Other I don't think Android users understand exactly why we love our iPhones

[cmiller4642]

I've had my share of flagship Android phones within weeks of their release (Motorola Droid 2, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S7 Edge), and after my brief little love affair is over, I always find myself wishing that I got the latest iPhone model that year.

The reason is simple, I don't want to tweak my phone non stop and customize it. The nicest thing about Android IMO is using Google's services integrated, but if you don't have a Nexus/Pixel device, then you're going to run into the bloat from the handset manufacturer that nerfs the functionality of Android. Sure you could flash a custom rom on it (or whatever) and go to stock, but why bother? I'd rather just get an iPhone and call it a day.

Case in point: I'm a Youtube Red subscriber (it's a great service honestly), and it runs better on my iPhone X than it did on my Galaxy S7 Edge last year. The functionality is just better... especially over bluetooth in the car (which is where I utilize the service the most, because I listen to music on Youtube that's not on Apple Music). I did Google Play Music and it just was a mess on the Galaxy S7. The tracks repeat constantly, there's no scrubbing functions, the bluetooth connectivity is spotty, etc... If you're going to buy an Android get a Pixel 2 XL.

Some of my techie friends that I went to college with do not understand why I'm so into the iPhone, but honestly for mobile I just want a simple OS with the functions that I need to use it quickly. Whenever I used Android, I would always just have apps in a grid anyway with the Google search bar on top (I wish that was integrated when I swiped left on iPhone honestly because it's a handy feature).

 

[Closingracer]

I am no fanboy of either but I have always preferred Android if I had to choose. Currently have a Note 8 and love it. What made me go back to Android is because I missed the S pen and that is what made me get a note 8. That and at the time the only phone with an OLED panel between it and iPhones (wasn't waiting until Nov with no phone). I am also happy with ios and Apple products. Have a 2017 15 inch Macbook Pro and an iPad Pro 10.5. I loved the fact that ios just works and the shared ecosystem with my iPad. I don't think many people care about why people prefer ios or Android just the vocal minority

 

[cmiller4642]

I am no fanboy of either but I have always preferred Android if I had to choose. Currently have a Note 8 and love it. What made me go back to Android is because I missed the S pen and that is what made me get a note 8. That and at the time the only phone with an OLED panel between it and iPhones (wasn't waiting until Nov with no phone). I am also happy with ios and Apple products. Have a 2017 15 inch Macbook Pro and an iPad Pro 10.5. I loved the fact that ios just works and the shared ecosystem with my iPad. I don't think many people care about why people prefer ios or Android just the vocal minority

It's all about the user in the long run, I just always get side eyes with my geekier friends with "why on Earth do you like iPhone so much"

 

[Closingracer]

It's all about the user in the long run, I just always get side eyes with my geekier friends with "why on Earth do you like iPhone so much"

Meh as a geek myself I like iPhones. Just like my Note 8 because of the S pen

 

[eyoungren]

I've had my share of flagship Android phones within weeks of their release (Motorola Droid 2, Galaxy S4, Galaxy S7 Edge), and after my brief little love affair is over, I always find myself wishing that I got the latest iPhone model that year.

The reason is simple, I don't want to tweak my phone non stop and customize it. The nicest thing about Android IMO is using Google's services integrated, but if you don't have a Nexus/Pixel device, then you're going to run into the bloat from the handset manufacturer that nerfs the functionality of Android. Sure you could flash a custom rom on it (or whatever) and go to stock, but why bother? I'd rather just get an iPhone and call it a day.

Case in point: I'm a Youtube Red subscriber (it's a great service honestly), and it runs better on my iPhone X than it did on my Galaxy S7 Edge last year. The functionality is just better... especially over bluetooth in the car (which is where I utilize the service the most, because I listen to music on Youtube that's not on Apple Music). I did Google Play Music and it just was a mess on the Galaxy S7. The tracks repeat constantly, there's no scrubbing functions, the bluetooth connectivity is spotty, etc... If you're going to buy an Android get a Pixel 2 XL.

Some of my techie friends that I went to college with do not understand why I'm so into the iPhone, but honestly for mobile I just want a simple OS with the functions that I need to use it quickly. Whenever I used Android, I would always just have apps in a grid anyway with the Google search bar on top (I wish that was integrated when I swiped left on iPhone honestly because it's a handy feature).

I have an iPhone 6s+ on 9.0.2.

It's been jailbroken since October 2015 and has over 200 tweaks installed.

I see your simple iOS and iPhone with non-customization and raise you one fully-untethered jailbreak. With customization.

 

[Closingracer]

I have an iPhone 6s+ on 9.0.2.

It's been jailbroken since October 2015 and has over 200 tweaks installed.

I see your simple iOS and iPhone with non-customization and raise you one fully-untethered jailbreak.

Some people don't want to jailbreak their phones to do so though. I am one of those people.

 

[eyoungren]

Some people don't want to jailbreak their phones to do so though. I am one of those people.

Totally get that. Some people don't want to.

But being absolutist about iOS not letting you tweak your phone and not letting you customize it ignores the fact that jailbreaks exist and that there are people (I am one) who DO jailbreak iOS to do EXACTLY that.

We jailbreakers get the "simplicity" of iOS with the ability to customize like Android.

That said, don't think this is what I am doing all the time (customizing things). I have a set viewpoint of what I want my device to look like and once a jailbreak drops I customize my device to that image. And then I walk away and leave it the hell alone.

Except for my wallpaper and tweak/app updates, nothing has changed in over a year on my iPhone.

 

[erayser]

Totally get that. Some people don't want to.

But being absolutist about iOS not letting you tweak your phone and not letting you customize it ignores the fact that jailbreaks exist and that there are people (I am one) who DO jailbreak iOS to do EXACTLY that.

We jailbreakers get the "simplicity" of iOS with the ability to customize like Android.

That said, don't think this is what I am doing all the time (customizing things). I have a set viewpoint of what I want my device to look like and once a jailbreak drops I customize my device to that image. And then I walk away and leave it the hell alone.

Except for my wallpaper and tweak/app updates, nothing has changed in over a year on my iPhone.

I don't think stock iOS iPhone users understand exactly why we love our jailbroken iPhones.
^^^
See what I did there.

I think what kills it for me about jailbreaking these days is how long it takes to get a jailbreak after a new iOS update is released. Also, no more untethered jailbreaks is a biggie for me. These are reasons why a lot of jailbreakers (mostly custom modders) are jumping to Android.

I mainly customize my phone for the fun of it... also, because of all the friends I've made all over the world in the jailbreaking community. Besides customizing, I'm fine doing my daily tasks with either platform. Since I don't lock myself down to a particular ecosystem, I have no issues going back and forth. Once in a while I'll swap sims between android and my jailbroken iPhone. I'm a fan of tech... so like both platforms equally.

 

[eyoungren]

I don't think stock iOS iPhone users understand exactly why we love our jailbroken iPhones.
^^^
See what I did there.

I think what kills it for me about jailbreaking these days is how long it takes to get a jailbreak after a new iOS update is released. Also, no more untethered jailbreaks is a biggie for me. These are reasons why a lot of jailbreakers (mostly custom modders) are jumping to Android.

I mainly customize my phone for the fun of it... also, because of all the friends I've made all over the world in the jailbreaking community. Besides customizing, I'm fine doing my daily tasks with either platform. Since I don't lock myself down to a particular ecosystem, I have no issues going back and forth. Once in a while I'll swap sims between android and my jailbroken iPhone. I'm a fan of tech... so like both platforms equally.

The new (since 9.2) semi-untethered jailbreaks just do not appeal to me. I understand why they exist, but those are a major reason I have sat for over two years on one of the last fully-untethered jailbreaks.

I came to iOS/iPhone from Windows Mobile where I was used to customizing things. When I found out that iOS would not allow animated weather on the lockscreen that's when I turned to jailbreaking.

Unfortunately, Apple's current direction in design aesthetics combined with the difficulty of jailbreaking AND the fact that once it happens it's semi-untethered means that my next device will be Android.

I don't switch back and forth (been on iPhone since September 2012) but the services I use are cross-platform. It's the only way I can get things to work with the circa 1999-2006 era Macs I use. Apple abandoned PowerPC users long ago. So, I have never been locked into the Apple ecosystem. That and Apple has never offered any feature that was a must have for me or that I couldn't get third party.

On top of that, nothing I do has changed since May 2009 when I got my first smartphone (HTC Touch Pro).

 

[posguy99]

It's all about the user in the long run, I just always get side eyes with my geekier friends with "why on Earth do you like iPhone so much"

I always wonder what world these people move in, that people around them care what phone they have. Or that they care what people think of what phone they have.

 

[sdwaltz]

Tweaking and stuff is fun, but at the end of the day I just want a phone that works as its supposed to ALL THE TIME. You can't really say that about most (if not all) Android devices after 6+ months of use. When it comes down to it, Android is not as well-written as iOS. Period. Stability is a problem. I can deal with a less-stable computer, but I need my phone to be stable all the time. If I have to give up the ability to tweak things, that's fine.

Nerds will be nerds though.

 

[eyoungren]

I can deal with a less-stable computer, but I need my phone to be stable all the time.

I am the opposite. My phone is simply a phone that can do a few extra things (text, email, etc). If my phone fails I have my work phone and a backup and in a pinch I have a 4s that's a tertiary backup.

But if computers are unstable on me, then my work does not get done. When my work does not get done then I miss deadlines. When I miss deadlines my boss starts asking questions I don't have very good answers for.

Computers are the ONE thing I need to be stable. Phone…not so much.

 

[NoBoMac]

Nerds will be nerds though.

Computers are the ONE thing I need to be stable. Phone…not so much.

These pretty much sums it up, imo.

There was a blog post quite a few years ago (10?) from a big name in the open-source/Linux/freeware world where he posted that he bought a Mac for home use and loved it as (remember, this was a while ago) he did not want to deal with all the get/build/driver/etc hoops for Linux as he does plenty of that for work, tired of Windows virii/malware/etc and that the Mac was a joy since Unix under the covers which he understood and gave a level of transparency, making his administration of the device easier than the other two options. The wailing and hair pulling from the nerds when that came out... oy!

 

[Ffosse]

Same here - I can't be bothered tweaking Android, waiting for security patches or just messing around with it in general. I find the level of tweaking with an iPhone quite sufficient for me. Plus I do use the screen on the far left for any widgets I want.

I've got incurable (yet treatable) cancer and I don't want to waste any time on Android whereas iOs is a lot simpler for me to use.

 

[NT1440]

I used to jailbreak back when you still had to use the 72-step command line method. I haven’t bothered in years as I try to use my phone less and less (I don’t use social media). The ONLY thing I miss is the game boy emulator. I don’t game at all, but it was nice to be able to fire up a Pokémon game for a long trip now and again.

I got tired of themes. There’s a lot of fun stuff you can do jailbroken but I just don’t care enough to do it anymore.

 

[Apple_Robert]

What is this fascination with trying to justify using Apple or Android products to others out of the blue? I can see if someone ask you what are the top 5 reasons you like brand X?

It doesn't matter if no one else gets why you like brand X, Y, or Z. The only thing that matters, is you liking brand X, Y, or Z.

We aren't on some school playground trying to one-up each other. We are supposed to be grown adults buying products because we like and need them in our lives.

 

[cipher29]

TBH, my iPhone X and Apple services barely works as advertised... All of this was true a few years ago, but these days iOS 11 is hugely buggy and Apple's services are utter garbage compared to Google services.

 

[barkomatic]

I like my iPhone, but I wish Apple would allow us to customize the look more and allow us to default the assistant to Google without having to open a separate app for it. Siri is garbage and Apple won't or can't fix it.

I know jailbreaking could probably accomplish both items, but jailbreaking is a pain, sometimes compromises security, and is never available for the latest version of iOS so you're always behind.

 

[eyoungren]

I know jailbreaking could probably accomplish both items, but jailbreaking is a pain, sometimes compromises security, and is never available for the latest version of iOS so you're always behind.

This is a result of bug bounty programs. It's much more profitable to turn a bug in to Apple and walk away with cash then it is to develop a jailbreak that only generates profit for tweak developers and Cydia.

You're left with intelligent but less capable JB devs who either sit on bugs or chain lesser bugs and the result is the current state of unstable semi-untethered jailbreaks released for older versions of iOS.

Jailbreaking is by no means dead but the heyday, I believe, is gone.

 

[MandiMac]

TBH, my iPhone X and Apple services barely works as advertised... All of this was true a few years ago, but these days iOS 11 is hugely buggy and Apple's services are utter garbage compared to Google services.

What exactly does not work for you and did you try a full restore?

 

[akash.nu]

Tweaking and stuff is fun, but at the end of the day I just want a phone that works as its supposed to ALL THE TIME. You can't really say that about most (if not all) Android devices after 6+ months of use. When it comes down to it, Android is not as well-written as iOS. Period. Stability is a problem. I can deal with a less-stable computer, but I need my phone to be stable all the time. If I have to give up the ability to tweak things, that's fine.

Nerds will be nerds though.

I am the opposite. My phone is simply a phone that can do a few extra things (text, email, etc). If my phone fails I have my work phone and a backup and in a pinch I have a 4s that's a tertiary backup.

But if computers are unstable on me, then my work does not get done. When my work does not get done then I miss deadlines. When I miss deadlines my boss starts asking questions I don't have very good answers for.

Computers are the ONE thing I need to be stable. Phone…not so much.

This really depends on the profession one is in and their responsibilities and workflow.

I need both stable phone and stable computer.

 

[Zaft]

Most people I know dont care what phone I use. Who cares.

 

[Ffosse]

Indeed, I had one person ask me this week if I was using an iPhone when the notch was clearly in view. She thought I was mad for spending £999 + Saddle Brown case. I think her Honor is around £200 and she probably gets just as much satisfaction and utility as I get out of my iPhone.

 

[44267547]

Most people I know dont care what phone I use. Who cares.

As succinct as your post is, you’re correct. I think a smart phone is the one thing that I could absolutely care less about what somebody’s using, how new it is, which which manufacture they’re using, etc. I don’t even pay attention to what phone somebody is using in public. Everybody has a smart phone in today’s digital world, and they all uniformly primarily look the same. It’s nothing more than a tool and a commodity.

 

[Ffosse]

If it's someone I vaguely know, I'll ask them about their phone and find that most people will readily tell me about their phone and its pros and cons. But I agree: in the long term no-one really cares what you are using.