iCloud vs Google

[leandronb]

Hi guys. After a long time using android (almost 5 years) i moved to an iphone 6s plus.
Loving it so far, but i still have so many questions that i don't even know where to start.

When i get a new device, i always go with the full device experience, and try everything the company has to offer to me. That is why i didn't sync my contacts with google, or downloaded chrome or gmail.
I exported all my contacts to vcard and imported in icloud, and i plan to do something like this in calendar too, also in notes etc.
But i also want to keep everything in sync, don't know how.
Do you guys think all this effort worth it? Or should i keep using google apps and sync with google?
I wanted to use native icloud because i don't know how syncing with google would affect my battery life.
I will definitely need google photos and google play music so there is a limit of what i am willing to do to move to apple services.
So what do you guys think?

 

[eyoungren]

Hi guys. After a long time using android (almost 5 years) i moved to an iphone 6s plus.
Loving it so far, but i still have so many questions that i don't even know where to start.

When i get a new device, i always go with the full device experience, and try everything the company has to offer to me. That is why i didn't sync my contacts with google, or downloaded chrome or gmail.
I exported all my contacts to vcard and imported in icloud, and i plan to do something like this in calendar too, also in notes etc.
But i also want to keep everything in sync, don't know how.
Do you guys think all this effort worth it? Or should i keep using google apps and sync with google?
I wanted to use native icloud because i don't know how syncing with google would affect my battery life.
I will definitely need google photos and google play music so there is a limit of what i am willing to do to move to apple services.
So what do you guys think?

I will just say this.

When I first messed with iCloud it turned out to be a one way street. That is, any device I had that was NOT my iPhone could make a change to a contact but it would not reflect to my iPhone. Part of that was because there was no provision for PowerPC Macs to connect to iCloud, part of it was because of the newness of the service.

So, I went to Google Contacts. Syncs with every device I have ever used no matter what age the device is. Any change pushed from any of those devices WILL reflect to my phone. Same with Google Calendar.

I do use Dropbox for photos though. However, all my music is stored in Google Play and I can stream my entire iTunes library from my phone or iPad.

I think it's good you want to experience the eco system, but I would advise choosing what is best for how you handle your data. If that's iCloud - great. If it's still Google you will find that Google works and syncs just fine on an iDevice. Use what works for you. That, of itself, is part of the beauty of having an iDevice.

 

[dominiongamma]

I use both that way if I ever switch to Android I'm all set and if iCloud fails I have a back up of my photos and contacts.

 

[Channan]

Do you guys think all this effort worth it?

Definitely not worth the effort, IMO. You can sync your contacts, calendars, and notes with Google and still use Apple's default apps. Your user experience will be exactly the same whether you choose to sync with Google or iCloud.

 

[Madmic23]

My contacts, mail and calendar are all synced with Google using the default iOS apps. I just found that to be the easiest method since I have a Mac, iPhone and iPad at home and a PC at work. Everything is always in sync.

I also use Google Music and Google Photos. I started using Google Music because I got in on the $7.99 deal when it was first launched in Canada. I use Google Photos for the unlimited storage.

Everything works great on the iPhone, I just wish I could change the default photo, maps and music apps.

 

[lordofthereef]

iCloud will offer you nothing that Google doesn't already offer. If everything is already in Google I would just use that. Honestly. I've been using iPhone as my personal phone for nearly a decade now and I've used google services since they've been available. As has been said, I cloud is too much of a one way street. You can import and export anything from Google. If you switch back to any other device it will all be right there and ready.

 

[DMVillain]

I go back and forth with this a lot more than I should, but right now I'm going with everything iCloud. It's just easier for me to use Apple's bundle of apps since they all do what I need. However, I'd recommend you do what works for you, which seems to be Google since you're so invested in it.

If the shoe were miraculously switched and I could use the Apple ecosystem on Android, I would because it works for me. What pushes me in the other direction is my curiosity with Android and the reality that the shoe won't be switched. Being so baked in the Apple ecosystem makes any potential switch almost a nightmare.

 

[ultravisitor]

So what do you guys think?

I switched to a 6s Plus last fall and have kept everything Google. It's worked out fine for me.

 

[leandronb]

I was a bit afraind of google sync taking some hit in battery since i saw some posts related about it.
I think i will go icloud and also keep google in sync.

 

[Primejimbo]

I use iCloud for everything and no issues. Calendar, contacts, and photos.

 

[ericwn]

I feel somehow more comfortable with iCloud, for the couple cloud interactions I do on my devices than using the services of an advertising company. Not much, but a little.