iPhone or Android

[bmac4]

I meant that to say I don't buy solely on specs - obviously I won't go out to get a 4 year old phone.

Frankly though, pretty much all the flagship devices of the major OEMs (Samsung, Apple, HTC, Sony, LG, hell even BB and Nokia) would do what I need them to do (specs wise).

For me customer service/support, software updates and support, overall ecosystem (how my smartphone interacts with my other devices), app quality, design of the hardware (the way it looks and feels) all play a role in my decision making.

I haven't come across a task yet that I couldn't complete using my iPhone - whether or not the method to complete certain tasks needs updating or improving however is an entirely different story. There are plenty of things that need updating/improving both in iOS and Android.

Using both simultaneously, I've grown to appreciate each for its strengths. Looking forward to trying out some of the skinned Android experiences - the HTC One will be my next upgrade and I'm looking at picking up a used GS3 either from my brother-in-law (who's eyeballing the GS4) or on eBay.

Oh thinking about the S3. It will be much different then the nexus 4, but still a good phone.

 

[jrswizzle]

lol. You'd buy a bag of poop if it had the Apple logo on it and claim it's 100% better than Android's bag of oranges. "Oh but you can eat the oranges? I can eat poop too! Anything you can do with those oranges, I can do with this poop!"

You should probably read at least my signature, if not my other posts before insulting me....I am not a blind follower (despite the sarcastic line below my posts). I actually quite enjoy my N4 and feel that, at least as long as I can swing having two phone lines, using both an Android and iOS device is the best.

There's a difference between blind loyalty and acknowledging glaring differences.

Of course the two are different....I never said they weren't? If by differences you mean issues/problems, I have no problems acknowledging those as well. For instance the default iOS apps (ones like stocks, weather, even more recent like iBooks and Newsstand) need a lot of work. I personally would love to see Apple give the default stocks and weather apps placement over fully to Yahoo (much like Apple did with google maps for so long). Yahoo weather is absolutely the best weather app I've ever used (on both devices)

Widgets:
Can you check your news feeds on an iPhone? Yes. But I see mine as soon as I unlock my screen. Right there in my Pulse widget. Engadget's new reviews, the results of the UFC last weekend, did they catch the Boston criminal? All of it right on my screen on a widget. I just scroll left and right and quickly check through.
You have to click an icon. And your icon, if you're organized, is inside a folder. So for you it's: click, swipe, pin, swipe, click, click. (Reduced to 5 if your pulse is in a folder on your first screen, not likely)
For me it's: click, drag, pin and there it is.
But wait, right underneath my Pulse widget is my calendar. Oh I have an appointment in 30 minutes? What else do I have today? Just scroll and check.

Yet another who doesn't understand that each OS has a different philosophy (I'm not saying one is better than the other - simply that they are different).

iOS is all about the apps and in-app experience. One of the reasons devs tend to focus on the iOS versions of their apps and refine those more than an Android version.

Android (and most of the skins) try to pack a lot of the functionality into the OS and on the home screen. In-app experience is secondary.

I'm not about to tell you which is better - you prefer one, someone else prefer's the other. That's why they both exist. Choices are neat huh?

For you, you have to exit out of the app and then go to your Calendar icon. Everything you need to do or view requires you to go back to the home screen. That home button is so necessary.

Not necessarily true - while I do need the home button, a double click takes me to the multitasking tray and I can switch back to the app I was previously on, or one I had open a while ago.

Another place I hope Apple improves is adding gestures (much like the iPad's to access the multitasking tray and swipe between different apps without even going into the tray).

The best part is, I don't need notifications for my lock screen to be useful. My lockscreen has weather, my email and how far I am from home in both distance and time based on traffic conditions.

Ok? You find this information useful, I do not. I know how far away from my house I am (and I know the traffic patterns) - plus I always had trouble getting Google now to be completely accurate.

Even so, to show all that info still require waking the device and swiping through certain screens/lockscreen widgets. Not much easier than simply unlocking the device and tapping a weather icon, or swiping down.....

Or better yet, in the car, asking Siri to tell me. Again - this is all preference. I'm just making the point that what works well for you, doesn't necessarily work well for everyone. If it works for you, that's what matters.

I loved my iPhone 5. It is, and I say this in 100% confidence, the BEST built phone in the market. Period. The brushed diamond-cut aluminum and thin bezel. It's a gorgeous phone and I was hard struck trying to justify getting rid of it. A lot of what it came down to was that, I was just proud to hand it to people when I wanted to get their number or email. It ALWAYS got complements. "Wow this is the iPhone 5? It's so _______." And the blank was ALWAYS quite a compliment, ranging from "pretty" to "slick" to "badass". But at the end of the day, my $200 Nexus 7 tablet made me more productive than my $650 smart phone.

Indeed - look and feel go into my personal smartphone buying decision. Its also another highly subjective area.

So I got a Nexus 4 and now I'm at least 30-40% more productive with my phone.

(I'll die before I sell my iPad though)

I've personally experienced no increase in productivity. I use both my Nexus 4 and iPhone 5 to do the same tasks, albeit in different ways from time to time.

I'm glad that it works so well for you though! That is what one's buying decision should be based on - what works for that specific individual!

 

[Dontazemebro]

And both devices do the same tasks - your example of torrent streaming (ethics aside) doesn't prove anything - I can just as easily rent/buy and watch the same movie on my iPad and iPhone.

Like I've said before - the process in completing the action may differ - but generally speaking, you tell me an end result you want done and ill be able to do it on my iPhone.

Whether or not the way I do it is better or worse is completely up to preference. There are things I prefer on iOS and things I prefer on Android. For instance I had to switch to my iPhone to respond to you because selecting text on my N4 is about the most infuriating thing I've ever done...

Neither is perfect - both will continue to evolve - but the fallacy that iOS is some little kid OS while Android is superior perfection is complete horse-sh**. Can you really not see how such a comment might offend someone? Smartphones are relatively personal devices.....

----------



You hit the nail on the head Bmac - there's more to a smartphone purchase than specs and "features".

Swizzle I think you're missing my point. The torrenting for example, you mentioned that you can just as well buy/rent the movie as an end result. While this is true, I can do the same as well...... but I also have torrents as an option. This is what I mean when I say Android can do more.

Yes, same results achievable but I have more methods at my disposal to achieve said results.

The fact is that we normally equate more with better. More pay is better, more knowledge is better, etc. That's just human nature.

 

[jrswizzle]

Swizzle I think you're missing my point. The torrenting for example, you mentioned that you can just as well buy/rent the movie as an end result. While this is true, I can do the same as well...... but I also have torrents as an option. This is what I mean when I say Android can do more.

Yes, same results achievable but I have more methods at my disposal to achieve said results.

The fact is that we normally equate more with better. More pay is better, more knowledge is better, etc. That's just human nature.

Gotcha - I appreciate the explanation. I, personally, don't think more options to do the same thing is necessarily better (unless one of those ways is better) - but as I said, the process in doing things isn't what I was discussing.

Most of the time these discussions center around the fact the iPhone CAN'T do some task/function - they never get into why certain ways of doing a task/function are better than others - an entirely different discussion.

I'm perfectly capable and will readily admit, iOS doesn't do everything perfectly. Then again, neither does Android. That is my overall point. Neither is perfect, and neither is better for everyone.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I meant that to say I don't buy solely on specs - obviously I won't go out to get a 4 year old phone.

Frankly though, pretty much all the flagship devices of the major OEMs (Samsung, Apple, HTC, Sony, LG, hell even BB and Nokia) would do what I need them to do (specs wise).

For me customer service/support, software updates and support, overall ecosystem (how my smartphone interacts with my other devices), app quality, design of the hardware (the way it looks and feels) all play a role in my decision making.

I haven't come across a task yet that I couldn't complete using my iPhone - whether or not the method to complete certain tasks needs updating or improving however is an entirely different story. There are plenty of things that need updating/improving both in iOS and Android.

Using both simultaneously, I've grown to appreciate each for its strengths. Looking forward to trying out some of the skinned Android experiences - the HTC One will be my next upgrade and I'm looking at picking up a used GS3 either from my brother-in-law (who's eyeballing the GS4) or on eBay.

For me personally ...... I appreciate a bump in specs up to a certain point to keep up with the times and requirements of software, after that certain point, it become redundant and only useful for benchmark claims. It's like comparing two street liter bikes over a difference in a top speed of 5mph. Both bikes are going to be ridiculously fast and only the insane would go top speed on a public road.

As far as features go ...... I love features. Many I rarely or never use, but many I'll use often or can't live without. IMO, a good feature or two can really separate a phone from the rest (even Apple knows this). Which is partly why I'm going for the S4. Also, some features end up becoming standard requirements. Kind of like how back up cameras are becoming standard in new model cars.

My main reason for purchase is functionality, reliability and design. The iPhone still has me sold with reliability, but so do the top tiered Android phones. I'm not into the design of the iPhone anymore until they do a major screen size bump. Functionality is something I've come to hate about the iPhone/iOS. Not because of what it can or can't do, but mainly cause it doesn't let me operate it the way I want. And the way someone wants it is always the most productive for that individual. Android let's me operate it the way I want, like an actual desktop OS. This is also why I never gave Windows Phone a try.

 

[Tinmania]

Swizzle I think you're missing my point. The torrenting for example, you mentioned that you can just as well buy/rent the movie as an end result. While this is true, I can do the same as well...... but I also have torrents as an option. This is what I mean when I say Android can do more.

Yes, same results achievable but I have more methods at my disposal to achieve said results.

The fact is that we normally equate more with better. More pay is better, more knowledge is better, etc. That's just human nature.

But it is only better if it is done better as well. It is only recently that Android has gotten better at doing things "better." I'm not sure it is up to iOS level of consistency and smoothness, but it has gotten markedly better.

Many years ago, when I was young, I drooled when the Newton was announced. Bought one soon as they were released. It could, in theory, do quite a lot. But most of what it did it did badly. It got better and I stayed with it through a few subsequent models.

Then, in 1996, the Palm Pilot came out. It didn't do nearly as much as the Newton. But what it did it did tremendously well. I switched to it in a heartbeat and never looked back.

Well, that is, until 2007. By then I was still using a descendant of that Palm Pilot: a Treo smartphone. But it hadn't evolved much with the times and was getting to be a real chore to use. The iPhone, just like the Palm Pilot more than 10 years prior, did less but did it significantly better.

The Android situation is different though. It started out more like the Newton: did a whole lot but the execution was slow and the experience was not all that great. It is only now that it has just about caught up, experience-wise. It is still ahead feature-wise, naturally.

It will be interesting to see what Apple's next move is.




Michael

 

[mattopotamus]

But it is only better if it is done better as well. It is only recently that Android has gotten better at doing things "better." I'm not sure it is up to iOS level of consistency and smoothness, but it has gotten markedly better.

Many years ago, when I was young, I drooled when the Newton was announced. Bought one soon as they were released. It could, in theory, do quite a lot. But most of what it did it did badly. It got better and I stayed with it through a few subsequent models.

Then, in 1996, the Palm Pilot came out. It didn't do nearly as much as the Newton. But what it did it did tremendously well. I switched to it in a heartbeat and never looked back.

Well, that is, until 2007. By then I was still using a descendant of that Palm Pilot: a Treo smartphone. But it hadn't evolved much with the times and was getting to be a real chore to use. The iPhone, just like the Palm Pilot more than 10 years prior, did less but did it significantly better.

The Android situation is different though. It started out more like the Newton: did a whole lot but the execution was slow and the experience was not all that great. It is only now that it has just about caught up, experience-wise. It is still ahead feature-wise, naturally.

It will be interesting to see what Apple's next move is.




Michael

This may be one of the best post I have read on these forums. I remember using my palm treo

 

[jrswizzle]

This may be one of the best post I have read on these forums. I remember using my palm treo

I concur - a well-said explanation!

And I'm glad we have a distinction between the process and the end result. Generally, you can achieve the same end results on both types of phones - the process is where things get muddy and where a lot of the separation has come for Apple.

Separation, which is dwindling (and for some, is completely gone) as Android's experience becomes more refined.

 

[bmac4]

But it is only better if it is done better as well. It is only recently that Android has gotten better at doing things "better." I'm not sure it is up to iOS level of consistency and smoothness, but it has gotten markedly better.

Many years ago, when I was young, I drooled when the Newton was announced. Bought one soon as they were released. It could, in theory, do quite a lot. But most of what it did it did badly. It got better and I stayed with it through a few subsequent models.

Then, in 1996, the Palm Pilot came out. It didn't do nearly as much as the Newton. But what it did it did tremendously well. I switched to it in a heartbeat and never looked back.

Well, that is, until 2007. By then I was still using a descendant of that Palm Pilot: a Treo smartphone. But it hadn't evolved much with the times and was getting to be a real chore to use. The iPhone, just like the Palm Pilot more than 10 years prior, did less but did it significantly better.

The Android situation is different though. It started out more like the Newton: did a whole lot but the execution was slow and the experience was not all that great. It is only now that it has just about caught up, experience-wise. It is still ahead feature-wise, naturally.

It will be interesting to see what Apple's next move is.




Michael

Great post.

 

[mattopotamus]

I concur - a well-said explanation!

And I'm glad we have a distinction between the process and the end result. Generally, you can achieve the same end results on both types of phones - the process is where things get muddy and where a lot of the separation has come for Apple.

Separation, which is dwindling (and for some, is completely gone) as Android's experience becomes more refined.

I think that is weird too...a nexus phone straight from google, and it has two default mail apps?!?! =/

 

[jrswizzle]

I think that is weird too...a nexus phone straight from google, and it has two default mail apps?!?! =/

To be honest, I like the Gmail app - just don't want to funnel all my emails through gmail.

 

[Tinmania]

This may be one of the best post I have read on these forums. I remember using my palm treo

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.



Michael

 

[Dontazemebro]

But it is only better if it is done better as well. It is only recently that Android has gotten better at doing things "better." I'm not sure it is up to iOS level of consistency and smoothness, but it has gotten markedly better.

Michael

Only reason why I would disagree with you is because "done better" then becomes subjective and now we're right back at square 1.

Looking at it through my POV, we can eliminate any subjectivity whatsoever.

Still good points though and yours as well sizzle.

 

[jrswizzle]

Only reason why I would disagree with you is because "done better" then becomes subjective and now we're right back at square 1.

Looking at it through my POV, we can eliminate any subjectivity whatsoever.

Still good points though and yours as well sizzle.

Ya - I've gotten into this with onthecouchagain as well - I just don't think there's any way around the subjectivity.

Objectively, all we would have to go by is the spec sheet (which doesn't translate given each OS is different) and to try and count the number of features each has (which then leads to answering how relevant does something have to be to be considered a feature)....

Just have to come to terms with the fact, there is no objective answer to "iPhone or Android". And that's completely fine

Man, this is extremely refreshing - a civil discussion with great points made all around. Congrats gentlemen!

 

[bmac4]

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.



Michael

You are one best poster on this site.

 

[mattopotamus]

To be honest, I like the Gmail app - just don't want to funnel all my emails through gmail.

I only use gmail, so it is a non issue for me. I just think that is a really weird decision on their part. That would be like apple having a separate mail app for just icloud plus the default one. Just make the default one work!

 

[jrswizzle]

I only use gmail, so it is a non issue for me. I just think that is a really weird decision on their part. That would be like apple having a separate mail app for just icloud plus the default one. Just make the default one work!

Completely agree

 

[tjl3]

lol. You'd buy a bag of poop if it had the Apple logo on it and claim it's 100% better than Android's bag of oranges. "Oh but you can eat the oranges? I can eat poop too! Anything you can do with those oranges, I can do with this poop!"

There's a difference between blind loyalty and acknowledging glaring differences.

Widgets:
Can you check your news feeds on an iPhone? Yes. But I see mine as soon as I unlock my screen. Right there in my Pulse widget. Engadget's new reviews, the results of the UFC last weekend, did they catch the Boston criminal? All of it right on my screen on a widget. I just scroll left and right and quickly check through.
You have to click an icon. And your icon, if you're organized, is inside a folder. So for you it's: click, swipe, pin, swipe, click, click. (Reduced to 5 if your pulse is in a folder on your first screen, not likely)
For me it's: click, drag, pin and there it is.
But wait, right underneath my Pulse widget is my calendar. Oh I have an appointment in 30 minutes? What else do I have today? Just scroll and check.

For you, you have to exit out of the app and then go to your Calendar icon. Everything you need to do or view requires you to go back to the home screen. That home button is so necessary.

The best part is, I don't need notifications for my lock screen to be useful. My lockscreen has weather, my email and how far I am from home in both distance and time based on traffic conditions.

I loved my iPhone 5. It is, and I say this in 100% confidence, the BEST built phone in the market. Period. The brushed diamond-cut aluminum and thin bezel. It's a gorgeous phone and I was hard struck trying to justify getting rid of it. A lot of what it came down to was that, I was just proud to hand it to people when I wanted to get their number or email. It ALWAYS got complements. "Wow this is the iPhone 5? It's so _______." And the blank was ALWAYS quite a compliment, ranging from "pretty" to "slick" to "badass". But at the end of the day, my $200 Nexus 7 tablet made me more productive than my $650 smart phone.

So I got a Nexus 4 and now I'm at least 30-40% more productive with my phone.

(I'll die before I sell my iPad though)

I don't have to unlock my iPhone to find out the UFC results or a news headline. It gets pushed to my lock screen w/ short summary, same with reminders... The misconception about widgets is that it gives you everything you need w/o launching the app. You likely can't read an entire email from a widget, I know you can't read an entire story, and you can't send messages. All three of those tasks require you to launch the application. Not knocking widgets, cuz I'd love them on iPhone, but looks like you're bitching and moaning still about not knowing how to use an iPhone.

I am curious though, what are you using to display all that on your lock screen? Or are you just using lockscreen widgets? I avoid lockscreen widgets at all cost on my Nexus 4, highly inefficient and needs to be redone in KLP.

 

[bmac4]

I don't have to unlock my iPhone to find out the UFC results or a news headline. It gets pushed to my lock screen w/ short summary, same with reminders... The misconception about widgets is that it gives you everything you need w/o launching the app. You likely can't read an entire email from a widget, I know you can't read an entire story, and you can't send messages. All three of those tasks require you to launch the application. Not knocking widgets, cuz I'd love them on iPhone, but looks like you're bitching and moaning still about not knowing how to use an iPhone.

I am curious though, what are you using to display all that on your lock screen? Or are you just using lockscreen widgets? I avoid lockscreen widgets at all cost on my Nexus 4, highly inefficient and needs to be redone in KLP.

Why don't you like the lock screen widgets?

 

[tjl3]

Why don't you like the lock screen widgets?

I think I posted on one thread before about it. On stock JB at least, you can only have 1 widget per page. And to swipe to the next page you have to grab the edge of the screen, which is awkward in itself. Not all widgets are available, and some 'actions' when dealing w/ widgets need you to unlock your phone anyway.

So to me, unless you are locked to a strong password, it's just as fast unlocking your phone. Of course the first page is useful b/c it is most accessible, but lock screen widgets seem like a beta feature, not a very good user experience. Widget locker is a more pleasant experience and it has its flaws too.

Sense and Touchwiz might have there own lockscreen implementations, yes? If I saw right on the S4 and One reviews, they looked pretty nifty, better than stock.

 

[bmac4]

I think I posted on one thread before about it. On stock JB at least, you can only have 1 widget per page. And to swipe to the next page you have to grab the edge of the screen, which is awkward in itself. Not all widgets are available, and some 'actions' when dealing w/ widgets need you to unlock your phone anyway.

So to me, unless you are locked to a strong password, it's just as fast unlocking your phone. Of course the first page is useful b/c it is most accessible, but lock screen widgets seem like a beta feature, not a very good user experience. Widget locker is a more pleasant experience and it has its flaws too.

Sense and Touchwiz might have there own lockscreen implementations, yes? If I saw right on the S4 and One reviews, they looked pretty nifty, better than stock.

Yea I think it is a work in progress. I don't mind the part about having to touch the edge of the screen because the phone is made with those curved edges which feels great. I agree I think they need some more work, but they have the right idea.

 

[knucklehead]

Look at these two videos and tell me there is a difference and there is lag.

What two videos?

 

[bmac4]

What two videos?

Sorry I can not post videos from the tapatalk app. I recorded myself swiping back and forth on both my iPhone and nexus 4.

 

[tjl3]

Yea I think it is a work in progress. I don't mind the part about having to touch the edge of the screen because the phone is made with those curved edges which feels great. I agree I think they need some more work, but they have the right idea.

Also, I've mentioned this quite a few times too. iPhone would benefit so much more from lock screen widgets than Android if for nothing else then because iPhone always wakes to the lockscreen where Android doesn't necessarily. Another reason I don't bother with lockscreen widgets is because it's only useful if I hit my passlock time out. But I'll withhold any further judgement until KLP.

 

[knucklehead]

Sorry I can not post videos from the tapatalk app. I recorded myself swiping back and forth on both my iPhone and nexus 4.

I think you're not reading my posts right. I said wiggle your finger back and forth, not swipe between screens. The lag is apparent when you switch directions and the screen lags in following the change.

I'm saying the same thing Michael says here, but both of you don't seem to realize it:

But it is only better if it is done better as well. It is only recently that Android has gotten better at doing things "better." not sure it is up to iOS level of consistency and smoothness, but it has gotten markedly better.


Michael

If you go back and read through my posts, again you might just get it.

I do find iOS smoother overall, but Android on the N4 is pretty smooth (N7 less so). Not really a problem .... except for when it comes to dealing with long documents. Then it is a real problem, and not just for myself:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1561199/

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1464667/

The second link, you can start from post 221 on page 9. The Edge website has since changed it's website, so that particular test is no longer valid -- But my claims were corroborated at the time. No one has yet given me an answer to my repeated requests for a word processor that will quickly and smoothly navigate through a long document. PDF readers also do poorly.