Do you plan to switch from iPhone to Android? (2016)

[Fille84]

It's a preference thing. I don't use the app drawer on my G6 or S8 when using stock launcher and remember Chinese phones and in Asia generally the preference is for launchers without app drawers. You likewise don't need pages and pages. I have simply 2 homescreens both on the G6, S8 and iPhone 7+ with apps divided into folders.

There is no right or wrong, but the insistence that the app drawer is somehow the defining feature of android (I am not saying you said that, but it is often touted or presented as such here on this fora and other android forums) is ignorant of the millions of android devices sold each year (most of which account for the rise and dominance of android) in parts of the world which favour no app drawer at all.

Yeah its of course my opinion. But most people didn't like the fact that LG for example didn't have an appdrawer in the G5, but when they found out it could be added in the settings they calmed down.

 

[spinedoc77]

It's a preference thing. I don't use the app drawer on my G6 or S8 when using stock launcher and remember Chinese phones and in Asia generally the preference is for launchers without app drawers. You likewise don't need pages and pages. I have simply 2 homescreens both on the G6, S8 and iPhone 7+ with apps divided into folders.

There is no right or wrong, but the insistence that the app drawer is somehow the defining feature of android (I am not saying you said that, but it is often touted or presented as such here on this fora and other android forums) is ignorant of the millions of android devices sold each year (most of which account for the rise and dominance of android) in parts of the world which favour no app drawer at all.

I could never understand how someone could not have an app drawer, and I'm using an iPhone primarily. I am constantly annoyed at having to find an app and the utter lack of disorganization having no app drawer on iOS provides. Android's app drawer isn't perfect, but add something like Nova Launcher to it which allows you to make tabs, and you get something that's extremely powerful for organizing hundreds of apps.

Of course I'm not trying to put down those who don't like app drawers, the beauty of competition is that you can choose what you want. But technically you really don't not have an app drawer, it's just that your app drawer is on your desktop now, so it really seems to be a semantical point IMO.

 

[Zaft]

I could never understand how someone could not have an app drawer, and I'm using an iPhone primarily. I am constantly annoyed at having to find an app and the utter lack of disorganization having no app drawer on iOS provides. Android's app drawer isn't perfect, but add something like Nova Launcher to it which allows you to make tabs, and you get something that's extremely powerful for organizing hundreds of apps.

Of course I'm not trying to put down those who don't like app drawers, the beauty of competition is that you can choose what you want. But technically you really don't not have an app drawer, it's just that your app drawer is on your desktop now, so it really seems to be a semantical point IMO.

I simply do a quick search from spotlight if I don't remember where an app is on my iPhone. For me an app drawer is just another step thats not needed.

 

[Sounds Good]

I simply do a quick search from spotlight if I don't remember where an app is on my iPhone. For me an app drawer is just another step thats not needed.

Me too. I do this on the S8 as well.

 

[spinedoc77]

I simply do a quick search from spotlight if I don't remember where an app is on my iPhone. For me an app drawer is just another step thats not needed.

Me too. I do this on the S8 as well.

Yeah I hear this a lot, it never worked well for me, especially when I don't remember the name of the app. I'm not saying it's not a valid method, it just didn't work for me. I'd usually end up flipping page after page endlessly trying to find the app I was looking for. But this also goes hand in hand with widgets, so you guys on android without an app drawer at least have the advantage of having widgets, which I don't on iOS, which adds yet another level of primitive.

 

[MRU]

I could never understand how someone could not have an app drawer, and I'm using an iPhone primarily. I am constantly annoyed at having to find an app and the utter lack of disorganization having no app drawer on iOS provides. Android's app drawer isn't perfect, but add something like Nova Launcher to it which allows you to make tabs, and you get something that's extremely powerful for organizing hundreds of apps.

Of course I'm not trying to put down those who don't like app drawers, the beauty of competition is that you can choose what you want. But technically you really don't not have an app drawer, it's just that your app drawer is on your desktop now, so it really seems to be a semantical point IMO.

So with that setup you not only have to organise your home screens - you end up having to manage your app drawer too independently which means you end up doing twice the work.

I don't want to spend my time organising repeatedly. For me personally no app drawer is time saving and
more organised.

---------------

I also do not have hundreds of apps, my app selection is split into

media [Netflix, amazon prime, TuneIn, Kindle & Playstation]

Shopping [adverts, amazon, ebay, parcel wizard, paypal, my bank]

Social [facebook, messenger, twitter, instagram]

Google [the google apps that come pre-installed along with hangouts, home, snapseed etc]

OEM [the stock apps from each oem that I don't really use too often]

And then everything else is on my desktop which is phone, messages, email, calendar, tasks, gallery, photos, play music, play newsstand, Tapatalk, YouTube, Fitbit, myzone ...

No games, and that's essentially my setup on every device.

 

[Zaft]

Yeah I hear this a lot, it never worked well for me, especially when I don't remember the name of the app. I'm not saying it's not a valid method, it just didn't work for me. I'd usually end up flipping page after page endlessly trying to find the app I was looking for. But this also goes hand in hand with widgets, so you guys on android without an app drawer at least have the advantage of having widgets, which I don't on iOS, which adds yet another level of primitive.

I don't have much apps (attached screenshot) so not an issue for me. But I can see why it can be in your case.

 

[spinedoc77]

So with that setup you not only have to organise your home screens - you end up having to manage your app drawer too independently which means you end up doing twice the work.

I don't want to spend my time organising repeatedly. For me personally no app drawer is time saving and
more organised.

---------------

I also do not have hundreds of apps, my app selection is split into

media [Netflix, amazon prime, TuneIn, Kindle & Playstation]

Shopping [adverts, amazon, ebay, parcel wizard, paypal, my bank]

Social [facebook, messenger, twitter, instagram]

Google [the google apps that come pre-installed along with hangouts, home, snapseed etc]

OEM [the stock apps from each oem that I don't really use too often]

And then everything else is on my desktop which is phone, messages, email, calendar, tasks, gallery, photos, play music, play newsstand, Tapatalk, YouTube, Fitbit, myzone ...

No games, and that's essentially my setup on every device.

If you only have a few apps then really any method/paradigm would work. But when you have a ton of apps, it becomes very unwieldy unless you have a good way to organize them. I also prefer my Android desktop be comprised mainly of widgets as I find that much more useful for at a glance information than actually opening the app itself.

Organizing the app drawer is simple, and something you do once and then just keep up with it as you add apps. Of course this is using Nova Launcher, not just the stock drawer. I'm a very organized person, I'm so busy if I wasn't organized I'd fall behind very quickly. But having the tabs and nested folders in Nova Launcher makes it easy to organize Android IMO.

Once again note that I'm not trying to change anyone around to my paradigm. Much of it, of course, is what we've become accustomed to based on our needs, which are different from person to person. But in the end you end up adapting and conforming to whatever you are stuck with. I feel iOS is really disorganized and disjointed, but I've become accustomed and have adapted to it.

 

[mib1800]

If you only have a few apps then really any method/paradigm would work. But when you have a ton of apps, it becomes very unwieldy unless you have a good way to organize them. I also prefer my Android desktop be comprised mainly of widgets as I find that much more useful for at a glance information than actually opening the app itself.

Organizing the app drawer is simple, and something you do once and then just keep up with it as you add apps. Of course this is using Nova Launcher, not just the stock drawer. I'm a very organized person, I'm so busy if I wasn't organized I'd fall behind very quickly. But having the tabs and nested folders in Nova Launcher makes it easy to organize Android IMO.

Once again note that I'm not trying to change anyone around to my paradigm. Much of it, of course, is what we've become accustomed to based on our needs, which are different from person to person. But in the end you end up adapting and conforming to whatever you are stuck with. I feel iOS is really disorganized and disjointed, but I've become accustomed and have adapted to it.

Can't do without app drawer too. Like you I use 3 home screens - 2 for widgets and the center one kept empty so my (auto) wallpaper can be seen without obstructions.

I just have app drawer apps sorted alphabetically with a recently used apps section.

My most common apps/folders are in sliding dock (max 21 icons).

 

[Shanghaichica]

I don't have much apps (attached screenshot) so not an issue for me. But I can see why it can be in your case.

Wow that's very minimal. I have 2 pages and I thought that was minimal. On the first page I have my core apps like the camera, photos, podcasts, YouTube, what's app, notes etc. On the second page everything is organised into folders such as social, photography, shopping, music, videos etc. I find that this set up works for me as everything is catagorised.

 

[MRU]

Wow that's very minimal. I have 2 pages and I thought that was minimal. On the first page I have my core apps like the camera, photos, podcasts, YouTube, what's app, notes etc. On the second page everything is organised into folders such as social, photography, shopping, music, videos etc. I find that this set up works for me as everything is catagorised.

Your setup sounds exactly like mine. Core apps not in folders on first screen, secondary apps categorised in folders on second.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I'm a very few app sort of man with just 2 pages on my phone. The first page is apps I use daily and the second has folders. I wasn't fussed on an app drawer when I was on Android. The search is good in a rush too.

 

[mib1800]

I'm a very few app sort of man with just 2 pages on my phone. The first page is apps I use daily and the second has folders. I wasn't fussed on an app drawer when I was on Android. The search is good in a rush too.

Worth mentioning one negative about iOS is app icon is a single copy only unlike Android where you can create duplicates.

 

[tbayrgs]

Wow that's very minimal. I have 2 pages and I thought that was minimal. On the first page I have my core apps like the camera, photos, podcasts, YouTube, what's app, notes etc. On the second page everything is organised into folders such as social, photography, shopping, music, videos etc. I find that this set up works for me as everything is catagorised.

Your setup sounds exactly like mine. Core apps not in folders on first screen, secondary apps categorised in folders on second.

My setup exactly on iOS.

I like having the app drawer on my Android handsets since I'll have a couple widgets and core/frequently used app on my home screens. I don't miss it on iOS because first, widgets don't take up home screen real estate (and I prefer iOS's implementation so I don't miss having widgets taking up home screen space) and restoring iOS devices doesn't require setting up my app arrangement--everything right where they've been for years. I know where everything is and like others have mentioned, it's so quick and easy to quickly use spotlight search to open an app. I do wish Apple would have the asinine snap to top icon arrangement though.

 

[Zaft]

Wow that's very minimal. I have 2 pages and I thought that was minimal. On the first page I have my core apps like the camera, photos, podcasts, YouTube, what's app, notes etc. On the second page everything is organised into folders such as social, photography, shopping, music, videos etc. I find that this set up works for me as everything is catagorised.

The folder that says apps actually has 54 apps in it. But I don't use most of them daily.

 

[skeleton11223]

Nah, I don't use Android for phones, I do use it on a Mygica though.

 

[MRU]

Worth mentioning one negative about iOS is app icon is a single copy only unlike Android where you can create duplicates.

Why is duplication of same icon on the homescreens a benefit ? Seems like inefficiency and untidiness to me personally.

 

[I7guy]

Worth mentioning one negative about iOS is app icon is a single copy only unlike Android where you can create duplicates.

You probably didn't hear of the Apple file system that was recently released.

 

[Roadstar]

Why is duplication of same icon on the homescreens a benefit ? Seems like inefficiency and untidiness to me personally.

Well I can think of a case where a multi-purpose app would need to exist in two different category folders simultaneously.

 

[skeleton11223]

Worth mentioning one negative about iOS is app icon is a single copy only unlike Android where you can create duplicates.

It is possible with some apps.
Go this site: http://icustom.tooliphone.net/en/config#.WXNmNIUpDv4
Then in the application type section scroll down to manual (url scheme)
You can use your own custom icon if you want.
You can find url schemes here: http://iskin.tooliphone.net/available-ios-applications-for-theming#appsList

 

[MRU]

Well I can think of a case where a multi-purpose app would need to exist in two different category folders simultaneously.

Oh that would wreck my head. I'd just decide to put it somewhere and leave it.

To me splitting it all over the place is akin to taking a pair of socks, splitting them and putting them in two different drawers.

 

[Roadstar]

Oh that would wreck my head. I'd just decide to put it somewhere and leave it.

To me splitting it all over the place is akin to taking a pair of socks, splitting them and putting them in two different drawers.

Yeah well if the app wasn't something I use daily, I'd have to pause every time and think "now was it in category A or category B folder?" Eventually I'd just guess and most of the time I'd pick the wrong one first

 

[mib1800]

Oh that would wreck my head. I'd just decide to put it somewhere and leave it.

To me splitting it all over the place is akin to taking a pair of socks, splitting them and putting them in two different drawers.

Haven't we been using shortcuts/aliases in PC for end less years now? Our head didn't split then.

 

[malikkamran]

I switched and now getting true 10 hours battery life which iPhone can never give

 

[lcs101]

I switched and now getting true 10 hours battery life which iPhone can never give

I went from a 2-year old iPhone 6 to an S7, and the battery life is significantly less on my S7.