.
Am I saying that iOS is for everyone? Hell no
I have friends that would be absolutely miserable with it. They install custom roms almost nightly, use tasker for all kinds of automation, have NFC tags strewn all over their houses, etc. Fortunately, I have no need for any of that, and I find that I'm pretty happy with the iOS stock keyboard as well. I got out of the custom rom thing over a year ago... you can do some awesome stuff with them, but everybody has their priorities, and that just isn't mine anymore.
Am I going to switch to iPhone as my primary phone? Not sure yet. There's still a couple of deal-breakers, such as the inability to wireless tether. However, an initial Google search indicates there's a hack or two floating around to do this without jailbreaking, so I plan to look into that. And although I don't really need a full-blown file manager like Android has, I need to look into ways of transferring music/photos/etc to/from the PC without needing iTunes. Apple does good stuff sometimes, but iTunes is not one of them
Also, this phone feels damn tiny compared to the ones I'm used to. I know Apple isn't all about options, but they really need to get on board with bigger phone sizes.
But as a work phone, I think it's going to do just fine
I've been using Android for about 3.5 years, starting with the Droid Incredible in May 2010. I decided to get an iPhone 5s for work, because.... well, why not?
The first thing I noticed about iOS is that, while it is definitely limited in some ways vs Android, it tends to lay things out how I would normally use them anyway, and I get out of the box what I would normally have to install 3rd party apps or launchers for to get the same functionality on Android. And a lot of times, it's the little things that make the most difference. Like the contact favorites list is presented as a list, rather than the weird grid view that Android uses. Even though I didn't want to, I had to upload images to my Android phone, even for people I didn't have pictures for, just to keep from accidentally dialing the wrong person in my favorites list. Notifications on the lock screen is another thing I LOOOOVE! I haven't seen a lock screen widget on Android that is as good at this as iOS.
I also like having the 'unread count' numbers over app icons, something you don't get on stock Android either. And unlike Google Now on Android, I've found that dialing contacts using Siri actually works reliably, and the camera... well, the iPhone wins hands down
I've only had the phone for about a day, so I haven't had a chance to play much with apps. But I DID have a chance to play with Google Voice. And, although it's not as tightly integrated as it is in Android (which I thought would be a deal-breaker), I find its layout to be cleaner than the Android version, and it seems good enough to be used as the primary dialer. And since my phone contacts are synced with Google, I don't have to keep up with separate contact lists.
Am I saying that iOS is for everyone? Hell no
Am I going to switch to iPhone as my primary phone? Not sure yet. There's still a couple of deal-breakers, such as the inability to wireless tether. However, an initial Google search indicates there's a hack or two floating around to do this without jailbreaking, so I plan to look into that. And although I don't really need a full-blown file manager like Android has, I need to look into ways of transferring music/photos/etc to/from the PC without needing iTunes. Apple does good stuff sometimes, but iTunes is not one of them
But as a work phone, I think it's going to do just fine
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