Long Term Switch

[Shanghaichica]

Yep same boat

I keep leaving and going back it’s come to the point of why bother. Stick to what you know you prefer

Very true. I like the new fold 3 but deep down I know that I would only come back. It's too complicated and too much hassle. It's not even thinking about my iPads and Macs Because I could still use those. However it's too much hassle to get rid of all my HomePods, Apple TVs and airtags. My AirPods would still work but would loose a lot of their features. I'd also have to get rid of my Apple watch.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Google Play Music was so good. The way they integrated the library to be seamless between albums added via the streaming service as well as music already downloaded to the cloud, just the way Apple does it was perfect...and even better than how Apple did it because you could download an album on your phone and it would show right up in your library. With Apple, you need a PC/Mac to make that happen. I know YT Music has integrated local files but it doesn't compare to what Google Play had achieved.

This. Google play music was a solid alternative to Apple Music. I used to get it for free through my YouTube premium subscription and I used it with my android devices. YouTube premium is just trash. It's just a bloated mess.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Imo the hardware is no longer the deciding factor (exception maybe Apple Watch since the alternatives are far from parity), but the apps are. Switching means one has to consider apps alternatives if the apps they use are not available on the other platform. Plenty of iOS apps are not available on Android. This can also mean more money to spend buying alternative apps.

Hardware wise, imo, is already on parity for the basics. Everything else is just cherry on top and personal preference. Anything new on both platforms are just incremental over the previous generation.

Personally, I'm going with Samsung. And I'm actually going to switch from Windows to Android tablet. I'll be switching from my Windows laptop to a Samsung Galaxy Tab S7FE. I'm getting real tired of my Windows laptop, heating up doing nothing but browsing the net (only 4 tabs max with ad blockers, no streaming, still heating up), and battery life that will only last 3 to 4 hours at best. Getting tired of Windows restarting and taking a long time to update. Getting tired of glitchy drivers that can throw Windows into chaos out of the blue. iPads are too expensive for me in my country. After looking how most of the stuff I do are not specific to Windows, I believe I can go by with an Android tablet.

Ugh sounds like nothing has changed with windows then.

 

[ian87w]

Ugh sounds like nothing has changed with windows then.

Well, more like nothing much has changed for the whole x86 platform. AMD is able to squeeze in a bit more performance, but the same underlying issues still remain.

 

[Fried_Gold]

I was ready to switch to the Fold 3 but when I looked into how much effort it was going to be I just stopped and decided to keep my 12 mini.

 

[Shanghaichica]

I was ready to switch to the Fold 3 but when I looked into how much effort it was going to be I just stopped and decided to keep my 12 mini.

12 mini and fold 3 are very different Phones.

 

[Fried_Gold]

12 mini and fold 3 are very different iPhones.

They are, but I don't need 2 phones regardless of how different they are. I also have an iPad so not like I am lacking a tablet.

 

[Ludatyk]

Very true. I like the new fold 3 but deep down I know that I would only come back. It's too complicated and too much hassle. It's not even thinking about my iPads and Macs Because I could still use those. However it's too much hassle to get rid of all my HomePods, Apple TVs and airtags. My AirPods would still work but would loose a lot of their features. I'd also have to get rid of my Apple watch.

I’m curious. If you still have your iPads and Macs… you could still use your HomePods and Apple TVs. Not entirely sure how AirTags will work with iPads and Macs though. But I have the Fold2 and been using my iPad Pro in tandem with it. I don’t have any HomePods, but I have two Libratone speaker that uses AirPlay2 that I can play music or video through it.

I still have my Apple TV.. that I can use with my iPad. But I took the jump because I wanted more from a smartphone… the iPhone is superb, but it reached it’s ceiling for me. I’m sure more features I want will come in the future, but I’m perfectly okay with where I’m at on the Android side.

 

[mjschabow]

Very true. I like the new fold 3 but deep down I know that I would only come back. It's too complicated and too much hassle. It's not even thinking about my iPads and Macs Because I could still use those. However it's too much hassle to get rid of all my HomePods, Apple TVs and airtags. My AirPods would still work but would loose a lot of their features. I'd also have to get rid of my Apple watch.

That's exactly why I didn't order this time around. I know I'd return it, and then I'm dealing with going to the post office. I suppose I'll do the same when I sell or trade in my iPhone/AW when I upgrade in a month too though.

 

[Fried_Gold]

Keep watching videos of the Fold 3 and starting to think it's worth getting out of the Apple ecosystem after all...

 

[MisterMillz]

Small update. All of my apple products have been sold or returned except my Homepod and minis. Currently running the Fold 3 and Galaxy Book Pro 360. I like that all my digital needs are met in 2 devices. Only major qualm at this point is the battery life on my Fold–pretty bad at this point in time.

 

[Ethrem]

I haven’t switched back yet (been iOS since 2017 with the iPhone 8 Plus) but like you I was part of the WM era (Touch Pro 2 did indeed rock, I miss those slide out keyboards) and I am kind of fed up with Apple at this point. Everything has stagnated, the privacy stuff has me irritated, and the pricing is just getting out of hand.

I ordered a new Pixel 3 XL with an unlocked bootloader to tinker with from Woot for $220 last week, should be here in a week or so. I’m going to try out Google’s stock experience for a week and then try the privacy-focused alternatives (first GrapheneOS and if that has too many trade offs in app compatibility, CalyxOS) for a week as my daily driver and decide whether I’m going to keep the Pixel or not. The Pixel 3 XL is an older device, having been released in 2018, but it’s still plenty capable when put up against the Pixel 5 and 5a which don’t use flagship SoCs and the price was right.

The Pixel is obviously a downgrade from my 12 Pro Max but I am at the point where I don’t need the latest and greatest, just something reasonable, and I am getting more interested in privacy-focused alternatives to Apple and Google which makes the Pixel an easy sell for me to try it out.

I have missed the fact that the Play Store isn’t as restrictive as Apple is. I won’t have to sideload Kodi anymore, same for emulators, and I can easily install sideloaded APKs without dealing with signing them and crap. I have three apps sideloaded on my 12 Pro Max and it’s just so tedious re-signing them that I’ve left all three of them dead for probably a week now.

I never really had many complaints about Android before and I am not heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem so the switch is easy for me. The only reason I switched in the first place is because I switched to Xfinity Mobile and they didn’t support BYOD at the time. I had already bought the HTC U11, a Snapdragon 835 flagship, that year and didn’t want to have to buy the Samsung version so I opted to try Apple instead and just didn’t switch back. I’ll have to buy the Android version of my budget app for $5 but I already was using an Nvidia Shield TV over my Apple TV 4K because I don’t like Kodi on the 4K and I never bought anything else Apple other than my iPad specifically because I didn’t want to be locked in.

 

[eltoslightfoot]

I used to have a former Hackintosh/Gaming PC with a RX 580 8GB (which broke), M1 Macbook Air, iPad 7th Gen with Pencil, and an 11 Pro Max with Apple Watch 2. I now have a Ryzen 5 5600X RTX 3060Ti desktop, Surface Pro 7, Pixel 5a 5g, Samsung Active2 Watch.

I honestly thought it would be a giant change--instead it has been just fine. Everything works just fine. Pixel is speedy, I have the desktop I use most of the time, SP7 when I am on the go, and the Active2 does workouts just the same.

 

[MisterMillz]

I used to have a former Hackintosh/Gaming PC with a RX 580 8GB (which broke), M1 Macbook Air, iPad 7th Gen with Pencil, and an 11 Pro Max with Apple Watch 2. I now have a Ryzen 5 5600X RTX 3060Ti desktop, Surface Pro 7, Pixel 5a 5g, Samsung Active2 Watch.

I honestly thought it would be a giant change--instead it has been just fine. Everything works just fine. Pixel is speedy, I have the desktop I use most of the time, SP7 when I am on the go, and the Active2 does workouts just the same.

Im jelly. I was tempted to go from the 4a 5G to the 5a just for the battery jump alone. Pixels are hands down my favorite Android devices. Have been dabbling with the Surface Pro 7. I think I prefer it over my Galaxy Book Pro. Trying to wait and see if the 8 comes out before winter.

 

[WriteNow]

I was a Macintosh user for many years. I started shifting to Linux about 2005. It appealed to my cheap side--it allowed me to use cheap PC hardware. Plus Linux was something new to play with. I wasn't happy with Linux for a lot of productivity tasks, so I kept an older Mac running for productivity tasks (mainly writing) for many years. Finally, it reached a point where I could live with Linux application software--and it so it took over as my only daily driver OS.

I have thought, looking back, that perhaps things might have been different. One factor that sold me on Linux at one point was the-then dearth of low cost OS X Macs. If the Mac mini had shipped sooner, things might have been different.

I contemplated going back to Apple at times...but it never happened.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Small update. All of my apple products have been sold or returned except my Homepod and minis. Currently running the Fold 3 and Galaxy Book Pro 360. I like that all my digital needs are met in 2 devices. Only major qualm at this point is the battery life on my Fold–pretty bad at this point in time.

How do you continue to use your homepods without any other apple devices?

 

[MisterMillz]

How do you continue to use your homepods without any other apple devices?

I don't. I just haven't sold them yet. Nest speakers have actively taken their place.

 

[Ethrem]

You can still use them with like CloudPlayer and some other apps.

 

[MisterMillz]

You can still use them with like CloudPlayer and some other apps.

That's pretty cool. I'd prefer to just sell 'em. Have been happily surprised by the full sized Nest speakers–same price as the minis, but get louder and have more bass. Even if I switched back to iOS in the future, I'd stick with these Nest speakers.

 

[MisterMillz]

I haven’t switched back yet (been iOS since 2017 with the iPhone 8 Plus) but like you I was part of the WM era (Touch Pro 2 did indeed rock, I miss those slide out keyboards) and I am kind of fed up with Apple at this point. Everything has stagnated, the privacy stuff has me irritated, and the pricing is just getting out of hand.

I ordered a new Pixel 3 XL with an unlocked bootloader to tinker with from Woot for $220 last week, should be here in a week or so. I’m going to try out Google’s stock experience for a week and then try the privacy-focused alternatives (first GrapheneOS and if that has too many trade offs in app compatibility, CalyxOS) for a week as my daily driver and decide whether I’m going to keep the Pixel or not. The Pixel 3 XL is an older device, having been released in 2018, but it’s still plenty capable when put up against the Pixel 5 and 5a which don’t use flagship SoCs and the price was right.

The Pixel is obviously a downgrade from my 12 Pro Max but I am at the point where I don’t need the latest and greatest, just something reasonable, and I am getting more interested in privacy-focused alternatives to Apple and Google which makes the Pixel an easy sell for me to try it out.

I have missed the fact that the Play Store isn’t as restrictive as Apple is. I won’t have to sideload Kodi anymore, same for emulators, and I can easily install sideloaded APKs without dealing with signing them and crap. I have three apps sideloaded on my 12 Pro Max and it’s just so tedious re-signing them that I’ve left all three of them dead for probably a week now.

I never really had many complaints about Android before and I am not heavily invested in the Apple ecosystem so the switch is easy for me. The only reason I switched in the first place is because I switched to Xfinity Mobile and they didn’t support BYOD at the time. I had already bought the HTC U11, a Snapdragon 835 flagship, that year and didn’t want to have to buy the Samsung version so I opted to try Apple instead and just didn’t switch back. I’ll have to buy the Android version of my budget app for $5 but I already was using an Nvidia Shield TV over my Apple TV 4K because I don’t like Kodi on the 4K and I never bought anything else Apple other than my iPad specifically because I didn’t want to be locked in.

Are you liking the Pixel so far? They've always been my favorite Android devices--even when they were called Nexus. Samsung pulled me away for the time being. I couldn't resist the Fold 3. Minus the battery life, I'm liking it for the most part. Still have my 4a 5G as a back up.

 

[Ethrem]

Are you liking the Pixel so far? They've always been my favorite Android devices--even when they were called Nexus. Samsung pulled me away for the time being. I couldn't resist the Fold 3. Minus the battery life, I'm liking it for the most part. Still have my 4a 5G as a back up.

I’m still waiting for it to get shipped. Woot always takes forever. 9/8 is my estimated delivery date.

I had a Nexus 6 and Nexus 7 2013. They were okay. I liked the 6 more than the 7 since my 7 had a capacitive touch bug where if the back of the device wasn’t touching my skin the panel would not register about half the interactions and sometimes it would have phantom touches. Also had to pull the back off of it a few times to bend the USB port back in place. The Nexus 6 was pretty unremarkable in that I don’t remember having any major issues with it but I don’t remember anything that stood out about it either. It didn’t wow me. I think I traded it in for a Note 5 as soon as I could.

 

[Ludatyk]

Are you liking the Pixel so far? They've always been my favorite Android devices--even when they were called Nexus. Samsung pulled me away for the time being. I couldn't resist the Fold 3. Minus the battery life, I'm liking it for the most part. Still have my 4a 5G as a back up.

So, you hanging in there with the Fold? I thought the Fold 3 was boxed up and heading to Samsung

 

[MisterMillz]

So, you hanging in there with the Fold? I thought the Fold 3 was boxed up and heading to Samsung

"...likely going back this week." I was using my Pixel when I typed that message. Popped my SIM back in to give it another spin. I mentioned the 30-60min improvement in that thread too. I thoroughly enjoy everything about the phone sans the battery.

 

[MisterMillz]

I’m still waiting for it to get shipped. Woot always takes forever. 9/8 is my estimated delivery date.

I had a Nexus 6 and Nexus 7 2013. They were okay. I liked the 6 more than the 7 since my 7 had a capacitive touch bug where if the back of the device wasn’t touching my skin the panel would not register about half the interactions and sometimes it would have phantom touches. Also had to pull the back off of it a few times to bend the USB port back in place. The Nexus 6 was pretty unremarkable in that I don’t remember having any major issues with it but I don’t remember anything that stood out about it either. It didn’t wow me. I think I traded it in for a Note 5 as soon as I could.

Here's to an early delivery and a more enjoyable Pixel experience!

 

[Ethrem]

Here's to an early delivery and a more enjoyable Pixel experience!

I have no doubt I’ll be happier with the Pixel than I was the Nexus. Google didn’t really try to differentiate the Nexus from AOSP much and they have the complete opposite strategy for the Pixel. Plus if I’m not happy with the stock experience, I made sure to get an unlockable bootloader