Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

saintforlife

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Feb 25, 2011
1,045
329
If so, what made you revert back? Did any of the following - iPhone camera picture quality, Airplay/Airplay mirroring, seamless backup and restore through iTunes, 'Find my iPhone' app - feature into your decision to come back to the Apple fold? What did you miss the most about the iPhone and the Apple ecosystem?
 

tbayrgs

macrumors 604
Jul 5, 2009
7,467
5,097
While I did dump the Nexus 4 and go back to the iPhone 5 it was primarily due to the shortcomings of the Nexus 4, specifically subpar camera performance, lack of LTE, build quality issues and very poor battery performance.

And yes there are elements of iOS and the iPhone I like and miss (Messages and AirPlay are two of the most significant) but not enough to keep me from moving on from the iPhone 5 to the HTC One.
 

inselstudent

macrumors 6502a
Jul 27, 2012
617
4
I tried the nexus for approx 10 days before returning to my iPhone 4. Reasons: better camera on my older phone, integration with Mac OS, iMessage, functionality of some stock apple apps like reminders, notes. Oh, and also my nexus hat a partly unresponsive touchscreen at times.
 

cnev3

macrumors 6502
Sep 13, 2012
462
56
I went from iPhone to Android back to iPhone.

I switched to Android because of a great deal on slickdeals that gave me a very nice 4g data allowance for dirt cheap, and I wanted to see what Android was all about, and I was down for a change.

I owned it for about 3 months and decided to go back. My phone had issues. It would lock up, keyboard input would lag, icons disappeared, wifi would forget networks. And I tried everything. Power cycle, factory reset, multiple virus scanner apps, no rooting, updated to latest firmware, tried different firmware.

But if that were the only reasons I would have just tried a new or different Android phone, but I went back to iOS for some other reasons.

Since I own an iPad and iMac, I had the benefit of pics, vids, and notes being shared automatically among all my devices. I loved that when I took a pic on my phone, it would go to my desktop, and if I made a note on my desktop, I would get it on my tablet, and didnt have to mess with 3rd party programs.

Also much of my friends, family and my GF use iDevices. This is good for texting, as I like to text on my iMac because I can type faster, and when I leave the house, I can continue the conversation on my phone and see all previous messages.

Also I facetime with them. When I had my android phone, I couldnt get all my friends and family to get skype apps and have em log in to accept my calls. It was too much of a hassle.

I also really missed having cloud enabled games between my devices. Playing Vice City on my iPad, and later continuing on my iPhone when i'm away from home. Also universal apps, and having an app I paid for once but having it for my tablet and phone. And I already had a ton of content purchased in iTunes and I was very frugal about spending money in the Google Play store.

As a musician I use a lot of recording, effects, and modeling apps for my guitar, bass, and electric piano. This is done by plugging in the instrument cable into the headphone jack using an adapter like iRig. But Android does not have this capability due to latency inherent in the OS, therefore a whole world of music production apps was unavailable.

Aside from music, a lot of my favorite games like SF Volt, Chinatown Wars, Little Inferno, Infinity Blade were not on Google Play. I kept looking for my fav games and not finding them. However when I switched back to iPhone, I dont recall any games I got on Google Play that I couldnt get on the app store.

Not just games, but there are other apps that I couldnt find an equivalent of in the Google Play store like Itunes U, iMovie, DM1.

I also appreciate the retail experience Apple has integrated with their products, and that I can go and get help in person at the genius bar. And the 1 year warranty, where I can simply take it to them and they will replace it then and there if its broken, and I dont have to deal with 3rd party repair places, dealing with RMA's and having to ship it out and wait. Having an OEM 2 year extended warranty that covers accidents was also a big incentive for me since mine is at a higher risk of breaking since I have to have it on me for 80+ miles of cycling a week.

Also Apples phone support is the best i've experienced for an electronics company. Call center is in the US. The call is picked up by a human, you dont go through a bunch of menus, and transfers, and long wait times, with people you have a hard time understanding, Apples tech people are really pleasant and easy to deal with.

I also just like the build materials and style of the phone.

Of course I do miss all the strengths of an android phone (screen size, sd card slot, widgets, being able to choose default programs) but I weighed the pros and cons, and iOS was a platform I had more appeciation for. That's just me. Everyone has different needs and tastes.
 

sotorious

macrumors 6502a
Aug 11, 2010
655
46
I have the nexus 4 now love the phone, although im bored of my phone ( i get bored about every 6 months of my cell phones) i want to go back to the iPhone but damnit i cant leave the native gmail app on my android phone. I wish i can pull in features from diff phone and make my own.

I am thinking of iphone 5s in october, but if rumors remain true about the htc one coming with stock android i may be jumping there.

Nexus 4 camera isnt the greatest, and the bettery life is pretty decent. For some reason something that bothers me a lot is the voice recording quality IT IS HORRIBLE, loud, and distorted. Its funny how something so small bothers me.

Returning back to the iphone will also be tough because of the screen size. I mean 4 inches is ok but the length makes it look weird and not enough wideness.

I am in a pickle and need to do some thinking before i switch anywhere. Native Gmail on my phone though is what is making me stick around for the long hall. Apps arent really that important to me.

T-mobile speed is weird out here it works great in some spots and really ****** in others. 4G may be able to up the blank spots, but i think switching to a whole new carrier would be better. When i had my iphone 4 on verizon it was great solid speed at all times.
 

SpaceKitty

macrumors 68040
Nov 9, 2008
3,204
1
Fort Collins Colorado
I started with the original iPhone and had every iPhone through the 4S. I still use my 4S everyday just as much as I use my Nexus 4. The Nexus 4 is faster at opening email and doing other things but there is just some things that the iPhone does better such as playing music. I hate the player on the Nexus 4 although it did get much better with that last update, it's actually quite usable now, I just prefer iOS player.

I have both on T-Mobile accounts.

I'll keep using both till they quit. Not in a hurry to get a iPhone 5 or whatever new iPhone comes out this fall.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
When the nexus 4 first came out I did this. The main issue I had was battery life on 4.2.1. After 4.2.2 it improved massively so I switch back to the n4. On 4.2.1 the phone would be nearly dead by noon and now I get an entire day no problem.
 

ReallyBigFeet

macrumors 68030
Apr 15, 2010
2,956
133
I have a N4 but never stopped using my iOS devices. It's nice to have the. "Flagship" for a particular OS, but as far as smartphones go, the N4 was outdated on launch day. Samsung S3/4 are much better phones for the dollar, as are most of the devices from HTC. Google isn't a good product company.....everything is rough around the edges and beta-ware at best. They are innovative, but not product-focused in the least.

The N4 is for gadget collectors only, IMO.
 

sentinelsx

macrumors 68010
Feb 28, 2011
2,004
0
I returned it because of some hardware defects, but looking at my brother using one now for a month without any issues (wifi is solid, ear piece is clear and smooth, battery life is solid after 4.2.2), i am getting one again.

I would have got the HTC One but since i can pickup a 16 Gb N4 for just $300 in aftermarket, i figure i will go that route, save my money, and decide between a google edition HTC One, Moto X, a possible google edition Xperia Z if that happens, and a nexus 5. Also i will probably only lose about $50-$75 of my original paying price for the n4 by then compared to a good $200 for any other skinned phone. The HTC One is already down to $475 from $700 after being out for 6 weeks here in the aftermarket, and the S4 has gone from $750 to now $550 offers. While the N4 was $350 back when i bought it and still hovers at $300-$330 for the 16 GB one. THAT is what i like about it, minimum risk and still enjoy a top class phone.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
I have a N4 but never stopped using my iOS devices. It's nice to have the. "Flagship" for a particular OS, but as far as smartphones go, the N4 was outdated on launch day. Samsung S3/4 are much better phones for the dollar, as are most of the devices from HTC. Google isn't a good product company.....everything is rough around the edges and beta-ware at best. They are innovative, but not product-focused in the least.

The N4 is for gadget collectors only, IMO.

If you buy outright double the dollar amount is questionable.
 

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
I went from iPhone to Android back to iPhone.

I switched to Android because of a great deal on slickdeals that gave me a very nice 4g data allowance for dirt cheap, and I wanted to see what Android was all about, and I was down for a change.

I owned it for about 3 months and decided to go back. My phone had issues. It would lock up, keyboard input would lag, icons disappeared, wifi would forget networks. And I tried everything. Power cycle, factory reset, multiple virus scanner apps, no rooting, updated to latest firmware, tried different firmware.

I take it this wasn't a Nexus 4?

EDIT: As for the OP's question, I still use my iPhone 4 for work and recently picked up a 5th gen iPod touch (more grunt, more storage, no need for another phone plus Bluetooth tethering from my N4 to my touch gives me persistent data connection on both devices :D) but I've stuck it out with my Nexus 4.

My one big issue is with that camera. I was really hoping we'd see something better compared to the Galaxy Nexus but it's still a pretty bad camera. Thankfully, my iPod touch does better in the camera department. :D

Perhaps next time? /waits for autmn/fall.....
 

Dontazemebro

macrumors 68020
Jul 23, 2010
2,173
0
I dunno, somewhere in West Texas
I went from iPhone to Android back to iPhone.

I switched to Android because of a great deal on slickdeals that gave me a very nice 4g data allowance for dirt cheap, and I wanted to see what Android was all about, and I was down for a change.

I owned it for about 3 months and decided to go back. My phone had issues. It would lock up, keyboard input would lag, icons disappeared, wifi would forget networks. And I tried everything. Power cycle, factory reset, multiple virus scanner apps, no rooting, updated to latest firmware, tried different firmware.

But if that were the only reasons I would have just tried a new or different Android phone, but I went back to iOS for some other reasons.

Since I own an iPad and iMac, I had the benefit of pics, vids, and notes being shared automatically among all my devices. I loved that when I took a pic on my phone, it would go to my desktop, and if I made a note on my desktop, I would get it on my tablet, and didnt have to mess with 3rd party programs.

Also much of my friends, family and my GF use iDevices. This is good for texting, as I like to text on my iMac because I can type faster, and when I leave the house, I can continue the conversation on my phone and see all previous messages.

Also I facetime with them. When I had my android phone, I couldnt get all my friends and family to get skype apps and have em log in to accept my calls. It was too much of a hassle.

I also really missed having cloud enabled games between my devices. Playing Vice City on my iPad, and later continuing on my iPhone when i'm away from home. Also universal apps, and having an app I paid for once but having it for my tablet and phone. And I already had a ton of content purchased in iTunes and I was very frugal about spending money in the Google Play store.

As a musician I use a lot of recording, effects, and modeling apps for my guitar, bass, and electric piano. This is done by plugging in the instrument cable into the headphone jack using an adapter like iRig. But Android does not have this capability due to latency inherent in the OS, therefore a whole world of music production apps was unavailable.

Aside from music, a lot of my favorite games like SF Volt, Chinatown Wars, Little Inferno, Infinity Blade were not on Google Play. I kept looking for my fav games and not finding them. However when I switched back to iPhone, I dont recall any games I got on Google Play that I couldnt get on the app store.

Not just games, but there are other apps that I couldnt find an equivalent of in the Google Play store like Itunes U, iMovie, DM1.

I also appreciate the retail experience Apple has integrated with their products, and that I can go and get help in person at the genius bar. And the 1 year warranty, where I can simply take it to them and they will replace it then and there if its broken, and I dont have to deal with 3rd party repair places, dealing with RMA's and having to ship it out and wait. Having an OEM 2 year extended warranty that covers accidents was also a big incentive for me since mine is at a higher risk of breaking since I have to have it on me for 80+ miles of cycling a week.

Also Apples phone support is the best i've experienced for an electronics company. Call center is in the US. The call is picked up by a human, you dont go through a bunch of menus, and transfers, and long wait times, with people you have a hard time understanding, Apples tech people are really pleasant and easy to deal with.

I also just like the build materials and style of the phone.

Of course I do miss all the strengths of an android phone (screen size, sd card slot, widgets, being able to choose default programs) but I weighed the pros and cons, and iOS was a platform I had more appeciation for. That's just me. Everyone has different needs and tastes.

I actually did the same but from android to ios and then back to android. I initially switched because I wanted to see what all the smoothness hype was about but now my 4s is sitting in a desk unsused.

I came to the conclusion that ios just wasn't for me. Most if not all my friends have android or windows phones and I don't have any other apple products beside a 3rd gen ipod. iTunes is such a hassle to deal with on windows 7 and keeping up with cables just for the iPhone was a headache as well. Aside from the os which doesn't seem as mature as android, I wasn't tied into the ecosystem so I really had nothing holding me down. One thing I do miss though is the app selection, indie games are much better on ios than android.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
I have the nexus 4 now love the phone, although im bored of my phone ( i get bored about every 6 months of my cell phones) i want to go back to the iPhone but damnit i cant leave the native gmail app on my android phone. I wish i can pull in features from diff phone and make my own.

I am thinking of iphone 5s in october, but if rumors remain true about the htc one coming with stock android i may be jumping there.

Nexus 4 camera isnt the greatest, and the bettery life is pretty decent. For some reason something that bothers me a lot is the voice recording quality IT IS HORRIBLE, loud, and distorted. Its funny how something so small bothers me.

Returning back to the iphone will also be tough because of the screen size. I mean 4 inches is ok but the length makes it look weird and not enough wideness.

I am in a pickle and need to do some thinking before i switch anywhere. Native Gmail on my phone though is what is making me stick around for the long hall. Apps arent really that important to me.

T-mobile speed is weird out here it works great in some spots and really ****** in others. 4G may be able to up the blank spots, but i think switching to a whole new carrier would be better. When i had my iphone 4 on verizon it was great solid speed at all times.

It is not a rumor. It has been confirmed a few weeks ago and it will be on sale the 26th of June only through the play store.
 

sotorious

macrumors 6502a
Aug 11, 2010
655
46
It is not a rumor. It has been confirmed a few weeks ago and it will be on sale the 26th of June only through the play store.

O sweet didnt know, see how far behind i am. I just hope the camera gets upped which i doubt it and they move the lock button ._. but those speakers is what really makes that phone appealing.
 

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
O sweet didnt know, see how far behind i am. I just hope the camera gets upped which i doubt it and they move the lock button ._. but those speakers is what really makes that phone appealing.

The s4 is also doing the same. The HTC is $599 and the s4 is $649. Like you said, the big question with the one is how the camera will be without the software enhancements.
 

TacticalDesire

macrumors 68020
Mar 19, 2012
2,286
23
Michigan
When the nexus 4 first came out I did this. The main issue I had was battery life on 4.2.1. After 4.2.2 it improved massively so I switch back to the n4. On 4.2.1 the phone would be nearly dead by noon and now I get an entire day no problem.

This was the case for me as well.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.