My iPhone 5 vs Android comparison

[michaeljohn]

I have owned 7 Android phones over the past 3 years. The HTC Hero, HTC Evo, HTC Evo 3D, HTC Sensation, Samsung Nexus S 4G, Galaxy Note and most recently the Galaxy S3. Recently I made the switch to the iPhone 5 and I thought I would share some interesting comparisons, more hardware then software related. Both iOS and Android have their pros and cons. Here are just a few things I have found I really like with the iPhone the past few weeks.

Camera: The iPhone 5 has probably the best camera of any phone I have had. Not only are the photos top notch, so is the video. Nowhere is this more evident than at a concert. I attended a rock concert last night and shot video. I was completely blown away by how great the video looked in low light and how great it sounded! You could even make out the vocals cleanly. Every concert I have been to with previous phones was just awful. The video was ok, but the sound was muffled, it just sounded like a big burst of noise. Kudos to Apple in this department.

Reception/GPS/Speed: I frequently go to a Cheesecake Factory in the area and it has been a dead zone for every single Android phone no matter the carrier. Calls and texts barely worked and no data at all. Yesterday with my iPhone 5 on Verizon, I had 2 bars of LTE to my surprise. Calls and texts worked perfectly and data (although a bit slower) worked perfectly as well. The radio in the 5 must be quite good. GPS also locks on instantly and its very accurate, which was a gripe I always had about my Android phones. The overall speed is very fast as well no matter what I am doing.

Car Audio: The Pioneer head unit I have was made to work with the iPhone and iPod. I plug it in via USB and my playlist as well as artist, track and album info is all on the display meaning I dont have to constantly look down at my phone to change music, this is a huge bonus for me. Also, the sound is much better on the iPhone 5 thru the head unit, cleaner and crisper. Better than any Android phone I have owned regardless of what amp or EQ app I used.

Those are a few things I am really liking on the iPhone 5. Siri is very useful to me and the social apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are more refined and faster than their Android counterparts. There are things I am not in love with on the iphone though. For example, things like adding ringtones to your phone is comical with all the work you have to do and trying to delete photos off the camera roll but keep them in another folder without having to use iTunes is just plain awful. So far the pros seem to be outweighing the cons.

 

[Beeplance]

You work at a Cheesecake Factory?

 

[michaeljohn]

You work at a Cheesecake Factory?

Nope. I said I frequently go there

 

[Beeplance]

Nope. I said I frequently go there

To buy cheesecake?

 

[michaeljohn]

To buy cheesecake?

Sometimes haha. Its a big restaurant chain in the US. Its not an actual factory

 

[Zwhaler]

I recently switched from iPhone to Android so I can add some of my own thoughts...
I had the iPhone 4 so my reception wasn't that great, and it did have the signal reducing "you're holding it wrong" issue. I frequently dropped calls. Time will tell if I'll drop as many calls on Android but so far I haven't had any. My biggest plus for Android is the customizability of the OS. Apple's OS let's you launch apps, that's about it. I like having widgets and live wallpapers. iPhone 4S camera quality was very good and I know the 5 is even better. My Galaxy Note 2 is comparable but slightly behind the iPhone I imagine. Speaker on my phone is twice as loud and clear as I've ever heard on any iPhone due to the size of the device (not true for all Android phones). Battery life is much better than iPhone for me so far, too. I don't want to sound like a troll but I really like expandable storage and removable battery on Android. My device has over 70GB and I can put in an aftermarket extended capacity battery.

The point you make about ringtones is spot on, as I had to deal with it myself. I literally had to take a song, crop it in garageband, rename the file, etc etc and several steps later sync it to my phone as a ringtone. In Android, I literally can set any ringtone from the songs stored in the device, that easy.
Also I find the notifications feature improved on Android. I can have LED notification light (some people don't care about this feature but when you have it on your phone it's really nice), and I like having instant access to turning on/off WiFi, GPS, brightness, screen rotation, turn on/off LED flashlight, enable/disable battery saving mode all at my fingertips on my home screen if I want. I like having a weather widget that auto updates for my location on my home screen along with the clock. I like having a widget that shows how many minutes it takes to drive home from wherever location I am at on my home screen. It's also REALLY useful to have Google Now built into the home screen and almost every part of the OS that's web enabled, plus having voice enabled message/email composition like Siri. I wish iOS could have app icons that actually did something instead of just being a picture. Not trying to hijack the thread just sharing some of my opinions coming from the reverse experience you posted.

 

[michaeljohn]

I recently switched from iPhone to Android so I can add some of my own thoughts...
I had the iPhone 4 so my reception wasn't that great, and it did have the signal reducing "you're holding it wrong" issue. I frequently dropped calls. Time will tell if I'll drop as many calls on Android but so far I haven't had any. My biggest plus for Android is the customizability of the OS. Apple's OS let's you launch apps, that's about it. I like having widgets and live wallpapers. iPhone 4S camera quality was very good and I know the 5 is even better. My Galaxy Note 2 is comparable but slightly behind the iPhone I imagine. Speaker on my phone is twice as loud and clear as I've ever heard on any iPhone due to the size of the device (not true for all Android phones). Battery life is much better than iPhone for me so far, too. I don't want to sound like a troll but I really like expandable storage and removable battery on Android. My device has over 70GB and I can put in an aftermarket extended capacity battery.

The point you make about ringtones is spot on, as I had to deal with it myself. I literally had to take a song, crop it in garageband, rename the file, etc etc and several steps later sync it to my phone as a ringtone. In Android, I literally can set any ringtone from the songs stored in the device, that easy.
Also I find the notifications feature improved on Android. I can have LED notification light (some people don't care about this feature but when you have it on your phone it's really nice), and I like having instant access to turning on/off WiFi, GPS, brightness, screen rotation, turn on/off LED flashlight, enable/disable battery saving mode all at my fingertips on my home screen if I want. I like having a weather widget that auto updates for my location on my home screen along with the clock. I like having a widget that shows how many minutes it takes to drive home from wherever location I am at on my home screen. Basically I wish iOS could have app icons that actually did something instead of being a picture. Not trying to hijack the thread just sharing some of my opinions coming from the reverse experience you posted.

Some good points. Cant say I miss too many things but having quick access to WIFI, GPS etc...was nice and so was the notification light. I forgot to mention I really like the call quality and speakerphone on the iPhone 5. The volume is a bit low but everyone sounds great and no one ever knows I have them on speakerphone.

 

[siiip5]

Car Audio: The Pioneer head unit I have was made to work with the iPhone and iPod. I plug it in via USB and my playlist as well as artist, track and album info is all on the display meaning I dont have to constantly look down at my phone to change music, this is a huge bonus for me. Also, the sound is much better on the iPhone 5 thru the head unit, cleaner and crisper. Better than any Android phone I have owned regardless of what amp or EQ app I used.

Those are a few things I am really liking on the iPhone 5. Siri is very useful to me and the social apps like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are more refined and faster than their Android counterparts. There are things I am not in love with on the iphone though. For example, things like adding ringtones to your phone is comical with all the work you have to do and trying to delete photos off the camera roll but keep them in another folder without having to use iTunes is just plain awful. So far the pros seem to be outweighing the cons.

This is very interesting and I thought the very same thing about car stereo's and Android phones. I would have to plug into the stereo's aux input, but control everything on the phone, which is not very easy or safe to do while driving. Then I found out about A2DP on the SIII and new car stereo's equipped with this feature. Now I get into my car, click on car mode and bluetooth A2DP takes over. Crystal clear sound, everything controlled via my steering wheel controls from making calls to changing tracks to controlling Pandora and Stitcher. All information about the song, album artwork and information about the song are displayed on my cars screen. All wirelessly and simple. This makes plugging an iphone into a usb jack look antiquated. But this bluetooth feature isn't limited to Android. I believe wp8 has this and i think the ip5 does, so now it doesn't matter what phone you have, you always have hands free operation. I love that.

Siri is a good personal assistant, but now that I have been using Google Now, I think Siri is behind the curve. Siri is only reactive in the sense that you have to manually control the input of data to get an answer or schedule something. Google now is proactive in giving you information based on a set of parameters you have given it. For example, if I am getting ready to go to work, Google Now will automatically tell me drive times based on traffic on my route, or pop up a card to tell me the latest scores of my favorite sport teams. Google is also faster at giving me information vs wolfram alpha for Siri. Prior to Google Now all Android apps that tried to replicate Siri were woefully ineffective. I thank Apple for spurring Google on to create Google Now. Without Siri, I doubt we would have this feature on the Android OS.

 

[matttye]

I think Apple blatantly makes ringtones difficult to manage because they want us to buy them!

 

[Stuntman06]

I think Apple blatantly makes ringtones difficult to manage because they want us to buy them!

Agree. It took me like hours to figure out how to move a ring tone onto an iPhone. On an Android phone, I just plug my phone into my PC via the USB cable and copy the MP3 file onto the phone and it appears on my list of ring tones. On the iPhone, I had to change some configuration settings in iTunes, so it can import the MP3 file. Then I had to rename the file extention from .m4a to .m4r. Only then can I drop it onto iCloud before it appears on the list of ring tones. I think there may be a couple more steps. I can't remember exactly. All I remember is that it took me hours to get it working.

Moving contacts was almost as difficult.

 

[cynics]

I actually agree with the OP points. Those are some of the better things with not just the iPhone 5 but even the 4 and 4S.

I wasn't a big fan of the Facebook app until they just updated it yesterday to allow sharing, tagging friend in mid sentence and you can delete a post/comment again (used to be able too then it was removed now its back). Two days ago I would have disagreed on Facebook being good in iOS. It's still annoying that it doesn't sound on a notification though.

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

This is very interesting and I thought the very same thing about car stereo's and Android phones. I would have to plug into the stereo's aux input, but control everything on the phone, which is not very easy or safe to do while driving. Then I found out about A2DP on the SIII and new car stereo's equipped with this feature. Now I get into my car, click on car mode and bluetooth A2DP takes over. Crystal clear sound, everything controlled via my steering wheel controls from making calls to changing tracks to controlling Pandora and Stitcher. All information about the song, album artwork and information about the song are displayed on my cars screen. All wirelessly and simple. This makes plugging an iphone into a usb jack look antiquated. But this bluetooth feature isn't limited to Android. I believe wp8 has this and i think the ip5 does, so now it doesn't matter what phone you have, you always have hands free operation. I love that.

Been using Bluetooth for audio car connection for a while now. Works flawless with the iP4, 4S and GS3. It barely drains the battery too.

 

[aimeeinohio]

Now I get into my car, click on car mode and bluetooth A2DP takes over. Crystal clear sound, everything controlled via my steering wheel controls from making calls to changing tracks to controlling Pandora and Stitcher. All information about the song, album artwork and information about the song are displayed on my cars screen. All wirelessly and simple. .

Is this what driving mode is for??? I use my S3 over bluetooth but I have wished that the song info showed up. I will have to turn on driving mode and see if that helps.

 

[Stuntman06]

Is this what driving mode is for??? I use my S3 over bluetooth but I have wished that the song info showed up. I will have to turn on driving mode and see if that helps.

I use my S3 over BT in my car and the song title, artist and album info does show up on the display of my car stereo.

 

[cynics]

I'm more curious about the cheesecake factory. Is it a union? What's base pay? Do you have to start at the bottom shoveling coal into a furnace that helps manufacture cheesecakes?

 

[aimeeinohio]

I use my S3 over BT in my car and the song title, artist and album info does show up on the display of my car stereo.

It doesn't on mine....I tried turing on driving mode along with the blue tooth and it still didn't show up. Guess my mazda doesn't like my phone LOL

 

[ixodes]

I'm more curious about the cheesecake factory. Is it a union? What's base pay? Do you have to start at the bottom shoveling coal into a furnace that helps manufacture cheesecakes?

Ever heard of Google Search?

 

[hyteckit]

It doesn't on mine....I tried turing on driving mode along with the blue tooth and it still didn't show up. Guess my mazda doesn't like my phone LOL

I have a mazda 3 and the song info doesn't show when I have my iPhone connected to it using bluetooth.

Song info shows when I have my Note 2 connected to my Mazda 3 thru bluetooth.

Song info also shows when I have my macbook connected to it.

The iPhone for whatever reason only supports a subset of the bluetooth standard. Heard it works some cars like the Prius.

 

[cynics]

Ever heard of Google Search?

Deepest sarcasm

 

[Markyboy81]

This is very interesting and I thought the very same thing about car stereo's and Android phones. I would have to plug into the stereo's aux input, but control everything on the phone, which is not very easy or safe to do while driving. Then I found out about A2DP on the SIII and new car stereo's equipped with this feature. Now I get into my car, click on car mode and bluetooth A2DP takes over. Crystal clear sound, everything controlled via my steering wheel controls from making calls to changing tracks to controlling Pandora and Stitcher. All information about the song, album artwork and information about the song are displayed on my cars screen. All wirelessly and simple. This makes plugging an iphone into a usb jack look antiquated. But this bluetooth feature isn't limited to Android. I believe wp8 has this and i think the ip5 does, so now it doesn't matter what phone you have, you always have hands free operation. I love that.

Siri is a good personal assistant, but now that I have been using Google Now, I think Siri is behind the curve. Siri is only reactive in the sense that you have to manually control the input of data to get an answer or schedule something. Google now is proactive in giving you information based on a set of parameters you have given it. For example, if I am getting ready to go to work, Google Now will automatically tell me drive times based on traffic on my route, or pop up a card to tell me the latest scores of my favorite sport teams. Google is also faster at giving me information vs wolfram alpha for Siri. Prior to Google Now all Android apps that tried to replicate Siri were woefully ineffective. I thank Apple for spurring Google on to create Google Now. Without Siri, I doubt we would have this feature on the Android OS.

A2DP has been around for years and years and is present on virtually every mobile now. That's not to take away anything from it but it is quite an old technology and certainly not limited to the galaxy s3. However what the s3 does have is the new apt-x codec which enables you to stream at a far higher bitrate and with almost no lag, which is much better for watching films. Unfortunately I don't know of any car head units that also support apt-x but if you're interested in high sound quality, check out certain sennheiser bluetooth headphones that support apt-x, they sound awesome!

 

[ixodes]

Deepest sarcasm

Never at a loss for words, drawing out a little subtle humor is always fun

It never ceases to amaze me how the complacent ones will spend so much time asking questions here, when a quick search yields gold.

 

[tbayrgs]

I have a mazda 3 and the song info doesn't show when I have my iPhone connected to it using bluetooth.

Song info shows when I have my Note 2 connected to my Mazda 3 thru bluetooth.

Song info also shows when I have my macbook connected to it.

The iPhone for whatever reason only supports a subset of the bluetooth standard. Heard it works some cars like the Prius.

My 3 year old Mazda CX-9 shows whatever is playing on my iPhone on it's display, whether it's music on the phone, a streaming radio app such as the ESPN radio app, or even Pandora. Steering wheel controls also work for all of the apps.

 

[Stuntman06]

It doesn't on mine....I tried turing on driving mode along with the blue tooth and it still didn't show up. Guess my mazda doesn't like my phone LOL

I got a Lexus. It seems to be different with different cars and phones. With my Nokia phone, I only get the song information for the first song. After that, it only shows the time the track started playing.

 

[iEvolution]

The lack of a file system is terrible under iOS, I understand keeping the device simple but until they decide to put a file system in I am not interested in iOS devices anymore. The fact the iPad doesn't have one is rather insulting for a 500+ device.

 

[Tinmania]

I'm more curious about the cheesecake factory. Is it a union? What's base pay? Do you have to start at the bottom shoveling coal into a furnace that helps manufacture cheesecakes?

It would be better if was an actual factory.

Instead it is the "most unhealthy" restaurant chain in the country. Considering most are crap healthwise anyway that says a lot.



Michael