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Some observations from someone who has switched from Android

TechnoLawyer

TechnoLawyer

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 7, 2021
118
93
I've now been using my first ever iPhone, a lowly iPhone 13 non-pro, for a week or so. In some ways, I am impressed, and in some ways, I am unimpressed.

My gripes:
-NO BACK BUTTON?!? I mean, really? Swiping in from the left is inconsistent. Android's 100% consistent implementation of the function of "back" is far superior.
-No PiP for YouTube? (not Apple's fault, but still annoying)
-Safari is unstable. It frequently reloads for no reason, and sometimes while I'm reading a website that has already loaded, it'll stop showing the page, show a blank page with an error saying there is no connection. This does not happen in Chrome on the phone. No idea what's up with Safari. It doesn't do that on my iPad.
-Why can't I access setting for an app while in the app? Seems a bit odd I have to go over to the settings app every time. Not a big deal, but worth a mention.
-Why can't we set our home screens how we like? If I have a Home Screen with only 4 icons, why can't I put them at the bottom if I want to? Not a big deal, but beyond dumb.

Things I like:
-Tight integration with the Mac. Being able to text and call from my laptop is great. Also, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and the way Apple Podcasts syncs my positions in podcasts between my phone and laptop is great.
-Carplay. I like Android Auto, but I like the CarPlay Home Screen (which shows your nav along side info about what is currently playing) more.
-iMessage. Not the app itself, but how it has made things easier with my family who are all on iPhones.

Thank you, drive through.
 
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TechnoLawyer said:
I've now been using my first ever iPhone, a lowly iPhone 13 non-pro, for a week or so. In some ways, I am impressed, and in some ways, I am unimpressed.

My gripes:
-NO BACK BUTTON?!? I mean, really? Swiping in from the left is inconsistent. Android's 100% consistent implementation of the function of "back" is far superior.
-No PiP for YouTube? (not Apple's fault, but still annoying)
-Safari is unstable. It frequently reloads for no reason, and sometimes while I'm reading a website that has already loaded, it'll stop showing the page, show a blank page with an error saying there is no connection. This does not happen in Chrome on the phone. No idea what's up with Safari. It doesn't do that on my iPad.
-Why can't I access setting for an app while in the app? Seems a bit odd I have to go over to the settings app every time. Not a big deal, but worth a mention.
-Why can't we set our home screens how we like? If I have a Home Screen with only 4 icons, why can't I put them at the bottom if I want to? Not a big deal, but beyond dumb.

Things I like:
-Tight integration with the Mac. Being able to text and call from my laptop is great. Also, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and the way Apple Podcasts syncs my positions in podcasts between my phone and laptop is great.
-Carplay. I like Android Auto, but I like the CarPlay Home Screen (which shows your nav along side info about what is currently playing) more.
-iMessage. Not the app itself, but how it has made things easier with my family who are all on iPhones.

Thank you, drive through.
Click to expand...
I remember when I first switched the no back button drove me crazy but now I don't even think about it. There's a couple of youtube videos out there showing all the gestures so that can be helpful but I think they are similar to what android has now so maybe not new to you.

I agree with the no PIP thing but it doesn't bug me too much. I can't fault Google because why would they do something to make their competitors phones work better ?

Safari should not reload while you're using it. Mine never does that so I would try to see what's going on there. If you go to another app then back to Safari it can happen because iOS is a memory miser and will dump things from RAM.

Some apps do have settings in the app and others it's just all in the main settings... It's a mess and could use an overhaul.

I totally agree with you when it comes to allowing empty space between icons. You know there is the "Dock" at the bottom where you can put four icons that always stay at the bottom?

What android phone did you have and why did you decide to change? I thought about going to android just to test the waters but my friend that has a Samsung phone is always fussing at her phone because it'll do random crazy stuff. You're lucky you didn't get an iPhone when iOS 15 just came out... That was a buggy nightmare! Thank god they fixed the mess with patches
 
russell_314 said:
I remember when I first switched the no back button drove me crazy but now I don't even think about it. There's a couple of youtube videos out there showing all the gestures so that can be helpful but I think they are similar to what android has now so maybe not new to you.

I agree with the no PIP thing but it doesn't bug me too much. I can't fault Google because why would they do something to make their competitors phones work better ?

Safari should not reload while you're using it. Mine never does that so I would try to see what's going on there. If you go to another app then back to Safari it can happen because iOS is a memory miser and will dump things from RAM.

Some apps do have settings in the app and others it's just all in the main settings... It's a mess and could use an overhaul.

I totally agree with you when it comes to allowing empty space between icons. You know there is the "Dock" at the bottom where you can put four icons that always stay at the bottom?

What android phone did you have and why did you decide to change? I thought about going to android just to test the waters but my friend that has a Samsung phone is always fussing at her phone because it'll do random crazy stuff. You're lucky you didn't get an iPhone when iOS 15 just came out... That was a buggy nightmare! Thank god they fixed the mess with patches
Click to expand...

YouTube is still Google's service. Why make using their service less convenient?

Safari doesn't reload. It's like the web page itself crashes. I'll screen cap it next time it happens. It has yet to happen with Chrome, consistently happens on Safari with certain web sites.

As to the doc, you mean the four icon only dock? The fact I cannot decide how many rows and columns are in launcher or my home screens is also dumb, I might add.

I had a Fold 3, and the screen broke. I had insurance, but they wanted $250 to replace it. Was able to trade it in at Best Buy, add $150, and get an iPhone on some sale they had. To be honest, I miss the browsing experience from the Fold 3. Perfect size when open for browsing, 120 Hz screen for smooth scrolling. Also perfect for Kindle books.

I decided to go for an iPhone just for a change, and because I'd recently switched to a MacBook Pro for the screen and battery life.

What Samsung phone does your friend have? Prior to the Fold, I always had the latest Note or Galaxy S, and they were all rock solid. No issues. If anything, switching over to an iPhone shows me just how good the Samsung phones are -- they're fully, 100% competitive. If you don't have a Mac and don't have friends/family on iMessage, I'd tip it in favor of the Samsungs.
 
TechnoLawyer said:
YouTube is still Google's service. Why make using their service less convenient?
Click to expand...
Because Google? Yes it's their service but if it's something you like and works better on their own OS then you might consider going to android. The same thing happened with Google maps ages ago. They didn't update Google maps on iOS to the point that Apple made Apple Maps. After that I guess they saw they were going to lose their data mine and updated but before that it was terrible. At the time I changed from android and I was like umm why doesn't Google maps give me directions ?‍♂️?

TechnoLawyer said:
Safari doesn't reload. It's like the web page itself crashes. I'll screen cap it next time it happens. It has yet to happen with Chrome, consistently happens on Safari with certain web sites.
Click to expand...
That's crazy! When you say it's yet to happen with Chrome do you mean on the iPhone?

TechnoLawyer said:
As to the doc, you mean the four icon only dock? The fact I cannot decide how many rows and columns are in launcher or my home screens is also dumb, I might add.
Click to expand...
Yes the four icons that stay at the bottom of every page. I'm totally with you on the customization thing. I think Apple limits this to keep things working better but it's 2022 so let us at least change the page layouts. There have been improvements such as the App library but it needs more work.

TechnoLawyer said:
I had a Fold 3, and the screen broke. I had insurance, but they wanted $250 to replace it. Was able to trade it in at Best Buy, add $150, and get an iPhone on some sale they had. To be honest, I miss the browsing experience from the Fold 3. Perfect size when open for browsing, 120 Hz screen for smooth scrolling. Also perfect for Kindle books.

I decided to go for an iPhone just for a change, and because I'd recently switched to a MacBook Pro for the screen and battery life.
Click to expand...
I really thought hard about buying one of those but I destroy phones to the point that AppleCare is a MUST for me. I would destroy that in a few months... Everyone talks about the 120 Hz and I have it on my 13 Pro Max. While I think it looks a little crisper I just can't get excited about it. I mean I watch lots of YouTube but I'm not watching movies or playing lots of games on it because I like to do that on my PC or iPad. I could see how it would be nice on the larger screen of the Fold but even the Max size screen is too small for me to care. How is the MacBook Pro? I've been thinking about the 14" but I don't really need it... It's more of a want.

TechnoLawyer said:
What Samsung phone does your friend have? Prior to the Fold, I always had the latest Note or Galaxy S, and they were all rock solid. No issues. If anything, switching over to an iPhone shows me just how good the Samsung phones are -- they're fully, 100% competitive. If you don't have a Mac and don't have friends/family on iMessage, I'd tip it in favor of the Samsungs.
Click to expand...
Since I've known her she has had the Samsung Note phones. I know she had the 7 then went to the 8 (Maybe?) and now she has the Note 10. She's a big Samsung fan but she's always fighting with her phone when it's messing up. I think it's funny because likes to make fun of my "Apple trash" but I'm thinking well I don't have this many problems. I'm not going to lie when I got my iPhone 13 Pro Max with the release version of iOS 15 that was the buggiest version of iOS I've ever used... It was not ready for public release IMO. It's better now and I can't remember having any problems since the recent updates.
 
TechnoLawyer said:
My gripes:
-NO BACK BUTTON?!? I mean, really? Swiping in from the left is inconsistent. Android's 100% consistent implementation of the function of "back" is far superior.
Click to expand...
This drives me nuts also. Android has that universal screen-edge back swipe and for Apple it behaves differently depending on the app, often putting the back shortcut at the top-RH of the screen, far from your thumb.
 
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russell_314 said:
Because Google? Yes it's their service but if it's something you like and works better on their own OS then you might consider going to android. The same thing happened with Google maps ages ago. They didn't update Google maps on iOS to the point that Apple made Apple Maps. After that I guess they saw they were going to lose their data mine and updated but before that it was terrible. At the time I changed from android and I was like umm why doesn't Google maps give me directions ?‍♂️?


That's crazy! When you say it's yet to happen with Chrome do you mean on the iPhone?


Yes the four icons that stay at the bottom of every page. I'm totally with you on the customization thing. I think Apple limits this to keep things working better but it's 2022 so let us at least change the page layouts. There have been improvements such as the App library but it needs more work.


I really thought hard about buying one of those but I destroy phones to the point that AppleCare is a MUST for me. I would destroy that in a few months... Everyone talks about the 120 Hz and I have it on my 13 Pro Max. While I think it looks a little crisper I just can't get excited about it. I mean I watch lots of YouTube but I'm not watching movies or playing lots of games on it because I like to do that on my PC or iPad. I could see how it would be nice on the larger screen of the Fold but even the Max size screen is too small for me to care. How is the MacBook Pro? I've been thinking about the 14" but I don't really need it... It's more of a want.


Since I've known her she has had the Samsung Note phones. I know she had the 7 then went to the 8 (Maybe?) and now she has the Note 10. She's a big Samsung fan but she's always fighting with her phone when it's messing up. I think it's funny because likes to make fun of my "Apple trash" but I'm thinking well I don't have this many problems. I'm not going to lie when I got my iPhone 13 Pro Max with the release version of iOS 15 that was the buggiest version of iOS I've ever used... It was not ready for public release IMO. It's better now and I can't remember having any problems since the recent updates.
Click to expand...
Not sure what issues your friend may be having. I switched to Android 3 years ago and my Samsung Galaxy S10e is not giving me problems.
 
TechnoLawyer said:
-Why can't we set our home screens how we like? If I have a Home Screen with only 4 icons, why can't I put them at the bottom if I want to? Not a big deal, but beyond dumb.
Click to expand...
You would need to use transparent clear icons. Just search for transparent icons in the App Store.
 
russell_314 said:
That's crazy! When you say it's yet to happen with Chrome do you mean on the iPhone?

How is the MacBook Pro? I've been thinking about the 14" but I don't really need it... It's more of a want.


Since I've known her she has had the Samsung Note phones. I know she had the 7 then went to the 8 (Maybe?) and now she has the Note 10. She's a big Samsung fan but she's always fighting with her phone when it's messing up. I think it's funny because likes to make fun of my "Apple trash" but I'm thinking well I don't have this many problems. I'm not going to lie when I got my iPhone 13 Pro Max with the release version of iOS 15 that was the buggiest version of iOS I've ever used... It was not ready for public release IMO. It's better now and I can't remember having any problems since the recent updates.
Click to expand...

Here, I have screen capped what happens in Safari on my phone.
1648744191877.png


This happens on multiple different sites. I've never had an android phone do this. It'd weird. My 2018 iPad Pro does not do this. Chrome on my iPhone doesn't do this, although it still randomly reloads web pages sometimes when there is no need to.

The MacBook Pro 14in is great. Fast, amazing screen, great speakers, relatively compact size. I got the base model on sale for $1750. I didn't need it either, and an Air would serve my needs just fine, but it was only about $400 over what a 16gb/500gb Air would be.

Your friend is using a Note 10? Well there's the problem. Android phone longevity is poor. They work well for two years or so, and after that turn into buggy garbage.
 
TechnoLawyer said:
Things I like:
-Tight integration with the Mac. Being able to text and call from my laptop is great. Also, I listen to a lot of podcasts, and the way Apple Podcasts syncs my positions in podcasts between my phone and laptop is great.
Click to expand...

You’re lucky. I use Apple Podcasts and the syncing between devices is at best inconsistent. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. I’d spend less time if I just assumed the syncing didn’t work rather than refreshing the Podcast app hoping it will finally sync.

The worst is that our HomePod Minis don’t even try to sync. If I listen to a podcast on the HomePod it makes no attempt to sync with my Podcasts on my iPhone.

I have lots of Apple devices and my chief complaint would be that across hardware and software, and over many years, Apple just can’t reliably implement synchronization.
 
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the extention "Vinegar" fixes Youtube PiP and usage when screen isn't needed.
 
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