Why would you pick iPhone over the Galaxy S5?

[I7guy]

Yes, I can relate to that, it took me over a week to be comfortable with my first Android phone after coming from the iPhone.

I did this whilst I was thinking of transition from my Blackberry that had taken one too many poundings on the cement. Number of people I knew that had iphone: a lot. Android: not so much.

So I chose the iphone, plus it was fully supported for some business apps I needed. My whole family plus extended family has iphone; so the decision was easy. Only a few have Samsung and one recently went from Samsung to iphone.

So iphone is where I am today and I am a tech geek in every sense except for my phones...I just want one that works and keeps on working and will be supported, unlike my older Blackberry, for a few years.

 

[rockitdog]

TL;DR - geez, 11 pages of what at a glance appears to be nonstop bickering...

FWIW, Not only would I pick an iPhone 5s over a Galaxy S5 (presently using a 5s), I'd take pretty much any flagship to midrange device--iOS, another Android, or WP--before I'd use a S5. And it's primarily for one plain and simple reason--cannot deal with TouchWiz. I don't love the hardware but it would be fine, could easily live with it, especially a GPE version. Put TW in any of its past or current incarnations on a device and I won't touch it with a 10 foot pole, no matter how great the hardware it.

I will of course hope to mitigate the flaming by stating this is only based on my preference--no claims that one OS is better than another, only personal dislike for one version more than just about everything else available.

What is it that you find so horrible about Touchwiz? I hear people constantly saying they hate it but have yet to find anyone who is able to tell me why they hate it so badly...

 

[tbayrgs]

What is it that you find so horrible about Touchwiz? I hear people constantly saying they hate it but have yet to find anyone who is able to tell me why they hate it so badly...

I'll preface first that these are just my perceptions and preferences based on using TW on both a Note 2 and Note 10.1 (2014) that I owned, as well as repeated hands on time on the latest flagships. I'm well aware that there are plenty of people who like TW and I don't want this to turn into a bash TW discussion.

First, I don't like the design, old or newer version as found on the S5. I find it loud, cartoonish, and big. I dislike how large the font and graphics are, especially in the Notification panel, elements that cannot be changed. To be perfectly honest, this design alone is enough to turn me off from TW.

I also hate how bloated and overwrought it is as well. There is just too much to it that I'll never use (everyone please refrain from 'don't you like choice?' comments) and diving through layers of settings to manage it all is a PITA. And while it has improved, it still isn't as smooth as its competitors and yes, there are moment of lag (Magazine UI, multitasking for instance). For comparison, I find Motorola and HTC's skins far more appealing, both in design and functionality. Both offer far more optimized experience, better use of add on features, and IMO, more aesthetically pleasing designs.

There are other little things here and there as well but those are my primary reasons.

 

[gotluck]

What is it that you find so horrible about Touchwiz? I hear people constantly saying they hate it but have yet to find anyone who is able to tell me why they hate it so badly...

general performance is worse than stock android

RAM utilization is much higher, leaving less room for running apps and causes problems with multitasking (similar to safari tab refresh syndrome)

slow updates

samsung has a vested interest in slowing devices down over time, similar to apple, to get you to buy new devices. Stock android has been gaining in performance with each release, while the same cannot be said for samsung devices, ie.. note 3 kit kat update problems..

 

[r0k]

KitKat does almost everything well.

I've got a GS4 on order at my job. I wanted an iPhone but they don't allow them (yet). I've got a Moto Razr M with Kitkat and it's a huge mess so I don't understand your assertion that KitKat does almost everything well... except perhaps the Razr M that's the mess and perhaps I'll know better when I get my GS4. Hopefully I get it before the Razr catches on fire in my pocket. It's been overheating and going down to 20% battery by lunchtime.

There are a couple of annoyances for me in Android. I had hoped these would get better with Kitkat and they didn't. One is the recent calls list. Another is the ability to "hit the intended target" when using my phone with one hand. Again perhaps the GS4 will be better at this than the Razr was. One thing I can't live with is the awful display on the Razr. You can't see it outdoors on a cloudy day and with even modest sunlight you can't even tell the thing is on. Again I expect the GS4 to have a much better display. I'll come along and post again in this thread when I have a non-crap device running Kitkat. For now, I strongly prefer my iPhone 5. I suspect I'll enjoy the larger display on the GS4 but that's about it.

In case you're wondering why I'm posting about a GS4 in a GS5 vs iPhone thread, GS4 is all I can get. It's either GS4 or a flip phone. Or I can wait another year for IT to figure out what to do with iPhone while my pathetic Razr catches fire in my pocket.

(oops) I edited but did not post this the other day so I now have that GS4 and it is a truly great phone. I did notice that it locked up during passcode entry on the lock screen a few times. This is something I've never seen on iOS but I grew familiar with on my awful awful Moto phone. Using the GS4 is great, though. I find the screen size to be "perfect" for both portrait and landscape reading. I find I can finally finally dial at real time and not pause between digits waiting for Android to catch up (like my Moto phone).

Still, I'm happy with my iPhone 5 for personal use and I look forward to a larger pixel count if not a larger physical screen just so I can read email and web pages in portrait orientation. Receiving a complicated email or web page on my iPhone always requires a quick flip to landscape and some apps don't "obey". This leaves me squinting at sideways teeny tiny text. So now that I have the GS4 I can agree that Kitkat does things well. I didn't know until today that that statement is true.

One thing I like about the GS4 is the lighter UI. It's probably some Samsung add-on but the recent calls list and native email client are grey or black text on a white background and on this large screen I like it. The user icons for previous calls and email threads are actually smaller on this phone than they were on the Razr. Can you believe that? Wasting more real estate on a smaller screen on something as pointless as an icon and making the text I need to see some 0.02 point font. No wonder Motorola was sold twice in two years! I'll either update this post or create a new post in this thread when I've had more time to enjoy my GS4 but for now I say it is the best Android alternative available to me but I still wish I had a work-issued iPhone.

 

[jrswizzle]

iOS vs TouchWiz. That's why.

I could go through rooting and flashing which gets rid of most of the Samsung nonsense. But then why not just pick up a Nexus 5 or HTC One - both better software from the get go and the One is every bit the powerhouse specs wise the GS5 is.

I choose the 5S over anything because of the ecosystem. My family is all iOS. My friends are almost all iOS. Most of the people I communicate with at work are iOS. iMessage, AirDrop, Photo Streams all easy sharing between iOS devices.

I also prefer and use the following on iOS vs Android implementations (since I already stated my GS5 would be as stock Android as possible):

-Lock Screen Notifications
-Siri
-Passbook
-TouchID
-Mail

iOS is far more cohesive and the design language is incredibly consistent. I don't feel like I'm jumping from one ugly interface to another. It's all very smooth and very pleasing. I also think iOS updates are far better than TouchWiz or even Android at this point. Some of the features may have been on Android or other devices for some time, but the implementations (at least as I understand them without having hands on experience) look incredible. Apple borrows and makes better.

The 5S also has a great camera, one of the most color accurate displays on the market and the processor is second to only the Note as far as raw power goes. Also, the battery life is as good or better than any phone out there, except of course the Note.

All-in-all, there's nothing that could get me to switch from an iPhone to a Galaxy device. The ONLY think the GS5 has over the iPhone is a larger display. In about a month, that point will also be taken away and Samsung won't have anything to woo me with.

You asked for opinions, there's mine.

 

[daveathall]

.

 

[Kariya]

Because it runs iOS.

Because all my content is already bought and paid for on the App Store/iTunes Store.

Because it will work seamlessly with my iPad/iMac.

Because I'm an apple fanboy.

I'll also add after sales support. If anything goes wrong i can walk into an Apple store and come out with a fresh phone. Not so with the other vendors.

Some reasons off the top of my head why I choose iPhone over Samsung:

11. Text selection much easier

This is a HUGE one for me. I've found text editing and manipulation in Android to be absolutely dire.

Also Android seems to respond to my fingers in general whilst iOS responds to my fingertips. Basically iOS affords more fine-grained touchscreen control than Android imo.

 

[IGregory]

The entire ecosystem! Seamless experience between my iPhone iPad MacBook and iMac.

Yep, that's my reason. If Android had the ecosystem that Apple does I would have stayed with Android.

 

[mrex]

Yep, that's my reason. If Android had the ecosystem that Apple does I would have stayed with Android.

What exactly are you missing that Apple has but Android doesnt? Just curious to know, because my and-win-mac combination works petfectly. So I wonder what I am missing being without "Appleclosed ecosystem" when using a crossplatform system.

 

[RickTaylor]

Familiarity. I really like the iPad mini, so it's nice to have a device that works the same way.

 

[Skylitfly]

With the recent sales results that shows the iPhone 5s is still outselling the newer Galaxy S5, I'm curious as to why you either picked or would pick the iPhone over the GS5. Spec for spec and feature for feature the GS5 is heads and tales above the iPhone in just about every category (1080P - 5.1" screen, 16MP camera, Killer battery life, expandable memory, etc.) and yet it's not outselling the iPhone... what does the iPhone still do better than The Galaxy S5 and Android KitKat 4.4.2?

Don't give me the tired old "android is a mess" argument, we aren't dealing with ginger bread or jelly bean here anymore. KitKat does almost everything well.

Because aluminum > plastic, especially Samsung plastic.
Because iPhone is aesthetically more pleasing than Galaxy S5.
Because TouchWiz literally ruins Android in every way. Stock Android and several skins get close to iOS user experience but TouchWiz is still leaps and bounds behind.
Did I already mention how ugly Galaxy S5 is and how beautiful iPhone 5S is?
Oh... and the finger print scanner which is awesomely executed on iPhone while Samsung couldn't nail it at all.

Is there enough reasons?

 

[TechGod]

What is it that you find so horrible about Touchwiz? I hear people constantly saying they hate it but have yet to find anyone who is able to tell me why they hate it so badly...

Let's start with how it's laggier in comparison to stock, How the status bar icons are so ugly, how most system notifications are persistent(in the notification shade it constantly says connected to wireless) etc.

It's a mess. Android however is not.

 

[mrex]

Because aluminum > [1]
Because TouchWiz literally ruins Android in every way. [2]
Is there enough reasons?

1 especially the silicon condom around it. How many times have you seen iphone without a condom? Or if not a condom, then another plastic case anyway...

2 Just install another launcher. You dont need to use touchwiz. It takes just a minute to change the launcher. E.g. my Note and Nova launcher with hexagon icon pack.

 

[Skylitfly]

1 especially the silicon condom around it. How many times have you seen iphone without a condom? Or if not a condom, then another plastic case anyway...

Well... I personally don't use cases on my phones so build quality and aesthetics are quite important to me. And honestly... I see more naked iPhones than ones with cases.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Let's start with how it's laggier in comparison to stock, How the status bar icons are so ugly, how most system notifications are persistent(in the notification shade it constantly says connected to wireless) etc.

It's a mess. Android however is not.

I now have a Galaxy S5 for work. I am not a fan of Touchwiz at all! Everything is a mess on Touchwiz now. The Settings for the phone no longer match stock Android. Having Settings in an Icon or list format, separated by Touchwiz groupings (that often make no sense) is asinine. It is like Samsung went out of their way to complicate even the simplistic of things.

The notification bar icons are as hideous as Sense's are on HTC. The stock launcher sucks, but that can be replaced. People talk about lag on the S5, but I have yet to see it on the S5 I am using. Everything is pretty smooth and quick to load.

I wouldn't buy it though. Def not over an iPhone 6.

 

[Technarchy]

Been using the S5 since launch and I'm pretty content. Based upon leaks nothing about the iPhone 6 is really getting my attention, because the S5 does most of what I need really well.

I look forward to Tuesday's reveal but as of right now I'm good with my S5.

 

[Shanghaichica]

Been using the S5 since launch and I'm pretty content. Based upon leaks nothing about the iPhone 6 is really getting my attention, because the S5 does most of what I need really well.

I look forward to Tuesday's reveal but as of right now I'm good with my S5.

This is pretty much my take although my head had been turned by the note 4. The S5 is a great phone imo with no flaws. We'll see what Tuesday brings though.

 

[Ddyracer]

Let's start with how it's laggier in comparison to stock, How the status bar icons are so ugly, how most system notifications are persistent(in the notification shade it constantly says connected to wireless) etc.

It's a mess. Android however is not.

Yep, and and android l puts it to shame. Honestly, touchwiz gets slow after less than a year. Stock android doesn't and gets smoother and closer to iOS every year.

 

[bkends35]

1 especially the silicon condom around it. How many times have you seen iphone without a condom? Or if not a condom, then another plastic case anyway...

2 Just install another launcher. You dont need to use touchwiz. It takes just a minute to change the launcher. E.g. my Note and Nova launcher with hexagon icon pack.
Image

Install another launcher over the touchwiz launcher to make it even slower? Seems legit. Touchwiz is a LOT more than a launcher. It's really the OS, vaguely based on android with terrible design executions. Settings app is horribly designed, camera takes forever to load, ugly green color throughout, slow, ugly messaging app. Just compare the settings and messaging apps with iOS and tell me touchwiz isn't complete crap. Oh, did I mention how horribly slow the gallery lags when you open it and how long your pictures take to load compared to iOS?

App design side by side. (All images from google except iOS settings screenshot)

 

[Fanaticalism]

Install another launcher over the touchwiz launcher to make it even slower? Seems legit. Touchwiz is a LOT more than a launcher. It's really the OS, vaguely based on android with terrible design executions. Settings app is horribly designed, camera takes forever to load, ugly green color throughout, slow, ugly messaging app. Just compare the settings and messaging apps with iOS and tell me touchwiz isn't complete crap. Oh, did I mention how horribly slow the gallery lags when you open it and how long your pictures take to load compared to iOS?

App design side by side. (All images from google except iOS settings screenshot)

The messaging app look and feel can be changed from the bubbles size, shape and color as well as hide the "contact image". You can even change the background of the thread.

Settings can also be changed to be to list view.

 

[bkends35]

The messaging app look and feel can be changed from the bubbles size, shape and color as well as hide the "contact image". You can even change the background of the thread.

Settings can also be changed to be to list view.

Why would I want to see my contacts face (or in most cases a generic picture) in each message? Very cluttered, I know you can change messages around but it's still a mess. Why do I need to see the timestamp on every message? More clutter. The settings app is even worse when you change it to a list, never ending with all the samsung crap that should be grouped together like iOS' settings app.

 

[Technarchy]

Why would I want to see my contacts face (or in most cases a generic picture) in each message? Very cluttered, I know you can change messages around but it's still a mess. Why do I need to see the timestamp on every message? More clutter. The messages app is even worse when you change it to a list, never ending with all the samsung crap that should be grouped together like iOS' settings app.

Hangouts...

 

[bkends35]

Hangouts...

Yes, but hangouts still is a little slow (although sammy's client is too) but your average android user won't know how to switch to it and how to use it. I just wish samsung would make touchwiz decent out of the box instead of having to modify, customize and turn off most of the useless crap.

 

[Naramis]

What exactly are you missing that Apple has but Android doesnt? Just curious to know, because my and-win-mac combination works petfectly. So I wonder what I am missing being without "Appleclosed ecosystem" when using a crossplatform system.

Yeah, I also wonder what exactly is this "wonderful Apple ecosystem working together" talk. I have an iPad and a Mac, so far the only benefit I can see is that my Safari bookmarks sync between them (which Chrome could also do if I wanted).
My phone is currently a S3 and I'm considering moving to iPhone, and I always see people talk about this integration. What exactly do you do with it?