These phones cost more than some MacBooks - I’d expect a similar level of support for them which is 7 years min. Only reason we classify 2 year as “good” is because that’s what we have been conditioned to expect
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iPhone Switching to Android
- Thread starter francoismatronis
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Depends what you’re buying - you can get a current gen iPhone for $500 as well (when it gets refreshed).
In my experience I’ve had very few issues on iOS 16 but plenty on Android 13.
I never restart my iPhone apart from for updates even on the iOS 17 beta.
Shame your phone will only support 1 or 2 OS versions though which is what I mean by the software sucking.
It's quite interesting that 2 people can have the exactly opposite experience with similar software🙂
If you don't mind me asking, what iPhone are you using?
I don't use my 12 PM any more so it's no big deal for me now🙂
”who cares?”, why are we having a thread about this here then?
Granted, my comment is pretty much tongue in cheek. Of course anyone can use whatever phone they want. But Android is pretty meh. The apps are
just so mediocre. Of course many people don’t care, they just want a phone. And go right ahead. But it seems to me that people who care about the software they use usually use iPhone.
Think that depends....
I don't keep things 7 years min when it comes to computational devices.
The 2 years (now a thing of the past) was driven in the US by the Carrier contracts.
Now adays most keep 2-4 years before the wear, tear and battery becomes bothersome to maintain. There are exceptions. These though are not the norm. Some iPhone users tend to keep theirs beyond 4 years if cost effective. But 7 years min? More power to you.
That is one thing many forget (or ignore).
Android is not iOS and iOS is not Android. Then add in OEMs.
It can vary from familiar to very foreign no matter which direction you are coming from.
I'm talking about current gen. For example right now I would get the new Poco F5 for $460 . An iPhone of that trades blows in terms of specs would be the 14 Plus at $1100 where I am. So if I can upgrade my Android twice as often I do with an iPhone I'll essentially get the same software support and also have a more current gen phone.
I mean until you actually have a good amount of data to glean anything meaning from it then anecdotal experiences are pretty much pointless.
That's the key. If you're used to using iOS then iOS is more intuitive. If Android, then Android.
For example I've been using android now for a few years. Every time I have to use an iPhone again I can't fathom how they don't have a universal back button gesture. I could call it bad design, but it's just that I'm used to Android now.
I use both and that is one of the things that bugs me and I find myself unconsciously trying on my iPhone. 🙂
I made a thread recently complaining about how the presence of that back gesture ruins swiping right to left to go forward in web browsers.
I agree with your premise, because I pointed out that no other major operating system, including Windows and macOS have such a back gesture… so it really shouldn’t be “unfathomable.“ It really is all about what we’re used to.
I’m using a XS Max my main device but as others have said our individual anecdotal experiences mean nothing
Comparing purely on spec for spec isn’t really valid though as a method of understanding UX. A quick look suggests the iPhone SE 3 at the same price produces higher quality photos with a lower quality sensor (on paper) - indeed, it can record 4K 60fps where the Poco F5 is limited to 4K 30 despite it having a larger megapixel count. Also, it’s processor is crushed by the A15 in the SE3.
Now the SE3 is about to be updated to the SE4 which will make it even better value, and you get 5 years feature updates with it with even longer security updates.
I’d say the SE 3 (while feeling older) presents a better experience than a Poco F5. Depends what you value.
Just make sure you get an Android that do get updates, gets them regularly and for some time.
Its quite tricky to get that info sometimes and sometimes one manufacturer offer different support for phones released.
A good example is Samsung where the S series get monthly security updates while some of their A models only gets it quarterly or every 6 months.
If you are considering Android go for Pixel, they seem to have least bloat, quick with updates and you get at least 2 major android updates.
+1 for Pixel. it has the best android support with a lot of great google features. Also Sony while kinda overpriced, can be found second hand for much more reasonable price. it has really good battery life, sd card support and a headphone jack with good sound quality. I think Nothing Phone is just a gimmick with really good marketing and fancy look.
That said, Android is only worth it if you want to do geeky things like sideloading apps painlessly (i.e. NewPipe is just the tip of the iceberg, tons of great stuff not available on the play store) have a need for custom launchers, a proper file manager, a terminal, uncensored manga reader, block ads at the system level, etc...
There is plenty of things that makes Android worthwhile.
However if all this does not appeal to you, iOS is noticeably nicer to use IMO.
That said, Android is only worth it if you want to do geeky things like sideloading apps painlessly (i.e. NewPipe is just the tip of the iceberg, tons of great stuff not available on the play store) have a need for custom launchers, a proper file manager, a terminal, uncensored manga reader, block ads at the system level, etc...
There is plenty of things that makes Android worthwhile.
However if all this does not appeal to you, iOS is noticeably nicer to use IMO.
I was never talking about UX. I was talking about Android representing better value.
Depends what you value but I would absolutely say the Poco F5 would be a better experience than an iPhone SE 3.
The newer TSMC fab'd Snapdragons are getting closer to Apple chips. The multicore geekbench score of the Poco F5 is 80% that of the SE 3. I wouldn't exactly call that being "crushed".
The camera on the iPhone SE may be better, though I doubt it as I don't think iPhone's colour is very good, but the F5 has two more cameras so more versatility. You could argue both ways.
If you look at this comparison I'd wager most would agree the F5 is the better prospect, unless someone really dislikes Android or Chinese phones. Bearing in mind where I am the SE 3 still about 15% more expensive than the F5, and that the base 64/4GB model compared to the base 256/8GB F5.
You can set swipe gestures in Windows. I have set this on my Windows 11 tablet (browser).
Yes it was because of this feature in Android.
I think a lot of is that most users here are American and so you guys don't have much of a choice when it comes to android phones. It seems like "android" just means "samsung" for most american consumers and Samsungs are basically the same price as iPhone.
it's true, if you look at the price of the iphone SE vs an android phone, android is worth considering. I don't like phones so I have a cheap xiaomi I bought for about 200USD 3 years ago and it still work really well. The battery life is about 8hrs of SoT and with an unlocked bootloader, I can use the latest stock android version for many years to come.
People complains about update support but when you look a custom roms, you have phones that have been supported for over 10 years sometimes. (like the galaxy SII)
Android does not mean Samsung to me and many other 'muricans.
There are plenty of other options (some with less carrier colluded garbage built in on the default/non-removable apps and elsewhere).
I guess I meant for you guys it's not as easy to get hold of asian brands like xiaomi, redmi, realme, honor, oppo etc and those are the phones that are typically better value for money than Samsung, Google etc.