Switched to Android, but feel dirty.

[shenfrey]

This is weird. So I bought the one plus 6T and it's an incredible phone and i am enjoying it. It's really fast, stable and has not let me down in the week I have owned it. But I can't shake the feeling of something being off.

I know I shouldn't feel bad about using android now, they have come a long way and are often better than their counterparts but because I have used iPhone for so long and because I have I swore allegiance to them long ago, I do feel dirty, as if there's a terrible stigma surrounding the use of android phones.

I am not sure what Apple has done but I do feel slightly brainwashed even after switching, hopefully this will fix it's self in time.

Has anybody else experienced what I'm talking about? It is hard to articulate, and I'm hoping you understand where I'm coming from at least lol.

 

[Breezygirl]

This is weird. So I bought the one plus 6T and it's an incredible phone and i am enjoying it. It's really fast, stable and has not let me down in the week I have owned it. But I can't shake the feeling of something being off.

I know I shouldn't feel bad about using android now, they have come a long way and are often better than their counterparts but because I have used iPhone for so long and because I have I swore allegiance to them long ago, I do feel dirty, as if there's a terrible stigma surrounding the use of android phones.

I am not sure what Apple has done but I do feel slightly brainwashed even after switching, hopefully this will fix it's self in time.

Has anybody else experienced what I'm talking about? It is hard to articulate, and I'm hoping you understand where I'm coming from at least lol.

OnePlus has amazing phones, the only thing that I questioned when using one was all the Google apps required to make it easy to use. I must also say after using the OnePlus and android for a couple months coming back to IOS it felt very basic, boring and juvenile. Unfortunately my car only has the option of CarPlay and not Android Auto so I came back to Apple. Also not a fan of Google, but their software was leaps ahead. IMO.

 

[Michael Goff]

I feel that way as well. It’s likely because Apple has done well to paint themselves as the moral choice. Do you like privacy and security and good things? Well, Apple and their fans will tell you that comes from Cupertino.

 

[keysofanxiety]

Don’t worry, Shenfrey. You’re not alone!

Remember, there are plenty of people who have switched to Android from iOS, and they should feel dirty too.

 

[Shanghaichica]

You need to go down to your local Apple store with a full wallet and beg for forgiveness.

 

[epicrayban]

Kinky.

But in seriousness, that Apple branding is strong. No worries, you can always go back.

 

[mi7chy]

Freedom feels a little dirty.

 

[ramram55]

While getting a lot for your phone for a lot less is what counts.

 

[OLDGUYWITHAHIFI]

This is weird. So I bought the one plus 6T and it's an incredible phone and i am enjoying it. It's really fast, stable and has not let me down in the week I have owned it. But I can't shake the feeling of something being off.

I know I shouldn't feel bad about using android now, they have come a long way and are often better than their counterparts but because I have used iPhone for so long and because I have I swore allegiance to them long ago, I do feel dirty, as if there's a terrible stigma surrounding the use of android phones.

I am not sure what Apple has done but I do feel slightly brainwashed even after switching, hopefully this will fix it's self in time.

Has anybody else experienced what I'm talking about? It is hard to articulate, and I'm hoping you understand where I'm coming from at least lol.

I'd say a week is hardly enough time to get used to a new phone. Any phone regardless of OS... I wouldn't say Apple brainwashed you. For better or worse, they created a closed eco system that makes it hard to leave. Some like it, some don't.

Not to mention you say you like the phone and it is fast. Give it some time.

 

[sracer]

This is weird. So I bought the one plus 6T and it's an incredible phone and i am enjoying it. It's really fast, stable and has not let me down in the week I have owned it. But I can't shake the feeling of something being off.

I know I shouldn't feel bad about using android now, they have come a long way and are often better than their counterparts but because I have used iPhone for so long and because I have I swore allegiance to them long ago, I do feel dirty, as if there's a terrible stigma surrounding the use of android phones.

I am not sure what Apple has done but I do feel slightly brainwashed even after switching, hopefully this will fix it's self in time.

Has anybody else experienced what I'm talking about? It is hard to articulate, and I'm hoping you understand where I'm coming from at least lol.

I appreciate the honesty.

And you are correct, you feel that way because you swore allegiance...it's an emotional thing, so there are lots of emotions entangled there... and inherent in that, is the feeling of "dirtiness" of Android phones.

I never did, because that's not what I do as a consumer. I go where the value is. I've been using smartphones before the iPhone and even before they were in phone format aka PDAs. My first iPhone was the iPhone 4 and only AFTER the iPhone 4S was released.

It'll take a while to be "de-programmed" but you can do it. Just be prepared for those twinges of regret as soon as you experience a wrinkle in owning this device. When that happens, just be patient and work through to resolving it. In no time, those feelings will dissipate and you'll enjoy the freedom of options and choices.

Hang in there!

 

[Harthag]

OP, do you still have your X or did you sell it / trade it in? I ask because using both phones makes the transition easier. I'm using my XS and OP6T at the same time and just swap the SIM when I get the itch to switch. The 6T is the best Android I've used to date. Apple's marketing is ingenious. You have to have an iPhone. Every time I walk by an Apple store I find myself wanting something and can't explain why. Thankfully I keep walking. I know exactly what you are saying when using an Android phone, I think. You feel like something is just missing after using iOS for so long, and maybe your experience is "cheaper" or less premium feeling than on the iPhone?

A lot of it, for me, is iMessage. I've been used to it for so long and take it for granted. It is so far ahead of SMS and "regular" texting, it's pathetic for 2018-2019. There's something about texting that always feels off to me with Android. Because I'm frequently texting I always feel that feeling. It always makes things feel a little off. That could be part of what you're feeling.

Hopefully you'll get used to it. You'll see that life goes on without Apple. There's so much you can do within Android. Some find that to be inconvenient or intimidating, I enjoy it. I enjoy running a modded YouTube app that eliminates ads and overrides carrier resolution restrictions. Among other nifty apps...

You're not a 2nd class citizen. You paid $550-$600 for a fantastic phone that can do 99% of the things a $1000+ phone can do. That shouldn't be a stigma, it is a smart purchase. Enjoy it.

 

[jamezr]

This is weird.
I am not sure what Apple has done but I do feel slightly brainwashed even after switching, hopefully this will fix it's self in time.

I think you nailed it with your own words......
Its called blind brand loayalty. It will fade over time.

No matter what the brand is....use what fits your needs....

 

[840quadra]

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

I have lived mostly platform indipendant over the years, and have found that there are many “camps” out there with many different attitudes. I’d say that Apple and Samsung zealots are the worst to deal with, and tend to kick off many irrational arguments over nonsensical topics.

Android has so many options, offers great value, great customization, great efficiencies, good ecosystem, and lots of options. I think it is great to be part of both ecosystems, you can see through the FUD fog that blinds the closed minded zealots from whatever camp the live in. You will also be a great asset to anyone who needs help inside either platform.

Enjoy your device, you picked a nice one for sure!

 

[epicrayban]

There really are snobby iPhone users who won't chat with "green bubbles," so your feeling of alienation is legitimate.

Of course, in my opinion, you don't want to be chatting with such folks anyway.

 

[840quadra]

There really are snobby iPhone users who won't chat with "green bubbles," so your feeling of alienation is legitimate.

Of course, in my opinion, you don't want to be chatting with such folks anyway.

I have friends that won’t text me when I disable iMessage for various reasons. I turn it off when I have my main SIM in one of my Android devices.

I am fine with less messages .

 

[shenfrey]

I have friends that won’t text me when I disable iMessage for various reasons. I turn it off when I have my main SIM in one of my Android devices.

I am fine with less messages .

That’s actually really sad

 

[840quadra]

That’s actually really sad

I just think it is funny. They have iPhones and can turn on the feature which allows you to send Text messages from a Mac, iPad, or iPod, but most people don’t do that, or know how to.

Kinda fun to be (sorta) well versed in both platforms.

 

[5105973]

Swore allegiance to Apple? Did you happen to do the swearing on the Apple Holy Book? Lol, that’s sort of how The Verge describes Apple’s retrospective coffee table book released a couple of years ago to the tune of $299 and printed on the skins of virgin Apple programmers or something else equally vain:

https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2016/...-coffee-table-book-iconic-product-photography

I sometimes feel dirty knowing how much crap about me Google is accumulating via my use of Android phones. I feel really dirty knowing that (there is no insult strong enough that I can print here) Mark Zuckerberg has decreed all of his FB employees must use Android phones. Honestly that man makes me almost forget my own real religion. I hate that my preferred Android brand of Samsung comes preloaded with FB on it.

But on the other hand...I feel even dirtier whenever I am reminded Tim Cook bows and scrapes to Chinese government and actually seems focused on their market in a way that almost excludes the wants and needs of other markets, particularly in the west. I feel for the Chinese people, especially the ones our family knows personally who escaped death there. To know Tim Cook wants their business so desperately he sells Apple’s soul on a daily basis for it makes me feel sick and dirty.

Really if I based my purchase decisions on my personal and political and religious convictions I would have to live like the most strict of Amish do. There are times I’m sorely tempted to. But my best friend lives in the midst of the Amish and has some juicy stories to tell about how much mischief they get up to.

So...I have to just be a hard cold pragmatist and buy the products and services that best do what I need and want them to do...and that fit within my budget.

The data drain is starting to bug me a bit. It would be cool to start trading tips on how to make ourselves as secure and private on an Android phone as possible.

 

[840quadra]

I can’t imagine an Amish @GrumpyMom !

I share some of your reservations on Google too though. I don’t think they have nefarious intentions as a corporation, I more worried about rogue employees taking advantage of the vast database they have available to them for crooked reasons.

I think many companies (Including Google) could do better to protest what China is doing. Let us not forget that Google also restarted business within Chinese markets. Won’t go into that though, as it is more of a PRSI subject (Politics Religion and Social Issues) which I avoid like the plague!

 

[5105973]

I can’t imagine an Amish @GrumpyMom !

I share some of your reservations on Google too though. I don’t think they have nefarious intentions as a corporation, I more worry about rogue employees taking advantage of the vast database they have available to them for crooked reasons.

I think many companies (Including Google) could do better to protest what China is doing. Let us not forget that Google also restarted business within Chinese markets. Won’t go into that though, as it is more of a PRSI subject (Politics Religion and Social Issues) which I avoid like the plague!

Oh yeah I forgot Google restarted in China, too. Let’s face it, there’s just too much money on that table for any company to walk away from.

It comes down to catering to the stock markets’ ever relentless demands for growth. It’s never enough to occupy a space and hold it well.

However, there’s also an incredibly high price, too, to doing business in a country whose laws make a not just an unlevel playing field but a veritably punitive one.

Google’s internal corporate culture has seen its fair share of scandals, too. Your concern about the potential for employees to go “rogue” is one I share.

 

[SteveJUAE]

The data drain is starting to bug me a bit. It would be cool to start trading tips on how to make ourselves as secure and private on an Android phone as possible.

Why just Android for most there is no real discernable difference what Google can gain about your habits with an iPhone once you step outside a few native apps and use your data plan

Sure some feel more comfortable on how Apple treat the data on their servers but for everything else it's all up for grabs be it from app developers or where you go on the internet on an iPhone or Android

 

[5105973]

Why just Android for most there is no real discernable difference what Google can gain about your habits with an iPhone once you step outside a few native apps and use your data plan

Sure some feel more comfortable on how Apple treat the data on their servers but for everything else it's all up for grabs be it from app developers or where you go on the internet on an iPhone or Android

Well if you stick strictly to Apple services, which is not an option on an Android phone you get less data siphoned off to your ad profile. I have not gotten to sit down to morning coffee or tea yet since I’m still doing chores first so...can’t English yet... but I’ve read a lot of articles on how Google and FB provide means of siphoning enough data to basically recreate you digitally to anyone who wants to know you. I’ll try to express this better later when I can. I thought I’d get a moment clear, but have found myself literally herding cats. I opened a door and they all ran through it and now I need to get them out of the garage and back into the house.

 

[SteveJUAE]

Well if you stick strictly to Apple services, which is not an option on an Android phone you get less data siphoned off to your ad profile. I have not gotten to sit down to morning coffee or tea yet since I’m still doing chores first so...can’t English yet... but I’ve read a lot of articles on how Google and FB provide means of siphoning enough data to basically recreate you digitally to anyone who wants to know you. I’ll try to express this better later when I can. I thought I’d get a moment clear, but have found myself literally herding cats. I opened a door and they all ran through it and now I need to get them out of the garage and back into the house.

I think many are clutching at straws if they think there is any significant difference in what Google manages to profile you with an iPhone of Android.

Sure if you buy a $1000 phone and only use IMessage, Apple TV and me.com you may be in with a slim chance but anything else the only real difference is its likely it takes Google a little longer but they will get there

We all know the App store is no more secure Apple or Android wise, there are dodgy developers on both sides that have been data mining your location, contacts and photos. Apple music is available cross device so is iTunes via windows

I understand Apple default search engine is Google as they paid for the privilege and as I have noted before:

The high standards of Apple privacy really needs to be placed in context as it is not all encompassing.

Once your loading 3rd party apps or off roaming around there is no additional guarantee or discernible difference

Even if you do not use google services This study (August 2018) by Douglas C. Schmidt, Professor of Computer Science at Vanderbilt University deals with Google Data Collection practices through Android and iOS.

"While using an iOS device, if a user decides to forgo the use of any Google product (i.e. no Android, no Chrome, no Google applications), and visits only non-Google webpages, the number of times data is communicated to Google servers still remains surprisingly high. This communication is driven purely by advertiser/publisher services. The number of times such Google services are called from an iOS device is similar to an Android device."

I always think Apple owners do their fellows a disservice in overly stating Apple security stance as their umbrella of security is a very small shadow and purely relating to personal data stored on their servers and not what you do with their products.

Personally I am very lapse with privacy and probably like yourself way to busy to be fussing over every little detail and is likely a complete waste of time as in the end they will win despite our best efforts and the novice user has no chance LOL

 

[840quadra]

I think many are clutching at straws if they think there is any significant difference in what Google manages to profile you with an iPhone of Android.

Sure if you buy a $1000 phone and only use IMessage, Apple TV and me.com you may be in with a slim chance but anything else the only real difference is its likely it takes Google a little longer but they will get there

We all know the App store is no more secure Apple or Android wise, there are dodgy developers on both sides that have been data mining your location, contacts and photos. Apple music is available cross device so is iTunes via windows

I understand Apple default search engine is Google as they paid for the privilege and as I have noted before:

The high standards of Apple privacy really needs to be placed in context as it is not all encompassing.

Once your loading 3rd party apps or off roaming around there is no additional guarantee or discernible difference

Even if you do not use google services This study (August 2018) by Douglas C. Schmidt, Professor of Computer Science at Vanderbilt University deals with Google Data Collection practices through Android and iOS.

"While using an iOS device, if a user decides to forgo the use of any Google product (i.e. no Android, no Chrome, no Google applications), and visits only non-Google webpages, the number of times data is communicated to Google servers still remains surprisingly high. This communication is driven purely by advertiser/publisher services. The number of times such Google services are called from an iOS device is similar to an Android device."

I always think Apple owners do their fellows a disservice in overly stating Apple security stance as their umbrella of security is a very small shadow and purely relating to personal data stored on their servers and not what you do with their products.

Personally I am very lapse with privacy and probably like yourself way to busy to be fussing over every little detail and is likely a complete waste of time as in the end they will win despite our best efforts and the novice user has no chance LOL

This article / study has been out for a while, with some significant feedback / rebuttals / discussion on MacRumors already. There are a lot of good arguments for both sides / platforms in that thread and some linked articles.

Some points from that same study.

The number of times such Google services are called from an iOS device is similar to an Android device. In this experiment, the total magnitude of data communicated to Google servers from an iOS device is found to be approximately half of that from the Android device.

Also

Figure 6 shows that the iPhone device communicated with Google domains at more than an order of magnitude (~50x) lower frequency than the Android device, and that Google did not collect any user location during the 24-hour experiment timeframe via iPhone. This result highlights the fact that the Android and Chrome platforms play an important role in Google’s data collection

Finally

The iPhone device communicated an order of magnitude less data to Apple servers than what the Android device exchanged with Google servers.

At the end of the day, I agree it is not worth stressing out too much over how you are being tracked digitally by these services. A device can always be tracked via cell tower anyway, and as long as you are not doing anything massively illegal online, you should only really have to worry about getting some directed ads, or a (sometimes) annoying request to review a location you visited (yes you can turn that off).

I don’t think data privacy is much of a card to play against Google. If anything, the added freedom on this side™ Allows you more options for limiting tracking, seeing ads, or being locked into a singular ecosystem.

 

[jamezr]

At the end of the day, I agree it is not worth stressing out too much over how you are being tracked digitally by these services. A device can always be tracked via cell tower anyway, and as long as you are not doing anything massively illegal online, you should only really have to worry about getting some directed ads, or a (sometimes) annoying request to review a location you visited (yes you can turn that off).

I don’t think data privacy is much of a card to play against Google. If anything, the added freedom on this side™ Allows you more options for limiting tracking, seeing ads, or being locked into a singular ecosystem.

Very nicely said....nice voice of reason here!