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2984839

Cancelled
Apr 19, 2014
2,114
2,241
Meh, I don't like any mobile phone OS I have used. Android is the lesser of a bunch of evils, but only after running a custom ROM and stripping it of a lot of bloat. I'm still not happy with it. Never tried Ubuntu though, so maybe that will be okay, but who knows...
 

gotluck

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2011
5,717
1,260
East Central Florida
I like android, but the update process sucks. It seems like the only phone worth buying if you care about updates is nexus. Nexus phones dont have all the bells and whistles that other android phones have though.

I very much like iOS, but hate the walled garden.

It's getting to the point that the chance that someone will jailbreak iOS is higher than the chance a non nexus android phone will get a software update :p Or even if that non nexus android phone gets software updates, the performance is not on par with nexus. Planned obsolescence arguably rears its head on skinned android more than on iOS.

TLDR, android update structure (basically the lack of a GPE program) is pushing me back to iOS, even if I have to rely on hacks to get the experience I want on iOS.
 
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GigabitEthernet

macrumors 65816
Jun 21, 2013
1,195
896
United Kingdom
I was an iOS user for over four years and I switched to Android at the end of 2013.

I bought an iPhone 6 yesterday and iOS just doesn't excite me anymore. It feels exactly the same as it did at the end of 2013; Android in that time has changed quite significantly.

iOS is a very good mobile OS and I would still recommend it to an older person, because of its simplicity, but Android just seems to match my lifestyle better: I use a lot of Google services for instance, I like the customisability, I feel the apps that are available are most customisable (Facebook and Chrome for example).

I just prefer Android.
 

nickchallis92

macrumors 6502a
Mar 4, 2012
906
469
London
My job involves sending lots of emails, some of which have multiple file types attached to them.

So I can't own an iOS device.
 

mi7chy

macrumors G4
Oct 24, 2014
10,627
11,298
It boils down to how you use your device. From my experience using both, iOS to Android is like a golf cart to a SUV. I can see the attraction to the simplicity of a golf cart at the expense of versatility, however, I much prefer the versatility of a SUV.

Perfect example is turning a stock unrooted $25 Moto G plus $25 Sandisk 64GB OTG flash drive into an ~8 hour battery operated WIFI access point + media server + file server + security/baby/scenic camera video server. Without a hiccup it can:

- in the foreground display two security camera video feeds with motion detection from two Moto Gs

- in the background automatically broadcast available content and stream four different 1080p videos to two Moto Gs, Galaxy S6 and Thinkpad Windows tablet

- in the back ground transfer files from Thinkpad tablet

It handled all those at the same time and could probably handle more but I ran out of test devices (five Moto Gs, Galaxy S6 and Thinkpad tablet). Even for a 1GB DRAM device it's very efficient using ~500+ MB with ~300+ MB remaining. Amazing if you ask me compared to iOS on my iPad that can't even run one simple telnet, SSH or IRC client in the background for longer than 3 minutes without dying as discussed here.

20150629_154223a_zpsuioom1an.jpg


List of hardware and apps used:

BubbleUPnP to automatically broadcast available media content and stream to clients, super easy as the available content show up on Android clients running the app with zero configuration and Windows 8.1 natively

IP Webcam Pro to turn phone into standard security camera

TinyCam Monitor Pro security camera management app

DavDrive file server, can download to any client using browser from server, can download/upload from Android client using Solid Explorer app from server, can download/upload/map drive from Windows 8.1 using native WebDAV client, uses fastest WebDAV protocol that's faster than SMB

Hotspot Control to toggle hidden hotspot on Moto G

Moto G often on sale for free with reward points to $25, can use on WIFI without activation

Sandisk 64GB micro USB 3.0 OTG connects directly to Moto G USB port to expand storage
 
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sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
I've found it increasingly difficult to justify the extremely high prices for iPhones vs quality Android devices that are available. If I didn't have an iPad I might feel differently though.
 
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Skoal

macrumors 68000
Nov 4, 2009
1,773
532
iOS and OSX for 80% of my life. Android and Linux for 16% and Windows for the remaining 4%
 

Savor

Suspended
Jun 18, 2010
3,742
918
OP is an Android experimenter who keeps running back to iOS. How is that like being the odd man out? This forum is flooded with threads like that.

I am an Android loyalist who posts in an Apple-centric forum. I am a Los Angeles Clippers fan since 1992. I wore Lamar Odom's Clipper jersey in 2000 when the city of LA was going to celebrate the Lakers championship. I wore a Larry Bird jersey when the Lakers battled the Celtics in 2008 and 2010. I freakin' own a Atari Jaguar since Christmas 1993 that still here as a memento. I own a smartphone that was available only through a flash sale and would rarely find in the US and most Apple would say Xiaomi are copycats. I enjoy horse racing since 1996 which was once a popular sport and now feels niche. Those are feelings being an odd man out. Of course, I was already a registered member FIVE YEARS ago and was an iPhone or iDevice user way before that.

Our taste, needs, wants, moods, and mind changes over time. We can make a FAVORITE lists on any topic and the list just changes as years go by. I bet if I ever saw a post about SEGA vs Nintendo even 15 years ago when the Dreamcast was going to die, I would be laughing at my opinions on them. Emulation. Dillema solved. Or Michael Jordan vs Kobe Bryant when both are pretty good friends with each other. I remember I frequently was on the ESPN NBA board from 2004-2010 trying to school the Kobe kids on there. But over the years, I have videos of someone I used to HATE for no apparent reason and came to respect his opinions. In tech, I came to respect Steve Ballmer since he now owns the Clippers and have videos of him jumping up and down like a monkey and doing The Night At The Roxbury parody with Bill Gates. And I don't adore Microsoft. With Apple, I still have the Steve Jobs video of narrating many great people in history for thinking different. And I don't adore Apple either. I have Samsung's NEXT BIG THING ads and the only Samsung product I own is a small washing machine. I remember praising HTC in 2013 only to feel so disappointed by them in 2015. Brand loyalty can be a waste of time.

In time, that HATE on anything will go away and we may end up respecting them when they are truly gone. Imagine a world without iOS or Android? They need each other to INSPIRE. A MUSE. For Apple and Google to light a fire under each other's belly. The best thread I saw here was that life after 50 thread in the community section. When we are young, WE WANT THE BEST. WE WANT PERFECTION. WE SPLURGE. WE SPOIL OURSELVES. We will never find that because perfection is subjective and fulfilling a MATERIALISTIC void will always feel hollow no matter if we get everything and then get bored for having everything. Perfection can be improved and surpassed. It can be outdated esp with most technology that are built for obsolescence. I have parents in Yorba Linda, CA. They went from a $800K home that they sold for $1.2M last March to a small townhouse for 1/3 of the cost in the same zip code. Nomore yearly income in six figures. In their 30's-40's while working in real estate, it was all about making a lot of money, finding the best things in life, finding perfection. Now they DON'T NEED any of that. They want a smaller, cheaper home so they can retire early, easier to clean during their empty nest period while travel more in their 50's.

Everything has their pluses and minuses. You can deal with them all or keep it simple. We live in a world where we need to rely on internet people's opinions. Just do what you like, man. Alot of this stuff will become trivial two decades from now when having LESS feels better. I am 34 and want a PS4. But could I really see myself playing another video game console after my 50's? When we reach our 50-60's, will you really be caught in a stupid dilemma on which mobile OS you prefer using? Nothing we keep or cherish is forever based on our mortality. All our gadgets will die just like we will do.
 
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Savor

Suspended
Jun 18, 2010
3,742
918
This might come off as an Android vs iOS sort of thing, but I completely don't intend for it to be.

I just don't find myself being able to stick with any Android phones. I keep going back to them on the basis that "come on, they're awesome". It could be the screen or the size or the camera, but I keep thinking that this next time I'm going to stick with it. And every time I try for a few days, or maybe a month or two, and then it's back to the iPhone.

Android just ... doesn't excite me as much as iOS does. To me, there's something about an experience that is finely tuned from the hardware to software that makes me giggle like a little school girl. And I can't say I've felt that when I used either the Galaxy S6 or the Nexus 6. Is there something different about me that makes me incapable of sticking with Android, despite the fact that it fascinates me on a deeper level?
 

iSheep5S

macrumors 6502a
Jun 4, 2013
581
288
Scotland
I'm the opposite. I can't stick with iOS for more than 6 months without getting bored and running back to android. Its so much more exciting.

I have Twitter, "new phone coming today", my interest is sparked so i wait. "Well that was a let down, its the same as the last but bigger". iPhone... soooo many times. Yet they repeat.

I can't knock iPhone tho. Does as it should and is very simple to use. I will return for my 6 months again.

When i'm on Android i wonder why so many people spend so much on such a simple limited Apple phone.

When i'm on iOS i wonder why i left and mock Android users. I could flip the coin both ways and argue the best all day long. ;) :apple: :D
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,589
835
I think Apple is very good at being familiar to consumers. They're innovation really lies in adding features to enhance the experience across multiple devices. Continuity, handoff, now with iOS 9 things like handoff over cellular means a seamless out of box experience where multiple devices can enhance the overall experience. It's a walled garden but it's really good at it. Apps are tops, hardware is nice and attractive overall, and support is consistently good. It's why people pay the premium. Especially knowing if you're friends/family have iOS devices now things like iMessage n FaceTime come into play and are seamless. If you have an iPhone, iPad, atv, Mac it's imo an elevated experience vs the individual parts. You don't need all of them but recognize that having them means it can do more.

It's boring to a lot of people, I get it. And android oems are making some really good phones lately. The G4, s6, n6, etc seem to be great phones. And for those that prefer android it's great for them. It's customizable, open and there's a plethora of options. Unfortunately there's a bit of fragmentation because of the options, carrier bloat, and just the different oems. It's not a walled garden which again is good and bad.

They borrow from each other definitely but imo most know exactly what they're getting with the iPhone. With android it just seems like a lot of people don't quite know exactly what they're getting until they customize it or try different roms.

Fwiw I think a jb iPhone is a great balance.
 

akuma13

macrumors 6502a
Jan 10, 2006
934
430
I agree, there is a familiarity and simpliciticy with Apple that have people coming back to it (including me).

A jailbroken iPhone is the perfect phone OS.
 

lowendlinux

macrumors 603
Sep 24, 2014
5,460
6,788
Germany

sracer

macrumors G4
Apr 9, 2010
10,405
13,290
where hip is spoken
While the author is not my favorite guy this is kinda what I'm going through now.

http://www.networkworld.com/article...ogle-out-of-my-life-part-4-goodbye-gmail.html
I'm not impressed by the author's arguments. Complaining about ads? If one is using an email client or using adblock, there aren't any ads. He thinks that privacy is improved from moving from GMail to Kolab... that's naive. I guess it would be helpful for others with an emotional dislike of Google.
 

ucfgrad93

macrumors Core
Aug 17, 2007
19,579
10,875
Colorado
There is nothing wrong with not liking Android or any phones running it. It just means you prefer IOS and the iPhone.
Stick with what "makes you giggle like a little school girl" :) I do think Apple does a great job blending hardware and software. Just enjoy your iphone and be happy!

Well said, and I agree completely. There is no one phone that is perfect for everybody. So, get what fits your needs the best and let others do the same.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,392
19,461
really? how do you attach? via icloud drive / dropbox / some kind of shared local storage between apps?
Yeah, I believe iCloud Drive gives you the option to do it from there or from other services.
 

shelt

macrumors member
Apr 12, 2007
92
100
NorCal
For me, it's like Mac vs PC, except with a different result. In the Mac world, Apple marries beautiful hardware with perfectly matched software. In the phone/tablet world, they do the same. OTOH, PCs and Android devices come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and hardware configurations, and it often takes a lot of work to get things set up the way you want them.

However, there's a big difference between Macs and iOS devices. Macs and PCs are both largely open platforms, which can be further customized as you see fit. That's why I still use (and love) my Macs. Unfortunately, iOS is locked down and closed, and Apple really wants you hooked on their services, apps, and their way of doing things. And...they want everything presented one uniform way.

That's why I use Android phones and tablets. They are open and customizable, even though they take time to set up just right. I have properly integrated google services (which I prefer to iCloud), a real file system, access to system-level stuff, my choice of default apps, RAW cameras, desktop widgets, open NFC for things like Yubikey security. The list goes on and on... For my "it just works" friends, I always recommend iOS. For my geek friends, Android.

If the iPhone was open like the Mac, I'd switch back in a heartbeat for the elegant hardware with perfectly matched software.
 

Truefan31

macrumors 68040
Aug 25, 2012
3,589
835
For me, it's like Mac vs PC, except with a different result. In the Mac world, Apple marries beautiful hardware with perfectly matched software. In the phone/tablet world, they do the same. OTOH, PCs and Android devices come in all sorts of shapes, sizes and hardware configurations, and it often takes a lot of work to get things set up the way you want them.

However, there's a big difference between Macs and iOS devices. Macs and PCs are both largely open platforms, which can be further customized as you see fit. That's why I still use (and love) my Macs. Unfortunately, iOS is locked down and closed, and Apple really wants you hooked on their services, apps, and their way of doing things. And...they want everything presented one uniform way.

That's why I use Android phones and tablets. They are open and customizable, even though they take time to set up just right. I have properly integrated google services (which I prefer to iCloud), a real file system, access to system-level stuff, my choice of default apps, RAW cameras, desktop widgets, open NFC for things like Yubikey security. The list goes on and on... For my "it just works" friends, I always recommend iOS. For my geek friends, Android.

If the iPhone was open like the Mac, I'd switch back in a heartbeat for the elegant hardware with perfectly matched software.

I think that's why a jb iPhone is appealing. Customization plus the ios experience is appealing to a lot of people
 
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