Switching From iPhone to Android Just Got Easier With Android 17

[marte91]

Same, I switch like every 2 years and of course it was a pain and i end up losing lots of data so it is nice that more data types are supported now and it is much easier. Next feature i want is the ability to backup to my own self hosted "cloud" storage and not needing icloud or google cloud.

That will be lovely, but unfortunately, the os makers(Google & Apple) are not going to allow that unless they are forced to, they really love the money they make with their cloud ecosystems.

 

[marte91]

Increased competition in the sense of features and pricing. Example: my Samsung A17 cost me $200 new and unlocked. My last iPhone cost more than twice as much, was locked to a carrier, runs slower, has less RAM, less storage than the A17. So if Apple wants my business next time I'm in the market they'll need something as good a value or better. Coz the iPhone 17e ain't it.

They don't want your business, or do you see any low cost iphones on their line-up?
The 16e is their lowest priced device, is US599 not exactly low cost.

 

[segfaultdotorg]

This is going to be happening a lot more frequently since Apple is focusing its phone efforts on the iFold, which nobody wants.

 

[sigurros]

Crickets...too bad no one will use it!

 

[robvalentine]

Migrate to a malware-infested os? Not a chance.

Malware infested? Lol. You know iOS also gets Malware? As does macOS. Please stop sprouting misinformation, it makes you look silly.

 

[robvalentine]

I think this is a win for eSIM portability as well. eSIM is sold as something “better” than pSim. And while it does have some better attributes, the place where it loses the biggest is in device portability. The idea of having an iPhone and a Pixel/Samsung, and being able to physically hotswap a pSim back and forth from platform to platform on a daily or weekly basis was something that pSim allowed. But since pSim doesn’t really exist anymore, eSIM needs to catch up with that capability and part of what this article is discussing, I believe, helps to bring more feature parity, in terms of Sim portability between devices and platforms, which ultimately is a win for consumers and marketplace competition.

This.

I am currently on O2 UK and it's impossible to transfer a sim from iPhone to Android and vice versa, which is why I reverted back to a physical sim. When I was on Vodafone if you deleted your esim they would email a new one within 5 minutes automatically. Thus a lot of it is down to the carrier.

 

[robvalentine]

This is going to be happening a lot more frequently since Apple is focusing its phone efforts on the iFold, which nobody wants.

According to some on here that will cause Samsung to go Bankrupt 😂😂😂😂

 

[SmugMaverick]

You can spot the American users on this thread by the ignorance regarding this subject.

The rest of the world uses Android devices happily because their personal wealth is not based on what phone they use.

And the naivety about your data is just as hilarious, Apple literally left a data leak bug for a year and didn't give a damn.

 

[SmugMaverick]

Just keep in mind that the Pixel's SoC can't even keep up with the performance of an iPhone 13 in CPU and gets absolutely demolished in gaming.

Tensor G5 vs A15 Bionic: tests and benchmarks

We put Google Tensor G5 against Apple A15 Bionic to find out which SoC is better. See performance comparison in benchmarks and games.

nanoreview.net

I have a Pixel 10 Pro XL running GrapheneOS sitting on my desk waiting for all this age verification nonsense to hit the US and force me to switch because I won't be giving every company my personal info and man, it's so slow. Just updating reddit from the Play Store can take two minutes vs mere seconds on my 17 Pro Max. Google's optimization helps with the day to day performance but anything that actually presses the device, you can feel it struggle hard. The battery sucks too.

The Tensor G6 isn't shaping up to being much better either.

And that's your issue.

Tensor is built for Android, not paranoidOS.

 

[Steve Adams]

Migrate to a malware-infested os? Not a chance.

Tell me you are living in 2008 without telling me you are living in 2008. There is just as much "malware" on Apple. Don't download crap apps on either platform. Simple. Ads are the same on both, Ai is the same on both, what they do with your data is the same on both.

 

[theluggage]

It’s why the DMA explicitly EXCLUDES Spotify as that was the only service where an EU company had a controlling marketshare.

It doesn't include Netflix either - who are in a pretty similar market position to Spotify apart from not being an EU company.

There is no category for "Music streaming" or even "TV/Movie streaming". There's no mention of Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon Music or any other streaming music/TV/movie service. YouTube is under video sharing.

I recently tried out Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Amazon Unlimited - I also use BandCamp for indy stuff - and there were no real hurdles, all have cross-platform Apps (although Amazon's Android/ATV apps are pretty rubbish) and offer playlist import/export.

So maybe, just maybe (a) there's no competition problem in the music/TV/movie streaming sector and (b) the reason they seem to be picking on US and Chinese companies is that its actually the likes of Meta, Amazon, Apple Alphabet and Microsoft that are causing the "gatekeeper" problems thanks to the lack of any effective regulation in their home countries...?

 

[chuckles235]

There’s about a 95% chance I won’t be switching but I’m also tempted more than ever now

 

[chuckles235]

Just keep in mind that the Pixel's SoC can't even keep up with the performance of an iPhone 13 in CPU and gets absolutely demolished in gaming.

Tensor G5 vs A15 Bionic: tests and benchmarks

We put Google Tensor G5 against Apple A15 Bionic to find out which SoC is better. See performance comparison in benchmarks and games.

nanoreview.net

I have a Pixel 10 Pro XL running GrapheneOS sitting on my desk waiting for all this age verification nonsense to hit the US and force me to switch because I won't be giving every company my personal info and man, it's so slow. Just updating reddit from the Play Store can take two minutes vs mere seconds on my 17 Pro Max. Google's optimization helps with the day to day performance but anything that actually presses the device, you can feel it struggle hard. The battery sucks too.

The Tensor G6 isn't shaping up to being much better either.

Reddit has gone down hill

 

[surferfb]

Tell me you are living in 2008 without telling me you are living in 2008. There is just as much "malware" on Apple. Don't download crap apps on either platform. Simple. Ads are the same on both, Ai is the same on both, what they do with your data is the same on both.

There’s significantly more malware on Android than iOS. That’s not debatable. That said, almost all of it is confined to third party app stores and sideloaded apps, so if you stay in the play store you’re probably fine.

Android is significantly less private than iOS out of the box. Sure you can customize it to be just as private, but 99% of users aren’t going to do that. So I’s push back on “ads are the same on both” and “what they do with your data is the same on both”

 

[clg82]

It's a consumer-friendly move by EU regulators.

Making it easier to switch will increase competition amongst cell makers, leading to better value to consumers.

It breaks down a barrier that deters some people from switching.

It'll force phone makers to stay on their toes.

Why anyone would think this is "funny" is beyond me....people only want negative things these days....it's a sad state we live in for sure.

 

[Steve Adams]

There’s significantly more malware on Android than iOS. That’s not debatable. That said, almost all of it is confined to third party app stores and sideloaded apps, so if you stay in the play store you’re probably fine.

Android is significantly less private than iOS out of the box. Sure you can customize it to be just as private, but 99% of users aren’t going to do that. So I’s push back on “ads are the same on both” and “what they do with your data is the same on both”

Nah, even in the playstore. but it's in the App store as well. and Yes, both do the same with your data whether you choose to accept that or not. As mentioned before, Apple just hides their shenannigans, Google, you know what they are doing.

 

[surferfb]

It doesn't include Netflix either - who are in a pretty similar market position to Spotify apart from not being an EU company.

There is no category for "Music streaming" or even "TV/Movie streaming". There's no mention of Apple Music/iTunes, Amazon Music or any other streaming music/TV/movie service. YouTube is under video sharing.

I recently tried out Spotify vs. Apple Music vs. Amazon Unlimited - I also use BandCamp for indy stuff - and there were no real hurdles, all have cross-platform Apps (although Amazon's Android/ATV apps are pretty rubbish) and offer playlist import/export.

So maybe, just maybe (a) there's no competition problem in the music/TV/movie streaming sector and (b) the reason they seem to be picking on US and Chinese companies is that its actually the likes of Meta, Amazon, Apple Alphabet and Microsoft that are causing the "gatekeeper" problems thanks to the lack of any effective regulation in their home countries...?

Spotify has close to 60% market share in the EU; Apple Music has ~25%, then there are bunch of also fans splitting the remaining 15%. Music streaming is just as concentrated as other categories regulated. The only reason it was left out as a category because the market leader was European.

 

[surferfb]

Nah, even in the playstore. but it's in the App store as well. and Yes, both do the same with your data whether you choose to accept that or not. As mentioned before, Apple just hides their shenannigans, Google, you know what they are doing.

Safari blocks third-party cookies by default, Chrome doesn’t. On iOS any app wanting the advertising ID has to prompt, and the default answer is no; on Android the advertising is available to apps by default and turning that off requires going into settings. Apple’s device analytics and personalized ads are presented as choices during setup and are relatively narrow; Google’s Web & App Activity and personalized ads are tied to the account you’re required to sign into for the phone to work, and Play Services telemetry runs regardless. Oh, and Google is the world’s biggest ad company they’re not collecting that data just for funsies. Apple makes their money selling products and services, they don’t have the same need for your data.

I could go on.

Again, you can change most of that in settings, or even install Grapheme and be more private than iOS, but 99% won’t do that, and out of the box, Android is significantly less private.

 

[theluggage]

Spotify has close to 60% market share in the EU; Apple Music has ~25%, then there are bunch of also fans splitting the remaining 15%. Music streaming is just as concentrated as other categories regulated. The only reason it was left out as a category because the market leader was European.

So where are Netflix & Prime Video? They’re not European.

 

[surferfb]

So where are Netflix & Prime Video? They’re not European.

There are significantly more competitors in video vs. music. Netflix, Prime, Apple, Disney, HBO, local European offerors, YouTube, TV etc are all competing for eyeballs. They also aren’t exclusive on the consumer side; end users subscribe to multiple services for access to exclusive content in a way they don’t for streaming music.

But the bigger tell isn’t video streaming, it’s that video sharing (YouTube) was included and music streaming wasn’t. The presumed reasoning from the EC was YouTube intermediates between millions of uploaders (“business users”) and viewers in a way video streaming didn’t.

Apply that test to music streaming and Spotify is the same as YouTube. Any artist can distribute to Spotify; the platform hosts millions of artists and podcasters. It easily clears the 10,000 EU business-user threshold that none of the video streamers would.

And Spotify is absolutely an intermediary between end users and business users. They sell a paid ranking preference to labels, editorial playlist placement is discretionary gateway access, and Spotify collects performance data on business users’ catalogues while competing with them through its own content.

Also, for an independent artist there is no route to the EU digital music audience that bypasses a platform holding roughly 56% share, whereas a producer selling a series has many buyers. Netflix/Prime/Apple/etc. all compete for and license from a few hundred counterparties (their “business users”).

Or to put it another way, do you think if Apple Music or a Google streaming music service had 60% of the streaming music market “music streaming” wouldn’t have been a “core platform service”? Of course it would have. And that’s the tell.

 

[ClaraStahlbaum]

Safari blocks third-party cookies by default, Chrome doesn’t. On iOS any app wanting the advertising ID has to prompt, and the default answer is no; on Android the advertising is available to apps by default and turning that off requires going into settings. Apple’s device analytics and personalized ads are presented as choices during setup and are relatively narrow; Google’s Web & App Activity and personalized ads are tied to the account you’re required to sign into for the phone to work, and Play Services telemetry runs regardless. Oh, and Google is the world’s biggest ad company they’re not collecting that data just for funsies. Apple makes their money selling products and services, they don’t have the same need for your data.

I could go on.

Again, you can change most of that in settings, or even install Grapheme and be more private than iOS, but 99% won’t do that, and out of the box, Android is significantly less private.

I potentially will plan on getting Android at some point. What settings would I need to change to ensure privacy?

 

[Martin81]

Switched to a Google Pixel 10a this week and moving data to the Pixel was very easy.

 

[surferfb]

I potentially will plan on getting Android at some point. What settings would I need to change to ensure privacy?

Note I haven’t looked at Android in a while and that was only for work; it’s a non-starter for me personally so I am probably not the best person to ask. But, that said: it’s going to depend slightly on your device and risk tolerance. I’m sure there’s more than the below; I’d ask AI or find a good article to make sure things haven’t changed or I haven’t missed anything.

At a minimum I’d set it up with a burner Google account, and then decline any analytics requests that come up during set up. Then in settings, delete the advertising ID, turn off personalized ads, app activity and web activity. I think Samsung/other manufactures have separate advertising and tracking settings too - but honestly I’d only look at Pixel. But it’ll still have stuff running in the background I’d personally not like.

If you want to go full bore you can install Graphene, but that’ll break things like tap to pay and even maybe the camera quality.

 

[theluggage]

Also, for an independent artist there is no route to the EU digital music audience that bypasses a platform holding roughly 56% share, whereas a producer selling a series has many buyers. Netflix/Prime/Apple/etc. all compete for and license from a few hundred counterparties (their “business users”).

...apart, that is, from Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Bandcamp, SoundCloud... and even Facebook and other social media sites can be used by music distributors. There are even services that will automatically submit music to all of the major streamers. Also - and unlike Netflix etc. for video - they're not usually exclusive. If, as a consumer, I want to listen to a particular artist (even a modestly successful indie) I don't usually have to change streaming service. Even the "3 global listeners" trash in the bowels of Spotify is probably also on SoundCloud, the band's YouTube channel or somesuch.

I mean, there are plenty of other things wrong with the music industry, but anticompetitive gatekeeping by streaming companies isn't one of them. Not sure what you think the DMA should force Spotify to do that they aren't already doing?

With TV/Movies, if I want to stream a particular show I have to subscribe to the one streaming service that carries it.

Or to put it another way, do you think if Apple Music or a Google streaming music service had 60% of the streaming music market “music streaming” wouldn’t have been a “core platform service”?

Except they don't. and it isn't, so there's no tell other than your conspiracy theories...

 

[surferfb]

...apart, that is, from Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music, Tidal, Bandcamp, SoundCloud... and even Facebook and other social media sites can be used by music distributors. There are even services that will automatically submit music to all of the major streamers. Also - and unlike Netflix etc. for video - they're not usually exclusive. If, as a consumer, I want to listen to a particular artist (even a modestly successful indie) I don't usually have to change streaming service. Even the "3 global listeners" trash in the bowels of Spotify is probably also on SoundCloud, the band's YouTube channel or somesuch.

I mean, there are plenty of other things wrong with the music industry, but anticompetitive gatekeeping by streaming companies isn't one of them. Not sure what you think the DMA should force Spotify to do that they aren't already doing?

With TV/Movies, if I want to stream a particular show I have to subscribe to the one streaming service that carries it.


Except they don't. and it isn't, so there's no tell other than your conspiracy theories...

We’re off topic, so I’m disengaging here other to say if YouTube is a gatekeeper Spotify absolutely should be too. If you want to discuss further we can move to one of the many DMA threads posted in the political forum.