I’m planning on switching platforms and I’m just curious of the opinions of people here. I think that Android can have advantages in areas of privacy and external app installation, but most of the benefits come with a lot of tinkering out of the box.

I’m a very capable person at modifying my phone and I don’t generally mind doing that. I can make the interface work however I want. But I find myself caring less and less about how I interact with things in the light of what Apple is doing.

I’m looking at Android and it seems to be pretty far behind iOS at the moment. The messaging service is a huge sticking point and progress isn’t being made to unify iMessage with RCS apps. It seems to me like Samsung is making more progress with the platform than Google itself is. Like they’re the ones carrying it right now.

Keep in mind, I’m not a shill here. I haven’t used iOS in years. I still think they’re overpriced phones and Apple isn’t a great company. And I wish USB-C was a thing. This isn’t an ad. I’m just frustrated with the android platform and Apple seems to be leaving it behind.

Example features: FaceID, iMessage, home screen UX, battery life, and extended software support.

So can anyone tell me if they feel the same or help me in my decision? Not trying to start a tech war btw

  • PurpleReign@beehaw.orgEnglish
    0·
    1 year ago

    Apple refuses to integrate RCS into iMessage despite Google publicly calling it out and inviting it to do so. Apple is not incentivized to do so since they enjoy the iMessage ecosystem lock-in. Google is further ahead than Samsung, and allows you to use RCS with their stock Messages app. Personally, I use Signal with all my friends and family which works on both iOS and Android.

    Let’s go through your example features…

    • Face ID: This is available in the latest Google Pixel models via Face Unlock. No it’s not as good as iOS, but you also have the fingerprint reader as an additional option with Pixel, which you don’t have on iOS. As someone who experiences Winter, I’m glad to not have to show my face to unlock my phone when I’m bundled up or skiing with a helmet/goggles on. Easier to just take a glove off for a hot second to unlock the phone.

    • iMessage: This is blue bubble envy, and it’s pretty slick I can’t lie. Again, I’ve been lucky to get my friends to use Signal, but if all your friends are using iMessage it can be annoying. This is a problem of Apple’s own making, however, and I wouldn’t reward them (on principle) for sustaining the issue despite options being available.

    • Home Screen UX: Not sure how Android doesn’t win this one hands down. iOS home screen customization is way behind Android, and even with the latest changes in the latest versions of iOS, it’s still behind.

    • Battery Life: I don’t find my Pixel 7 to suffer from poor or even remotely poor battery life at all. There are Android phones like the Asus Zenphone 10 that are crushing even the best iPhone on battery life. It’s easily a two-day phone, and they do it all in a compact package.

    • Extended Software Support: Again, it’s all in who you choose to buy from if you value long term support. Samsung gives four years of OS and five years of security updates for its phones. Google gives three years of OS updates and five years of security updates on its phones. Not quite as good as iOS, but not worth spending a bunch extra for an iPhone.

    Ultimately though, it’s Apple’s hostile approach to allowing users to repair their own products that has me staying away from purchasing their phones. Not just in the build process, but in their unwillingness to sell component level replacement parts of any kind to independent repair shops. And their support for killing right-to-repair legislation.