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In only three weeks, I completely abandoned iOS devices for Android

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muu

Member
Welcome to the Helix-side.
Android has a charming funk, in that it isn't always perfectly smooth, but it can do so many things iOS cannot.

The tightness of the OS is one of iOS's strengths, though. I don't want to troubleshoot my family's phones over petty crap they downloaded and somehow broke the phone with. For personal I wish that at least the iTunes integration wasn't as tightly enforced, but that's something I could take care of with a few third party music sync apps.
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
Actually Android has the best manga and comic apps. That's primarily why I have a Nexus 10.

Disagree. Nothing so far works even close to ComicZeal. Not by a looonnng shot. Plus, one of the apps you listed is for phones, not tablets. But, the media streaming thing is pretty sharp.

EDIT: I am incorrect about Mobi being only for small devices. Disregard that part.
 

FourMyle

Member
Thank you for being so brave and posting your transition story, OP. I know how hard it must have been for you to go through with this. My thoughts and prayers are with you, stay strong.
 

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
Opinions man. You clearly like playing videogames way more than me. Can you only get these 50 A+ games on Apple? Out of those 50 A+ games, do you feel like you couldn't find something similar on the Play store?

If you're sitting on the toilet taking a shit playing (insert ios exclusive triple A title), is the shitting experience all that much better instead of playing Subway Surfers?

I will rise to your incredibly transparent troll. Usually I play longer games on my iPad, so recently I've been enjoying the ports a lot, stuff like XCom, KOTOR and Baldur's Gate has been wonderful. Also played Walking Dead on it and Republique and a whole bunch of others.

But just talking pooping games, then Threes is the best pure puzzle game I've played since Drop 7, another rather aptly titled iOS toilet gaming winner.

tbh I have little idea of what is available on Android since I've not needed to look. But I never ever hear about Android only games I can't play. And if I was on Android I feel I'd be constantly hearing about good iOS games.

But I like touch gaming in general and it's obvious you don't so I don't know why I'm even taking the time to explain this to you.
 

Noema

Member
I'll probably make the switch very soon. Not so much because I want to; my 3.5 year old iPhone 4 is falling apart after so much use and I need a new smartphone, but I need something affordable off-contract so I'll get a Moto G.

I'm really interested in using Android 4.4 as a daily driver. I think it has come a long way. Pre-4.0 Android was pretty clunky and ugly, but they've really closed the gap.

My plan is to return to iOS when the iPhone 6 comes out but, who knows; I might end up really liking Android.
 

Jedeye Sniv

Banned
Disagree. Nothing so far works even close to ComicZeal. Not by a looonnng shot. Plus, one of the apps you listed is for phones, not tablets. But, the media streaming thing is pretty sharp.

EDIT: I am incorrect about Mobi being only for small devices. Disregard that part.

I occasionally use Cloud Readers which I preferred much more to Comic Zeal (at least, when I was testing stuff out a few years back). It's really barebones but I like how simple and no-fuckery CR is. I wish Comixology was as good, I still hate the way it does pageturns after reading hundreds of bloody books on it!
 

OneEightZero

aka ThreeOneFour
I did this once. Sold my iPad and iPhone and got a Nexus 7 and Galaxy S III.

I'm back to an iPad Mini Retina and iPhone 5S.

The uniformity of iOS across it's devices, while not exactly perfect in design, leads to a more enjoyable experience for me. I'm not spending my time time trying to tweak my Android device (ROM flashing, etc.) to get features I want and remove features that annoy me. I'm actually just using my devices now instead of tinkering for a usable experience like iOS.

Granted, iOS does have things that annoy me, but the ecosystem around those annoyances lead to a better user experience overall.
 
I actually went back to iPhone (5S) after 2 years with Android (Nexus 4, Nexus 5), though mostly because of work. They both do things that are good and I honestly could use either with no problems.

Here's what I think:

- Android's notification system is light years ahead of iOS
- The app design/jank on Android is still somewhat true but when you have a good dev, they can make apps that rival the best on iOS. Press and Reddit Sync for instance are just as good as Reeder and Alien Blue. In fact, Reddit Sync is probably the best reddit client I've ever used. Alien Blue is so overrated by iOS users.
- I think most mobile games are garbage but Threes and QuizUp have been really fun since I've gone back to iOS
- The sharing options and default apps lock down on iOS is straight up pathetic. One of the great things about Android is sharing a reddit post from the app to Whatsapp with one button and being able to open reddit links using my reddit app instead of fucking Safari
- The biggest thing I hated about Android was how "Windows-y" it felt. Apps leave leftover shit all over your phone that you need a file manager to delete, you never really knew if some app was running in the background draining battery leading to people needing apps like greenify, the horrific permissions system, etc.
 

Mindwipe

Member
I hope you're not referring to the instance where it turned out the publisher made the decision and not apple.

That's still a completely valid example actually, as that decision on Comixology's part was entirely valid given Apple's rampant censorship progroms and vague, arbitrary rulings.

But actually I was thinking of the removal of Sex #2 the week after. Which was explicitly pulled by Apple. But because of the Saga kerfuffle got totally ignored.
 

Mindwipe

Member
A 'lie'? Ok.

The one time that's been an issue for me does not outweigh the better performance and features of the app.

There that does confuse me, because I use the app on both platforms all the time, and there aren't any such differences.

I assumed you were reffering to how IAP are slightly more user friendly in iOS than Android. But that they sometimes won't work for no reason really renders that quite moot.

And Comixology is slow at updating both platforms, so it makes more sense to buy the issues on the PC even for mobile reading.
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
I occasionally use Cloud Readers which I preferred much more to Comic Zeal (at least, when I was testing stuff out a few years back). It's really barebones but I like how simple and no-fuckery CR is. I wish Comixology was as good, I still hate the way it does pageturns after reading hundreds of bloody books on it!

Right? All I want is an app that sorts series. This is apparently very hard to do, as ComicRack is the only one that even attempts to do it, but even then, it just doesn't do it even close to correct. ComicName - 01 is behind ComicName - 07, etc. ComicZeal may take a minute for the things to load, and the sorting was never 100 percent, but it sorted series about 90 percent of the time.

I'll try Cloud Reader. I think I've tried literally all of the rest, and ComicRack is the best, but it's still pretty crappy. EDIT: Lol, no I won't, iOS only. Of course.

Comixology seems to work the same though on both, so that's a bonus. Need to see how the Marvel Unlimited app works next.
 

Vyer

Member
There that does confuse me, because I use the app on both platforms all the time, and there aren't any such differences.

As do I and on tablets there most certainly are. Browsing through sections and titles/runs are much easier and faster, and purchasing in general is much quicker. The Android tablet app is basically the phone app.
 

Zutroy

Member
I'm in the same situation. iPhone owner since the 3GS just moved onto a Z1 Compact.

Can't say I feel the same way though. Love Sony's hardware, and there's features that I like about Android, but I much prefer iOS and will probably be switching back when the iPhone 6 is out.
 

IISANDERII

Member
sony-xperia-tablet-z-15.jpg


I have this and love it but it's not even as snappy/fast as my mother's ipad2.

I've tried a dozen web browsers and after a short period of use, they all slow to a crawl and I have to delete all the data and cache and to bring it back to how fast they were.

And I'm often going to shut things off manually because there's stuff running which I never asked for like google+, facebook etc.

Anything I can do?
 
I'm currently rolling with a low-end LG android phone (Shine?) because I'm a cheap bastard. I've used the iPad and the iPhone a lot and they're pretty good. But I can't stand having to use itunes for file management on those devices. I like it ultra simple with click-and-drag like simply using another computer. My phone acts as somewhat of a USB storage stick and I can move stuff cleanly from my phone to the additional storage I bought for it, no need to even use the computer. I'll never give that ability of access up for an iOS product.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
Android on tablets is the worst. IPad or windows all the way. I'd recommend nexus 5 though, beautiful device!
It's been a lot worse than it is now to be honest, lots of apps have been updated with proper tablet layouts over the past year or so.
 
What are you guys using for iTunes transfer? Im not much of a phone gamer but a heavy music listener so if you guys switched from iOS to android what would you use to transfer iTunes music
 

Nameless

Member
I was an iPhone user for nearly 4 years. Great devices but I can't see myself ever owning another. I strongly prefer the Android ecosystem, especially the freedom , customization, and increased functionality that comes with it right out of the box.
 
My only real issue with Android is that the manufacturers have not released a device thats top of the line in every aspect. All droid devices seem like they have to make a particular compromise in a particular specification.

For example, the HTC One is absolutely gorgeous(better looking than a 5S IMO), fast as hell, and Sense is actually a good UI, but its camera is just...so disappointing. The Z1 is beautiful, fast, has a good camera, but its screen quality is meh with the bad viewing angles. The S4 has great on almost every aspect but TouchWiz is ass. The Nexus 5(my personal phone) is good but its camera is still lackluster and its battery life is mad inconsistent.

The closest 2013 flagship Android phone has gotten to near perfect is the LG G2, and even then a lot of people dislike the UI and the plastic back material. If they took a HTC One aluminum body and fitted LG G2 internals and screen size on it, I'd never look back to iPhone.
 

Twio

Member
Once I got my HTC One I knew I could never go back to the iPhone. It really is an amazing phone.

Android tablets are another story however as my experiences with them haven't been that great.
 
I flirt with switching but I never go all the way. Samsung Galaxy Media Player, Nexus 4, nexus 5 and Nexus 7 (2012 and 2013)

Every time I just sell it to a friend or return it.

Dat App Store lock in makes it hard plus usually the quality of apps are higher and in greater numbers. Camera is better and hardware is better.

Android is probably ahead OS wise with how apps can communicate and a file system that makes it easier to manage than iTunes.

However I'm a very niche case where my entire library is lossless and iTunes does this thing where it converts the files on the fly prior to putting it on your phone without leaving an extra copy I don't need. I don't think there's an app that can do this for Android phones. Have to do the convert music to a folder and drag it to my phone.

Enjoy yor new tech!

Poor Windows phone/Surface people don't seem to want to switch to MS's stuff (which is pretty good)
 

Ollie Pooch

In a perfect world, we'd all be homersexual
Meh. Used 3 Android phones and a Nexus 7 over 2 years or so with mixed results. Really like Android but I missed a few features so ended up back on an iPhone 5s and iPad mini. iMessage and Airplay or bust. helps that nearly all my friends are iOS users, but being able to send pics, inline GIFs and (large) video so easily without needing them to install WhatsApp or the like is my killer feature.

I do miss the bigger screens of Android and stuff like Swype - but don't miss the slow and pretty mediocre cameras from those phones. Though I'm sure they're better these days.
 
Meh. Used 3 Android phones and a Nexus 7 over 2 years or so with mixed results. Really like Android but I missed a few features so ended up back on an iPhone 5s and iPad mini. iMessage and Airplay or bust. helps that nearly all my friends are iOS users, but being able to send pics, inline GIFs and (large) video so easily without needing them to install WhatsApp or the like is my killer feature.

I do miss the bigger screens of Android and stuff like Swype - but don't miss the slow and pretty mediocre cameras from those phones. Though I'm sure they're better these days.

They're 'better-ish' nexus 5 seems slower to focus on a shot. Sony's smartphone camera is pretty nice. The magic is in the software and they're evolving

The bigger screen probably comes with the next iPhone.
 

The Real Abed

Perma-Junior
I gave Android a serious go before I got my iPhone. I didn't care for it and prefer Apple's ecosystem over Googles. (Especially since I had to abandon Chrome due to its ever increasing shittiness on my machines - OS X - so being able to use Safari on my iOS devices again was icing on the cake.)

But good for you, man. Use what you like.

I don't want to get into fragmentation either, but still, fragmentation. I like upgrading my phone and tablet day 1 instead of waiting for the makers to give me permission. So that's another bonus.

And the final bonus in the coffin is of course being a Mac user for 14 years, it just makes sense to use stuff that works together. (Though I know Google also has the same equivalents, in fact most of them are also integrated into iOS and OS X as well like Calendar, Mail and Contacts.)

Choices are always good. Use the one that works best for you.
 

njean777

Member
Tried it for a week with an s3, didn't care for it and went back to iOS. Won't leave again. Also have played with my friends nexus 5 and wasn't impressed.
 

reKon

Banned
I just downloaded Bubble PnP. HOLY SHIT. It works. I feel like I just saw an airplane take wing for the first time...lol.

I can now watch Archer from any room in the house.

(Okay, so if anybody knows of a comic app that isn't ass, I will take my my dislike for my tablet).

You can literally stream anything with this app. I bought the licensed version a while before Chromecast even app. This app works really well as long as your devices are DLNA compatible and on the same Wi-Fi network, that app will let you control where you want to stream from and the output device. I could stream stuff on my laptop, tablet, or phone through the TV. I was also able to stream videos from Google Drive. It allows you to do the samething with Dropbox and Google Music.
 
N

NinjaFridge

Unconfirmed Member
My only real issue with Android is that the manufacturers have not released a device thats top of the line in every aspect. All droid devices seem like they have to make a particular compromise in a particular specification.

For example, the HTC One is absolutely gorgeous(better looking than a 5S IMO), fast as hell, and Sense is actually a good UI, but its camera is just...so disappointing. The Z1 is beautiful, fast, has a good camera, but its screen quality is meh with the bad viewing angles. The S4 has great on almost every aspect but TouchWiz is ass. The Nexus 5(my personal phone) is good but its camera is still lackluster and its battery life is mad inconsistent.

The closest 2013 flagship Android phone has gotten to near perfect is the LG G2, and even then a lot of people dislike the UI and the plastic back material. If they took a HTC One aluminum body and fitted LG G2 internals and screen size on it, I'd never look back to iPhone.

Z1 Compact
 

mackattk

Member
Yay, I can't figure out how people can give up the stuff they paid for and, completely switch to a new mobile OS.

On the other side of the coin, if someone wants to switch teams, the longer they wait, theoretically the more expensive it will be in the long run.
 

Cipherr

Member
Indeed. Its mainly vanilla Android though. All OP experiences are about Nexus devices, those are where you get the best of the OS. Now that the GPE devices are around, its easy to get a bloat free Android phone.

I will say this though, Ill second you on the N5 dialer. Google Now was and is amazing, and we see both iOS and WP8 starting development on mimicking it. In a years time I bet my ass they mimic the N5 dialer too. Talk about a feature I didn't even know I wanted until I tried it. I fucking love it man, I've been trying to wait for the 2014 Nexus but I'm so tempted to just get myself a 5.

Yay, I can't figure out how people can give up the stuff they paid for and, completely switch to a new mobile OS.

Because they don't really? I drop 600+ dollars on a phone every 18 to 24 months, but Im supposed to be deterred by rebuying $70 - $140 in apps? Puhleaaase. You can take your music, most if not all of your books and your music subscriptions and whatnot with you. These days most services try to be as cross platform as possible.

I scraped the apps/games I no longer used and rebought the stuff I did still use. May have ran me 60$ at the time.
 
Indeed. Its mainly vanilla Android though. All OP experiences are about Nexus devices, those are where you get the best of the OS. Now that the GPE devices are around, its easy to get a bloat free Android phone.

I will say this though, Ill second you on the N5 dialer. Google Now was and is amazing, and we see both iOS and WP8 starting development on mimicking it. In a years time I bet my ass they mimic the N5 dialer too. Talk about a feature I didn't even know I wanted until I tried it. I fucking love it man, I've been trying to wait for the 2014 Nexus but I'm so tempted to just get myself a 5.



Because they don't really? I drop 600+ dollars on a phone every 18 to 24 months, but Im supposed to be deterred by rebuying $70 - $140 in apps? Puhleaaase. You can take your music, most if not all of your books and your music subscriptions and whatnot with you. These days most services try to be as cross platform as possible.

I scraped the apps/games I no longer used and rebought the stuff I did still use. May have ran me 60$ at the time.

Exactly. It seems like a number of people's issues with Android stem from their unfamiliarity with its many branches. Like the guy earlier on this page that mentioned he liked Android a lot, but disliked the discontinuity between his Nexus 7 and SII's UIs, so he bought an iPhone and iPad. Surely a Nexus 5 would've been a much cheaper way to solve the problem of cohesion?

I also dislike the differences between my Nexus 7 and HTC One, but the phone's build quality and battery life are worth the trade off.
 
I've been an iOS user from the beginning. Currently have an iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina, and iPod Touch. I mostly like iOS 7.

I've never owned an Android device and I'm getting really curious about giving it a fair shot. I see used 2012 Nexus 7's going for surprisingly cheap. Would you folks recommend the 2012 models?
 
I've been an iOS user from the beginning. Currently have an iPhone 5, iPad Mini Retina, and iPod Touch. I mostly like iOS 7.

I've never owned an Android device and I'm getting really curious about giving it a fair shot. I see used 2012 Nexus 7's going for surprisingly cheap. Would you folks recommend the 2012 models?

Not at this point, personally. I have one and I find my Nexus 5 is considerably more competent. You'll end up feeling disappointed, better to shell out the extra and grab a 2013 model if you're really droid-curious.
 
I had an iPhone 5 for 2 weeks before returning it for an Android phone. I was used to my previous phones 4.5in screen, so when I went down to a 4in screen I found it barely usable.

iOS devices detect my fingers slightly differently than my Androids and it makes them harder to use as a result. I got an iPad Mini a few weeks ago as a work bonus and I have similar problems that I had with my iPhone 5, mainly that when I go to tap a link or icon, it's like it's detecting my finger slightly higher than where I'm actually tapping so it wont press the thing. Closing tabs on browsers like Chrome usually takes 3 taps before it actually "hits" the super tiny X icon.

Maybe going with a full sized iPad Air would have reduced these issues since the Mini just shrinks down the UI making it more difficult for me, but I already have a Nexus 10 and I didn't want to pay an extra $100.


I do like having access to iOS exclusive games now with my Mini, but other than that I'm much happier with my Androids. No issue tapping things, super easy to drag-and-drop files onto the devices, the screen sizes work much better for me (although rumors are saying that Apple will finally bump up the next iPhone), and no need to buy two different version of apps just to have a phone and tablet version (more expensive "HD" versions of apps is really lame, no way I'm buying PvZ1 again just for a small fidelity boost). I understand that if people are deep in the iTunes and Apple ecosystem then those devices are pretty much the only thing they want, but for me Androids let me do everything I want much easier
and cheaper
.
 
Check out the monthly iOS threads on gaming side.

It just seems like every time there's a new 'man, you should play this' game, it's not on Android. The latest example being 'Threes'. The Simogo games are only on iOS, and I think that's the case for the Cave shooters and, well, most well liked mobile games to be honest.
Probably the one thing that makes me want to try an iDevice is the app ecosystem, but as Android gains marketshare, the best apps eventually seem to come over.

I dunno, I've been thinking about jumping to the iPhone 5S as my very first Apple device depending on how good/bad the latest round of Android flagship refreshes look. I'm tired of my GS3's shitty battery life and want a change, but I have no investment at all in the Apple ecosystem, so does it make sense to start now? I keep going back and forth on it.
 

Aiii

So not worth it
Not sure if it's worth it at this point really, but a change is always refreshing, I would advise you to really look into the differences in what you can do with either OS and decide based on that.
 

Qvoth

Member
I don’t want to spend hours upon hours rooting my device
i'm most probably one of the bigger tech idiots in this whole forum and i managed to root my sgs2 quite easily

check out philz cwm, super easy to root
 

Aiii

So not worth it
i'm most probably one of the bigger tech idiots in this whole forum and i managed to root my sgs2 quite easily

check out philz cwm, super easy to root

I didn't so much mean the rooting itself, but the research, testing, etc. involved with installing a custom rom. I know it's generally a fairly easy process, but to actually do it, set up the device, install your stuff, etc. just takes up a fair bunch of your time. Not to mention when a new version of Android comes out they have to adapt and update the custom rom, etc.

Basically, the Nexus pretty much gave me what I wanted from Android that was missing a few years ago, a top end device that's updated to the latest version day one and doesn't come with loads of custom bloatware from manufacturers.
 
I recently move from iOS to android too from iPhone 5 to Nexus 5. i gave my iPhone to my gf and bought Nexus 5 since it's been released here 3 weeks ago. The transition feels really smooth, and i don't really miss my games since i rarely play them and i have iPad too (even it's just 1st gen), i only missed my $50 iTunes credit though because i don't have any google credit :(
 

Blackhead

Redarse
Disagree. Nothing so far works even close to ComicZeal. Not by a looonnng shot. Plus, one of the apps you listed is for phones, not tablets. But, the media streaming thing is pretty sharp.

EDIT: I am incorrect about Mobi being only for small devices. Disregard that part.

Right? All I want is an app that sorts series. This is apparently very hard to do, as ComicRack is the only one that even attempts to do it, but even then, it just doesn't do it even close to correct. ComicName - 01 is behind ComicName - 07, etc. ComicZeal may take a minute for the things to load, and the sorting was never 100 percent, but it sorted series about 90 percent of the time.

I'll try Cloud Reader. I think I've tried literally all of the rest, and ComicRack is the best, but it's still pretty crappy. EDIT: Lol, no I won't, iOS only. Of course.

Comixology seems to work the same though on both, so that's a bonus. Need to see how the Marvel Unlimited app works next.
ComicReaderMobi sorts series. To each his own I guess, I've tried ComicZeal many times and could never get past the yanky reading experience.
 

WanderingWind

Mecklemore Is My Favorite Wrapper
ComicReaderMobi sorts series. To each his own I guess, I've tried ComicZeal many times and could never get past the yanky reading experience.

I can't even begin to wrap my head around calling ComicZeal's reading janky, but yeah. Opinions. Thing was the most buttery smooth app I've ever used. Shrug.
 

Aaron

Member
Recently switched to Moto X, and can't see myself going back. Can't stand the chunky iphone design and small screen. Moto X feels right in my hand despite the screen size. Other than the camera being bleh, it's a great phone. Keeping my ipad mini though mainly for games.
 
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