I think they broadly do the same thing and most people just stick to what they know because it’s hassle to switch.
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iPhone 14 Pro Max Why is the iPhone still seen as the holy grail of smartphones?
- Thread starter Retskrad
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The ecosystem and features within that ecosystem such as AirDrop, iMessage, copy and paste between devices, etc.
Apple's ecosystem makes my workflow and productivity a more enjoyable experience.
iOS apps are also generally higher quality than their Android counterparts. This is largely due to the fact that iPhone users pay a lot more for their apps and in-app purchases than Android users. There's more profitability with the iPhone for mobile developers. The camera is consistently in the top 3 of smart phones, but taking video has consistently been better than everything else since video was a thing on smartphones.
The design language is also consistent between apps on both the iPhone and Mac, and now if you have an M1 or later Mac, you can run many iPhone apps right inside the Mac. I can take calls from my iPhone, my Apple Watch, or my Mac and I can transfer those calls between devices without the call dropping.
There's about a million reasons why I love the iPhone and Apple's ecosystem. That doesn't mean the iPhone or Apple products in general are perfect. They certainly have their issues. But the pros far outweigh the cons.
Apple's ecosystem makes my workflow and productivity a more enjoyable experience.
iOS apps are also generally higher quality than their Android counterparts. This is largely due to the fact that iPhone users pay a lot more for their apps and in-app purchases than Android users. There's more profitability with the iPhone for mobile developers. The camera is consistently in the top 3 of smart phones, but taking video has consistently been better than everything else since video was a thing on smartphones.
The design language is also consistent between apps on both the iPhone and Mac, and now if you have an M1 or later Mac, you can run many iPhone apps right inside the Mac. I can take calls from my iPhone, my Apple Watch, or my Mac and I can transfer those calls between devices without the call dropping.
There's about a million reasons why I love the iPhone and Apple's ecosystem. That doesn't mean the iPhone or Apple products in general are perfect. They certainly have their issues. But the pros far outweigh the cons.
I've gone back and forth between both over the years, and although I think Android is pretty cool with new and interesting features released every year, I'm going to stick with the iPhone for the foreseeable future.
Does this mean that Samsung Android phones are then considered the "Anti Christ" of phones ?
To get most of the (ecosystem) "benefits" of the iPhone, you have to go all in with apple, so the total cost of ownership is over $2000.
If it works for you, that's cool.
For me it feels like ignoring the 1st party services would be a missed opportunity at experiencing the most seamless integration of everything across all devices. Apple doesn't usually waste time shipping poor quality services, so they're usually quite competitive even with the best 3rd party ones.
Additionally, I detest Google and their entire rotten business model of collecting and selling everything about you to the highest bidder. I'm personally trying to use as few of their services as realistically possible - the only irreplaceable one being YouTube.
I view Apple as the lesser evil here, as they stake their entire reputation on being as least privacy invasive as possible.
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Yep, apologies for misinterpreting. It's 80% of iPhone users who own a smart watch - own the Apple Watch. This nuance escaped me when first reading this article.
A better story perhaps is told by this article, which references a study by CIRP.
It’s pretty easy, other than text messages which aren’t super easy to migrate regardless of device. Contacts/Calendar can be exported, Photos syncs to Windows Photos/Onedrive pretty easy. Those are the biggest ones for me.
Considering iCloud keeps syncing even for devices no longer supported on the newest iOS, it’s never been an issue for me. Do you use the same device for more than ~7 years?
Big part of the reason I switched. The build quality on the Apple side of things is immaculate. Only thing that rivaled it on the android side was the Essential PH-1 (rip).
A few reason the iPhone is goat status and elite...Better Processors, better battery life/management, optimized and easy to use operating system, bullet proof reliability, a long history of software updates and support for older models. They also look fantastic and are a status symbol to some.
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Generally about the only service I am using with Apple is iMessage. That requires an Apple ID and iCloud of course, but because I am lazy, I'd rather just open the Messages app on the handful of Macs I have that can run that app and compose/answer my messages there. However, there are basically three people I iMessage (wife, son, daughter) regularly so it's not really some show stopper service I must have. Nothing important is ever discussed via SMS or iMessage anyway (all done in person, face to face) so there's that as well.
My one experience with Photos was restoring a backup. And iCloud missed several hundred of my photos. I had to go back through all my backups and add them in to the Photos app to get them all back on my iPhone. Using the Photos app was 'convenient' for that, but I don't think I really should have had to do that. They all should have just restored.
As to Google privacy, I've limited what I can with them and basically contacts and calendars is my major use. I have two email accounts, but that's just two out of several that I have and those aren't used for anything important. Generally, receipts and emails dealing with businesses go through my Yahoo account which has much better spam filters. I'm unwilling to give up the Yahoo account because I've had it since 1999.
I don't watch YT on my devices, just my Mac that are hooked up to large displays. As big as iPhones have gotten I have 30, 32, 42, 48 and 55" displays I can view video on. Since that's in browser uMatrix (a privacy addon) is already cutting Google off.
Despite not using my Pixel anymore as a primary, I've not yet removed myself from Google Pay though as I do use that on websites from time to time. And the Taco Bell app. It's convenient.
My contacts and calendars are Google. Once loaded in on each device (by logging in) I don't need to export anything from iCloud. It's all there just by logging in.
As to your question…
Uhm as a PRIMARY device? If that's what you meant, then no.
Pics taken with my primary device (11 Pro Max).
PS, all I had to do was upload direct from my Camera Uploads folder on Dropbox (through my web browser) as all photos appeared there shortly after taking them. Dropbox is the ONE singular service I use heavily.
Oops, forgot the 2008 MBP.
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Very rad. You use those online? How well does that 08 mbp run sonoma? Do you use all that regularly? I don’t think the average person has a setup like that though. Those of us posting on this forum aren’t exactly “the masses”
I also have a lot of old tech, but the stuff I use most are devices that don’t connect to the internet like iPods, vintage digital cameras, etc. The old computers I have I use offline. Never tried putting a newer OS on an old device, sounds interesting but I keep them more as time capsules so I like to keep the older OS’s on them
I don’t trust Google or third parties like Dropbox, personally, but if you do and it works for you that’s great. For me having photos, calendar, contacts, music, mail, passwords, and files synced by iCloud without having to use a third party is good enough, it’s never given me a problem
Periodically I use my phones online. Except for my 6s Plus though (and my 11 Pro Max) all of them use my home WiFi. But I'm not doing anything with them such as banking or eBay/Amazon, etc. Mainly just using them to perhaps take pictures and upload to Dropbox, or stream music off my NAS, etc.
For my Macs, the MBA and the Mac Mini serve as an intermediary between my MacPro (Monterey) and my PowerPC Macs (the 17" PB in the pics). I have a bunch of other PowerPC Macs in the garage but no current use for them.
I will let you know how Sonoma goes on the MBP. Right now I'm in the part of the OCLP process where root volume patches are being installed (so I can use the internal trackpad and keyboard and a few other things). But it is on Sonoma at this time. Took a few hours.
I use newer versions of OS on older hardware where and when I can because quite frankly it's cheaper. Not because I am cheap, I just have never been in a spot to drop $1000-2000 or more for new Macs. So, when old Macs enter my price range I make them do modern things - like run modern versions of MacOS.
My MacPro is a 4,1 (2009). But there's a firmware update that turns it into a 5,1. That allows Mojave to be installed natively. Then there is the OCLP project and I put Monterey on a few weeks back. It makes my $250 investment in my MacPro in 2020 last that much longer. I'm using the Sonoma install on the MBP to gauge how it's going to go on my MP when I decide to do that.
I've been with Dropbox since around 2010 I think, possibly 2011. I trust them to a certain extent, but it's like Google. There are things I won't put in there. But those same things I wouldn't put in Google or in iCloud either. I have no illusion that they couldn't just browse through my stuff so it's all innocuous. I'm like my wife…anything sensitive is better off just being stored in your head. Until someone develops telepathy it's pretty safe there.
And? People are going to spend money on tech, I prefer that tech to work together.
It’s a simple, reliable phone that gets updates for a relatively long time, has a good accessory ecosystem, and works well with other Apple stuff. I think it’s pretty easy to see why it’s popular.
Most people don’t care about spec sheets.
So, I'll add to this.
For my Macs, yes. I use all online with exceptions to some of the much older ones (it's not necessary). I do use it all regularly. My 2009 MacPro is my daily driver.
And Sonoma works on my 2008 MBP. Right now it's a bit slow, but I just upgraded from Monterey so it'll take a bit to settle down.
Not really. There are plenty of ecosystem benefits to be had just interacting with other iPhone users. And hey, if people are already going to have a computer (because, let’s be real, most people still need a computer) why not get one that has better interoperability?
You could say the same for Apple in some ways. At least with Google, the vast majority of their discontinued products were either not in wide use or were consumer focused and their discontinuance didn't cause massive disruption to people's businesses.
Not like, say, Apple discontinuing Aperture.
The iPhone ticks off a lot of the right checkboxes, and it’s difficult to find anything really wrong with it.
1) Good build quality and longer software support. This in turn helps the iPhone to retain more of its read value, which in turn offsets its higher price tag.
2) excellent ecosystem.
3) larger selection of apps in the App Store, and many seem more polished overall.
4) great sales support. There’s no point in talking about how good a certain phone is if it can’t be readily found in your country.
5) specs are pretty good all round, especially battery life.
6) zero carrier meddling, and less prone to malware.
There are just some things that better cameras and more ram simply can’t fix.
1) Good build quality and longer software support. This in turn helps the iPhone to retain more of its read value, which in turn offsets its higher price tag.
2) excellent ecosystem.
3) larger selection of apps in the App Store, and many seem more polished overall.
4) great sales support. There’s no point in talking about how good a certain phone is if it can’t be readily found in your country.
5) specs are pretty good all round, especially battery life.
6) zero carrier meddling, and less prone to malware.
There are just some things that better cameras and more ram simply can’t fix.
Consider installing GrapheneOS to increase privacy (very easy to install). I only miss AirDrop, but use Snapdrop which is similar.
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I still have my 2009 Mac Pro tucked away in its original box. That’s back when Apple still made rock-solid gear that was easy to work on, with head-of-state level customer service. 🫡
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Isn't Apple just cooler?
While other companies are trying to copy and imitate Apple, Apple isn't trying to be anyone else.
Sure, they cherry-pick features but they got their identity established.
Apple is proudly themselves.
While other companies are trying to copy and imitate Apple, Apple isn't trying to be anyone else.
Sure, they cherry-pick features but they got their identity established.
Apple is proudly themselves.
It sounds cheesy but it's certainly true to a degree.
Apple basically pretends that no one else even exists and that in itself is pretty cool & brazen to be honest.
Other vendors often explicitly compare themselves directly with Apple and can't stop talking about them. Even when they're trying to ridicule or one-up Apple with something, that just ends up reinforcing Apple's position as the default benchmark to compare to, the one to match.
Then apart from comparisons, there's the blatant copying. Just recently I've seen Samsung's S24 series of phones with an eerily familiar round corners + flat sides design all of a sudden. Or the new Galaxy Watch Ultra, which is just a "copy my homework but change it a bit".
Or Android in itself - it even copied the iconic gesture bar on the bottom and somehow made it look worse with an ugly black stripe of background behind it in some apps.
What unique thing has Apple blatantly copied recently?