Anyone switched from an iPhone 5 to a Nexus 4?

[i0Nic]

Looking for experiences, particularly with...
- Apps
- Dealing with the lack of Apple services like iMessage, Airplay and Photostream
- Google services
- Camera

Would you stick with Android/Nexus4? Would or did you switch back to iPhone? Do you own another iOS device like an iPad?

 

[Fynd]

I switched and switched back. The camera sucks, don't listen to anyone saying otherwise. I'm hardly a constant camera user regardless, but i wouldn't bother with the N4's at all.

The lack of iMessage killed me, as most people I know use iOS and I have many group chats/use the read receipt option/etc. Facetime was also an issue.

Google services are better in that it's better integrated. On iOS you can't set them as defaults so it's nowhere near as good in that regard. The iOS google apps look better and run smoother than their android counterparts at the moment, however.

The screen is fantastic, and I really like the design. I had horrible battery life but that appears to have been resolved with 4.2.2.

Regarding apps, 95% of what I use is on both platforms so I didn't have any real issues there. Subtle differences start to add up, though. Alot of standard apps like facebook appear identical until you try little gestures that you're used to on iOS and realize they don't work there (simple things like swiping sideways in fb to reveal the sidebar).

Edit: Should also mention that I am currently looking to switch to Android, and considering the HTC One. The upsides to Android outweigh the down, IMO, but mainly I'm bored with iOS now. I'm not willing to give up camera quality, build quality, battery life, LTE, and other hardware related things just because I'm bored, though, so the N4 wasn't for me.

 

[mattopotamus]

I switched and switched back. The camera sucks, don't listen to anyone saying otherwise. I'm hardly a constant camera user regardless, but i wouldn't bother with the N4's at all.

The lack of iMessage killed me, as most people I know use iOS and I have many group chats/use the read receipt option/etc. Facetime was also an issue.

Google services are better in that it's better integrated. On iOS you can't set them as defaults so it's nowhere near as good in that regard. The iOS google apps look better and run smoother than their android counterparts at the moment, however.

The screen is fantastic, and I really like the design. I had horrible battery life but that appears to have been resolved with 4.2.2.

Regarding apps, 95% of what I use is on both platforms so I didn't have any real issues there. Subtle differences start to add up, though. Alot of standard apps like facebook appear identical until you try little gestures that you're used to on iOS and realize they don't work there (simple things like swiping sideways in fb to reveal the sidebar).

Edit: Should also mention that I am currently looking to switch to Android, and considering the HTC One. The upsides to Android outweigh the down, IMO, but mainly I'm bored with iOS now. I'm not willing to give up camera quality, build quality, battery life, LTE, and other hardware related things just because I'm bored, though, so the N4 wasn't for me.

This is all accurate. The way I got around facetime was using google+ hangout. Works good for people on android and with iphones. The speakers on the nexus are not as good as the iphone. The camera features are better, but the camera itself is just passable. As far as airplay, I always use an ipad just because I can leave it plugged in and that is more convenient for me. Instead of photostream, I used instant upload on google+. It uploads the phones instantly to a private album. Not having LTE was pretty much irrelevant since I was getting 10 down on att HSPA+. I like the design better than the iphone 5 b.c I do not have to worry about nicks.

My work uses all google services....drive, gchat, and gmail. Having an android phone in that aspect is just plain better for my work.

 

[chagla]

obviously you wont find Apple specific services (imessage, facetime) on android.

however there are generic platform independent alternative such as Skype, Whatsapp etc. i always prefer them over any OEM offering because you can easily switch platform if you like with minimal mess. battery life on Nexus 4 is reasonable. make sure to tweak settings of social apps like facebook/twitter etc. My friend has N4 and these apps were killing battery life. after we changed the auto update interval, some notification change, it changed drastically.

if u already have an android device try out these apps, really useful IMO. - google gesture search, mysms, airdroid, unified remote, swype keyboard (get it from their website)

 

[Knowimagination]

Looking for experiences, particularly with...
- Apps
- Dealing with the lack of Apple services like iMessage, Airplay and Photostream
- Google services
- Camera

Would you stick with Android/Nexus4? Would or did you switch back to iPhone? Do you own another iOS device like an iPad?

I switched about a month ago and have really been enjoying the Nexus4 for the most part, but I am looking to switch back now.

The main reason I decided to switch was that I was "bored" of iOS, but the thing is I was just so used to it that it felt more boring than it actually is. For me 4.2 on the Nexus has been very nice and fun to use, but now that the newness has worn off a bit its not the super exciting alternative I was hoping it would be.

My main thing is the integrated services with apple. My entire family have iPhones and we group chat a lot so finding work arounds on android has been a bit of a pain. I will miss certain features from android, but ultimately I enjoy the simplicity and integration that apple offers me with their phones.

Things I will miss about the nexus:
-The Screen, I love the size compared to the iPhone 5 and the clarity is quite good also
-Notification Center is much more useful in Jelly Bean than it is in iOS
-Keyboard, I actually really like the swype input that the stock keyboard has and the ability to add words to the dictionary easily

Things I will not miss:
-Battery! I can count on one hand the number of times that I have killed my battery in one day with an iPhone but with the Nexus 4 it seems like I can't make it through a day without needing to charge it at some point or its dead by 9 or 10pm.
-Widgets, surprisingly enough I just hardly use them. I have a couple installed and I do look at 2 of them regularly, but I don't find them nearly as appealing as I thought I would.
-Apps, Especially stock apps. I didn't realize how nice apples stock email app was until I tried to find a not ugly but useful version on android. I searched and searched and tried about 4 different email apps, but never found anything I really liked. Obviously with apple having iMessage and that being an important thing because of my friends and family I prefer it to most of the messaging apps I tried on the Nexus.
-Soft buttons, I really kind of missed my home button

 

[sentinelsx]

My personal review is summed by the following (read: personal):

- hardware: iPhone demolishes the nexus in camera, audio, battery life.

- software: 4.2.2 and the better coded third party apps demolish ios and its archaic apps design.

As you can see, I am at a crossroads. Hate this.

 

[onthecouchagain]

At this point in time, I cannot recommend the Nexus 4 unless it's purely to save money.

If you're interested in Android, I'd consider the S4, Note II, or the HTC One (and probably in that order).

 

[sentinelsx]

At this point in time, I cannot recommend the Nexus 4 unless it's purely to save money.

If you're interested in Android, I'd consider the S4, Note II, or the HTC One (and probably in that order).

I would simply get the S4, root it, and put AOKP on it and be done.

4.2.2 (whatever comes after) + better hardware = win win.

I sold my N4 and thinking whether wait for S4 or just buy S3 and put AOKP. I am using my iPhone 5 again but frankly apart from the hardware i have no love for iOS. Cannot like it even if someone pays me. It's just not for me.

 

[El3ctronics]

Taking cost into account, I'd recommend the HTC One, Galaxy S3 (after price drop), Note 2, Galaxy S4...in that order.

 

[steve31]

I have the Note 2, Nexus 4 sand iPhone 5 and with the jailbreak the iPhone 5 is my favourite. I will be selling both the Note and Nexus and picking up a HTC One when it comes out.

 

[i0Nic]

Interesting responses thanks people. Anyone else go to a Nexus 4 from an iPhone and want to share their experience?

 

[ChazUK]

Looking for experiences, particularly with...
- Dealing with the lack of Apple services like iMessage, Airplay and Photostream

You should simply give up at this point if it is of any importance.

People that have gotten themselves locked into any of Apples services shouldn't even contemplate moving away as you'll be in for trouble getting everything in sync then you have to convince others to switch to other services too.

Unless you're willing to move to different services across iOS and Android it isn't worth it.

Possible replacements are:
iMessage - WhatsApp (then convince friends to use ut)
Airplay - XBMC has limited Airplay functionality alongside DoubleTwist.
Photostream could be accomplished with Dropbox on iOS and Android with auto upload.
Face time - Google+ Hangouts (then convince friends to use it again)
iTunes and Google Music play fantastic together.
Gmail, Google contacts, calendar etc all work well on both.

 

[FlexPen76]

This thread has really hit on my current situation.

I've went from iPhone 5 to Nexus 4, and back again about 3 or 4 times over the last few months. Just this morning I returned the iPhone 5 I bought on Wednesday because I've decided its not for me anymore, at least right now, or in reality until the new iPhone is launched sometime this year. IOS 7 will be the dealbreaker for me.

Heres how this has worked for me:

Pros to Nexus 4 (cons of iPhone 5?)
Larger screen makes a mockery of the iPhone 5. Its a great screen, responsive and very clear
Stock Android experience means you should get updates for a while pretty quick from Google
QI charging - yes its a gimmick, but just the ability to set it beside me at night and its fully charged in the morning is very handy
For me - music is important and there are better options on Android - Poweramp and PlayerPro for example
Keyboard - even the stock implementation is so much better than the IOS keyboard on the iPhone. You won't realise this until you use it.
Customisation - a pro and a con for me; I find myself tweaking some things, but its a sinkhole. You can become too anal.

Pros to iPhone 5 (cons to Nexus 4)
Battery life - 4.2.2 is better, but even with this I'm always 'afraid' I'll run out of battery before the evening charge. I've never really had to worry about this on the iPhone - although to be fair any iPhone, not just the 5
Ecosystem - yes there are alternatives, they have been mentioned by others in this thread. But my wife has an iPhone, and with a young son and photostream there really is no other way but Apple. I've now got an iPad mini just for this though.
Much better support - hardware and software from Apple.

So a bit of background if you are interested so you can see where I'm coming from:

Before June 2007, I had a couple of smartphones, the SE P800 / P910 series, but when I seen the Steve Jobs iPhone keynote in 2007, I knew that was the phone for me, so I imported from US to UK in July 2007, and worked my way through all the iterations, even queuing for them at the local Apple store, Belfast. Yes, even at 3am on the iPhone 5 launch date. I've flirted with Android over the years, mostly because of a work issue device, but always felt iPhone was superior experience, so always I was an iPhone guy. When the S3 launched last year, once again my curiosity for Android got the better of me and I bought it - at the time I had a 4S. I found it a great experience, the OS was much more polished and usable and I pretty much switched to it full time. But I still missed the IOS ecosystem to which I'd become accustomed. The S3 was then sold promptly for the iPhone 5 funds.

So I'm telling you all this because it should give an indication of how much I am used to the iPhone ecosystem and how much its became part of my life. I have a lot of Apple stuff in the house, I just found it was what worked best for me.

So finally the Nexus 4 launches late Nov 2012 and I thought I'd give it a blast. It is a very nice device, and I found I preferred the stock Android without all the manufacturers add-on very nice indeed.

So to sum up (sorry for the long post);

If you are really tied to the Apple way, its not impossible to switch. There are ways round everything and for me everything I need is on both devices. Despite that, I find myself hankering after the iPhone, but always lift my Nexus by default. They really are both as good as each other in my opinion. It really does, as ChazUK has said depend on how tied you are to the Apple Ecosystem, and I know in the end thats what is going to drag me back.

 

[daveathall]

This thread has really hit on my current situation.

I've went from iPhone 5 to Nexus 4, and back again about 3 or 4 times over the last few months. Just this morning I returned the iPhone 5 I bought on Wednesday because I've decided its not for me anymore, at least right now, or in reality until the new iPhone is launched sometime this year. IOS 7 will be the dealbreaker for me.

Heres how this has worked for me:

Pros to Nexus 4 (cons of iPhone 5?)
Larger screen makes a mockery of the iPhone 5. Its a great screen, responsive and very clear
Stock Android experience means you should get updates for a while pretty quick from Google
QI charging - yes its a gimmick, but just the ability to set it beside me at night and its fully charged in the morning is very handy
For me - music is important and there are better options on Android - Poweramp and PlayerPro for example
Keyboard - even the stock implementation is so much better than the IOS keyboard on the iPhone. You won't realise this until you use it.
Customisation - a pro and a con for me; I find myself tweaking some things, but its a sinkhole. You can become too anal.

Pros to iPhone 5 (cons to Nexus 4)
Battery life - 4.2.2 is better, but even with this I'm always 'afraid' I'll run out of battery before the evening charge. I've never really had to worry about this on the iPhone - although to be fair any iPhone, not just the 5
Ecosystem - yes there are alternatives, they have been mentioned by others in this thread. But my wife has an iPhone, and with a young son and photostream there really is no other way but Apple. I've now got an iPad mini just for this though.
Much better support - hardware and software from Apple.

So a bit of background if you are interested so you can see where I'm coming from:

Before June 2007, I had a couple of smartphones, the SE P800 / P910 series, but when I seen the Steve Jobs iPhone keynote in 2007, I knew that was the phone for me, so I imported from US to UK in July 2007, and worked my way through all the iterations, even queuing for them at the local Apple store, Belfast. Yes, even at 3am on the iPhone 5 launch date. I've flirted with Android over the years, mostly because of a work issue device, but always felt iPhone was superior experience, so always I was an iPhone guy. When the S3 launched last year, once again my curiosity for Android got the better of me and I bought it - at the time I had a 4S. I found it a great experience, the OS was much more polished and usable and I pretty much switched to it full time. But I still missed the IOS ecosystem to which I'd become accustomed. The S3 was then sold promptly for the iPhone 5 funds.

So I'm telling you all this because it should give an indication of how much I am used to the iPhone ecosystem and how much its became part of my life. I have a lot of Apple stuff in the house, I just found it was what worked best for me.

So finally the Nexus 4 launches late Nov 2012 and I thought I'd give it a blast. It is a very nice device, and I found I preferred the stock Android without all the manufacturers add-on very nice indeed.

So to sum up (sorry for the long post);

If you are really tied to the Apple way, its not impossible to switch. There are ways round everything and for me everything I need is on both devices. Despite that, I find myself hankering after the iPhone, but always lift my Nexus by default. They really are both as good as each other in my opinion. It really does, as ChazUK has said depend on how tied you are to the Apple Ecosystem, and I know in the end thats what is going to drag me back.

Well, I think that is a very fair and unbiased post, I can see where you are coming from with photostream and think you have solved it with the iPad mini perfectly, having instant access to photos of a young son or daughter would be (for me) a deal breaker. (I too have the mini and love it). I have had exactly the same phones as you and would echo your sentiments. I currently have a Nexus 4.