
I switched from iPhone to the Pixel 2: One-week report - dogweather
https://dogsnog.blog/2018/04/30/i-switched-from-iphone-to-android-1-week-report/
======
YouKnowBetter
My whole family (parents, sister & her kids, wife & our kids) have switched to
iPhones (and macos devices) years ago.

Result:

1\. no "technical" issues anymore. As the go to IT guy in the family this
alone is worth the supposed premium price one pays for the Apple logo.

2\. Everything is updated, at all times.

3\. "Facebook logs my sms" are a none issues

4\. All devices die of old age (even the devices that have since long not
recieved updates "just work")

5\. Nothing beats the quality of Facetime (we live all over the globe and use
it extensively to celebrate and share together).

I still buy a couple of Androids per year. Cheapish phones for experiments
with wardriving, imsi catcher catchers and other fun projects. So I totally
get the "Android is outselling iPhones", thing is that we spend x moneys in
the iTunes shop, and not a dime in the Google store.

We've also moved out contact data out to google (since gmail is just absolutly
the only email one ever needs and having synced contacts is wonderfull)
together with the google photo app (since it is free and does a great job
while migrating between devices).

Now if only there was a way to painlessly move from one iPhone to the next, we
would be exchanging them far more often. But no matter what I've tried: one
always looses certain passwords / content / settings from different apps.

~~~
uhhhhhhh
I've got to say I have the exact opposite experience. It got to the point I
now don't do apple/iphone support for family. The number of itunes issues, osx
keystore issues, technical issues with phones was taking a lot of time, and
user issues with the iphone never ended.

My parents, sisters, and any aunts/uncles nearby that I support are all on
windows 10 with android phones.

My results.

1\. Time spend supporting family 1/10th compared to before. Android phones
just work for us, update often and cost less so the occasional "OMG I dropped
my phone and its broken" issues pretty much went away.

2\. Android phones are all running the latest OS, give or take a minor update
(usually stick with google or samsung flagship or mid-range models). Updating
doesn't brick or blow away app settings or cause issues for users.

3\. Never had this issue, but most of my family doesn't use facebook on their
phones.

4\. I have yet to have an apple product last more than 2-3 years. My last
iphone lasted 1.5 years before it started randomly crashing/glitching. My
current android is 2 years in without any issues.

5\. Skype/Duo works great for my family. There is a subset of the family that
uses facetime, they don't talk to the rest of us as often anymore.

I use apple products for work. I tend to get a HW replacement for laptops
every 18-24 months due to HW failures, I'm on my 4th laptop in 6 years all due
to HW issues.

Sometimes its got to be just luck. we have almost exact opposite experiences

~~~
mathgeek
> There is a subset of the family that uses facetime, they don't talk to the
> rest of us as often anymore.

To me, this is one of the greatest shortcomings of video chat. We went from a
universal phone system to a mostly universal SMS system (most private networks
still supported SMS) to a segregated video chat system, and it hurts
relationships if you're not careful.

~~~
thomastjeffery
And that is entirely Apple's fault.

That is one of my main frustrations with Apple: In order to compel more people
to use their platform, they made a proprietary communication service, and
preloaded it on all of their devices. Now I have to deal with this arbitrary
segregation, just because some corporation decided it would help their bottom
line.

This is exactly the kind of practice rms warned us about decades ago, and
there is nothing any individual can do about it.

~~~
s73v3r_
Google Duo works just fine on iPhones.

~~~
thomastjeffery
The problem is that it isn't preinstalled, while iMessage and Facetime are.

Apple tries very hard to convince its users that its practices are not the
problem, but those who choose not to use Apple products. Anything that doesn't
come preinstalled is seen as an unnecessary inconvenience by most iPhone
users.

~~~
s73v3r_
Given that the app is free, and that people are willing to install apps their
friends recommend, I don't think this is much of a barrier.

WhatsApp doesn't seem to have this issue, for instance.

~~~
thomastjeffery
> I don't think this is much of a barrier.

Unfortunately, many iOS users do, and Apple cultivates that attitude as its
culture.

~~~
s73v3r_
No, they just prefer what iOS provides, or they don't know many people who use
WhatsApp. For all it's popularity elsewhere, here in the States, WhatsApp is
not used very much.

I've never downloaded WhatsApp, mainly because I don't know anyone who's on
it. That's a bigger barrier than anything being preinstalled.

------
ibdf
It's clear from reading the threads in here that user experience on either
side is not consistent. That's fine, get what works for you. If you have an
android and it's not working for you, then switch to an iphone, and vice
versa. Try a flip phone if you need simplicity.

What I don't get it... is this fanboyism, this loyalty to a company that knows
you as close as a number on a spreadsheet and a dollar amount on their bank
account. Companies are not loyal to you, they will do whatever they want and
push whatever product they build on you as long as you keep your devotion ($).

~~~
craftyguy
I can't wait for the Librem5 phone. Both mainstream options, whether it's
Apple or Android, are terrible.

~~~
ghostbrainalpha
I always wonder about people who value security so highly.

I like the idea of security but I can't justify the cost of more than $2,000
to protect myself from ad trackers.

Like is this something that matters that much because of the line of work you
do? Or is it just about being a high net worth individual.

~~~
ScottBurson
$2000?? I'm looking at the page right now [0] and it says $600 — well within
reason.

[0] [https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/](https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/)

------
jvannistelrooy
For my job as an app Product Manager, I use several different devices on a
daily basis. I also switch between an iPhone and Android phone as my personal
device every half year or so, to stay up-to-date with both platforms.

I think articles like these are interesting to read, but not relevant anymore.
iPhones and high-end Android devices both offer a mature user experience, and
you can't objectively say that one is better than the other.

The choice of one OS over another depends entirely on your personal use cases,
and of course personal taste. This is also reflected by all the valid, but
personal reasons people list in this thread to choose a specific OS.

~~~
danieldk
_iPhones and high-end Android devices both offer a mature user experience, and
you can 't objectively say that one is better than the other._

I agree. Both are great. It boils down mostly to:

\- Are you in the Google ecosystem: Google Apps are greater on Android.

\- Do you use a Mac: iDevices and Macs do handoff (you can take your phone
calls on the Mac, continue typing an e-mail on your iDevice, etc.).

\- How many years and how regular do you want security updates. Here
generally: iDevices > Google Pixel > non-Google Android.

\- How convenient are you with Apple or Google having a chunk of your private
data.

Also, more in general, non-Google Android can be a terrible mess. For
instance, I used Motorola phones for a while, they used to update phones
pretty quickly after Google, but then you were stuck with the extremely buggy
.0 version for a long time. Android 5.0 on my Moto X 2013 or 2014 (I don't
remember) was terrible, since it had a memory leak. It took them > 6 months to
start pushing out fixes.

~~~
jvannistelrooy
> I agree. Both are great. It boils down mostly to:

You make a couple of good points, but I think it's again down to your personal
situation and taste that makes it "boil down" to these points.

------
bdamm
After 7 years Android user across three phones, I decided to try iPhone. Now 2
years in, on my 2nd, and never going back. Android tends to slowly slide into
glitch land and demands you throw away your phone far more aggressively than
iPhones do. The 911-crash on Android was the last straw. That's when you call
911, and the phone crashes instead of, you know, calling for help.

iPhone might not be latest and greatest. But the overall package is better.
Definitely not perfect - I've experienced a disabled Phone app on iPhone where
I would not have been able to call 911 had I needed it - but all my i-devices
have been glitch resistant in a way none of my Android devices ever were.

~~~
wvenable
I think sometimes it's a grass-is-greener situation. I had an iPhone bug where
the camera/gallery would just crash on startup or basically anytime I had to
do anything camera related. I eventually fixed it (after months of trying) by
connecting to a PC with a 3rd party app, navigating the file system, and
deleting a bunch of thumbnail cache files.

I had plenty of problems answering phone calls on my iPhone -- it would be
glitchy and unresponsive and I'd miss calls.

Even more annoying about the iPhone is the always growing "Other" space on the
phone. I was constantly short on disk space with no way of knowing what the
cause was or how to clean it up.

The bluetooth stack would crash every week disconnecting all my bluetooth
devices temporarily. Very annoying when you have a smartwatch.

My wife's iPhone screen doesn't turn off after she uses Siri sometimes --
it'll just say on all night long.

The entire iPhone 6 (non-S) line was total garbage. Tons of people bought
these and had nothing but problems.

My point isn't so much to rag on iPhones -- they're actually really solid
devices -- and I highly recommend them to non-technical users pretty much
exclusively. They are hands down better than the vast majority of Android
devices.

But I switched from iPhone to Android on this last cycle and couldn't be
happier -- this article covers much of what's good about it. But I love the
flexibility and a lot of little touches that iOS devices don't have. And I
think all devices have different problems. My Android phone is not glitch free
either.

~~~
cm2187
I have beefs with my iPhone and iPad but not those.

1\. Nagging for Apple paid services

2\. Gestures changing every month and becoming increasingly complicated with
small variations doing different things, inconsistent experience between iPad
and iPhone

3\. Audio jack

4\. Anything that involves editing is a catastrophe. Selecting an element of a
table on a web page or trying to copy the text of a link (not the url) is
nearly impossible.

5\. Auto correct introducing more errors than it corrects.

6\. iTunes on Windows which is still the only way to sync my music to the
iPhone is just completely broken.

Which is why I am tempted to move. I can see some candidates for an iPhone
replacement but the iPad Pro 10.5 doesn’t seem to have any competitor (large-
ish screen with high refresh rate).

~~~
rxhernandez
I have definitely known too many people to experience issues with missed calls
on iPhones to ever consider buying one. I have had android phones since the
HTC Dream and I have never had something as simple as that go wrong - although
the 911 bug seems far worse; I've just never met anyone with that problem.

~~~
oldcynic
My Nexus 4 developed an interesting one after the update to 5 and 5.0.1.
Incoming calls would crash it half the time, or 5 seconds of silence on calls
that didn't crash. The dialler was almost unusable.

Was widely reported but never properly resolved, so that was the cue for
replacement.

~~~
mikestew
My Samsung Note 3 got so laggy that I couldn't get the unresponsive phone app
to actually pick up the call before it flipped to voice mail. Reboots would
fix it temporarily, but it would come back. You have failed at your primary
purpose, phone. Android experiment over, back to iOS.

------
patja
The iPhone walled garden is what gets my goat, particularly when it comes to
the impact it's had on my children. Combined with an observation that there is
a distinct subset of people who buy iPhones who seem uninterested in how
technology works or engaging deeply in solving technology interop problems
when things go wrong. I get that's part of the feedback loop -- you buy an
iPhone because "ack, technology! I just want things to work" and Apple has
done an excellent job of capturing this market, extracting a price premium for
it, and delivering on this hope.

Regarding the children, what I see in my community is many of the iPhone-using
parents upgrade phones immediately when a new model comes out, and the old
phone goes to the kids. You get a bunch of 10 to 14 years olds packing
iPhones, many without a SIM, all "texting" with one another. Except mostly
they aren't really texting in the SMS sense, they are iMessaging. And they
have no clue or interest in figuring out why iMessage doesn't always work very
well across the iPhone <\--> Android border. This is exacerbated by the fact
that kids get new phone numbers, some of which are still registered to the
former owner's iMessage account (have fun explaining all that). It creates
cliques and exclusionary behavior ensues, and boy let me tell you when you are
not in the cool kids' group text because your dad won't pay the Apple tax and
bought you an Android phone, it can make for some sadness and frustration.

All this probably says as much about the school culture my kids are immersed
in as it does about the technology.

~~~
ppeetteerr
The walled garden is one of Apple's strengths. I joined the ecosystem because
there is a walled garden, not despite of it.

There is some anecdotal evidence that Apple is heavyhaded with their approval
process but, for the most part, it's a success.

The parent-kid thing is a societal problem, not an Apple problem. Can hardly
blame a company because the kids of their customers don't want to be inclusive
(exclusivity is more than just what device you use).

~~~
thomastjeffery
The problem here is that the walled-garden approach is being used on
communication services.

It's _arbitrarily_ impossible to send text to/from Android with iMessage. It's
_arbitrarily_ impossible to use Facetime with anything other than iOS or OS X.

You may have found this walled garden to be a feature, but that doesn't mean
every person you associate with does; yet you are likely imposing it upon
them.

This problem is exasperated by the target market: People who want something
that "just works" are generally going to be the most frustrated when they
can't communicate across platforms; and most likely to blame it on everyone
else, while refusing to solve the problem on their own end. Apple is taking
advantage of this mentality, and abusing us all.

~~~
ppeetteerr
Apple is not abusing anyone (maybe their assembly workers, but even that is a
stretch). They are providing a service and no one is forced to use it.

At the office, we use Slack and Webex for communication. With some friends, we
use Skype and Messenger for video calls, with others it's FaceTime. No one is
ostracized for having an Android. Not at work and certainly not in private.

How do you feel like you're being imposed on?

~~~
thomastjeffery
From Wikipedia:

> Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of an entity, often to unfairly or
> improperly gain benefit.

I would say that their actions clearly fit that description.

They are abusing their customers by preventing them from using software
outside their controlled ecosystem, and they are purposefully creating
incompatible communication protocols in order to make everything around them
effectively worse.

~~~
ppeetteerr
You could prevent others from using alternative systems by simply not
collaborating with other players (for any one of a million reasons) and not
building compatible software. It's not abuse, it's the belief that they don't
need other parties to build great product.

------
Saaster
I wish I could switch to the iPhone, and I've tried several times. The
hardware is excellent. But these are my deal-breakers that keep me on Android
(I've only ever had Google Nexus / Pixel phones):

\- Lastpass or any other password manager on iPhone is a joke, requiring
multiple convoluted steps and using the "share" menu in the browser because of
the Apple lock-down. Lastpass on Android? Click the password field in any app
or the browser, authenticate with your finger. Done.

\- All the Google apps on the iPhone are of a much lower quality and behind
design and feature wise. The reason I switched last time from the iPhone to
Android was because I realized I don't use any of the Apple apps any longer
(mail, maps, notes, music, etc.) and I use the Google apps and services
exclusively because they're just so much better. And they're way better still
on Android!

\- Google Photos is amazing. It's hard to overstate just how good it is. And
you can still plug in your phone and get your photos of the device, if you
like. A recent experience of trying to backup my wife's photos from her iPhone
7 was an incredibly frustrating experience in contrast. The Apple photos
desktop app is a piece of crap, somehow even slower and beachball-prone than
the Apple Store app, and the backup is very confusing. Using iCloud is _not_ a
backup solution, because deleting a photo on any device still deletes it
everywhere.

~~~
kossae
Wow. As an iPhone user I actually wasn't aware of how easy LastPass is on
Android. I, too, hate all of the steps (leave browser to open the app, search
for your site, copy password, go back to the browser, paste password).
Hopefully I'm missing something?

Re: Google. Their apps are certainly subpar as opposed to Android, which is to
be expected. They are getting better, though. And Google Photos is a must for
me as an iOS user. I've certainly had issues before as well with iCloud
backups of image libraries.

~~~
danieldk
_leave browser to open the app, search for your site, copy password, go back
to the browser, paste password_

In the browser, you can tap the share icon and choose 1Password, this will
open 1Password and you can confirm the entry to log in.

~~~
tomduncalf
Same for Lastpass

~~~
kossae
Thanks for this! That's a game-changer for Safari-based logins for me.

------
zspitzer
I have a Pixel 2 XL, alas the USB-C headphone adaptor died.

There's a request a support call button in settings, I pressed it and 2 mins
later a native english speaker called me back, 12 minutes later (which
included getting my address details), Google was express shipping a
replacement from part which arrived 42 hours later (HK - Melbourne,
Australia).

~~~
lifeisstillgood
Holy mother __ __ __ __cow

That's awesome on so many levels. Just having "call me i need your help" on
the phone is so obvious and yet unexpected.

And then actually having strong customer support is ... ungoogle-like

wow

~~~
CydeWeys
There's this meme that Google has terrible customer support that is years out
of date. When you have a problem with a Google product that you actually paid
for (like one of their hardware devices), experiences are generally good. I
had a replacement Nexus 5X shipped with no problem, for instance.

~~~
e40
Google only gives support for paid things. I was a Nexus user for years and
always got good service. I'm in Project Fi now and the service there is
excellent. Just try getting support for a Gmail bug, if you're not paying
Google money for your phone.

~~~
CydeWeys
And to be fair ... why would one expect customer service on a free product?
Free Gmail is possible because, as a software product, it scales effectively
infinitely with no marginal cost beyond increased data center utilization. But
customer service requires real humans, with marginal costs too high for a free
service. Customer service only scales by adding more reps, which has linearly
increasing costs.

I think a reasonable expectation is that if you want customer service, you
should actually be a paying customer (one way or the other).

Whenever someone complains about bad customer service, my response from now on
is going to be "And how much are you paying for the product?"

------
setquk
I was an an android user for many years but switched to an iPhone about 10
months ago. I have three complaints with android which will stop me going back
again:

1\. It demands my attention too much. Updates, problems, weirdness, random
crashes.

2\. I don’t trust any android handset vendor to look after me. I’ve had a
handset abandoned by the vendor before I’d even bought it despite assurances
otherwise. A promise is worth nothing now.

3\. Poor control of data collection and privacy. I feel like I am being milked
constantly for my whereabouts and information.

No thanks.

~~~
Siemer
1\. Buy a flagship phone. My S7 hasn't crashed once since I got it over a year
ago. 2\. Buy a flagship phone (or get better laws? Pretty sure EU has laws
against that sort of behavior). 3\. Disable the 2 or 3 settings in Google Maps
that make your phone ask those nosy questions [a].

[a] [https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/161704/turn-
off-...](https://android.stackexchange.com/questions/161704/turn-off-
notifications-of-google-maps-requests-for-information)

~~~
setquk
1\. I had a flagship from Samsung. It’s google’s Estate that is buggy as hell.

2\. I’m in the UK. Forget it. We have good laws. Law should be a last resort
but would have to be first call to get anything useful out.

3\. And the 9,000,000 other places it does the same thing.

Honestly the last straw was when I was sitting down having a shit and it asked
me to rate the public toilet and suggested taking a photo. So I did and for 6
months there was a picture of my excrement and a review on the Internet.

~~~
brianmcc
And now I'm wiping coffee off my monitor :-D

------
chrischen
I had the same experience when first switching to Android after a lifetime on
iPhone. But after a year of really getting to use Android features it
eventually became apparent Android has its own problems, and I ended up
switching back to iOS. It'll seem great at first since it does things
differently and improves on many aspects of where iOS fails at while it's
fresh in your mind, but you'll need to spend much more time using it day to
day to get a real sense of the pros and cons.

~~~
mirkules
This is the review I'd really like to see. I'm not interested in "first
impressions" or "1 month in". I'm interested what happens after a year, two or
even three years.

I have an iPhone 6S+, and it works almost flawlessly - animation is still
good, very few app glitches, and even the original battery is in decent shape.

I'd like to hear how Androids from that era fare compared to iPhones from that
era - because I plan on having my next phone for at least this long.

~~~
matwood
> I'm interested what happens after a year, two or even three years.

I can write an older version of this review, so it may be a bit out of date
now. I owned the iPhone 1, 3g, 4, 4s, got tired of waiting for a larger less
expensive phone, and moved to Android. I had the HTC One X, Nexus 4, and Nexus
5 (also a Nexus 7 tablet). I move back to the iPhone for the 6, and have had
the 6s, 7+, and now the X.

The One X was almost a disaster that forced me to switch back. As soon as I
had to deal with carrier and HTC crap, I immediately thought mistake but made
it work and decided to never get another non-Google Android phone.

IMO, Google hit a sweet spot with the Nexus line because they were priced well
and performed well. I had nagging issues with them, but for the price I dealt
with them. The build quality was also not quite the same as the iPhone, but
again at that price they were great. On my value recommendation quite a few
friends left their iPhones and gave the Nexus line a shot (all have since
moved back to the iPhone).

My main issues were around performance, camera quality, general quirks (a
google process would randomly spin out of control causing the phone to really
heat up and be fully out of battery in about 10 minutes). If I didn't notice
this happening, then I would end up with no phone until I charged again. This
issue along with Google moving the price up near flagship is what caused me to
look at the iPhone again (I can write an entire other rant about how Google
destroyed my perfectly working N7 with an update).

I looked at some of the other manufacture flagship Android phones and IMHO,
none are worth the flagship pricing. The build quality is just not the same as
with the iPhone at that price. And since Google decided to go flagship also, I
decided to give the iPhone a shot again. Once back on the iPhone, only then I
realized how much I took for granted all the things that just worked. At this
point, I doubt I'll ever try Android again. iMessage, Continuity, my Apple
Watch, etc... all rely on the iPhone now. Plus, I think my point is still true
that even the latest Pixel2XL screen is not as nice looking at the screen on
my X. I've looked at the them side by side and even the Android people in the
office agree.

I'm sure someone will come along and say I'm an idiot and Android is the best
thing ever (I'm sure it is for a lot of people), but you asked for opinions
from someone who used both extensively :)

~~~
mirkules
Thank you for your thorough review. The last Android device I used was a
Samsung S3 which was very glitchy. Your review matches my experience and
confirms my suspicions (based on that experience) that Android phones will
never be as polished and "just work" as Apple devices.

------
no1youknowz
I know a lot of this is anecdotal...

My Mom who is 77, has had a few Androids. Always calling her Sons to help fix
her phone. She bought cheap phones for a couple of hundred dollars, but always
limited the Ram, but had plenty of storage.

WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook would constantly fill it up and many times you'd
have to clear out all the apps, clear the storage on the phone, etc, etc. Then
I would have to explain to her that whilst she had a 64GB Sim, none of the
Apps could be installed on there, etc, etc. She's not technical enough to
understand what Google does on each update. She just wants a working phone.

Now before I get replies. My time is mission critical, I can't spend 1 hour
debugging a phone and talking to someone who just wants to use a device as
non-technical as possible as anything complicated with be forgotten.

I made her get an iPhone 6. Installed all her favoriate apps and waited. Never
heard from her again.

She's 77, calls all over the world, has all her friends on messager and
whatsApp, she uses grammerly and surfs the web and even navigates via GPS
using google maps.

The Phone. Just works.

I. Being the technical one in the family. Gets left alone LOL.

In the family, 3 of Us have an iPhone. 2, Dad and 1 brother have an Android.
All they have is problems, but they are too stubborn to get an iPhone. Oh
well...

~~~
josefresco
Sounds like you just needed to buy Mom an Android device with decent storage -
and/or maybe a "flagship" device that isn't left hung out to dry.

I too have family with shitty Androids. My Mom runs an iPhone 5 that is so far
behind she's afraid to update it at this point (holding out for new iPhone) I
also have family with flagship Android devices - completely different exp.

~~~
no1youknowz
> and/or maybe a "flagship" device that isn't left hung out to dry.

I think you are missing the point there. She's on a fixed income. The iPhone 6
is on contract. When she got it, it was £0 down and £17.99 a month. Compared
that to a much higher costs per month for a flagship phone.

Not only that, once the 2 years has been up. She'll just get another contract
and an iPhone 8. Rinse and repeat and she'll always have a decent iPhone. It
doesn't need to be the best one.

Also, she isn't a power user. A flagship phone is completely wasted on her.

~~~
josefresco
The iPhone 6 was a flasgship device when it was launched. I meant find a
_comparable_ Android flagship device.

------
teekert
I'm thinking of going from android to iPhone for privacy reasons. But,
whenever I hold an iPhone that list of notification puts me off, in android
they are grouped, meaning 3 new exchange mails is 1 notification, I can pull
on the notification to expand the 3 and then even more for every email. Short
replies can be done inline in the notification even. I use that constantly.
You can also swipe away a notification group. In iOS apparently everything is
one notification, that really increases the amount of work handling them
significantly.

I did try google-less Lineage [0], but it's pain. Installing and keeping apps
up to date is more work and some apps don't have notifications.

So for now I'm on lineage with the nano Gapps package.

I am curious though, with android I can easily ssh into my server, and make
tunnels (use it as proxy), use vnc etc. Can you also do that with iOS?

[0] [https://lineage.microg.org/](https://lineage.microg.org/)

~~~
boudin
I don't see how Apple is better with privacy. I get it's a big part of their
marketing, but it's.... marketing. Phone still comes with siri, with apps you
can't remove, with location tracking. Apple cloud is, as all clouds, you
giving away your data to Apple, so you end up having to trust them blindly.

I know it's not part of their business model so far, but they still collect
and own a lot of your data.

As long as a phone comes with apps you can't remove (either if it is from
google, apple or whatever manufacturer), I don't see how it can be trusted.

~~~
ubernostrum
Apple is "better with privacy" because Apple's model is to have you pay for
things with your money instead of with your personal data.

If you really have a difficult time distinguishing any difference between
Apple's and Google's business models, I don't know how to even begin
explaining to you.

~~~
boudin
I'm not speaking about business model but about privacy. That's two totally
different subjects. I agree on the business model part, but it doesn't make
apple better than google on privacy. Apple still own a lot of your data
gathered through the app installed.

~~~
ubernostrum
So don't use anything, ever, then.

If you want to use a smartphone, you basically get to decide who you trust
more with the device that holds a lot of your digital life: Apple or Google. I
know how Apple makes its money, and I know how Google makes its money. This
makes the decision very, very easy.

Your argument basically is "yeah, I know one of these companies is already
actively exploiting my data for profit and the other isn't, but hypothetically
they might some day in the future so that means they're indistinguishable from
each other today". Which makes it close to impossible to treat you as arguing
honestly and in good faith.

~~~
boudin
I use neither of those and host my own services, but I know I'm a control
freak on that.

My point is that an object that you don't control can't be trusted for
privacy, that's all. Both iphones and stock android phone fits in this
category, you don't control any of those.

Edit : If Apple change it's business model and decide to use the data
gathered, what do you do? It's exactly the problem of privacy, having control
of the data you consider private. Controlling data over time is a really
important part.

~~~
selectodude
Apple probably made like $500 selling me an iPhone X. If they sell my data, I
won't buy another one. I guess I'm stuck trusting capitalism in that I think
Apple would rather keep making $500 every couple years than $50 once.

~~~
lederhosen
They sold your data to Google.

[https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/14/google-paying-
apple-3-billio...](https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/14/google-paying-
apple-3-billion-to-remain-default-search--bernstein.html)

------
donttrack
I used to make Android phones and I stopped using our own product after having
been a hardcore Android user from the beginning. Had the first Android device
that came out, rooted and rooted and rooted after that and built lots of apps
for various companies until I got into building the actual OS.

The reason I stopped using our Android product at that time was because of the
spyware. I even built a nice backend to host, browse and manage the so called
telemetry we collected. Now I dont use Android because Google and I simply
don't trust any Android vendor.

I miss an alternative to iPhone...

~~~
rhn_mk1
There are some alternatives already. They may not be 100% painless, but they
generally don't have the spyware problem.

From the top of my head:

\- Jolla [https://jolla.com/](https://jolla.com/) only shares the drivers with
Android \- Replicant [https://www.replicant.us/](https://www.replicant.us/)
only shares AOSP with Android, making this community project reputable in my
eyes \- Librem 5
[https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/](https://puri.sm/shop/librem-5/) will share
nothing with Android when it comes

The two issues with those is lesser hardware and app selection, but this is
what happens to the third contender in the current situation.

------
grepthisab
I use both, got a free Pixel XL and my work phone is the iPhone 8 or
something, not the X for sure. I have owned both Google and Apple phones in my
personal life for years each, and now carry both side-by-side daily.

I'll say I generally prefer the Pixel to the iPhone. Many things are easier, I
can use my yubikey with the Pixel, the less locked down nature means I have
more control (and I'm no heavy customizer by any means), and it's generally
smoother. I do really like the notifications on the Pixel vs the iPhone as
well.

However, a handful of third-party apps seem more polished on the iPhone (the
delta isn't what it used to be though), and I like the iPhone wallpapers
better. OTOH the Google apps are better on the Pixel, and Apple keeps trying
to shove Apple Maps down my throat when I navigate, annoying.

Mostly though, the Pixel is better. Upside is also when you upgrade to a new
Nexus-type device (Pixel, Nexus, etc.), you can install CopperheadOS on the
old one and have a privacy-focused secondary phone. I have Copperhead on my
old Nexus 5X.

~~~
mrep
> Apple keeps trying to shove Apple Maps down my throat when I navigate,
> annoying.

I hate this so much. I just want to use Google maps with Apple auto but it
won't let you. This is alone is making me consider the switch.

------
ArmandGrillet
I've switched for a month while traveling and I agree with the author, some
additional points:

\- The phone is too smart. E.g. it transforms your voice messages into text
messages which is magic but also pings you after you visit something "Hey,
wanna rate the store you just visited?" "Hey, you took pictures of this place
today, wanna share them?".

\- The pictures are outstanding, particularly in low light. The portrait mode
works much better than on the iPhone X.

\- Third-party apps are not as polished, e.g. Instagram Stories do not work
well.

\- The design is good but placement of the buttons is awful. After a month I
was still shutting down my phone while taking a picture because you can press
on the volume button to shoot which is right next to the power button.

\- Project Fi is perfect (the price is the only downside I've found and it is
a subjective argument) and should have an Apple counterpart, not only Apple
SIM on the iPad.

All in all I liked it and it was great to go back to Android for a month, but
I went back to the iPhone. I have an Apple ecosystem and the iPhone is just
too well integrated to leave it. It feels like the Pixel is one of the few
Google hardware devices that is not an experiment but Apple offers me an
entire ecosystem that is coherent and enjoyable for my daily life.

~~~
ratzinho87
The smart notifications you are mentioning are from Google Maps. You can
disable them individually by going to Settings -> Apps -> Maps-> Notifications
and then unchecking everything under "Your contributions". But I agree they
are anoying.

~~~
sowbug
Or slide a notification about one-third to the right, then adjust the settings
that appear.

------
timrichard
I develop on Macs, and really like using iOS devices. The iPad is my tablet of
choice.... But I've always stuck with Android phones, since the G1 (and a lot
of jokes at the time).

I think it's because the app interoperability was designed in from the start,
something that only appeared gradually in iOS. I find a lot of value in
workflow companion apps. So when I get a text message, it gets archived to
Gmail with a label so it's searchable. And every incoming/outgoing/missed call
puts an entry with the details and timestamp in my calendar, so I can look
back for reference.

~~~
saagarjha
> So when I get a text message, it gets archived to Gmail with a label so it's
> searchable. And every incoming/outgoing/missed call puts an entry with the
> details and timestamp in my calendar, so I can look back for reference.

With iOS, these all get synced across your devices through Continuity. They're
not really searchable because Apple hasn't figured out a way to do search
right, but they're there.

~~~
herbst
Obviously the data is there, yet one allows you to do whatever you want in a
comfortable way while the other doesn't.

~~~
saagarjha
This is an often-complained about issue, though, so here's to hoping that
Apple fixes it at some point…

------
mrsuprawsm
One of the author's frustrations is actually already present in iOS:

> There’s a super-easy clear all link which is fantastic and hits at my #1 pet
> peeve w/ iOS’s design: the iOS notifications give me more work to do, not
> less

If you force touch on the topmost (x) in the iOS notification dropdown, you
get an option to clear all notifications.

However, I only recently discovered this myself, after using each iOS since
beta 1, so it's not exactly a discoverable feature.

~~~
CydeWeys
Apple has always done this, and it's frustrating. Another good example is how
they've always only had one mouse button on desktop, because they claimed that
having two or more was too complicated for users.

Well ... the problem is that having more than one button is actually useful,
and when the buttons are hardware buttons at least they are discoverable.
Instead, there's lots of functionality hidden behind Control-clicking and
Option-clicking and maybe more that is very hard to discover on your own (and
this goes back to the pre-OS X days even).

Force touch is similar in that the overall discoverable interface is too
simple, and then the added functionality on top of that is way too hidden.

------
hellofunk
> Much more transparency about what the phone is doing

This is a curious point, especially considering the recent FB Android app
revelations about lots and lots of things the phone was doing that nobody
realised, things that cannot happen on iOS due to stricter privacy
enforcement.

I suppose no month is complete without an iOS/Android flame war, but hopefully
that won't happen here. For what it's worth, smart phones are all pretty darn
awesome and if there is one key distinguishing factor that seems to persist
across generations of devices, it's privacy and security, of which Apple is
far different. If that doesn't matter to you, pick a year, any year, and you
will find one or the other platform to offer features that the other lacks.

~~~
techsupporter
This is the crux of the issue for me:

> it's privacy and security, of which Apple is far different

I simply don't trust Google to act in my interests when it comes to use of
_very_ private data by them or how their operating system permits use of that
data.

Frankly, I think Android is great. I love myriad things about it:

\- Set a default e-mail app

\- Set a default browser that isn't Safari (my kingdom to use Firefox Mobile
with all of its attendant add-ins on my iPhone)

\- Put icons wherever I want, like the author mentions

\- A WILDLY better--in my opinion--notification system, again like the author
mentions

\- Themes, widgets, and other customizations

\- Automation with things like Tasker

\- Background tasks

I'm gonna stop here because I could keep going for much longer. But the point
remains that my iPhone and iPad do 90% of what I want on a day-to-day basis
and I'm used to the quirks and, more importantly, Apple has shown a propensity
to keep what it knows about me primarily on my own devices or, when actually
transmitted to Apple, under much more restrictive policies than Google has.

I'd love it of Apple could do both, the astounding customization of Android
with the privacy and security features of iOS. But maybe you don't get one
with the other for some inherent reason. I'm not sure, so I stick with the one
in which I'm more confident.

~~~
fasj82
>\- Background tasks

That's bad

~~~
saagarjha
Well, it could be good or bad, depending on how you look at it. It's foolish
to argue that background tasks can't be _useful_. Can they also be privacy-
violating battery drainers as well? Sure. I'm sure there's a right tradeoff
here, and it doesn't have to be "no background tasks, period". My personal
take is that it's much closer to "no background tasks" than "free reign", but
your needs may vary.

~~~
dogweather
Yep, an app I want to always be in bg is
[https://www.thetileapp.com/](https://www.thetileapp.com/)

~~~
RandallBrown
Does Tile have any features on Android that is doesn't on iOS?

------
audunw
I feel like the pros and cons of iPhone vs Android phones are pretty well
known and stable now. I feel like we've had this discussion with the same
comments a dozen times before. It all comes down to their business model and
design philosophies.

I think the most important thing is not be too locked into one device. If
possible, try others for a couple of months at least.

On a side note, I really wish Jolla were more successful. We really need a
third option.

------
pmontra
A question for the author about the blog page: why did you set body
{visibility: hidden} and prompt some people with a blank page? I don't know
which one of the privacy extensions I'm using probably prevented some
JavaScript to turn it into visibility: visible, but why shouldn't it start as
visible since the beginning?

~~~
rauhl
Yeah, but if you leave JavaScript disabled how can the trackers fire?

I assume that's the real reason for all these pages which would work just fine
without JavaScript requiring it.

~~~
pmontra
Fair assumption. However one can do some tracking using visible and invisible
images from third party servers. They get the referral and their cookies even
if maybe not as many as they used to, browsers start blocking 3rd party
cookies now.

The worst thing I saw was a post loaded into a JavaScript as a JS object. The
script would insert it into the DOM after the onload event fired.

------
acchow
Android was a breath of fresh air after using the original iPhone and every
generation all the way up to the 4S..... for the first 2 months.

Then it just got progressively slower with crappier battery life. Switched to
a different Android phone (from a Galaxy to an Xperia, and then a newer
generation Galaxy).

Back to iPhone now. Will probably never get Android again.

------
laredo312
I've had a pixel 2 xl since release. Couple things I'm not seeing mentioned:

\- My Pixel 2 xl speaker is awful when compared to an iPhone. Many users
report the same:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=pixel+2+speaker+rattle](https://www.google.com/search?q=pixel+2+speaker+rattle)

\- My Pixel 2 xl proximity sensor will occasionally malfunction, causing the
screen to go black when making a call. Also, well documented:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=pixel+2+proximity+sensor](https://www.google.com/search?q=pixel+2+proximity+sensor)

The Google support callback feature is great, and getting an RMA was
relatively easy -- however, my RMA unit was worse than my original -- the
screen would periodically flicker off/on. Ended up keeping my original. Seems
like the RMA is outsourced to some random company, can't even remember the
name.

Coming from iPhone, I like Android better, and the Google Assistant is vastly
superior to Siri, but the hardware is still second-rate.

~~~
kaskavalci
It has been a week since I've got my Pixel 2 XL and I can't agree with you
more. Both mine and wife's phone flicker when screen is locked and it is
getting really annoying. Considering the price of the phone, this is not
acceptable.

------
elcapitan
Most of what the article describes in terms of user experience is that of
stock Android, not just the Pixel 2 - For those interested in a clean Android
but who don't want the Pixel I can recommend the Android One line, those are
devices by other manufacturers that basically have the same stock Android as
the Pixel devices, with similar quick updates etc.

I just exchanged an older Samsung Galaxy S-line phone with a new Nokia with
Android One, and it's the best Android experience I ever had.

~~~
fulafel
The new Nokias¹ with Android One get updates directly from Google, so a good
alternative there.

¹ really HMD

------
saagarjha
> Universal back function: It’s great having a global “affordance” for the
> super-common thing that people want to do. It works well, too: its meaning
> subtly changing in the right way, depending what you’re going back from.

Funny, I always hated this. I could never figure out just where the back
button would take me.

~~~
andrewla
Agreed -- I use an iPhone, but I have a couple of Android tablets at home, and
I find this super annoying. It appears not just to be dependent on the app
state, but also the path to get there; sometimes navigating into an app
through the task switcher means that back will take you to the app you were
just using, sometimes it means that you will tell the current app to go back.

There are too many contexts where "back" doesn't make sense or have a single
meaning to make including it as a hard button rather than in the app chrome a
good decision.

------
dvirsky
I've managed to destroy my Pixel 2 a few days ago, and for the time being
switched to an iPhone 6.

Some of the difficulties I'm having are due to habits or not knowing how to do
stuff in iOS, but all in all, the Pixel 2 and latest Android are so good, iOS
really feels like a step backwards. It used to be more polished than Android,
but that's not true anymore as well. It just feels clunky and primitive
compared to the Pixel.

------
NicoJuicy
I'm wondering for the people that say Android is buggy, how many used stock
Android

~~~
saagarjha
I've used stock Android, and yes, I'd call it buggier than iOS. It's much less
fluid and apps often just stop responding completely. It's not terrible, but
in my experience it's just been worse than iOS overall.

~~~
dogweather
What version Android was that?

~~~
saagarjha
7.1, I believe? I guess you can't call it stock, since it was LineageOS 14.1,
but it's close enough. If you're being picky I've used actual "stock" Android
Marshmallow and it's had the same issues.

------
Wildgoose
I have an iPhone SE because it has a headphone jack. But if the SE 2 doesn't
have a headphone jack then this will be my last iPhone. My son wants to
replace his iPhone, he's just waiting to see if the SE 2 has a headphone jack
as well, or he will be switching to Android.

Some of us like being able to charge our phone _and_ use it to listen to music
in our cars using the AUX input of our car stereos. Plus have a wider choice
of headphones that don't require constant charging.

And No, a dongle to get lost or broken is not an acceptable compromise.

~~~
eksemplar
You know the pixel 2 doesn’t have a headphone jack either, right? Apple may
have been first movers, but everyone is following.

~~~
dragonwriter
> Apple may have been first movers, but everyone is following.

Well, _Google_ is following, but while Google is the software maker behind
Android, they don't own the only, or even biggest, hardware business in that
ecosystem. Samsung, OTOH, responded by keeping the jack and bundling higher
quality wired headsets than the basic ones everyone used to bundle, but then
Samsung also has removable storage on all their flagships, and, on one of
flagship line, a stylus, so they pretty clearly aren't on board with the Apple
“progress means dropping features” approach.

------
mrarjen
I too have used iPhone for the entire smartphone trend so far, and I have been
considering getting the Pixel 2 as well, mainly since I keep getting locked
out of apple accounts, having weird issues on my device with every new iOS
update and the fact I'm basically 99% Google eco system now also with Google
photo's, things just seem to work far better and with less friction on Google.

I was afraid of the bad quality devices from the past android days, but so far
from what I have seen the Pixel seems to hold up.

~~~
larntz
I was in this situation also. I had an iPhone6s (and 3 iphones previously) and
after the iOS11 updates it started breaking badly. I had to restart it
regularly, the experience of playing music/podcasts in my car became almost
unusable and I have a long commute.

At that point I started considering Android. I prefer google maps and google
play music over apple music. iTunes on the PC is one of the absolute worst
things I've ever used.

I just wanted to use my phone without it being annoying and being able to
choose default apps was something I'd always envied about Android.

I bought a Pixel2 XL a few months ago. So far it has been great. I don't use
facebook on my phone so the possible privacy issues with that weren't a deal
breaker.

The notification system is amazing compared to iOS and I get to decide which
apps are defaults. Those two things are my favorite things about it. So far
the phone has stayed out of my way and I'm happy.

This is my first Android phone. We'll see how it goes long term, but I'm happy
I switched today. I'm not against going back, but if my current experience
continues I won't.

Apple has great hardware and a (I think) better privacy policy, but the
software experience eventually pushed me away. The one exception here is the
podcast app on iPhone. I miss it, but haven't taken the time to look for 3rd
party podcast apps on the Android (I'm using Google Play Music).

------
ScottBurson
Interesting to read this since I'm considering getting an iPhone; so far I've
only used Android. Does anyone have comments who has done the switch in that
direction?

~~~
rcheu
I switched to iOS this past year after using Android since the G1, and working
as an Android developer for the past 5 or so years. Pretty happy with the
iPhone X, less happy with iOS 11, I think previous iterations were better.

Things I like:

* typing feels much nicer, no lag in character input

* phone runs much cooler, does not make hand sweaty to hold

* far fewer random freezes or lag

* password management much better by default, every app with important information has faceid which is quite nice

* I prefer the photos taken by the iPhone camera

* I find tethering on iPhone works more consistently

Things I don’t like:

* no back button

* some Google apps for iOS don’t seem as good as their android counterparts. YouTube app keeps getting buggy updates, Inbox still doesn’t support full iPhone X screen.

* Prefer Android’s notification system

* A bunch of apps have video playback issues, I suspect there’s an OS level bug

~~~
Improvotter
> * typing feels much nicer, no lag in character input

This is huge for me. I feel like every Android phone has some kind of lag when
typing and scrolling. It's really annoying me to the point of sticking with
iOS even thought I'd love to switch to Android.

------
pw201
Unfortunately, Google got careless with the regular updates to the Pixel
phones. On the Pixel 2 and XL, back in February, they introduced an interop
problem with the wifi access points on a variety of home broadband routers,
including those from some of the biggest ISPs here in the UK. The problem
causes data stalls even though the status icon for wifi shows it connected
with good signal strength. The only remedy seems to be to toggle wifi off and
on, which makes it work for a while until it stalls again.

It’s been months (with their further monthly updates) and this still isn’t
fixed. See
[https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/73336431](https://issuetracker.google.com/issues/73336431)
for lots of people with the issue.

Regular updates are great until they break something fundamental like this.
The fact that they are issuing the updates with breakages suggest their
testing is inadequate. Google’s support on that ticket is non-existent, alas.

------
NicoJuicy
I'm not sure, but the #1 feature for not going to iOS I'd sharing through
apps, or is iOS capable of that?

------
narrator
The author asked for a replacement for Ominfocus. One of the best Android only
apps I've seen is a taak/project/to do list app: DJT GTD. It has a lot of
features and requires reading the tutorial to get the most out of it, but it
is really impressive and fast once you get the hang of it.

------
dep_b
> Makes sense: normally, these apps (and other “bloatware”) are pre-installed
> on phones when you buy them from a carrier.

However the iOS one "just works". Disclaimer: I hate voice mail with a
passion. Not using it unless I really think it might be something important.

> There’s a super-easy clear all link which is fantastic

Force touch the first close icon to close all on iOS. Which is absolutely
terrible in terms of UX.

> Universal back function: It’s great having a global “affordance” for the
> super-common thing that people want to do. It works well, too: its meaning
> subtly changing in the right way, depending what you’re going back from.

However you're guessing what you're actually going back to since there's no
visual indicator. The location is super perfect at the bottom row. Missed
opportunity for the iPhone X which has screen real-estate on the bottom.

------
zspitzer
the Pixel 2 swipe down on the fingerprint sensor gesture to open the
notifications panel trick is pretty cool

~~~
dogweather
RU trollin? Couldn't get that to work.

~~~
zspitzer
System - > Gestures -> Swipe fingerprint for notifications

~~~
rcarmo
Works on the Galaxy S8 too.

------
olegious
I was a devout Android user, ever since the first Android phone came out, but
after back to back horrible experiences (the first OnePlus and the Nexus 6), I
ditched Android for the iPhone and haven't looked back. Much better hardware
quality and the ecosystem works extremely well.

~~~
Shikadi
This probably is some sort of Fallacy that has a name... People should be
looking for the best product at the time for them, not the best brand forever.
There are anecdotes of people switching from one platform to the other and
never looking back all over the place. Technology evolves so quickly that when
you switch from one platform to another, it's almost always a step up provided
you purchase in the same tier or better of devices. Imagine someone driving a
10 year old car from one brand, who decides to try a new brand of car. It has
10 years of new technology in it and blows the old car out of the water. Does
that mean that they should switch brands forever and never look back? Phones
and computers move much faster than cars. That being said, your opinion is
completely valid and hopefully I don't come off as if I'm telling you your
opinion is wrong or anything like that

------
aheppy
I was a long time iOS user from the 3G to the 5S. At that point I decided to
try the Pixel 1 and I really preferred the Android experience. It's clear that
the quality of the UX is subjective and it takes a little time to get used to
the nuances of a new OS but 18 months on I'm still very happy with the move to
Android.

The main concern I have is for device lifetime. It's hard to know anything
more than an anecdote until a particular model is too out of date for the
information to be useful but my Pixel broke within a year. I was given a free
replacement under warranty but I don't have that same feeling of long-term
hardware lifetime I got from Apple.

------
jpeeler
Lots of comments here about being upset over the trend of headphone jack
removal in both camps. I know advertising is... just that, but I'm still
disappointed in Google's ad for the first Pixel phone (started at 43s):

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rykmwn0SMWU&start=43&version...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rykmwn0SMWU&start=43&version=3)

This was right after Apple removed the headphone jack on the iPhone 7. And
after poking fun at Apple, the next generation Pixel 2 of course also had the
headphone jack removed as well.

------
120bits
I switched to iPhone for many reasons, but the main reason was SERVICE. I
owned a HTC and then Samsung. I had issues with both the phones at some point
in time. Yes things can go bad. I can't take my android phone to a local store
to get it fixed. I need to send the phone to them, get a backup phone, port
all my contacts to the other phone. But if I have a issue with my iPhone all I
need to do is book an appointment at Genius bar, and they take care of the
rest. At least I know I can talk to a real person face to face to fix the
issue with my phone.

~~~
hocuspocus
With a Nexus or Pixel, all you'd have to do is contact the customer service
and wait for your replacement device.

I never really understood the love for booking appointments and going in
person to crowded Apple stores.

~~~
120bits
Some people like it. I dropped my iPhone and took an hour to replace the
screen(went around the mall for a walk), not sure I can do the same with
Pixel/HTC/Samsung.

------
harshaw
As a long time Android user and current pixel owner I wonder about how well
Android does with degraded hardware. My Pixel has not only gotten slower and
slower but the battery life is horrible. Yes, I use the phone all the time but
it's _really_ bad. Aside - I wonder if the crappy boxer email app required by
work is a source of pain.

I don't see iPhone user's charge their phones as much as I do, or carry around
an external battery pack like I do.

~~~
dogweather
My GF always has a battery pack with her for her iPhone 7. She also has Animal
Crossing: Pocket Camp up 24/7.

------
fortythirteen
> Much more transparency about what the phone is doing: how it’s charging,
> what it’s downloading, etc.

Except all the things Google is syphoning in the background without telling
you.

------
heyheyhouhou
I used to work in 2 major companies that make Android devices... I used to
have Android myself and recommend to everybody until I saw within one of the
companies some stats on how much porn users got in their phones...

As someone said before, Android is designed to milk users. Apps milk users
data because is something that Google does already, so somehow is OK to do
it...

------
ericd
The only thing keeping me definitively locked into an Android phone is
Google's excellent Fi cell service.

~~~
fa17
I use Fi from my iPhone. its not officially supported, but works without
issues.

~~~
ericd
Oh, awesome, thanks very much! I'll have to look into that. I wonder if it has
any issues with network switching, or if it's just the wifi switchover stuff
(which never seems to work anyway).

------
dhab
Used iphone for 4-5 years, and switched to Pixel 1. Initially, thought it was
crap and regretted it. 6 months later - it beats a lot of my experiences with
the iPhone. Only a few things are well done on iPhone than on Android, and I
am not going back to iPhone for sure.

------
alexozer
I recently installed an Arch Linux chroot on my Android phone, full access to
the filesystem and all. There's absolutely no way you could do anything like
that on iPhone without some serious jailbreaking.

------
funwie
I think we turn to compare wrong product categories.

a > $700 premium iPhone to a < $200 android phone.

a > $2000 premium mac to a < $500 PC.

Get premium devices equivalent to the prices of apple products, use and share
your experiences.

------
onewhonknocks
You are comparing a 2014 phone (iPhone 6+) to a 2017 phone (Pixel 2), and are
surprised that one seems 'better.'

It's obviously not even close to an apples-to-apples comparison though.

~~~
dogweather
For that reason, I didn't give attention to the device's speed.

95% of my comparison is the current iOS (which the 6s+ runs) vs. the current
Android.

~~~
onewhonknocks
But is it your contention that the experience of the current iOS on a 2014
device would be the same (or very close) as that of the current iOS on, say,
an iPhone X?

Because I'd push back on that.

~~~
sowbug
Dude, back off. This isn't a speeds and feeds product review. Someone had one
phone for a while and then bought another phone. This is a post about the
experience.

~~~
onewhonknocks
It is my opinion that it is a highly flawed comparison. Am I not allowed to
simply communicate that in the comments section? Also, I'm not sure why you
feel like you're in a position to tell me how to conduct myself.

~~~
sowbug
I'm just answering the question you seem to want to shove down the author's
throat. It wasn't meant to be a comparison in the sense of whether you should
buy this specific model or that specific model. It's whether someone shopping
for a phone could validly make a choice to switch ecosystems.

The actual author replied to your point in this thread, and rather than
advancing the conversation you only repeated your original point, but more
stridently. And now you're turning the conversation into some kind of free
speech issue.

You've made your single point many times. Do you have anything interesting to
say?

------
jonbarker
I'm not going to leave iOS because of bugs in macOS apps. That being said, I
wish Apple would focus more on macOS, or finally unveil the plan for
'unification.'

------
banku_brougham
>Much of the iOS experience is knowing which things to shut off, and which
things to work around.

Sadly, this sums up myy mode of behavior when configuring an iOS device.

------
pombrand
Android has system wide ad blocking not requiring root through the DNS66 app,
this alone makes me prefer Android.

------
10065
And when Android ditches the headphone jack? What then? It’s going to happen.

iPhone 6+. Flawless. Works perfect. Zero issues.

------
dudul
Speaking of Google Phones, anyone here ha experience with Project Fi and want
to share a little?

------
tobyhinloopen
iPhone and Google Pixel 2: glued shut expensive phone from Apple or Google.
Pick your poison.

------
jacksmith21006
Carry both an iPhone and now also an Android phone. My first Android phone was
a S7E and it was very laggy. I had the US version which heard was worse.

I now have a Pixel 2 XL and could not be happier. Buttery smooth. I now prefer
Android over iOS but can not deal with lag.

------
Froyoh
After reading your comments I can say that the reasons for getting iPhone over
an Android are the same as the reasons for getting an Android over iPhone:
inconclusive.

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dagenix
Welcome to the dark side, we have candy (and coffee).

