Trying to fight the urge to go back to iPhone - S23 Ultra

[mjschabow]

I'd go as far as processing that after adjusting the settings in camera assistant, that the S23 Ultra is equal to the iPhone when taking pictures of moving objects. I did a ton of testing with my dogs yesterday and I got about the same results as I would have with my iPhone 14 PM. Some pics were blurry because the dogs were acting crazy, but I was just snapping shot after shot and got some great ones.

 

[winxmac]

Why not keep both?

I use both [iOS and android] since each one has its own strengths and weaknesses... App polish on iOS is undeniable as well as camera quality when using social media apps... Sideloading of apps can be considered as only on android [when speaking of mobile OS] for now since possible sideloading without jailbreak is seemingly in the works for a future iOS release... Full customization control is also another strength of android...

 

[TracerAnalog]

Go all in on Android! Get a Samsung smart watch, get that tablet, etc etc. I’m only half kidding, as I’m sure there are Android eco-system perks to be had as well.

 

[Ctrlos]

Tried Good Lock - Camera Assistant ? I believe it's specifically designed to mitigate the shutter lag.

Having to install a 3rd party app, however small to mitigate something that shouldn’t even exist in the first place is a heck of an indictment to me.

 

[mjschabow]

Having to install a 3rd party app, however small to mitigate something that shouldn’t even exist in the first place is a heck of an indictment to me.

It's not a 3rd party app. It's in the stock camera settings.

 

[Ludatyk]

Having to install a 3rd party app, however small to mitigate something that shouldn’t even exist in the first place is a heck of an indictment to me.

I understand this is a public forum and everything. But if you are not at all interested in Galaxy/Android... why come to this part of the forum section? I'm genuinely curious...

 

[Motionblurrr]

I understand this is a public forum and everything. But if you are not at all interested in Galaxy/Android... why come to this part of the forum section? I'm genuinely curious...

These types of replies discourages anybody to try Android for themselves.

Gatekeeping Android on an Apple forum? LOL, ridiculous.

 

[Ludatyk]

These types of replies discourages anybody to try Android for themselves.

Gatekeeping Android on an Apple forum? LOL, ridiculous.

Huh? How does that reply discourage anyone for trying Android? The user already criticized the S23U in this thread...

Try to take a still picture of a moving target with your camera, realise you can't due to the shutter lag* and go back to your iPhone.

This is why I ultimately brought up the question. Because it has been mentioned Samsung has settings in place to reduce the amount of shutter lag, but if users come in to bash without actually trying to contribute any meaningful discussion... then what's the point in coming to this section.

 

[kaardowiq]

I can just quote myself: it’s the (perfect) ecosystem, not the hardware (anymore).

 

[rillrill]

There is no denying Samsung did a a great job with the S23 Ultra.

My issue is, my kids have iphones and I have them on my find my iPhone app, I Pay for icloud+ which we all share etc

Also integration with my MacBook Air, ipad, apple watch, air pod pro, powerbeats pro and air tags is just so easy and convenient, and i also prefer Apple Car play to Android Auto.

I run every day so use my Apple Watch for that too

Safe to say im well hooked into the eco system.

I did actually order an S23 Ultra, had it a day but returned it due to the Gmail notifcation delays it had, an ongoing android issue thats been around for years which they cannot seem to fix (not saying it was an S23 issue) but in comparison Apple to Google apps so much better. It was a beast of a phone i have to admit.

Still using 13 Pro Max since launch, I intend to buy the 15 pro max this year.

I think as im getting older its more the connivence aspect that keeps me with Apple, gone are the days when I used to flash custom kernals/Roms to android phones to get that extra oomph from it.

Oh man. You are pretty much me. I’m super into these foldable phones and would love to switch, but being with Apple since 2003, it’s hard to switch. I did switch to android during its heydays of the nexus 4 and 5, but switched back around the iPhone 6s… then I got married, had kids, and Apple ramped up their “ecosystem.”

looking back, it was so much easier to have a MacBook Air and an android phone. No iPads, AirPods, HomePods, etc…hell I think I rooted my old apple TV to play bootlegged media at the time.

now, Apple really has sunk their claws into my computing world. I think, if you or I tried hard enough, we could make it work on android. But the friction it will cause not just us, but our friends and family can be too much of a headache.

just having two phones might be the only real answer.

 

[sunking101]

The apps thing works both ways. Someone who has used Android for years is going to find some apps unavailable on iOS and not like the alternatives. It sounds to me like you have made your decision, reluctantly or not.

 

[Technerd108]

I look at it like this. It is always good to have a physical backup phone just in case. You never know when you are going to have a catastrophic drop or your phone gets stolen.

Even if you can get a replacement in a day or two that is still a day or two without a phone.

So having a backup phone is just good insurance.

Also if I had an iPhone and a Android phone it is always fun to switch after a month or so and see what has changed in each ecosystem. You might find that you enjoy both devices more when you get to use it after a long break. It will feel new again. It will keep your brain younger by knowing how to use two different OS.

There are multiple benefits.

 

[sunking101]

Something I see very often in these forums is people looking for the “perfect” device.

There is no such thing.

The grass may be greener on the other side but the roots are still brown and dirty.

If you have any tech device that your generally happy with, stick with it. Find a device you like and use that. If your not happy with Android crap (had to say it😏) well welcome home.

There are things I don’t like about Apple products but the ecosystem and iMessage and longevity and value and build quality and security… keep me an Apple costumer. If Apple stops being the best, compared to the competition, I’ll switch. I’m no fanboy. I use Apple for personal and business because it’s the best of a daily decent set of technologies available today.

Find what works and use that.

I don't agree on build quality though. I have never had a Samsung with loose buttons or a loose USB port. Never had a screen go bad. I've had more than one iPhone and more than one iPad with loose buttons and/or a dodgy USB port and/or the display go bad on me.

I haven't been fully convinced by Apple's build quality since the Leica-like iPhone 4. Like Seiko watches and their notoriously bad bezel/chapter ring alignment issues I just end up with too many runts from Apple for me to give them a 5 star build quality rating. Too many bean counters at Cupertino...

 

[Technerd108]

Something I see very often in these forums is people looking for the “perfect” device.

There is no such thing.

The grass may be greener on the other side but the roots are still brown and dirty.

If you have any tech device that your generally happy with, stick with it. Find a device you like and use that. If your not happy with Android crap (had to say it😏) well welcome home.

There are things I don’t like about Apple products but the ecosystem and iMessage and longevity and value and build quality and security… keep me an Apple costumer. If Apple stops being the best, compared to the competition, I’ll switch. I’m no fanboy. I use Apple for personal and business because it’s the best of a daily decent set of technologies available today.

Find what works and use that.

You say Android crap but your no fanboy? 😂.

Apple isn't the best. Have you used iOS 16?

As you say use what works best for you. If you like Apple that is great. If you like Android that is great. Both have strengths and weaknesses.

About the only benefit Apple has these days is better resale value but judging Apple's own trade in values for iPhone 14 series it isn't as good as it used to be.

Enjoy your iPhone but try not to crap on other OS just because you have a preference.

 

[M5RahuL]

Having to install a 3rd party app, however small to mitigate something that shouldn’t even exist in the first place is a heck of an indictment to me.

Like stated, Good Lock is not a 3rd party app.. but go on..

 

[ACE_350]

I used an iPhone 11 Pro Max for years and this year, I've been kind of on the merry go round for iphones. I went from the 14 Pro > 14 Plus > 14 Pro Max.

I have a S23 Plus, and honestly, it might win out! The cavet is that I don't own any other Apple products now. No Macs, no Apple watch, no iPads, no tags. Nothing. My only one lone apple product was the iPhone. I don't really like syncing things together all that much. My phone is my phone and my computer is my computer. For watches I'm old school.. non-smart watch.

Samsung really knocked it out of the park this year with the 23 series. Like everyone says it's fast, and call me crazy, but right now the battery life feels a little better than the 14 PM. Not kidding!

I still have 3 days within my return window. There are times I really do miss the iPhone with the polished apps. I type on it better, and iMessage, but there is a strong possibility right now I end up with the S23+.

 

[ian87w]

I don't own any other Apple products now.

Imo that's the key. Standalone, the iPhone is easily replaceable.
However, once you have at least one extra Apple device, be it a Mac, iPad, or Apple Watch, then the iPhone becomes irreplaceable as using anything else will break that integration.

And breaking up is hard to do... 🎵

 

[Ctrlos]

I used an iPhone 11 Pro Max for years and this year, I've been kind of on the merry go round for iphones. I went from the 14 Pro > 14 Plus > 14 Pro Max.

I have a S23 Plus, and honestly, it might win out! The cavet is that I don't own any other Apple products now. No Macs, no Apple watch, no iPads, no tags. Nothing. My only one lone apple product was the iPhone. I don't really like syncing things together all that much. My phone is my phone and my computer is my computer. For watches I'm old school.. non-smart watch.

Samsung really knocked it out of the park this year with the 23 series. Like everyone says it's fast, and call me crazy, but right now the battery life feels a little better than the 14 PM. Not kidding!

I still have 3 days within my return window. There are times I really do miss the iPhone with the polished apps. I type on it better, and iMessage, but there is a strong possibility right now I end up with the S23+.

If you're not married to Apple then I think it's a better more capable phone all round.

I might moan above about having to enable a setting or install an app to get the phone to do something it should do out of the box by default but this is a very minor complaint

 

[Motionblurrr]

I love when people say “Apple’s ecosystem” like it’s a negative thing lol.

Since when is it a bad thing that a large company has something that finally works seamlessly and is streamlined enough that anybody can use it? What’s the alternative? The Samsung ecosystem? No thank you lol.

While Samsung was busy burning money making ads pointing out the notch, Apple was quietly fine tuning all their products to work together seamlessly.

Which is now very apparent, with posts like “I can’t leave apple’s ecosystem”. No you can, you just don’t want to use the competitions janky fragmented offerings. It’s that simple.

Another similar ‘argument’ is people getting mad Apple doesn’t bring iMessage to Android or to play nice with RCS. Apple has to fix Android’s deficiencies too? It’s not Apple’s fault they spent billions of dollars making things work. Blackberry had BBM on their phones and nobody else did. Apple has to build their own encrypted messaging platform baked into the OS. Extremely hard to do that!

 

[furbzv1]

Starting to look at the s23 ultra to be a second phone- Do I really need it? No. I am so deep in the Apple ecosystem that I would not be able to put my main SIM card on it.

 

[hockeyfan81]

I personally don't know too many people who own an iPhone of any kind. So it's easy for me to switch phones when I want to.

 

[floral]

Long story short picked up the S23 ultra and I love it. I have been with the iPhone since 2007 and I recently sold my 14 Pro Max and picked up an S23 Ultra, my thinking was I am going all in on this and giving the Android the best possible chance without being tempted to pick my iPhone up every 5 minutes. The problem is, it’s happening anyway.

Yes, I am missing the iPhone because it’s all i’ve really been use to for the past 10+ years, but also it’s the app eco system. So many apps that I lived on are not available or are HEAVILY lacking on the Android. Carrot, Bear, Fantastical, Apollo, whilst there are alternatives there is nothing quite like the apps I use on the iPhone. Another issue I have is with the damn apple hardware I have around the house, Apple Watch, HomePod and AirPods, all just sitting gathering dust because of this decision, which I knew was going to be an issue anyway and had accepted that, but the reality is much different to the idea of it.

So these are things I am battling with at the minute, and what’s making it difficult is just how great the S23 Ultra is. Every notion I had about the Android (aside from the apps) has been completely turned on their head. I use to think of Android as being janky, stuttery and feeling more like a computer than a phone, and I couldn’t be more wrong. Speaking of my S23u, it’s extremely smooth, responsive and even feels faster than my old iPhone 14 Pro max if you can believe that. The display, camera and speakers are all extremely A++ and the little tweaks you can make to your phone to make it work for you, is astounding. The all day battery life doesn’t hurt either.

So I hope you guys see and understand my predicament, and believe me, I know how unbelievably fortunate and first worldy this issue is, but this is the dilemma and I am just looking for some advice on what you think I should do : )

All my friends/family are also iphone users, so you guys are all I can turn to lol

Sounds like you've gotten sucked into the Apple ecosystem. I don't mean "sucked" by "suckered", this does offer a lot of perks if you use Apple devices as daily drivers. Problem is, you switched and lost all those perks... so the real question is, can you handle losing all that integration for the reward of a phone that appeals more to you?

 

[Harthag]

I love when people say “Apple’s ecosystem” like it’s a negative thing lol.

Since when is it a bad thing that a large company has something that finally works seamlessly and is streamlined enough that anybody can use it? What’s the alternative? The Samsung ecosystem? No thank you lol.

While Samsung was busy burning money making ads pointing out the notch, Apple was quietly fine tuning all their products to work together seamlessly.

Which is now very apparent, with posts like “I can’t leave apple’s ecosystem”. No you can, you just don’t want to use the competitions janky fragmented offerings. It’s that simple.

Another similar ‘argument’ is people getting mad Apple doesn’t bring iMessage to Android or to play nice with RCS. Apple has to fix Android’s deficiencies too? It’s not Apple’s fault they spent billions of dollars making things work. Blackberry had BBM on their phones and nobody else did. Apple has to build their own encrypted messaging platform baked into the OS. Extremely hard to do that!

I'm not planning to jump into the Samsung ecosystem but do have the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. They integrate seamlessly with the S23+ better than my AirPods Pro 2 with my 14PM, much more functionality and importantly, don't snap crackle and pop every time I have a phone conversation like my APP do (already replaced via AC+, same issues). I cannot use my iPhone + APP at all for work calls which is a serious problem for me. Talk about janky...

I'm still in the honeymoon phase and AirMessage is working flawlessly for me re: iMessage, so I have no imminent plan to switch back. Time will tell.

 

[skulls17]

I'm not planning to jump into the Samsung ecosystem but do have the Galaxy Buds 2 Pro. They integrate seamlessly with the S23+ better than my AirPods Pro 2 with my 14PM, much more functionality and importantly, don't snap crackle and pop every time I have a phone conversation like my APP do (already replaced via AC+, same issues). I cannot use my iPhone + APP at all for work calls which is a serious problem for me. Talk about janky...

I'm still in the honeymoon phase and AirMessage is working flawlessly for me re: iMessage, so I have no imminent plan to switch back. Time will tell.

Do you need a Mac for it to work ? I see all these apps that allow iMessage for android, but all require a Mac, which I do not have. My computer is a windows computer.

 

[Harthag]

Do you need a Mac for it to work ? I see all these apps that allow iMessage for android, but all require a Mac, which I do not have. My computer is a windows computer.

No Mac needed, I have a virtual Mac set up on my office PC which is powered on 24/7. You don't even need to port forward. You need to edit 1 or 2 config files and spoof some Mac info, but once set up properly you'll be good to go. I followed this video step by step, it's the best tutorial I've seen on this and actually works.