Switch or dig deeper?

[nrvna76]

I don’t know what it is but every year I look at other devices and don’t end up moving away from Apple. This year I got in on the Note 9 insight study so I was able to order it and the iconX (to replace my AirPods) for under $600 including tax. Now I am looking at a galaxy watch for $350 to replace my Apple Watch. So I could spend that money to switch platforms (a great deal), or get a new Apple Watch and a HomePod and save some money. But full Apple retail.

So, now as my Note is still backordered I am second guessing the move and wondering what I hope to gain from the Note Series (I can’t even bring it to work). Did any of you who left struggle with the decision? I’m not proud of the indecisiveness with just a few devices but it’s there nonetheless.

 

[timeconsumer]

I’ve made a couple of attempts to leave and with the most recent attempt what led me back was the Apple Watch. (iMessage was on the list of reasons but not as important) I could have bought a new watch, but I didn’t want to spend the extra money when the Apple Watch works so well and the one I have was still relevant. So I definitely understand what you’re coming from.

What I decided on was to slowly move away from Apple, so for my next purchase I’ll pick up a watch that works on both iOS and Android.

This experience has also led me to not want to ever fully commit to one platform over the other when it comes to accessories such as watches. That way I can switch phones more frequently without having to rebuy a watch.

 

[lavrishevo]

Airpods work great on Android. No issues. I sold my apple watch and iPhone 7 plus when the Note 8 came out. Picked up the Gear S3 at the same time and got a free Gear 360. No regrets. iMesssge is useful when sending pics or video to other iPhone users but the reality is many don't use iPhone. The solution is a universal messaging app which most the world uses called Whatsapp. Anyway, if you are not 100% on board probably best to not switch. Sounds like you are trying the convince yourself. I personally have no regrets. Not an Apple hater at all in fact I'm really hoping my work will upgrade my older MBP to the new I9 with 32 gb of ram but I may be dreaming as it's about $4k laptop. The Note 9 is an awesome phone but if you are trying to convince yourself that you will like it then we both know what the outcome will be.

 

[Txguy82]

Airpods work great on Android. No issues. iMesssge is useful when sending pics or video to other iPhone users but the reality is many don't use iPhone. The solution is a universal messaging app which most the world uses called Whatsapp.

Does WhatsApp compress the videos ??

I’m waiting on the OnePlus 6T and most likely jumping ship. Hoping they are able to join T-Mobile.

Apple’s iPhone pricing has officially forced me to look elsewhere. Not paying top $$ for their outdated & stale platform. iOS seriously needs a facelift

 

[Shanghaichica]

Does WhatsApp compress the videos ??

I’m waiting on the OnePlus 6T and most likely jumping ship. Hoping they are able to join T-Mobile.

Apple’s iPhone pricing has officially forced me to look elsewhere. Not paying top $$ for their outdated & stale platform. iOS seriously needs a facelift

Yes what’sapp compresses photos and videos.

There’s an app called band that my dad tried to get the family to use because he didn’t want his pictures to be compressed. We still seem to be all using what’sapp though because it’s more convenient.

I wish more of my contacts would use iMessage.

 

[Macalicious2011]

Airpods work great on Android.

Wicked! I wasn't are.

Now I am looking at a galaxy watch for $350 to replace my Apple Watch.

Unfortunately most Apple users won't be willing to do that. Now that the Series 3 has dropped to $279, it will become the ultimate Christmas gift to iPhone owners. It's Apple's best tool in shackling consumers to the iPhone.

Yes you can buy an Android Watch to a Samsung owners but watch designs are highly subjective and the number of options create choice anxiety. With the Apple Watch there is only one choice which eliminates the risk of buying the "wrong" watch.

Yes what’sapp compresses photos and videos.

Photo compression isn't bad but video compression could be less severe.

When it comes to sharing photos and videos of my daughter amongst our families we use an app called LifeCake. Photos are uncompressed and the exact age of the child in years, months and days is added too which is great. Both my GF and I can add photos that our invited family members can look at, download and make a photo album out of.

It's a great app for keeping all kids photos in one place rather than having to find them amongst photos food, the moon etc.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Wicked! I wasn't are.



Unfortunately most Apple users won't be willing to do that. Now that the Series 3 has dropped to $279, it will become the ultimate Christmas gift to iPhone owners. It's Apple's best tool in shackling consumers to the iPhone.

Yes you can buy an Android Watch to a Samsung owners but watch designs are highly subjective and the number of options create choice anxiety. With the Apple Watch there is only one choice which eliminates the risk of buying the "wrong" watch.



Photo compression isn't bad but video compression could be less severe.

When it comes to sharing photos and videos of my daughter amongst our families we use an app called LifeCake. Photos are uncompressed and the exact age of the child in years, months and days is added too which is great. Both my GF and I can add photos that our invited family members can look at, download and make a photo album out of.

It's a great app for keeping all kids photos in one place rather than having to find them amongst photos food, the moon etc.

O2 have a deal on at the moment where you can get £50 off the new galaxy watch id you get an S8, note 8, note 9 or S9. So that’s like £230 for the latest galaxy smart watch.

That app sounds great does it do it all automatically?

At the moment I’m having to create separate albums for each child and it’s quite time consuming when you take so many pictures.

I’m going to have a look at that app.

 

[pika2000]

I don’t know what it is but every year I look at other devices and don’t end up moving away from Apple. This year I got in on the Note 9 insight study so I was able to order it and the iconX (to replace my AirPods) for under $600 including tax. Now I am looking at a galaxy watch for $350 to replace my Apple Watch. So I could spend that money to switch platforms (a great deal), or get a new Apple Watch and a HomePod and save some money. But full Apple retail.

So, now as my Note is still backordered I am second guessing the move and wondering what I hope to gain from the Note Series (I can’t even bring it to work). Did any of you who left struggle with the decision? I’m not proud of the indecisiveness with just a few devices but it’s there nonetheless.

This is what I don't get. If you can just "switch" platforms like that, it means you barely utilise the platform you are on now. A lot of features and apps on each platform are not cross platform. If you never dive into Apple's ecosystem, then you are not really getting the benefit being on Apple's platform.

Of course, nothing's wrong with that. If you just want a smartphone to be the hardware, then yes, Apple is not really a good choice. Of course, ironically Samsung is not a good choice either. In terms of hardware, they are just as boring as Apple. Oppo and Vivo are pushing the boundaries of design better than Samsung. Even Huawei is doing more than Samsung. For value, Xiaomi is still the king. Samsung is just the faux-Apple of the Android world. All they do is just increasing prices with their own fanboys defending them as if a yellow stylus equals to innovation.

 

[Macalicious2011]

O2 have a deal on at the moment where you can get £50 off the new galaxy watch id you get an S8, note 8, note 9 or S9. So that’s like £230 for the latest galaxy smart watch.

That app sounds great does it do it all automatically?

At the moment I’m having to create separate albums for each child and it’s quite time consuming when you take so many pictures.

I’m going to have a look at that app.

When you add a child you input their date or birth. Life cake uses that to calculate the exact age of the child for any given photo. Anytime me or my GF adds a photo it notifies our family members. So no one miss out and we don't have to individually share a photo with 6 people using WhatsApp.

It's a great app and is free.

I also recommend backing up your photos using Google photos. In the app you can then tap on the face of your children's or anyone and it will show you all photos you have of them.

This negates the need to create and manage albums for each child.

Google photos also gives you lovely flashbacks on what you did this time a year, 2 or 3 years ago. Another bonus is that it occasionally creates gifs from videos and these are sharable on Facebook.

 

[Shanghaichica]

This is what I don't get. If you can just "switch" platforms like that, it means you barely utilise the platform you are on now. A lot of features and apps on each platform are not cross platform. If you never dive into Apple's ecosystem, then you are not really getting the benefit being on Apple's platform.

Of course, nothing's wrong with that. If you just want a smartphone to be the hardware, then yes, Apple is not really a good choice. Of course, ironically Samsung is not a good choice either. In terms of hardware, they are just as boring as Apple. Oppo and Vivo are pushing the boundaries of design better than Samsung. Even Huawei is doing more than Samsung. For value, Xiaomi is still the king. Samsung is just the faux-Apple of the Android world. All they do is just increasing prices with their own fanboys defending them as if a yellow stylus equals to innovation.

I disagree. Whilst Huwawei are making some good phones, Samsung flagships are packed with features. They are certainly not boring.
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When you add a child you input their date or birth. Life cake uses that to calculate the exact age of the child for any given photo. Anytime me or my GF adds a photo it notifies our family members. So no one miss out and we don't have to individually share a photo with 6 people using WhatsApp.

It's a great app and is free.

I also recommend backing up your photos using Google photos. In the app you can then tap on the face of your children's or anyone and it will show you all photos you have of them.

This negates the need to create and manage albums for each child.

Google photos also gives you lovely flashbacks on what you did this time a year, 2 or 3 years ago. Another bonus is that it occasionally creates gifs from videos and these are sharable on Facebook.

I’m already backing up my pics to google photos and like the gifs and flashbacks that pop up. However I didn’t know about being able to click on a face and getting all the pictures. That’s very useful.

I’m going to download it life cake too. Thanks.

 

[nrvna76]

This is what I don't get. If you can just "switch" platforms like that, it means you barely utilise the platform you are on now. A lot of features and apps on each platform are not cross platform. If you never dive into Apple's ecosystem, then you are not really getting the benefit being on Apple's platform.

Of course, nothing's wrong with that. If you just want a smartphone to be the hardware, then yes, Apple is not really a good choice. Of course, ironically Samsung is not a good choice either. In terms of hardware, they are just as boring as Apple. Oppo and Vivo are pushing the boundaries of design better than Samsung. Even Huawei is doing more than Samsung. For value, Xiaomi is still the king. Samsung is just the faux-Apple of the Android world. All they do is just increasing prices with their own fanboys defending them as if a yellow stylus equals to innovation.

Maybe I do barely utilize the platform I’m on now..? I’m not sure. AirDrop seems to never work for me when I try to share with my wife. We use Apple photos, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime.. and I have Apple Watch and AirPods, I don’t even use a computer anymore. My reasoning for being willing to give Android a try is to be able to actually say iOS is the right platform for us or not, how would I know if I hadn’t used Android recently? Even with a %50 discount the switch is still expensive due to multiple pieces of hardware that I use, and the Series 4 looks great as expected.

The Note line is in incremental updates as well but they are feature packed. What do you use that makes it not possible to switch?

 

[Macalicious2011]

[doublepost=1537102605][/doublepost]
I’m already backing up my pics to google photos and like the gifs and flashbacks that pop up. However I didn’t know about being able to click on a face and getting all the pictures. That’s very useful.

I’m going to download it life cake too. Thanks.

Open the Google Photos app or webpage. Under albums, click on people and you will see the faces of every person that has appeared in your photos. Click on any face and you will see all photos of them. You can even name each person so that you can search for photos of them using the search bar.

 

[tbayrgs]

Maybe I do barely utilize the platform I’m on now..? I’m not sure. AirDrop seems to never work for me when I try to share with my wife. We use Apple photos, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime.. and I have Apple Watch and AirPods, I don’t even use a computer anymore. My reasoning for being willing to give Android a try is to be able to actually say iOS is the right platform for us or not, how would I know if I hadn’t used Android recently? Even with a %50 discount the switch is still expensive due to multiple pieces of hardware that I use, and the Series 4 looks great as expected.

The Note line is in incremental updates as well but they are feature packed. What do you use that makes it not possible to switch?

If I had to pick one device of my repetoire, for me the Apple Watch is probably the linchpin. I use a ton of it's functionality (yes, even use a bunch of third party apps every day). Yes, iPads, Macs and some associated features and services (Apple Messages, AirDrop, iCloud Photos) are key parts of my ecosystem that also make switching away less 'pleasant' but ditching the Apple Watch pretty much makes it a deal breaker for me, at the moment. Wear OS software and the available hardware and Samsung's Galaxy/Gear watches just don't provide anywhere near the experience I get from my Apple Watch.

 

[nrvna76]

If I had to pick one device of my repetoire, for me the Apple Watch is probably the linchpin. I use a ton of it's functionality (yes, even use a bunch of third party apps every day). Yes, iPads, Macs and some associated features and services (Apple Messages, AirDrop, iCloud Photos) are key parts of my ecosystem that also make switching away less 'pleasant' but ditching the Apple Watch pretty much makes it a deal breaker for me, at the moment. Wear OS software and the available hardware and Samsung's Galaxy/Gear watches just don't provide anywhere near the experience I get from my Apple Watch.

I use my Apple Watch all time as well. Third party apps don’t work so well since I have a series 0 but I imagine it would become very useful. Also the walkie talkie feature would become indispensable around my house...

 

[LIVEFRMNYC]

I barely used much integrated apps on my previous Apple Watch. So I'm good with my Gear S3 not having much app intergration. It does everything else I actually want very well. The rotating bezel is the best input use ever, and matched with the widgets make it very productive. I can't go back to Raise To Wake, after using Always On Display for so long. And third party watch faces is a huge plus.

The Gear S3 is tough. I can't count how many times I hard hit my S3 at a door's entrance, and etc. Not even one micro scratch on it or the display. One would need to buy a premium material Apple Watch for $600-$700+ to have the same toughness.

 

[pika2000]

Maybe I do barely utilize the platform I’m on now..? I’m not sure. AirDrop seems to never work for me when I try to share with my wife. We use Apple photos, iCloud, iMessage, FaceTime.. and I have Apple Watch and AirPods, I don’t even use a computer anymore. My reasoning for being willing to give Android a try is to be able to actually say iOS is the right platform for us or not, how would I know if I hadn’t used Android recently? Even with a %50 discount the switch is still expensive due to multiple pieces of hardware that I use, and the Series 4 looks great as expected.

The Note line is in incremental updates as well but they are feature packed. What do you use that makes it not possible to switch?

1. So you don't use it, thus my point stays
2. Hmm, if you use Apple photos (extensively), iCloud, iMessage, etc, your decision to switch would not be as easy as those things are very inconvenient/impossible to migrate
3. Not sure about you not using your computer have anything to do here.
4. Okay finally. Fair enough. You are testing the waters on Android. That's a far cry from the "switching" tone you portrayed in your first post. And it's good to try other platforms when you have a chance. I agree with you on this one.
5. The Note line is feature packed, but that doesn't mean much, especially with the price (MSRP) they're charging. Just looking at Samsung's own lineup, the S9/S9+ is already a better value (same SoC, same camera, cheaper). Outside Samsung. plenty of phones with the same performance for half or a third of the price of the Note. But of course you are on the special program. Just a note that there are other stuff out there other than Samsung.
6. Instead of "switching," I use both platforms. Thus I know the strengths and weakness of both, and I can enjoy the best of both worlds.

I'm glad you're trying Android. I heavily use Android myself, despite my primary driver is iOS. One can get a great Android phone for $200-$300 that it is easy imo to adopt the platform side-by-side of iOS. Best of both worlds.

 

[Macalicious2011]

If I had to pick one device of my repetoire, for me the Apple Watch is probably the linchpin. I use a ton of it's functionality (yes, even use a bunch of third party apps every day). Yes, iPads, Macs and some associated features and services (Apple Messages, AirDrop, iCloud Photos) are key parts of my ecosystem that also make switching away less 'pleasant' but ditching the Apple Watch pretty much makes it a deal breaker for me, at the moment. Wear OS software and the available hardware and Samsung's Galaxy/Gear watches just don't provide anywhere near the experience I get from my Apple Watch.

You are probably not alone. Last year I was at a dinner of 8 and 6 of them wore an Apple watch!

Next time I buy an iPhone I might avoid buying an Apple Watch or else I'll be hooked!

 

[Shanghaichica]

I use my Apple Watch all time as well. Third party apps don’t work so well since I have a series 0 but I imagine it would become very useful. Also the walkie talkie feature would become indispensable around my house...

The apps still take quite long to open on my series 3. To be honest apart from Apple’s apps I don’t use any apps on my watch. I would love to use the walkie talkie feature but I don’t know anyone else who has an Apple Watch because apart from my mum, Dad and cousin everyone else I know uses android. It’s crazy because when I’m out I see them all the time it’s just that none of my contacts use them.
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You are probably not alone. Last year I was at a dinner of 8 and 6 of them wore an Apple watch!

Next time I buy an iPhone I might avoid buying an Apple Watch or else I'll be hooked!

Apple watches are everywhere now. I always see them when I’m out but I don’t actively look for them. Yesterday I was in my town centre and I decided to see how long it would take before I saw one if I was on the look out for one. It was less than one minute before I saw one.

 

[DiamonDecoden]

Airpods work great on Android. No issues. I sold my apple watch and iPhone 7 plus when the Note 8 came out. Picked up the Gear S3 at the same time and got a free Gear 360. No regrets. iMesssge is useful when sending pics or video to other iPhone users but the reality is many don't use iPhone. The solution is a universal messaging app which most the world uses called Whatsapp. Anyway, if you are not 100% on board probably best to not switch. Sounds like you are trying the convince yourself. I personally have no regrets. Not an Apple hater at all in fact I'm really hoping my work will upgrade my older MBP to the new I9 with 32 gb of ram but I may be dreaming as it's about $4k laptop. The Note 9 is an awesome phone but if you are trying to convince yourself that you will like it then we both know what the outcome will be.

This is my experience as well. For the first time, I am not upgrading every year with the newest phone as I were when I was on the iPhone bandwagon. The Note 8 have so many features, it keeps me from wanting to upgrade. Because of the lower resell value of android phones, I am also less tempted to trade up for new phones which saves me $$ in the long run. I don't feel tempted by the newest iPhone anymore. I am hoping to stick it out until Note 10.