i still like my android but i do wish they would get back to prioritising widgets again, like apple has done - and get developers to do it as well.
i also like apple watch over my samsung watch. i think the apple watch is top in it's class - that combined with apple fitness+.
if apple could set defaults, use actual browsers (like android), and have an open in menu like android, i'd switch. i don't think i could ever get used to apple's notifications though. android is still superior there.
also you can't set phone or messaging or other defaults. in android, i can not have a default and get a pop up every time (or use linksheet) to ask how i want to open something
Yep, and Android also suffers from plenty of malware within the Play Store. I’d rather a company focus on combating that than worrying so much about minor features.
Edit> Yeah I figured I would be downvoted. People are very tribal and base their identity on such which means they will disagree with me. I am a pragmatist and don’t want to deal with malware and a shitshow of fragmentation — so while it does suck to be within Apple’s walled garden, it at least fits my needs.
This is a common argument and it always makes me wonder what people mean by it. No ill intent from my end here, I use and like Apple as well as FOSS, but I can’t think of anything I can do on Android that I can’t on iOS. I admit I’m a very basic user though, I prefer to do heavy lifting on a laptop.
I am genuinely curious. Do you have some examples?
f-droid, termux, new rom if you want that.. not paying $100/y just to install an app you developed(I know you can do that without paying but it's not without major hassle)
I agree that alternative app stores are definitely a boon and I can't wait for the EU to nail Apple to the wall over dragging their feet on that. Competition is good and that 30% fee monopoly is bullshit.
There are iOS terminal clients (I like Termius). The ROM thing, yeah... I installed /e/OS on my Fairphone 4 just for the privacy aspect, but functionally it's not better or worse than what came in the box. There might be reasons to do it but utility-wise I don't very well see the point in this day and age.
I hadn't thought of the developer license requirement to run your own software, I personally don't do that but I can see it being a deal breaker. Thanks for your thoughts. :)
Like math notes. And handwriting fonts. And a customisable control centre. And phone mirroring. And locking apps natively. And pretty much all of Apple Intelligence (particularly Genmoji because I want a hyena emoji and Unicode doesn't have one).
Hold on. This control centre thing is really annoying me over here on Android. iOS separates notifications and control centre into two separate groups. I have to swipe down twice on Android to do what took a single swipe on iOS. On top of this, clearing all notifications closes the drawer after a delay, automatically. Why? I can close it faster myself, and sometimes, I want it to stay open, but NOPE!
And then the control centre itself. Volume control just.. doesn't exist (key word: CONTROL). Brightness (which I use often) is all the way at the top, rather than the middle. Then, the control centre is split into PAGES at HALF SIZE, and they're all just wide rectangular buttons. Then, no volume control. What the HELL is this!? I could long press to get an easy brightness slider for my torch, everything internet related was quickly accessible in a single square, and now you're telling me iOS is even FURTHER ahead?
Did I mention there's NO. VOLUME. CONTROL. I have to press a volume button, then a tiny on-screen button after that, and then I get sliders after I wait for the menu to pop up. Granted, that's sliders (plural), but fuck me. This one HURTS. I sometimes find the buttons a little bit too stiff, so I usually use on-screen controls during screen on, and buttons while off.
So much for owning my phone, since I can barely change any of this, and I can only see the way my control centre looks after I've edited it.
FUCK!
This absolute abhorrence. The Gods forsake this wretched control centre design. It is genuinely agonising using this afterthought of an interface. This cannot stand.
That doesn't sound like my phone. Have you tried launchers? Or it could be specific to your manufacturer. That's part of the problem with android - too many manufacturers wanting to customise their interface without a clear idea of what good UX is
I hate Apple and love Android but I can see the value in all the stuff you said. Doesn't make me want to change teams but just letting you know there is an Android fanboy that sees value in what you said.
I'm switching to iPhone because Google has let Android languish for years now. Samsung does more for android than Google does for goodness sake.
Apple users get fun and cool updates which is why they love it. Plus best in class photos and videos so they can share photos with friends and family with confidence, as opposed to android which has shit cameras and even shittier video.
Samsung does more for android than Google does for goodness sake.
I agree with you, even when I dislike One UI... I think Google although simpler is more of my liking... But oh boy stock AOSP is so limited that for some users it is even too similar to iOS, with the distinction that you can sideload easier (for now).
Lots of features that Google releases each Android iteration literally have been here in One UI, MIUI, Color OS you name it.
except it's basically made useless by the fact that wifi/bt toggles don't actually toggle off their respective radios, but just disconnect from the current network
Ok. And android still sucks compared to Apple. Always full of bloatware and can never get updated or long term support. Only the Google phones have a decent OS
Samsung has even cut most of the horseshit out. My S22 had like a few Samsung apps, they live in a folder and I never see them. But that is similar to all of the Apple apps you couldn't remove either (don't know if that's changed, haven't had an iPhone since the 4)
Yeah, Apple has a good track record for software undates. I actually replaced a perfectly good phone just because it lacks updates.
Honestly, that's why I want a Linux phone, for essentially endless updates. My old 2009 Linux PC still got updates when I eventually upgraded the hardware, and I want the same to be true of my phone. Unfortunately, Linux phones don't meet my base requirements, but hopefully that'll change by the time I need another.
That's the thing. Apple has that track record already. This years iOS update will be available for phones released as far back as 2017. And that's not a recent development - 4+ years have been the norm with iOS devices for a long time, while many Android phones have suffered from much faster obsolescence.
Google have yet to prove that they can fulfill this promise.
Idk, they've done pretty well with their established update cycle so far. AFAIK, Apple doesn't announce a minimum support cycle, they just announce when devices lose support. Google announces minimum support cycle, and so far has stuck to it.
Maybe Apple is better in this regard, idk, but so far Google has kept their word with their Pixel devices, so I don't see any reason to doubt them going forward.
I’m looking forward to iOS 18 as I have to run an iPhone for work.
From what I understand, this update is gonna bring a lot of things iOS was lacking in terms of personalization.
Now I would really want them to improve on how things are handled outside of their walled garden as I’ll never buy a new mac (maybe an old one to run Linux) and they’re never gonna convince me with their old tricks of keeping special features between Apple devices.
We need a Linux version or equivalent to iTunes to backup your phone, better interoperability with Windows/Linux..
The iPhone is a great product but I feel like the walled garden is preventing me from fully enjoying it.
Yeah I know but honestly it looks really complicated for someone who's not at ease with terminal. Just finding the instruction to install it on Fedora (so no sudo apt install) is difficult, so I'm scared to do anything wrong, especially with important data.
So now I'm still using a Windows 10 virtual machine even if it's awfully slow on my not powerful computer..
