Just can't settle with the Andriod - always keep going back to the iPhone?

[Altis]

If the OP has had 6 Galaxy S3's after owning iPhones it could also be argued that he was dissatisfied with the iPhone for at least as many times. Not a great endorsement for either phone. Perhaps a Windows phone beckons.

That is actually quite a valid point.

I, too, don't understand why you'd attempt to switch to the same phone 6 times. There are more flagships out there...

iOS 7 feels like it lacks fluidity and responsiveness, mostly because it does. Having to often repeat gestures and taps because it doesn't respond until everything is perfectly settled, or to start typing and have it only start responding 5 letters in, then have to backspace it all and start over.... kind of ruins fluidity because of its lack of response.

I haven't had an Android phone since the Galaxy Nexus was released two years ago, so my opinion isn't really relevant anymore. I did give up on it after a month though, and got a 4S. I'd find it easier to leave iOS though, I suspect.

I haven't tried WP but I wonder how it fairs in this area.

 

[daneoni]

Android has really come a long way but i just can't make it my daily driver.

My biggest gripe is text manipulation (cut/copy/paste/formatting), it is such a pain the in the derriere to work with.

My second biggest gripe is Chrome. I really don't understand what the fuss about this browser is all about. On both desktop and mobile, it has been a major letdown for me. Safari and Firefox are vastly superior IMHO.

Third is touchscreen response. Its much improved but for me iOS (and even WP8) still shades it.

Fourth is Google Play Music. Has never worked properly for me in terms of syncing. And i don't even have more than a thousand songs on Google's servers. *shrug*

But otherwise Android as an OS itself is very robust and versatile. But i need a good web browser and the ability to effortlessly manipulate text on my smartphone.

That is why iOS remains my primary platform.

PS- I also don't dual wield. Anytime i've tried Android i've shut off my iOS devices and put them in a drawer. I've also used every version of Android to date.

To say i gave Android a fair chance would be an understatement.

 

[mKTank]

Android has really come a long way but i just can't make it my daily driver.

My biggest gripe is text manipulation (cut/copy/paste/formatting), it is such a pain the in the derriere to work with.

My second biggest gripe is Chrome. I really don't understand what the fuss about this browser is all about. On both desktop and mobile, it has been a major letdown for me. Safari and Firefox are vastly superior IMHO.

Third is touchscreen response. Its much improved but for me iOS (and even WP8) still shades it.

Fourth is Google Play Music. Has never worked properly for me in terms of syncing. And i don't even have more than a thousand songs on Google's servers. *shrug*

But otherwise Android as an OS itself is very robust and versatile. But i need a good web browser and the ability to effortlessly manipulate text on my smartphone.

That is why iOS remains my primary platform.

PS- I also don't dual wield. Anytime i've tried Android i've shut off my iOS devices and put them in a drawer. I've also used every version of Android to date.

To say i gave Android i fair chance would be an understatement.

Indeed. Look at my sig for a preview of the phones I've used over the years. Android's getting better and better yet, aside from its nice features and flexibility, it's so far behind when it comes to the core functionality. I always end up running back because I need a phone that's good at the basic, core features. Android's web browsers (I personally extensively tried the AOSP browser, Chrome, Firefox, Dolphin, and Opera) were the deal breaker for me. It affected me so badly in fact that one day I picked up my mother's 5S to use it to look something up and it hit me how smooth and stable Safari is on iOS. Second day I traded my Note 3 and Galaxy Gear for a 5S and haven't looked back since.

 

[pdqgp]

personally extensively tried the AOSP browser, Chrome, Firefox, Dolphin, and Opera) were the deal breaker for me. It affected me so badly in fact that one day I picked up my mother's 5S to use it to look something up and it hit me how smooth and stable Safari is on iOS. Second day I traded my Note 3 and Galaxy Gear for a 5S and haven't looked back since.

Really? What didn't work about the browsers? I use both Firefox and Chrome and find both perfect. Zero issues. They run fine, stable and overall very smooth on my Note 3.

 

[mKTank]

Really? What didn't work about the browsers? I use both Firefox and Chrome and find both perfect. Zero issues. They run fine, stable and overall very smooth on my Note 3.

Very unstable on specific sites. Browsing threads on xda with lots of screenshots and/or trying to do a thread search for example. Freezes for 20 seconds when I click on the text entry area. Just one out of many examples.

For the vast majority of the time the browsers were excellent, especially Opera, but they each had their moments with specific sites and it made me really annoyed that that kind of stuff can even still happen on a 2.3GHz Quad Core phone with 2.5GB of accessible RAM.

I suspect JIT/Dalvik is what's causing it though. The nature of "compiling on the fly" means that there will be some hiccups occasionally. That's why I'm really looking forward to ART and can't wait until it becomes the standard runtime. Maybe in Android 4.5/5.0 I hope.

 

[pdqgp]

Very unstable on specific sites. Browsing threads on xda with lots of screenshots and/or trying to do a thread search for example. Freezes for 20 seconds when I click on the text entry area. Just one out of many examples.

For the vast majority of the time the browsers were excellent, especially Opera, but they each had their moments with specific sites .

Thanks for the clarification. So far I'm happy. Not on XDA though...

I can't wait to see what kit kat brings us if anything in the way of speed improvements. Again, happy thus far though.

 

[mib1800]

Biggest drawbacks of iDevice compared to Android

- SLOW scrolling. ios UI may look smoother but it is still darn slow compared to Android.
- No global back button. Soft back button is all over the place or ridiculous placed at hard to reach top left.
- Safari does not reflow text at a predefined/specify font size. Tediously need to side scroll or use reading mode.
- Files loaded into phone from app is DELETED when you uninstall apps. You can lose valuable files/data. Major design flaw.
- Limited and unintuitive data sharing.
- Phone is full locked down - no fast and easy way to transfer files/data in and out of phone (e.g. wifi direct, usb, nfc, BT etc). A major pain.
- No true multi-tasking which means advanced event-driven/automation applications are not supported. Misses out on lots and lots of great applications.
- No UI customization which makes the phone very BORING.
- No widgets support.

I won't touch an iDevice due to above drawbacks. After using Android going back to iphone is just so frustrating and senseless with all these ios limitations.

 

[dragon671556]

My first smartphone was actually an Android phone. The Motorola Atrix 4G. I had such bad experiences with that phone as soon as I was able to upgrade I ran to Iphone-4s. I don't think I could ever go back to an Android phone and definately not a Motorola phone.

-Phone would overheat while listening to music...nothing else running. And it would shut itself off. Multiple hard and soft resets never fixed it for long.

-It would freeze up and have to reset phone-had that happen several times.

-I liked dolphin browser though it worked really well for me.

-It had a dual core processor and 1 gig of RAM but Google and Motorola backed off giving the Atrix ICS update. Which according to the forum I was on people had jailbroken their devices and were running ICS ROMS on it just fine. It was a big deal at the time and upset a lot of people because we were told we would get the update from Motorola. That right there is probably the biggest reason I will never go back to Android and definately not buy anything from Motorola again. Can't trust them.

-But if you like Android more power to you. I liked some features of Android and missed them when I got my 4s but I got used to it.

 

[jrswizzle]

I think I'm FINALLY settled for the moment with my device setup.

I've got my iPhone 5S for work and 3 phones I can switch between for personal use:

-Moto G
-Lumia 520
-iPhone 5C

Loving the sim adapter I picked up on Amazon. This way I can move between phones at my leisure. I also don't mind the Moto G or Lumia 520 sitting in a drawer or not getting as much use because of their price points - I picked them up brand new for $281.33 total combined with tax.

Now to see if I can get the Lumia unlocked. If I can, I might go for a prepaid T-Mobile SIM to swap between the Moto G and Lumia, though my primary reason would be to test T-Mobile coverage in my area and neither device is LTE capable, so I'd be missing a big part of the test.

Still nice to have options. The Moto G FEELS very premium and I'm amazed at how smoothly Android runs on somewhat limited hardware (Geekbench scores in the iPad mini range). Props to Google for slimming down KitKat.

 

[Dontazemebro]

I think I'm FINALLY settled for the moment with my device setup.



I've got my iPhone 5S for work and 3 phones I can switch between for personal use:



-Moto G

-Lumia 520

-iPhone 5C



Loving the sim adapter I picked up on Amazon. This way I can move between phones at my leisure. I also don't mind the Moto G or Lumia 520 sitting in a drawer or not getting as much use because of their price points - I picked them up brand new for $281.33 total combined with tax.



Now to see if I can get the Lumia unlocked. If I can, I might go for a prepaid T-Mobile SIM to swap between the Moto G and Lumia, though my primary reason would be to test T-Mobile coverage in my area and neither device is LTE capable, so I'd be missing a big part of the test.



Still nice to have options. The Moto G FEELS very premium and I'm amazed at how smoothly Android runs on somewhat limited hardware (Geekbench scores in the iPad mini range). Props to Google for slimming down KitKat.

I knew you would be back swizzle, the tech geek is strong in you

 

[Hastings101]

"the Android"

People putting "the" in front of words like Google or Facebook just cracks me up for some reason. It's like something cute old people would do.

 

[daneoni]

The Moto G FEELS very premium and I'm amazed at how smoothly Android runs on somewhat limited hardware (Geekbench scores in the iPad mini range). Props to Google for slimming down KitKat.

It really a solid piece of kit. And to be one of two non-Nexus/non-GPE device to be running KK...

Small but mighty.

 

[carjakester]

iphone is popular for a reason. its easy to use and thats what people want.

 

[SlCKB0Y]

Very unstable on specific sites. Browsing threads on xda with lots of screenshots and/or trying to do a thread search for example. Freezes for 20 seconds when I click on the text entry area. Just one out of many examples.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quoord.tapatalkHD

Macrumors, XDA and a bunch of the other forums I use work with it.

 

[sofila]

"the Android"

People putting "the" in front of words like Google or Facebook just cracks me up for some reason. It's like something cute old people would do.

as I consider English my 4th or 5th language, I feel the need to thank you for your kind and free lesson.

----------

Anyway, a guy who joined in Jan 2014 suddenly feels the need to share with us his disappointment with the iPhone, particularly strong as he finds himself forced to buy 6 (six) (six?) (six!) times another (worse) phone by mistake.
And obviously in the "social" era we are living in, we kind and polite and gentle guys feel the need to answer him.

 

[Sensamic]

I'm now yet again in the process of putting my Samsung Galaxy S3 up for sale on ebay - it's not the first time, but the 6th This is the 6th time ive had hold of the galaxy and went back to the iphone??

Not sure what it is for certain. The Galaxy is a good phone don't get me wrong and i've given it enough chances but I've always been drawn to go back to using the iphone. Unfortunately I dont think i'll ever be using an Andriod phone ago and im gutted really....

Has anybody experienced the same?

Think possible reasons why i keep going back are as follows:

1- I like the 'hold' of the iphone when im texting. The Galaxy just felt clunky and at times i was worried i would drop it when i was txting while walking along
2- I seem to be able to type faster with the iphone? I could make several mistakes when typing with the andriod which frustrated me. I downladed the swype software and must admit, if iphone did something similar that would be great.
3- When switching between screens with the Galaxy, i noticed sometimes there was lag, also when scrolling up and down a page or within an app such as facebook there was some lag
4- Ease of use for the iphone seemed much better
5- Im not bothered or interested in having to free up space on the phone, free up ram or anti-virus software. My phone isn't a computer
6 - Seems to take ages to charge up the battery.
7- Resources seemed to be taken up quite heavily.
8- I felt that the galaxy didnt seem to be as smooth as the iphone
9- I missed certain features on the iphone, such as Notes and Reminders. I know making notes is available for the Andriod but the app seemed a bit over the top. I wanted something simple and not to download from anywhere. Couldn't see how i could set up simple reminders on the Andriod. For the iphone, quick and easy.

It might look like i've slagged off the Andriod and my galaxy s3 phone but i haven't. I've given it a go so many times but just not sure if its my bag?

You'll love the performance and smooth experience of the iPhone in two years after two or three updates (the last one to receive)........

Just ask iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3 owners, etc.

Let's stop the bul***** about the smooth experience in iPhones, ok?

Or do you really believe iOS 7 in the iPhone 4 is smooth?

Same thing will happen to EVERY device, even iPhones. They will slow down when updates come that are more power and resource hungry.

IPhones.... bah

Even 5 and 5S owners are seeing lag and crashes with iOS 7...

 

[mKTank]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.quoord.tapatalkHD

Macrumors, XDA and a bunch of the other forums I use work with it.

It's cool and all but I'd rather have a browser that can competently work with javascript-heavy sites. Safari as it turns out is really great at that, with my iPhone 5 besting my Note 3 at SunSpider and other performance-centric benchmarks. Pretty odd considering the iPhone has half the specs but there you have it I guess.

 

[mKTank]

You'll love the performance and smooth experience of the iPhone in two years after two or three updates (the last one to receive)........

Just ask iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad 2, iPad 3 owners, etc.

Let's stop the bul***** about the smooth experience in iPhones, ok?

Or do you really believe iOS 7 in the iPhone 4 is smooth?

Same thing will happen to EVERY device, even iPhones. They will slow down when updates come that are more power and resource hungry.

Except the iPhone 4 will at least be supported when it's 4 years old.

In contrast, the Nexus phones, which supposedly get the 'best' support from Google, lag far behind, with the Galaxy Nexus already losing support after a paltry 2 years. The reason Android phones don't have the same reputation with slowing down with updates is because, surprise surprise, they don't get updates. Not past the manufacturer's honeymoon period at least.

IPhones.... bah

Even 5 and 5S owners are seeing lag and crashes with iOS 7...

You must not have seen 7.1 then. Entirely lag-free, and way smoother/faster than my Note 3. By miles. With half the specs. The iPhone 4 has drastically improved with 7.1. At the very least, if I were an iPhone 4 owner, I'd be happy that my 4 year old phone receives faster and more frequent updates than my barely 3 month old Note 3, which I'll have to wait until late March - mid April to get (whenever it ends up coming out) a then-outdated version of Android anyway. Pathetic.

 

[TacticalDesire]

My first smartphone was actually an Android phone. The Motorola Atrix 4G. I had such bad experiences with that phone as soon as I was able to upgrade I ran to Iphone-4s. I don't think I could ever go back to an Android phone and definately not a Motorola phone.

-Phone would overheat while listening to music...nothing else running. And it would shut itself off. Multiple hard and soft resets never fixed it for long.

-It would freeze up and have to reset phone-had that happen several times.

-I liked dolphin browser though it worked really well for me.

-It had a dual core processor and 1 gig of RAM but Google and Motorola backed off giving the Atrix ICS update. Which according to the forum I was on people had jailbroken their devices and were running ICS ROMS on it just fine. It was a big deal at the time and upset a lot of people because we were told we would get the update from Motorola. That right there is probably the biggest reason I will never go back to Android and definately not buy anything from Motorola again. Can't trust them.

-But if you like Android more power to you. I liked some features of Android and missed them when I got my 4s but I got used to it.

You realize the Atrix is 3 years old now right? That's like me coming on here and saying iOS is crap because I had a bad experience with my iPhone 4 on iOS 5 3 years ago. That's an eternity in technology and lots has changed on all sides.

----------

Except the iPhone 4 will at least be supported when it's 4 years old.

In contrast, the Nexus phones, which supposedly get the 'best' support from Google, lag far behind, with the Galaxy Nexus already losing support after a paltry 2 years. The reason Android phones don't have the same reputation with slowing down with updates is because, surprise surprise, they don't get updates. Not past the manufacturer's honeymoon period at least.


You must not have seen 7.1 then. Entirely lag-free, and way smoother/faster than my Note 3. By miles. With half the specs. The iPhone 4 has drastically improved with 7.1. At the very least, if I were an iPhone 4 owner, I'd be happy that my 4 year old phone receives faster and more frequent updates than my barely 3 month old Note 3, which I'll have to wait until late March - mid April to get (whenever it ends up coming out) a then-outdated version of Android anyway. Pathetic.

You my friend have managed to loose all credibility with this single post.

Google updates android differently than iOS and WP. The core apps are updated separately meaning I don't have to wait for iOS 8 to see improvements to the mail or maps app etc. they can be updated any time and that goes for all bundled apps. And this method is much better than getting a gimped version of an update simply for the sake do laggy performance, control center and a new version number (iOS 7 on iPhone 4)

Second. I do not believe for a minute that your iPhone 4 is faster than your note 3 and entirely lag free. And that's from someone who's used an iPhone 4. Is it a good phone? Sure. But let's be real here...

 

[mKTank]

You realize the Atrix is 3 years old now right? That's like me coming on here and saying iOS is crap because I had a bad experience with my iPhone 4 on iOS 5 3 years ago. That's an eternity in technology and lots has changed on all sides.

----------



You my friend have managed to loose all credibility with this single post.

Google updates android differently than iOS and WP. The core apps are updated separately meaning I don't have to wait for iOS 8 to see improvements to the mail or maps app etc. they can be updated any time and that goes for all bundled apps. And this method is much better than getting a gimped version of an update simply for the sake do laggy performance, control center and a new version number (iOS 7 on iPhone 4)

Second. I do not believe for a minute that your iPhone 4 is faster than your note 3 and entirely lag free. And that's from someone who's used an iPhone 4. Is it a good phone? Sure. But let's be real here...

If you read my signature you'd realize I was talking about an iPhone 5S. But rather embarrassingly my iPhone 5 is also faster and smoother than my Note 3.

You can sugarcoat how Android's updates are done, but the fact is that Android devices have a mediocre support life and that at best you have two years until your phone is considered obsolete when you buy a new Android phone. Updating core apps only goes so far when the OS itself is horribly outdated. "Gimped," hardly. At least my phone's manufacturer cares about its customers past a few months. Meanwhile Samsung's too busy bloating up KitKat while everyone else is already over a month past the update. Hardly something to be proud of. But hey my Gmail app updated 3 weeks ago so it's all forgiven right? No, not right.

By the way, that 2 year figure was hugely optimistic. It's usually one year and maybe a year and a half if it's a flagship device. And 9/10 times with non-pure Android, you wait months before seeing an update that by the time it comes out is already outdated and replaced by an even newer version. Yeah that's not gimped at all. Meanwhile 7.1 has been a great update that improved the performance twofold especially on devices like the iPhone 4. A four year old phone got an update the millisecond it came out. My 3 month old Note 3's gonna be updated to an already outdated version of Android in April. That is the definition of gimped.

 

[Oletros]

iphone is popular for a reason. its easy to use and thats what people want.

Because Android is hard to use, isn't?

----------

If you read my signature you'd realize I was talking about an iPhone 5S. But rather embarrassingly my iPhone 5 is also faster and smoother than my Note 3.

You can sugarcoat how Android's updates are done, but the fact is that Android devices have a mediocre support life and that at best you have two years until your phone is considered obsolete when you buy a new Android phone. Updating core apps only goes so far when the OS itself is horribly outdated. "Gimped," hardly. At least my phone's manufacturer cares about its customers past a few months. Meanwhile Samsung's too busy bloating up KitKat while everyone else is already over a month past the update. Hardly something to be proud of. But hey my Gmail app updated 3 weeks ago so it's all forgiven right? No, not right.

By the way, that 2 year figure was hugely optimistic. It's usually one year and maybe a year and a half if it's a flagship device. And 9/10 times with non-pure Android, you wait months before seeing an update that by the time it comes out is already outdated and replaced by an even newer version. Yeah that's not gimped at all. Meanwhile 7.1 has been a great update that improved the performance twofold especially on devices like the iPhone 4. A four year old phone got an update the millisecond it came out. My 3 month old Note 3's gonna be updated to an already outdated version of Android in April. That is the definition of gimped.

I like when people is so exaggerated that lose all credibility.

But ei, cool story bro.

 

[Shanghaichica]

You realize the Atrix is 3 years old now right? That's like me coming on here and saying iOS is crap because I had a bad experience with my iPhone 4 on iOS 5 3 years ago. That's an eternity in technology and lots has changed on all sides.



----------



You my friend have managed to loose all credibility with this single post.

Google updates android differently than iOS and WP. The core apps are updated separately meaning I don't have to wait for iOS 8 to see improvements to the mail or maps app etc. they can be updated any time and that goes for all bundled apps. And this method is much better than getting a gimped version of an update simply for the sake do laggy performance, control center and a new version number (iOS 7 on iPhone 4)

Second. I do not believe for a minute that your iPhone 4 is faster than your note 3 and entirely lag free. And that's from someone who's used an iPhone 4. Is it a good phone? Sure. But let's be real here...

Updating the core apps is a new thing for google, however I much prefer the way updates are done on iOS. It's much more timely and straight forward and updates on android can ruin the performance of the phone. I waited a year to get Jelly bean on my original galaxy note and it finished the phone off in terms of usability.

 

[jrswizzle]

I knew you would be back swizzle, the tech geek is strong in you

HA! I know.....I'm too weak when it comes to resisting the power of the "dark" side.

 

[apolloa]

Interesting thread. I have had my Nexus 7 for just over a year now, so it has gone from Jelly Bean through to Kit Kat. Now I find Kit Kat is a lil buggy but very smooth and fast. I also love androids take on multitasking which iOS has pretty much coppied.

I also have had 3 iPhones, and with my iPhone 4 had a faulty home button, known issue, and my iPhone 5 had a faulty power button, known issue. Never had any hardware faults with my Nexus 7.

I sold my iPhone 5 based purely on the disgusting iOS 7, hate it, slow and buggy and crashes, and we have an iPad 3 in the house which my Nexus 7 runs rings around it for speed. IOS 6 was smoother and faster on the iPad.

Anyway I now have a Nexus 5 and find it very very fast and smooth, again much more so then my iPhone 5 was with iOS 7.
Android is different to iOS though but that's because it gives you choice in how to do things.

 

[jrswizzle]

Interesting thread. I have had my Nexus 7 for just over a year now, so it has gone from Jelly Bean through to Kit Kat. Now I find Kit Kat is a lil buggy but very smooth and fast. I also love androids take on multitasking which iOS has pretty much coppied.



I also have had 3 iPhones, and with my iPhone 4 had a faulty home button, known issue, and my iPhone 5 had a faulty power button, known issue. Never had any hardware faults with my Nexus 7.



I sold my iPhone 5 based purely on the disgusting iOS 7, hate it, slow and buggy and crashes, and we have an iPad 3 in the house which my Nexus 7 runs rings around it for speed. IOS 6 was smoother and faster on the iPad.



Anyway I now have a Nexus 5 and find it very very fast and smooth, again much more so then my iPhone 5 was with iOS 7.

Android is different to iOS though but that's because it gives you choice in how to do things.

iOS 7 multitasking is quite different than Androids - I assure you. While iOS 7 has it's bugs, I haven't found it to be any slower or less fluid than KitKat. My retina iPad mini, 5S and 5C all run very smoothly with the occasional bug. It'll be sorted out and 7.1 will be what iOS 7 should've (and likely was supposed to have) been. I can't fault them for running out of time with a ll the changes they made. It would've been worse if they hadn't released anything.

I've had one minor hardware issue with my iOS devices and one problem on the android side. Both crank out devices at very fast paces and therefore are going to produce some faulty equipment.

For me, my gripes with Android outweigh those I have with iOS so I continue using iOS on my main devices. That isn't to say I don't like Android or even WP8 - just that they don't suit my needs and uses as well as iOS does.

The purpose of my response is to show that each person is different. There is no "better OS" overall. Each person decides what works best for them based on their use cases and preferences. That's all.