I’m also toying with this idea. I’ve got a 16 Pro, M4 ipp, M2 MBA and M2 mini. I recently had a S24 Ultra in my hands and really liked it but sent it back because I’ve only just bought the 16 Pro. When the S25 Ultra comes out I’ll probably get one and pass the 16 on. It’s then a case of changing as I move forwards probably with a self built PC next.
I understand the emotional reply but this is simply not true under the conditions I stated. If I encrypt my data then Google does not get it. If I prevent any communications through a firewall to Google, then Google does not get it.
In my case I used DOS when it was a baby, used Windows when it was born (when it started as a GUI Runtime for DTP Apps) and used it until around 2005 as my primary OS. Then switched to OS/2, Linux, and finally in 2007 to Mac.Oh that's absolutely possible, I'm not ruling that out.
Having said that, the reason I've switched to Windows is a bit due to the fact that my "marriage" with macOS didn't work out so well, or as they say, our lifes took different paths. So it's not that I'm saying that Apple is an ugly b*tch and the biggest mistake of my life, more that I'm a little sad that things turned out the way they turned out, to stay within that analogy
I might also add that I'm working in IT and have a 25 years background as a systems engineer in both Windows and Linux, so at least in terms of knowledge, it's not a problem for me switch back and forth between all these systems. It's more a matter of overcoming the laziness to switch services etc.
10 or 15 years ago, I was still a die-hard Apple fanboi. And I might well be one again in another 10 years, who knows.
I guess I'm just not so happy with the direction Apple took under Tim Cook and once he's getting replaced, things might change for the better again (or for the worse).
There’s no reason to feel smug over people behaving like actual children who fail to grasp the most basic of concepts such as “other people have different personal preferences to you and thats ok” 🤷
And even in countries where RCS is available , not all operators offer it.
Since I’m a tech enthusiast , I’m buying an Android phone every 2/3 years just as a secondary device, out of curiosity. I usually buy a Samsung flagship-like (my last one was Galaxy S22) because in Android world I trust them more than other brands.
I did it finally… no one should trust Google. I abandoned also GMail and I still have a Google account just for YouTube, but Google isn’t getting any data from me.
I've been using custom fonts for years on my iPad and iPhone for my design apps, but not as System Fonts.24 years into Apple stuff, nerd and developer. I definitely consider myself a veteran
Even if we're about things like custom icons and using comic sans as a font, well, that's something some people want and Android delivers, iOS doesn't. As I said somewhere else, we're so connected with our phones now that it's normal to want to customize it like we do our cars, especially for younger people who need to express themselves. It's human.
But in many situations, Apple is just making bad choices for you, in terms of UX.
Among my everyday struggles with iOS, the way you turn wi-fi on and off from the quick menu. Well, you just can't turn wi-fi off actually from there. Moreover, they changed it with iOS 18 and in the first versions, you couldn't have the wi-fi button outside of a little squares with other stuff. I couldn't even change that, thankfully they changed back it a little later.
I'm definitely always willing to spend 5 minutes changing stuff that will make my life easier for years, when I'm allowed to do it. I used to also do it in the way you mean it, just for the fun of customizing things and wasting time, when I was younger but that's not the case now and I hate when I know I could make something better and can't.
I just don’t think the Apple Watch, as it is right now, is very good. I’ll never understand why people want another vector for notifications. Experiences such as yours just add more to that pile. The Apple Watch is a mess in terms of apps and widgets. It’s neglected like Apple mail.
Yeah I thought the watch would be a game changer but I realize I only use my watch for fitness and to tell the time. I hardly need to see notifications come through my watch, it does not save me as much time and if anything it makes me pay attention to notifications more (which is usually not ideal if I am trying to do something else)
For the particular set of things I do recreationally (swimming, running, cycling) Gamrin has no peer (battery, routing etc). I took a trip to Sedona and loaded my maps with waypoints into my Fenix and it was amazing. I have observed in some of the bigger rides with thousands of people like the MS150 that cycling folks seem all over the place with bike computers but nearly everyone has some sort of Garmin on their wrist. It helps too that my watch connects to my vitals and those of my bike (power meter, derailleur, shifting) which Apple still doesn’t do. I’m not pestered by notifications (I guess I could turn that on) I just want the best way to track my stats. As an aside, the body battery metric Garmin uses is incredibly accurate.
I’d rather a punch hole than the island, I find it’s rather a distsction day to day as it reminds me that it’s a compromise of Apple’s vision to have the whole front screen uninterrupted. I liked the notch better (on the phone, it’s still a dumb idea on the laptops)
I on the other hand used Blackberry and Androids until the iPhone 7, not keen to go back to Android at all 😊
There was a time in a far far away galaxy, where our personalities, made us stand out and be different to the crowd, not a phone 😉I mix both. Here’s what I like about Android:
• Typing experience is superior; Gboard is light-years ahead of absolutely anything else. It remembers all non-typical words and text constructions that I use, it doesn’t block offensive words (unlike the puritanic iPhone), and the swiping algorithm is precise as heck. I can swipe text SO fast it’s sometimes unbelievable to my own eyes.
And no, Gboard on iPhone is not a thing; not only does it no longer receive updates, but it also does not integrate well into the system.
• Android is hip and cool. Literally every person around me has an iPhone and a Mac. These are great devices, sure, but they’re the normie choice; the default devices. I’d much rather be seen with a weird flip phone than this—it better suits my looks.
• Sideloading. In a country where I used to live, people can’t install/update their banking apps on iPhones because many of them are US-sanctioned. There are workarounds, but why are they needed in the first place?
Sanctions are fine, but not the concept of a computing device telling you what not to do.
• No censorship. For example, Apple delists VPNs and media outlets from said country’s App Store. Why?
This, for me, is the biggest “Steve Jobs would’ve never” thing. He would screw any dictatorship government on the spot because he understood. He knew they’re not going to do anything about it. He knew that people in said countries would buy Apple products anyway, just unofficially. He knew that Apple is bigger than some random human rights abuser. Tim Cook doesn’t
• Android depreciates faster… which is bad news if you’re into the latest and greatest, but good news if you’re shopping on the lower end of the pricing spectrum. A used Pixel 8 costs $300 nowadays—killer value for a fast flagship with 120 Hz display and an incredible camera. Pixel 7 is $200; it's impossible to find even an iPhone 12 for that price.
Buy it, carry it everywhere without a case, toss it into pockets or onto tables, use it to capture extreme sports footage, do whatever you want with it—because you’re not as worried about breaking it as you would be with the latest Pro Max iPhone.
It’s the most personal piece of technology for many folks, why should it be bland and unimaginative? I’d love for the boomers to get kicked out of Apple so a fresh stable of talent with interesting ideas could take off. I suspect the staleness of iPhone design is directly related to old dudes in charge
So why do Android manufacturers blatantly copy iPhones all the time ?
You call it staleness. I call it stability. I hear a lot of complaints about how "dull" the iPhone is. But I never see any suggestions for fundamental changes that can be realistically be integrated into the phone.
Isn't real? I'm just going to assume you are a troll, the cognitive dissonance in this thread is heavy.
and yet under Cook more & more enterprises are switching to MacOS....I guess the modern systems engineer is much more concerned with security & privacyOh that's absolutely possible, I'm not ruling that out.
Having said that, the reason I've switched to Windows is a bit due to the fact that my "marriage" with macOS didn't work out so well, or as they say, our lifes took different paths. So it's not that I'm saying that Apple is an ugly b*tch and the biggest mistake of my life, more that I'm a little sad that things turned out the way they turned out, to stay within that analogy
I might also add that I'm working in IT and have a 25 years background as a systems engineer in both Windows and Linux, so at least in terms of knowledge, it's not a problem for me switch back and forth between all these systems. It's more a matter of overcoming the laziness to switch services etc.
10 or 15 years ago, I was still a die-hard Apple fanboi. And I might well be one again in another 10 years, who knows.
I guess I'm just not so happy with the direction Apple took under Tim Cook and once he's getting replaced, things might change for the better again (or for the worse).
