Why I will never go Android again

[ReanimationN]

First of, this is the longest post I read in a while.

I've had the Google Nexus 7 with the latest and greatest Jelly Bean. I liked it for a few days, but then I started missing simple things like rubberbanding when the bottom of the page is reached and touching the very top of the webpage to hyper-zoom to the very top. I know these can be fixed with a simple OS update (assuming Apple has not patented these features yet.)

But as you said, a simple OS update is hardware specific which furthers fragmentation. So yes, once you go iOS, you'll never go back.

Yeah, I really miss this when using Android, it bugs me big time.

Installing a custom ROM, from XDA or otherwise, is essentially installing Bill and Jim Much Improved Windauz fer Mac over your existing OS. Its ludicrous when you think about it, and even more so when you realize how hard it is to recover from a bricked or nearly bricked phone.

That being said, I miss quite a few things from android. Subsonic, sharing any type of file I want, tasker, changing native apps, etc. But ultimately the iPhone works extremely well for me.

I don't get the appeal of custom ROMs either. I own a Nexus 7, which works well out of the box, I'm glad I don't have to go trawling through XDA in order to find a ROM that makes my device perform acceptably. I'd only ever keep my device on its stock ROM.

 

[dmelgar]

Wow... I am glad I didn't have your experience.
One issue I have is whenever I am at my girlfriends, my phone goes from fully charged to totally flat in literally 2 hours, if that.

I'm sure it is because I get poorish signal at her place but I can still make phone calls and see a couple of bars of 3g coverage. But completely flat in 2 hours, every time. Meanwhile her slightly newer Desire HD doesn't have that issue. I will be very interested to see if the iphone 5 has this issue as I will be with the same carrier.

Reminds me of another problem on my incredible.
Very often some runaway process gets going. I'll pick up the phone that's just been sitting there and it's hot and it's down to 50% power. Didn't figure out what it was. Safest to just reboot.
Android in general allows apps to run in the background. Can be neat if the app is well behaved but if its not...
iOS doesn't normally allow apps to run in the background but they can ask to run in the background. But it's limited to 10 minutes max to finish doing something. .
Skype on my thunderbolt kills the battery. Can't leave it logged in. I can't lock the phone while in the camera app. Either action will kill the battery.
No such problems with iOS. I can stay connected. That, after all is the purpose of a phone. Communication.

 

[matttye]

Siri has been proven to work fine on the 4. Don't see any reason why turn by turn shouldn't work and the same with panorama. Flyover is the only thing I can see the just might be to brutal on the iP4.

But anyways, Android updates are much less streamlined than iOS. That's the nature of the beast. It's also wise never to purchase expecting updates, and/or do your homework.

I think the difference is that Apple leaves out certain features, whereas you miss out on the entire update with Android.

Not a problem if you install custom ROMs, and Samsung support their phones for a while at least the S2 is getting jelly bean.

 

[Markyboy81]

Another relevant point is that the resale value of the SGS3 will most likely be lower than the iPhone 5 next fall.

However, if you buy the sgs3 now, it'll be significantly less than the iPhone 5 is now, and while the price of the sgs3 will continue to fall, the iPhone 5 will stay the same price until a new one is released. Great news for the seller, not so good for the buyer

 

[throAU]

And some features are by purpose not available for older models, since Apple wants you to upgrade and buy new as often as possible. Be prepared to face that as well, when you switch to iPhone.

Speculation. Sure, you can jailbreak and get some of those features. But perhaps they do not work as well as expected on the new model. E.g., siri - the 4s has a noise cancelling mic.

Facetime over 3g - maybe the codec in the 4s is better to compress the video into smaller size to suit 3g?

Fact is, you don't know and are making assumptions.

 

[Europa13]

iOS 6 is only available with limited features on the 3GS. And some features are by purpose not available for older models, since Apple wants you to upgrade and buy new as often as possible. Be prepared to face that as well, when you switch to iPhone.

Many of the new features after 3 years is better than none of the new features after 6 months.

 

[Wrathwitch]

Don't get me wrong, I love technology. Build my own computers, flash ROM's, etc all the time. I don't have a problem with my phone, or any Android phone, IF you look at that phone in a bubble. Theres nothing my phone can't do now as such that I really want it to. I am updating because my contract ended and it will cost me almost nothing extra a month to get a new phone. I knew months ago though that I would go iPhone, simply because my phone is the exact same phone it was 19 months ago. No updates have come out for it, no new software features etc.

Sure ios6 on the iPhone 4 is missing a heap of features. But the fact that it gained any new features at all is something I cannot say about my current phone 2 years into it's life.

True dat!

Enjoy the iPhone!

I recommend going with white if black scuff marks irritate you. Apparently even putting on cases can cause the anodization to come off.

 

[VulchR]

....
Not to mention they have admitted there is an issue with the iP5 camera as well with it getting some purple or, some sort of color while using it. ....

As this has been discussed endlessly in other threads, purple fringing is an optical limitation of miniaturized camera lenses. It has everything to do with the physics of optical lenses and nothing to do with Apple per se. There are ways of digitally filtering the purple fringe out that take about a second , and the fringe doesn't appear routinely unless you take a direct shot of a very bright, compact source of light like the sun.

In any case, given the Google is such a major player in mobile phones now, I wonder why Google doesn't follow Apple's lead and stipulate licensing conditions for Android that make it more customer-friendly (requiring that the customer be allowed to remove any bloatware, prohibiting modification of key aspects of the operating system so that updates can be handled directly through Google, etc.). Oh wait ... I forgot with Google/Android the phone user is not the customer.

 

[pmau]

... Oh wait ... I forgot with Google/Android the phone user is not the customer.

That is so true.

 

[JuliusPap]

True dat!

Enjoy the iPhone!

I recommend going with white if black scuff marks irritate you. Apparently even putting on cases can cause the anodization to come off.

Not for me, got case on, still clean just got small scruffs from normal usage. not that big since its a phone

 

[Mackan]

Many of the new features after 3 years is better than none of the new features after 6 months.

Of course. I merely pointed out that Apple is no saint. They will take every reasonable chance to make you upgrade and buy new.

 

[cynics]

Yeah, I really miss this when using Android, it bugs me big time.



I don't get the appeal of custom ROMs either. I own a Nexus 7, which works well out of the box, I'm glad I don't have to go trawling through XDA in order to find a ROM that makes my device perform acceptably. I'd only ever keep my device on its stock ROM.

A custom ROM isn't always about getting the device to perform acceptably or if it is you are asking it to do something other products on the market can't do anyway.

For example I rooted and ROM'd my Xoom when it was on Honeycomb because I wanted to overclock it. The reason I wanted to do that is so play station 1 games would have a better frame rate.

I was perfectly satisfied with the stock experience in all other cases.

 

[MRU]

A custom ROM isn't always about getting the device to perform acceptably or if it is you are asking it to do something other products on the market can't do anyway.

For example I rooted and ROM'd my Xoom when it was on Honeycomb because I wanted to overclock it. The reason I wanted to do that is so play station 1 games would have a better frame rate.

A little bit contradictory there You wanted to over clock it so it performed more acceptably (better frame-rate) which is what your saying it isn't always about ?

----------

Apparently even putting on cases can cause the anodization to come off.

No problem here with a case on.... I got a black 64gb.

(alongside my HTC One X with JB & Sense 4+)

 

[hawk1410]

Fragmentation is definitely killing it for android. Thats why I prefer getting a unlocked GSM nexus device, Android the way it was meant to be. Fast updates and no skin.

 

[daveathall]

I must admit that my experiance is completely different from the OP, I changed from a iPhone 4S to a Galaxy S3 and have also tried it out against an iPhone 5, the phone that gives me the most pleasure is the SGS3, both phones and OS are IMHO superb, I just prefer (ATM) the S3 and Android.

Edit; I have never jailbroken, flashed or had a custom rom etc, I also have widgets and live wallpapers and great battery life, my device doesn't hang, judder or crash. Since buying the S3 about 6 weeks ago I have had one update on ICS, I'm expecting another update to JB quite soon.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Speaking of getting ripped off by Apple: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-is-reaping-a-mind-blowing-93-margin-on-iPhone-5-memory_id35178

"Apple is reaping a mind-blowing 93% margin on iPhone 5 memory"

Is anyone seriously not bothered by this?

 

[cynics]

A little bit contradictory there You wanted to over clock it so it performed more acceptably (better frame-rate) which is what your saying it isn't always about ?

----------



No problem here with a case on.... I got a black 64gb.

(alongside my HTC One X with JB & Sense 4+)

Agreed, I was thinking that when I typed it but at the same time let me ask you. What do you do to increase the frame rate of PlayStation games on an iOS device?

If you think about it really everything you do with a custom ROM can be linked back to making the device run acceptably. However these are things you usually can't do with an iOS device. So are people satisfied saying "well iOS can't do it at all so I'm going to have to make due" but when it comes to Android its "I shouldn't have to put a ROM on there to make run acceptably! ie do things an iPhone/iPad can never do! Its such a hassle!".

Even just playing an emulator on iOS requires jailbreak (not so on android). I've never seen PlayStation games on an idevice either not saying they don't exist though. Not to mention overclocking which ive heard a couple times on this forum but never explored. So why should I have to jailbreak to make my iPhone run acceptably? And that's something mildly sophisticated, what about setting apps as a default? Come on that's very basic stuff I need to jb for.

 

[Oohara]

Speaking of getting ripped off by Apple: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Apple-is-reaping-a-mind-blowing-93-margin-on-iPhone-5-memory_id35178

"Apple is reaping a mind-blowing 93% margin on iPhone 5 memory"

Is anyone seriously not bothered by this?

Kind of goes with the territory though, doesn't it? I mean, I love Apple products but I've learned to accept that their prices aren't "quite" proportional to the actual hardware you get

It's like wanting that Ralph Lauren shirt with a pink collar instead of a white one, it doesn't make any freaking sense at all that it's $100 more than the white collar version but I know and accept that I'm a victim for buying Ralph Lauren in the first place so it doesn't surprise nor upset me at all.

 

[MRU]

Agreed, I was thinking that when I typed it but at the same time let me ask you. What do you do to increase the frame rate of PlayStation games on an iOS device?

I don't .... I use my Vita ;-)

Also I believe the HTC One X is officially playstation mobile certified anyway

 

[Stuntman06]

See, the SGS 3 is the current flagship Android phone so it's probably a very pleasing phone to own. For now. My gripe is that once the Galaxy S4 or whatever comes to replace it (in a matter of months), they will drop support for the S3 like a ton of bricks. MUCH more so than Apple does with any of their iPhones.

It would only be an issue if there were some feature you really want or need on a new phone that is software only. It seemed you wanted a feature not available on the Desire and new OS release has that feature. When I had my Desire Z, it went from Froyo to GB and that's it. ICS came out, but there really wasn't anything in ICS that I really wanted or needed. Not getting ICS on my DZ didn't bother me as it did pretty much everything I needed as well if not better than the day I bought it.

If you really wanted tethering, perhaps you should have looked for a phone that had that feature. For instance, if you really wanted face unlock, you shouldn't be getting a phone that comes with GB.

 

[AlexJaye]

Probably hardware limitations. It's a phone that's 2 years old. Android phones don't get updated ever. When they do that's the only time it will get updated before being forgotten. At least your old iPhone is still relevant.

"hardware limitations".

LOL.

 

[b24pgg]

Sure I could root it. But thats so ANTI user friendliness I find it laughable. I should not have to root my phone just to get updates or remove carrier bloatware.

Rooting is half the fun of having an Android device. If you aren't rooting, you're missing out on so, so much.

 

[MRU]

Rooting is half the fun of having an Android device. If you aren't rooting, you're missing out on so, so much.

Just replace 'rooting' with Jailbreaking and 'android' with iOS and the same argument has been made a million times before on these forums....

 

[TheMTtakeover]

Even the recent nexus was slow getting updates. I can't remember which one that Verizon was holding up.[COLOR="#808080

That's on CDMA, not on GSM.

 

[Vegastouch]

As this has been discussed endlessly in other threads, purple fringing is an optical limitation of miniaturized camera lenses. It has everything to do with the physics of optical lenses and nothing to do with Apple per se. There are ways of digitally filtering the purple fringe out that take about a second , and the fringe doesn't appear routinely unless you take a direct shot of a very bright, compact source of light like the sun.

In any case, given the Google is such a major player in mobile phones now, I wonder why Google doesn't follow Apple's lead and stipulate licensing conditions for Android that make it more customer-friendly (requiring that the customer be allowed to remove any bloatware, prohibiting modification of key aspects of the operating system so that updates can be handled directly through Google, etc.). Oh wait ... I forgot with Google/Android the phone user is not the customer.

You can remove the bloatware. Not delete it (unless you root the phone) but you can disable it(at least on the GS3 you can) and its like it isnt there and the icon disapears which also gives you better battery life.

As for the OS updates, i agree on that. It shouldnt have to go thru the carrier first. They have been improving things so we see how they do JB.