I hadn't used an iPhone since the early 3 days, had android for years, starting with the Sony Xperia, and on to the HTC Sensation. Came back to an iPhone 4s, which I had for a short while before I sold it and got the iPhone 5.
Prepare for a long ramble.
The case for Android
As much as I like iOS, it wasn't the operating system which made me switch back, I really think Android is an amazing OS (even 2.1, the version I started with, was decent enough). It did what I wanted it to, very rarely crashed and my experience with it was generally positive. I've had way more app crashes since I got my iPhone 5, apps have stopped working on me at least 5 times. There's nothing specific to iOS that makes me swear allegiance to the OS, in fact, since I don't really make use of the hardware part of Apple's ecosystem, I'm finding Android to be the more flexible solution. Yes, a lot of third-party apps sucked, then again I always managed to find that one cobbled-together gem, especially unofficial maps and walkthroughs for games, apps which aren't available on iOS. (I remember having a handful of "Witcher" apps on my android, only the official CD Projekt one for iOS, etc). I enjoyed the customization options too, and the fact I didn't have to "re-jailbreak and re-install" all my customization after every new version, making your phone look the way you want it to just doesn't have that forbidden air about it that it does on iOS. Now that iOS is getting harder and harder to crack, that just makes it all the more annoying. I'm pretty sure that having both the newest version of the OS and a working jailbreak at the same time looks like it's heading the way of impossibility. Jailbreaks used to be out what... up to a few days to a week after a new version was released? I want a jailbreak, but don't want to give up the benefits of iOS 6 for it.
Why I ended up switching back to Apple anyway
The reason's superficial to say the least, but it's the design of their iPhones that keeps me interested. The only Android handsets which come close are the Sony ones, and even they feel cheap in comparison to iPhone 5, which, IMO, is a master piece of engineering, and looks and feels amazing. I also find the iPhones rival devices ugly. I've always hated the design of Samsung phones, and I don't think that's going to change for me unless they head into a completely different direction design-wise.
Then there's re-sale value, one major reason still keeping me bound to Apple. I can still make good money selling my 5 in 2 years time when I upgrade to the "6", no other device has anywhere near the resale values that Apple has. Sold my iPad 3 after 8 months of heavy use, and got two-thirds of its original price for it. It's a safe investment.
Then there's nostalgia which keeps on making me go back to Apple, the fact that some of my only fond memories with my dad involved playing games on my first computer, a Performa 5200, the fact that I grew up with Apple and that my family are Apple users too, I feel a connection with the company that I don't feel for any other company.
Then there's the fact that I already had iTunes Match subscribed to, and all my songs are already in the cloud. (I ended up disabling the feature on the iPhone anyway, preferring to just sync individual songs I want to listen to, since they got rid of the individual delete option in iOS 6 /sigh.)
While iOS is definitely growing on me again, I'm not as loyal as I was to apple with its early models of the iPhone, mostly due to Android actually being a viable - if not superior - OS nowadays. If I get another iPhone after this one depends strongly on the state of the two operating systems in two years from now, and the handsets on offer at the time. iOS just isn't the "leaps and bounds ahead, no-competition, exclusively recommendable OS it once was, and unless they rethink it, or add some killer innovative features and tie them in with their OS in a way only Apple could, I don't see a real reason to stick with the OS, personally. I know other people have their reasons (invested in the ecosystem, etc.), that's the way it is for me, anyway.
Prepare for a long ramble.
The case for Android
As much as I like iOS, it wasn't the operating system which made me switch back, I really think Android is an amazing OS (even 2.1, the version I started with, was decent enough). It did what I wanted it to, very rarely crashed and my experience with it was generally positive. I've had way more app crashes since I got my iPhone 5, apps have stopped working on me at least 5 times. There's nothing specific to iOS that makes me swear allegiance to the OS, in fact, since I don't really make use of the hardware part of Apple's ecosystem, I'm finding Android to be the more flexible solution. Yes, a lot of third-party apps sucked, then again I always managed to find that one cobbled-together gem, especially unofficial maps and walkthroughs for games, apps which aren't available on iOS. (I remember having a handful of "Witcher" apps on my android, only the official CD Projekt one for iOS, etc). I enjoyed the customization options too, and the fact I didn't have to "re-jailbreak and re-install" all my customization after every new version, making your phone look the way you want it to just doesn't have that forbidden air about it that it does on iOS. Now that iOS is getting harder and harder to crack, that just makes it all the more annoying. I'm pretty sure that having both the newest version of the OS and a working jailbreak at the same time looks like it's heading the way of impossibility. Jailbreaks used to be out what... up to a few days to a week after a new version was released? I want a jailbreak, but don't want to give up the benefits of iOS 6 for it.
Why I ended up switching back to Apple anyway
The reason's superficial to say the least, but it's the design of their iPhones that keeps me interested. The only Android handsets which come close are the Sony ones, and even they feel cheap in comparison to iPhone 5, which, IMO, is a master piece of engineering, and looks and feels amazing. I also find the iPhones rival devices ugly. I've always hated the design of Samsung phones, and I don't think that's going to change for me unless they head into a completely different direction design-wise.
Then there's re-sale value, one major reason still keeping me bound to Apple. I can still make good money selling my 5 in 2 years time when I upgrade to the "6", no other device has anywhere near the resale values that Apple has. Sold my iPad 3 after 8 months of heavy use, and got two-thirds of its original price for it. It's a safe investment.
Then there's nostalgia which keeps on making me go back to Apple, the fact that some of my only fond memories with my dad involved playing games on my first computer, a Performa 5200, the fact that I grew up with Apple and that my family are Apple users too, I feel a connection with the company that I don't feel for any other company.
Then there's the fact that I already had iTunes Match subscribed to, and all my songs are already in the cloud. (I ended up disabling the feature on the iPhone anyway, preferring to just sync individual songs I want to listen to, since they got rid of the individual delete option in iOS 6 /sigh.)
While iOS is definitely growing on me again, I'm not as loyal as I was to apple with its early models of the iPhone, mostly due to Android actually being a viable - if not superior - OS nowadays. If I get another iPhone after this one depends strongly on the state of the two operating systems in two years from now, and the handsets on offer at the time. iOS just isn't the "leaps and bounds ahead, no-competition, exclusively recommendable OS it once was, and unless they rethink it, or add some killer innovative features and tie them in with their OS in a way only Apple could, I don't see a real reason to stick with the OS, personally. I know other people have their reasons (invested in the ecosystem, etc.), that's the way it is for me, anyway.
way ahead of SGS III http://www.lifeproof.com/shop/us_en/iphone-5/iphone-5-case?gclid=CI-2t8_Ot7QCFUxxQgodpkcARw
