Former iPhone Users...Miss the Ecosystem?

[bgro]

Hi All,

I've been an iPhone user since the 3GS with a few buy/returns of Android thrown in here and there over the years. I really like the new Galaxy S4 and am really close to pulling the trigger. I'm just a little "worried" that I'll miss the Apple ecosystem being that I have a Mac, iPad, and Apple TV at home. I pretty much exclusively use Apple services right now (iCloud contacts, calendars, Reminders, Notes) and they all sync perfectly across all devices. I am planning on going back to Google for those services as I believe they offer more functionality and are more cross platform compatible.

So those of you who have had mulitple Apple products and switch your phone to Android, do you miss the Apple ecosystem?

 

[lazard]

no.

 

[Alfuh]

I was worried about the same thing, but like most who switch over found that it really isn't as bad as you think it would be...

A little background: My wife and I both have MacBook Air, I have an iMac, Mac mini on my TV, use iPods, have had iPhones since the 3G, both had iPads etc etc

Switching over was a bit of a pain, I'll admit that, but once I had contacts sent over to my gmail account and music sent to Google Play I haven't looked back.

Everything works the same way it did and I'm happy as can be with my Galaxy S3.

Android has a lot to offer and the more you want to get into it the more cool stuff you can find.

 

[bgro]

I was worried about the same thing, but like most who switch over found that it really isn't as bad as you think it would be...

A little background: My wife and I both have MacBook Air, I have an iMac, Mac mini on my TV, use iPods, have had iPhones since the 3G, both had iPads etc etc

Switching over was a bit of a pain, I'll admit that, but once I had contacts sent over to my gmail account and music sent to Google Play I haven't looked back.

Everything works the same way it did and I'm happy as can be with my Galaxy S3.

Android has a lot to offer and the more you want to get into it the more cool stuff you can find.

Thanks..kind of thinking that once I switch it will be fine. I think music is the biggest issue. I buy my music from iTunes on different devices sometimes and iTunes Match is great. I know Google Music is almost the same thing but Match seems so much better plus I can use it on my Apple TV. Might look into a Chromecast. I still like the idea about having all my devices on the same platform but iOS7 just isn't doing it for me. Need a change.

 

[noles1983]

got rid of the ball and chain known as itunes and have never looked back

 

[Fireblade]

No, break free from this chains.

 

[Shanghaichica]

No because I've still got an ipad and apple TV so get the best of both worlds.

 

[bgro]

No because I've still got an ipad and apple TV so get the best of both worlds.

This is what I was thinking of also. There are a few apps/games that I still want/need to use that are iOS only. But I need more functionality in my phone. iOS is a great OS but for me it's grown long in the tooth.

 

[Technarchy]

Nope.

Still well entrenched actually.

 

[OceanView]

Not at all.
I have so much more freedom and control in Android that I can't imagine going back.

 

[tbayrgs]

Thanks..kind of thinking that once I switch it will be fine. I think music is the biggest issue. I buy my music from iTunes on different devices sometimes and iTunes Match is great. I know Google Music is almost the same thing but Match seems so much better plus I can use it on my Apple TV. Might look into a Chromecast. I still like the idea about having all my devices on the same platform but iOS7 just isn't doing it for me. Need a change.

The beauty of Google Play Music is it's free so go ahead and continue to use iTunes Match if you'd like for your Apple devices. All you have to do is install the Music Manager app on your computer and set it up to monitor your iTunes library. Any time you add something, it'll also be added to your Google Play Music library automatically. You can then stream your content to your Android phone or store it locally, your choice.

I'm fully entrenched in the Apple Ecosystem as well (family has 2 macs, iPads, an iPhone, iPods, and multiple Apple TVs) and have no problem using my HTC One in it. I moved everything over to Google services for the simplicity of switching platforms (I like to try out lots of new devices, much to my wife's dismay ) and they work fine with both Android and OS X/iOS. Instead of photostream I sync all photos from my phone to my photo library via Dropbox and Automator (works better than Photostream as videos are also synced) and sync a backup automatically with Google+. I dumped Reminders for Wunderlist (more robust, syncs across all platforms) and had been using Evernote instead of Notes since well before I started using Android. I do miss iMessage a bit as so much of my family and friends use iOS but not that big of a deal--SMS works fine.

 

[T5BRICK]

Nope. Switching was easy. Apps weren't a problem at all, and I completely switched my music library over from iTunes to Google Play about 6 months before I switched to Android. The 3rd party Apps in the App store allowed me to stream my Google music to my iPhone and iPad.

 

[bgro]

The beauty of Google Play Music is it's free so go ahead and continue to use iTunes Match if you'd like for your Apple devices. All you have to do is install the Music Manager app on your computer and set it up to monitor your iTunes library. Any time you add something, it'll also be added to your Google Play Music library automatically. You can then stream your content to your Android phone or store it locally, your choice.

I'm fully entrenched in the Apple Ecosystem as well (family has 2 macs, iPads, an iPhone, iPods, and multiple Apple TVs) and have no problem using my HTC One in it. I moved everything over to Google services for the simplicity of switching platforms (I like to try out lots of new devices, much to my wife's dismay ) and they work fine with both Android and OS X/iOS. Instead of photostream I sync all photos from my phone to my photo library via Dropbox and Automator (works better than Photostream as videos are also synced) and sync a backup automatically with Google+. I dumped Reminders for Wunderlist (more robust, syncs across all platforms) and had been using Evernote instead of Notes since well before I started using Android. I do miss iMessage a bit as so much of my family and friends use iOS but not that big of a deal--SMS works fine.

Thanks for the response. Photos, reminders, and notes I'd pretty much be using the same services as you.

How do you handle music purchased on your HTC One? I understand if I buy music on one of my Apple devices, iTunes Match will sync the purchase and the music to my Mac which in turn will sync the music to Google Music. But if I purchase a song on my Android device how do I get the song into iTunes? WIll I have to manually download onto my computer from Google Music/Amazon Music etc and then add to my iTunes library?

 

[tbayrgs]

Thanks for the response. Photos, reminders, and notes I'd pretty much be using the same services as you.

How do you handle music purchased on your HTC One? I understand if I buy music on one of my Apple devices, iTunes Match will sync the purchase and the music to my Mac which in turn will sync the music to Google Music. But if I purchase a song on my Android device how do I get the song into iTunes? WIll I have to manually download onto my computer from Google Music/Amazon Music etc and then add to my iTunes library?

I don't purchase music on my One. For simplicity, any music I do purchase is usually through iTunes (though I have purchased through Amazon and imported into iTunes in the past). That way it's available on all of my Apple devices and also available through Google Play Music via automatic import.

To be completely honest, I haven't actually purchased any new music in the past few months as I've been using Google Play Music Unlimited Access since it rolled out.

 

[sbddude]

I don't at all. I use Google services for most things like mail, maps, calendar, etc. I have an iPad for the few things that are iOS only. I've been finding that I would miss more leaving android than if I left iOS.

One bummer, having to repurchase the same apps again. Developers are not supportive in this area.

 

[Savor]

Nope

Put the majority of my music in the Google Music cloud when it was still in beta back in 2011. I use Google services more than Apple services and dont see that changing for the rest of my life. Gmail will likely be my preferred email account forever unless Google decides to mess it up like Yahoo! I will always use YouTube for quick entertainment and learning diff things with their how-to videos. I have a Google Voice # that stays with me forever and can text or call my parents for FREE anytime I'm in WiFi. This was way before I started using Viber. I prefer Chrome over Safari or IE as a desktop browser. I prefer Android over iOS. I prefer Google Maps over Apple Maps.

Apple vs Google is like Kobe vs LeBron. Open vs closed. One is like the Lone Ranger. A gunner. Wants to hog all the glory. Always goes for the "hero shot." Look at all the accusations it has with teammates like Samsung. Doesnt want to be second banana to anyone. The other is more of a team player. Doesnt mind passing the ball to HTC, Samsung, Asus, or LG. Doesnt mind being Tonto to anyone.

If Apple was that strict parent that nags you to do this and that, Google is the lenient parent. Doesnt mind if you watch porn. Doesnt mind if you play emulated ROMS on your phone. Doesnt seem to care if you are sideloading an app and not paying for it.

I much prefer a more cross platform system. I can see the advantages and disadvantages of a closed platform like Apple's but I much prefer Google's more UNIVERSAL approach with MY choice of OEM. Apple prefers its own independence. Google wants to tie things together. Looking forward to Google Babel and Google Glass.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Apple has an ecosystem? I thought it only has a bunch of Apple apps that only play nice with other Apple apps and hardware. Isn't that an applesystem?

 

[Liquorpuki]

Apple vs Google is like Kobe vs LeBron. Open vs closed. One is like the Lone Ranger. A gunner. Wants to hog all the glory. Always goes for the "hero shot." Look at all the accusations it has with teammates like Samsung. Doesnt want to be second banana to anyone. The other is more of a team player. Doesnt mind passing the ball to HTC, Samsung, Asus, or LG. Doesnt mind being Tonto to anyone.

If Apple was that strict parent that nags you to do this and that, Google is the lenient parent. Doesnt mind if you watch porn. Doesnt mind if you play emulated ROMS on your phone. Doesnt seem to care if you are sideloading an app and not paying for it.

+1 for the analogies

Though I think it's more like Apple = Kobe. Samsung = Lebron. HTC = D Wade. Google = Shane Battier = takes care of all the fundamentals while the other 2 make all the money

WP8 = Andrew Wiggins
BB10 = Derek Fisher

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

Apple vs Google is like Kobe vs LeBron. Open vs closed. One is like the Lone Ranger. A gunner. Wants to hog all the glory. Always goes for the "hero shot." Look at all the accusations it has with teammates like Samsung. Doesnt want to be second banana to anyone. The other is more of a team player. Doesnt mind passing the ball to HTC, Samsung, Asus, or LG. Doesnt mind being Tonto to anyone.

If Apple was that strict parent that nags you to do this and that, Google is the lenient parent. Doesnt mind if you watch porn. Doesnt mind if you play emulated ROMS on your phone. Doesnt seem to care if you are sideloading an app and not paying for it.

B-B-But 5 rings beat one.

 

[ChrisTX]

Even though I'm thinking about coming back to the iPhone, the ecosystem isn't the reason. Android has all of the same apps I used on iPhone. Having to re-download some of the same apps allover again kind of stinks at first, but ah well.

 

[Xiroteus]

I just moved over to the Galaxy Note, after four years with the iPhone. I was able to buy that and have some money left over and so far I really like it. It is huge which is good as a middle ground device and I love how easy it is to do things. I was able to use the SD card to watch a video without anything needing to be done.

All the apps I use are there. I have flash which is huge for me. There are a couple things that may be a bit off yet nothing major and only a few days in and I like how easy everything is. I will see what the iPhone does later on. Being locked down to such a degree was starting to annoying me plus I wanted a larger screen to fill that tablet phone area.

 

[b166er]

I do miss some things about it. But you can set up Android to behave the same way, and even better. It does require more patience and know how, but it can be worth it.

 

[slu]

I found that the platforms are largely similar in most ways. And that converting to the Google ecosystem was pretty easy. If the benefits of android are for you, then you'll be fine.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Naw.

 

[0dev]

If anything I enjoy not having to go through iTunes constantly now, I like the freedom