Leaving Apple, any regrets?

[5105973]

I think the key to success with the Note is to figure out what you would use its unique features for and then commit to learning to use them once you have it in hand. This is what I did with my Apple Watch purchase. Many people bought and returned theirs without ever stopping to consider BEFORE they bought the watch what it was meant to do and how it was meant to work in conjunction with an iPhone. I read and read everything I could find on the Watch and paid close attention to the keynote and thought very carefully what kind of use I would put the Apple Watch to and except for some quirks with recent updates, I've been very satisfied with a very nice product.

The S Pen and Samsung's highly customized version of Android is not for everyone. It's not for every Android fan and not for every Apple fan. It is Samsung's version of a walled garden. It has unique offerings and shortcomings. I don't know myself what they all are, yet. But I'm trying to get a sense for it all and thinking hard about how I will integrate this device and its unique feature set into my daily routine.

Keep reading and researching and you will find common platforms between Apple and Android and Samsung to make your transition smoother. If you really continue to have doubts, cancel the preorder and wait to see what Apple really does release. The rumors this year are the most inconsistent and stupid I've seen in a while. The reality of what is actually released may delight you. If it's any consolation I had to go to the AT&T store to completely redo my preorder because our online attempt failed to yield the freebies that were advertised. We encountered no back order situation even for the rare blue color and are still promised to get it on release day.

The only thing you might miss out on by cancelling your preorder is any freebies or deals offered by Samsung or your carrier.

 

[C7 POWER]

I think the key to success with the Note is to figure out what you would use its unique features for and then commit to learning to use them once you have it in hand. This is what I did with my Apple Watch purchase. Many people bought and returned theirs without ever stopping to consider BEFORE they bought the watch what it was meant to do and how it was meant to work in conjunction with an iPhone. I read and read everything I could find on the Watch and paid close attention to the keynote and thought very carefully what kind of use I would put the Apple Watch to and except for some quirks with recent updates, I've been very satisfied with a very nice product.

The S Pen and Samsung's highly customized version of Android is not for everyone. It's not for every Android fan and not for every Apple fan. It is Samsung's version of a walled garden. It has unique offerings and shortcomings. I don't know myself what they all are, yet. But I'm trying to get a sense for it all and thinking hard about how I will integrate this device and its unique feature set into my daily routine.

Keep reading and researching and you will find common platforms between Apple and Android and Samsung to make your transition smoother. If you really continue to have doubts, cancel the preorder and wait to see what Apple really does release. The rumors this year are the most inconsistent and stupid I've seen in a while. The reality of what is actually released may delight you. If it's any consolation I had to go to the AT&T store to completely redo my preorder because our online attempt failed to yield the freebies that were advertised. We encountered no back order situation even for the rare blue color and are still promised to get it on release day.

The only thing you might miss out on by cancelling your preorder is any freebies or deals offered by Samsung or your carrier.

Thank you for the feedback, that's why I'll keep the pre order since Verizon allows 14 days, by my first week I should have a fairly good idea if I like it enough to leave iOS on the phone, worth a try I figure. Saw the blue on in person today and truly was stunning looking. (I ordered the blue earlier this week)

 

[circatee]

I'm fully vested. iPhone, iPad Apple Watch and an iMac. If it wasn't for iMessage and FaceTime, I'd probably switch back and forth more often...

 

[UAV]

i agree with grumpymom but you may also want to try to do things that you could not do before with your iphone. some folks that use iphones for many years just grew to learn to live with thoes things. but now you are using a total different animal. you will see there really is not much you can't do with the note. that was my reason why i no longer use an iphone.

 

[5105973]

Thank you for the feedback, that's why I'll keep the pre order since Verizon allows 14 days, by my first week I should have a fairly good idea if I like it enough to leave iOS on the phone, worth a try I figure. Saw the blue on in person today and truly was stunning looking. (I ordered the blue earlier this week)

I'm glad to hear the blue looked good in person. I've not been able,to see it yet, just black and silver. So my husband and I ordered it sight unseen.

We got to come home with free Gear 2 watches from the AT&T promotion. It really helped to be able to order at the store. We couldn't be sure what we were getting ordering online.

The watches are nice but feel more delicate at where the band connects to the watch than the Apple Watch. These are the less expensive sport versions, not the metal and leather band versions. We had a choice between the watches or a Galaxy tablet. I took one look at the screen and knew it wasn't going to get used because my iPad Mini 4 display is so much better. It was easy for my husband and I to pick the watches. When we were ordering online we didn't even know we could get two freebies. We thought it was one Note 7 for full price, one Note 7 for about $695 off, and ONE free gift. But no, we got two watches. The rep verified what we were entitled to with his manager.

I was surprised to see that the watches also have an IP68 waterproof rating. Samsung really wants to distinguish itself with the IP68 level of water resistance.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Only few things I miss are night shift, iMessage, better snapchat, and a few apps here and there. I haven't used the iMessage feature on my MBP in months. Night shift apps exist for me. Can't do much about Snapchat, but I can just what I have on my S7. What's App replaces iMessage. All in all, solid move considering what I get the with the S7.

If you want a night shift equivalent, here is what I use. It has a lot of granular control too.

It is called Twilight: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.urbandroid.lux

 

[The Game 161]

Thank you for the feedback, that's why I'll keep the pre order since Verizon allows 14 days, by my first week I should have a fairly good idea if I like it enough to leave iOS on the phone, worth a try I figure. Saw the blue on in person today and truly was stunning looking. (I ordered the blue earlier this week)

agreed with all the above. Try and use your note 7 in different ways to your iphone if you can. There are more options to make your samsung what you want it to be. So try and explore the phone more than just using it the same as you normally would on IOS

 

[Mildredop]

The only thing I really miss is visual voicemail.

 

[44267547]

I too am heavily invested Apple's product line and their ecosystem is so systematic for me. No matter what happens, I am staying with Apple. The Note 7 looks great, but that's not enough for me to leave, as many are doing.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[ryanwarsaw]

I switched to the S7e and was expecting to be disappointed as I never liked Samsung or Android before. I am still with it and probably won't be looking at anything Apple does now until 2017. You might be frustrated at first because everything is a little different on Android. At first I found myself going in circles looking for basic things on it but after about a week I got used to it.

If Samsung release basically the same phone next March then I will wait for the next iPhone. If Samsung release something insanely great next March, the divorce with Apple may become permanent.

 

[kevinof]

Maybe some others have pointed out here but you don't have to "leave Apple" to try something else. A lot of us here have mixed environments - We use Ipads, maybe even a Mac book but have an Android phone etc. The trick is to use services that allow you to have whatever device you want but keep your data. Whether this is Google, Samsung, Microsoft or whatever, just choose a mix that gives you a choice.

I tend to tend to stay away from Apple apps, partly because they are not cross platform, but also because I do not like their design language, but either way it means I can get my data no matter what device I choose to use.

 

[The Game 161]

Maybe some others have pointed out here but you don't have to "leave Apple" to try something else. A lot of us here have mixed environments - We use Ipads, maybe even a Mac book but have an Android phone etc. The trick is to use services that allow you to have whatever device you want but keep your data. Whether this is Google, Samsung, Microsoft or whatever, just choose a mix that gives you a choice.

I tend to tend to stay away from Apple apps, partly because they are not cross platform, but also because I do not like their design language, but either way it means I can get my data no matter what device I choose to use.

agreed, just because you change phones doesn't mean you have to leave apple completely. the ipad is still the best tablets around from experience to apps. I will enjoy IOS 10 on my ipad so you can still stay with the OS updates. I will try just running with my note 7 going forward and see how much I miss the IOS on a daily basics but still having a macbook and ipad means i enjoy the best of both worlds.

 

[breezeblocks]

Agreed with other posters, using cross platform apps is key. I have used mostly apple devices but always keep my toe in google platform by using their services (gmail, google photos, google keep) this means when you do get the itch to try something else it's mostly painless.

I use whatsapp for majority of messaging however the only thing I've found is there doesn't seem to be a way of sharing backups between android and iOS devices.

I've had nexus 5, nexus 5x, Samsung s6 and a chromebook over the last year or so but always come back to apple. I think it comes down to how you use your phone/device and what you want it to do, android possibly can do a lot more but if you don't need those features for whatever reason perhaps you are simply changing for the sake of change.

Right now I'm happy with my iPhone 6/iPad Air 2/MacBook Air/Apple TV combo however love these forums as its great to hear from people who use both iOS/android.

 

[Loco Emperor]

I too am heavily invested Apple's product line and their ecosystem is so systematic for me. No matter what happens, I am staying with Apple. The Note 7 looks great, but that's not enough for me to leave, as many are doing.

Good luck with your decision.

Exactly. It's truly the best operating system that doesn't require a lot of hand holding and setting up and tweaking like android. It's just reliable.

 

[5105973]

I too am heavily invested Apple's product line and their ecosystem is so systematic for me. No matter what happens, I am staying with Apple. The Note 7 looks great, but that's not enough for me to leave, as many are doing.

Good luck with your decision.

I'm with @kevinof on this...I'm not leaving, I'm just trying to become fluent in multi platform environments so that I don't feel trapped if any one company or any one operating system comes up with something that lets me down as a consumer. A goal of a smart consumer should be to have the best possible product to meet his/her needs at the best possible price within their means.

Apple's prices put them out of the means of many consumers, which means a lot of people need to be fluent in platforms outside of Apple's ecosystem for that reason alone. Being able to interact with people outside of Apple's ecosystem in work and social settings is important enough for many of us to feel compelled to adopt cross platform applications.

Even if Steve Jobs were still alive, I am not sure he would always be selling me the best possible device for a given purpose. But I think it would still be a goal of his to try to do so. He had a unique philosophy that placed the end user experience first in product development. That's the philosophy my husband and I bought into when we immersed ourselves in the Apple ecosystem. And it's worked for us for many years.

But our happy Apple world starting to come apart at the seams. I am not going to sit here and bash Apple's recent foibles and snafus. That's been done to death.

Suffice it to say, we got a wake up call that Apple is just a company after all. They are there not to look after our best interests. That's our job. They're there to maximize profits and value for their shareholders. If they still manage to delight customers and still manage to make the best possible device for a given purpose, I'm sure they are happy.

But evidence is piling up that it's not their primary focus right now. They're clearly entering a period of expansion and redefining themselves and proving their worth to Wall Street...and maybe outfoxing the IRS. That's apparently taking precedence right now. Which may be why their product lineup appears stalled at very incremental advancements or no apparent advancement at all.

Only time will tell if they return to their revolutionizing roots once this flurry of campus-building and foreign investment and acquisitions of smaller AI and tech companies slows down and they start to focus on R&D and actual production with all of their new resources. They might have some wonderful exciting products in the pipeline waiting to be put into production. Tim repeatedly hints they do.

But the pipeline is temporarily clogged. Just because they're stagnant right now is no reason I have to be. In fact, that's my signal to expand my horizons, myself. But I'll never permanently shut the door on any viable option. At 50, I've seen the rise and fall and resurrection of too many companies to burn my bridges like that.

 

[The Game 161]

Exactly. It's truly the best operating system that doesn't require a lot of hand holding and setting up and tweaking like android. It's just reliable.

You don't need to tweak things on android, people just choose to to make the most of their android experience. The way you transfer your stuff over on android now makes it very easy to copy over and you are set within mins. You don't have to customsise your phone. It's a choice. the way IOS is done with backups is great but now the same is becoming available on android.

It's took time but it's arrived

 

[Loco Emperor]

You don't need to tweak things on android, people just choose to to make the most of their android experience. The way you transfer your stuff over on android now makes it very easy to copy over and you are set within mins. You don't have to customsise your phone. It's a choice. the way IOS is done with backups is great but now the same is becoming available on android.

It's took time but it's arrived

Remember not all androids are created equal. Most suck. Few are decent and tolerable (or great to their fanboys)
You do depending on the android phone have to go in and tweak. In fact the very complaints many people have about android is met with lagdroid fanboy expalantion of simply throwing a launcher (usually nova) or rooting and roming to get a better experience. Or if you have messaging apps not working likely due to issues with the app download textra or whatever app.

Case in point on my mothers HTC android phone for whatever reason her messaging app kept crashing. It also randomly deleted a bunch of texts. I had to go in and download a messaging app because the default one wouldn't work.

Good that android has choice that Apple lacks and it's a definite plus. However I also
Notice many android defaults actually are anemic compared to Apple counterparts. Still no fluid experience like iMessage (hangouts doesn't count) or FaceTime IMO. It's only when you have to waste time finding. Alternate apps and taking up space to replace the app with another is when you have a better experience. At least for me and many others who have left the platform.

After 7 years with android (only 4 exclusively before I switched to windows and after the remaining 3 replaced my nexus 6p with my 6s plus alongside my lumia 950 xl) for all the power android has and specs you couldn't get me to waste money on a device the OEM will barely support after the first year. Android needs those specs not because the world is clamoring for them but because the OS needs it to run lmao. Hence why the spec queens are the most hilarious to me. I'm not denying I wouldn't love having them but at the same time Samsung is known for its useless gimmicks and the edge screen looks nice but the reports are many people find it cool but useless.

 

[The Game 161]

Remember not all androids are created equal. Most suck. Few are decent and tolerable (or great to their fanboys)
You do depending on the android phone have to go in and tweak. In fact the very complaints many people have about android is met with lagdroid fanboy expalantion of simply throwing a launcher (usually nova) or rooting and roming to get a better experience. Or if you have messaging apps not working likely due to issues with the app download textra or whatever app.

Case in point on my mothers HTC android phone for whatever reason her messaging app kept crashing. It also randomly deleted a bunch of texts. I had to go in and download a messaging app because the default one wouldn't work.

Good that android has choice that Apple lacks and it's a definite plus. However I also
Notice many android defaults actually are anemic compared to Apple counterparts. Still no fluid experience like iMessage (hangouts doesn't count) or FaceTime IMO. It's only when you have to waste time finding. Alternate apps and taking up space to replace the app with another is when you have a better experience. At least for me and many others who have left the platform.

After 7 years with android (only 4 exclusively before I switched to windows and after the remaining 3 replaced my nexus 6p with my 6s plus alongside my lumia 950 xl) for all the power android has and specs you couldn't get me to waste money on a device the OEM will barely support after the first year. Android needs those specs not because the world is clamoring for them but because the OS needs it to run lmao. Hence why the spec queens are the most hilarious to me. I'm not denying I wouldn't love having them but at the same time Samsung is known for its useless gimmicks and the edge screen looks nice but the reports are many people find it cool but useless.

Well it’s like with anything if people use it then it’s useful. Not everybody is going to have the same usage patterns. Imessage and facetime is a huge selling point to apple and it’s why I could never see imessage being transferred over to android.


I think Samsung used to fill the devices with loads of gimmicks but they are moving away from that now and actually putting useful features into the phones while maintaining a quality design. It’s like anything though anything people don’t use is seen as a gimmick. The edge screen isn’t for everybody but is nice to have in certain times. Very useful for people edge for example.

 

[lowendlinux]

I left apple in 2005 it's OK there's life outside of the Apple world and we even have chocolate,and beer

 

[kevinof]

total nonsense. very few people tweak android. its only the die hard techies that bother and vast majority of people that buy an android phone just run it as is.

unless you call adding a widget to the homescreen tweaking!

Exactly. It's truly the best operating system that doesn't require a lot of hand holding and setting up and tweaking like android. It's just reliable.

 

[Loco Emperor]

total nonsense. very few people tweak android. its only the die hard techies that bother and vast majority of people that buy an android phone just run it as is.

unless you call adding a widget to the homescreen tweaking!

Pretty much explained myself above. You also can't say very few because you don't know that lmao

 

[mrex]

what is tweaking for you?

 

[thegrants82]

total nonsense. very few people tweak android. its only the die hard techies that bother and vast majority of people that buy an android phone just run it as is.

unless you call adding a widget to the homescreen tweaking!

You are grossly misinformed

 

[iMi]

I've tried switching once before. When I got tired of Apple's shenanigans at some point. If you are heavily embedded in the Apple ecosystem, you'll find the switch difficult. All the little things - iMessage going haywire, address book not syncing and calendar entries not showing up. Habits are hard to break. That's just my opinion.

Also, everyone is condemning iPhone 7 before it's even released. Wait and see, decided once you have objective data in hand. Rumors are just that - rumors. Wait for the release and if you don't like what you see, go from there. I'm personally keeping my iPhone 6 another year simply because it works perfectly well and I see no need to upgrade. I'm a heavy user and the battery wasn't cutting it, so I bought the Apple power case. Works great.

 

[kevinof]

Ok. Are you going to post ANYTHING constructive or is this the total knowledge you have on the subject?

For instance. In my extended family (grandparents, brothers, sisters, nephews etc) there 18 phones of which 5 are Iphones. The rest are Android of various types, sizes and ages. Only one person who owns an Android phone knows what a "launcher" is, or what "touchwiz" is, never mind understanding rooting and roms. These are the usual owners of Android phones - they don't root, they even change the launcher because they don't know how and don't see the point. They are quite happy with what came with the phone when they bought it.

The average Android user you get on this forum makes up a tiny percentage of the android market so don't judge based on this community.

So for 99% of Android users "tweaking" is moving the clock widget up a row , or adding a calendar to a second page. that's it. The other points about Ios being the best OS available - Well that's all subjective and perfectly fine, but it's an opinion, and not fact.

You are grossly misinformed