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Why do you like or dislike iOS / the iPhone

B

batting1000

macrumors 604
Original poster
Sep 4, 2011
7,472
1,907
Florida
I saw this thread over in the Alternate device forum AKA the Android forums on here and thought I'd make one for iOS / the iPhone.

So, what are the things you like or dislike about iOS?
 
batting1000 said:
I saw this thread over in the Alternate device forum AKA the Android forums on here and thought I'd make one for iOS / the iPhone.

So, what are the things you like or dislike about iOS?
Click to expand...

I like my 4S and the design. It feels like a solid/quality product (especially compared to the GS2 I had for work. I am decently happy with the battery life, but my iPhone 4 was better, the GS2 was worse than the 4S.

I like iOS because of its smoothness compared to android. The app store is set up better as well, same goes for the apps themselves. They always seem to run smoother on my iPhone than they did on the GS2 when I had it. I am not big on widgets and things of that nature so I do not mind not having them available.

I have jailbroke my work phone (also a 4S) to add TetherMe... I slightly played around with altering and modifying it. But I only changed the status bar, the lock screen style/clock, and the icons. Still no widgets or anything like that.
 
Overall, I think it's an even race right until Jellybean really grabs hold. When it does, iOS 6 better bring it in a big way or else i have a feeling that Android is going to get ahead pretty quick.

As for what I like and don't like about the iOS/iPhone

iOS Likes
-Uniform makes coding really easy and thus produces a ton of higher quality apps with the same look and feel.
-Feels very zippy
-App selection is great for games and pretty much everything else. See point 1 for why
-Everything is integrated in the ecosystem

iOS Dislikes
-Notifications are not as good as Android. I didn't realize how annoying it was that I couldn't clear a notification by swiping away.
-Home screen is the same as 4 years go when the iPhone launched plus the wallpaper change in iOS4. Needs something different as a splash page to feel a bit fresher.
-System Level toggles are not available. For example, to turn Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on, you've got to dig through menus. On android, it's push the toggle widget which is fantastic.

iPhone Likes
-Looks sleek as hell. I still like the design even though most people find it stale
-Feels like a premium product

iPhone Dislikes
-Screensize is far too small. As I previously stated many times before, 4" is the sweet spot between mobility and size (which is probably why the new iPhone is set to be this size.)
-Actual Back button. When in just iOS, you don't realize how much you miss the back button until you don't have one. I was fine without one when I had my iPhone. Went to Android and Windows Phone and got really into using my new iPad and sometimes i just wish i had the back button.
 
batting1000 said:
So, what are the things you like or dislike about iOS?
Click to expand...

Like:
- Better apps
- Smoother flowing OS
- Apple store support if anything goes wrong
- Uniformity of the ecosystem
- Apple doesn't abandon the iPhone as quickly as Android manufacturers do.
- Don't have to worry about malware/trojans
- iPhone is MUCH more ubiquitous than a random Android phone
- Easier to sell an iPhone since there are more people wanting it than a random Android phone
- Sleek design

Dislike:
- No gaming emulators allowed (unless you jailbreak, which I do)
- Need iTunes
 
lazard said:
because it's very restrictive.
Click to expand...

If that is the case why don't you elaborate on your opinions and find reasons instead of just blabbering out one sentence posts? There has to be reasons behind your opinion.
 
Likes:
Ease of Use
Cohesive OS (at least a lot more than Android)
Software/Hardware Optimization (basically like everything by Apple)

Dislike:
Lack of a file system (at least a basic one)

Expanding further, app-centric approach seems so ass-backwards to me. On my Mac, if I want to mail a Garageband project, I would go into Mail and attach the project. In iOS, you would first have to go open Garageband, load your entire project, then finally email it. Also, why can't I save a Word doc or MP3 that someone emails me to my iPhone?! (This should be in the basic OS, users shouldn't need Pages).
 
Likes:
-Integrates well with my Mac
-Majority of the time there's no lag or animation bugs
-Looks nice (although people tell me this is foolish cause people who actually use their devices don't care about looks)
-Feels/looks like it has build quality (again, illogical because a lot of it has to do with the weight and glass for me, which is actually really easy to break and weight doesn't connote quality)
-Quality apps for the most part
-Retina display
-Synthesis between hardware and software is great
-Good battery life
-Good support


Dislikes:
-Too restricting at times
-Stuff to do with iTunes and/or user accounts are way too much of a hassle
-Screen is too small
-Bad contrast
-Top/bottom bezels are too big
-OS functionality is purposely limited so that the focus is put onto apps (which cost money)
-VGA front camera
-30% cut that Apple gets
-Siri is still in beta
-Map and youtube apps aren't as good as Android counterparts
-"Bloatware" such as newsstand and gamecenter.
-Notification center functionality is limited (no quick toggles)
 
macingman said:
If that is the case why don't you elaborate on your opinions and find reasons instead of just blabbering out one sentence posts? There has to be reasons behind your opinion.
Click to expand...

limited file types supported: only mp3, wav (although i don't think anyone uses this anymore), aac, alac, mp4, mov.

jailbreaking: required to tweak/customize iOS.

iTunes: hate it and how you're basically forced to use it for certain things.
 
I like Apple's tastes and sense of style. Their phones are the most attractive on the market at the moment.

Dislikes? Its 3.5" screen, dull colors compared to the Galaxy S3's super AMOLED HD screen, its battery life, and no LTE.
 
Likes:
- Simple design (OS and device), when things are simple they are beautiful and work well
- Notifications on lock screen/screen alerts, ability to see the full notification and go directly to app
- Games/app selection and quality. Quality board game titles in particular are not to be found on Android.
- Notification center weather app. While the Android ones are nice on the homescreen, never found one that was as simple and nice as the apple one (swipe to get forecast).
- Text selection and copy/paste. Terrible on android.
- Keyboard is has great feel and fast typing, though I would like it to have a few more features.
- Mail app.
- iTunes. As a family user, it's great to have smart playlists sort out everybody's music. I have a great setup and it's difficult/impossible to imitate on Android.
- Music app. Love the double click homebutton to change song from lockscreen.
- Menus, settings, are very cohesive and easy to navigate.
- Retina LCD display. AMOLEDs are too saturated for me. Temple run looks like pop art.
- Long lived. As others have stated, they hold their value and their function for a long time.

Dislikes: (some hopefully remedied soon!)
- Small screen
- No LTE
- Home screen configuration options limited
- Default browser not configurable
- No widgets (marginal)
- stock calendar app needs updating
- needs more camera features
- it would be nice to have a small accessible file system (not view all system files, but have a little bucket to drop documents and things in)
 
Like:
-The Polish
-Great apps
-Stable
-Smooth as butter
-Hardware is high quality
-Ease of use
-Ecosystem (How it works with other apple products)

Dislike:
-Cant set default apps, though not a deal breaker as you can jailbreak for that.
-No 4G (coming in next iphone)
 
Likes:
polished os
Apple customer service
classy design
consistent operation
ease of use

Dislikes:
no shortcuts for wifi, bluetooth, gps, etc
small size
inability to add attachments to email
no back button
using itunes for some things
double clicking home for multitasking
 
Likes:
Ease of use
TONS of accesories/ cases
Ecosystem
Replaced iPod
Smooth
Simple
Rarely crashes
Apps
iMessages
Feels nice in the hand
Updates
Community of people

Don't like:
Small screen size
No toggles or easy way to turn things on or off ( partly fixed in iOS 6)
Too much bezel
Same look since 2007
No widgets
Although feels nice, the phone is becoming outdated in terms of looks and feel...
Locked into ecosystem ( catch 22)!
 
One model so I dont have to spend time worrying about a new phone releasing 2 weeks later with better specs

iCloud sync is just so awesome

App Store is still the best though Google Play is improving

Everything is straight forward so I focus time on apps and apps and more apps.

No Google bs like Google+, currents, latitude, and all that other useless Google stuff. Its obvious Maps and YouTube are separate because those are awesome, but Google has a ton of useless apps.

---------------------------

iPhone 4 wont get facetime 3G and turn by turn

dumb apps like game center and newsstand, apple needs to update them

need to tap the home button like 100x every day in order to exist out of app/multitask and my home button is kinda broken now. need multigestures for iphone too

icons look boring and dull. messages and phone is basically the same. tons of blue and brown. weather and clock don't live update.
 
The Apple iPhone 4S remains one of the most popular smartphones on the market, thanks to its many excellent features as well as its iconic design.

I am continually amazed by its build quality, and it really feels like a premium device. It is a world away from the plastic-y construction of many other smartphones.

It is the full package in terms of features. Its native multimedia ecosystem, which consists of iPod, iTunes and AppStore puts it way ahead of the competition in this respect. The AppStore provides a massive part of the appeal of the device, thanks to its ability to massively increase the versatility of the device by downloading apps of which there are hundreds of thousands to choose from within a number of categories.

But the real reason I like this phone so much is that it just works. With no restarts, no battery pulls, no reboots, no hesitation, no lags.
 
Just going to steal this because it's more or less how I feel. I think there's more to add in the "dislike" columns, but I've already discussed the unsatisfactory experience with the keyboard, Mail, and Safari ad nauseum so I'll refrain.

sarcosis said:
iOS Likes
-Uniform makes coding really easy and thus produces a ton of higher quality apps with the same look and feel.
-Feels very zippy
-App selection is great for games and pretty much everything else. See point 1 for why
-Everything is integrated in the ecosystem

iOS Dislikes
-Notifications are not as good as Android. I didn't realize how annoying it was that I couldn't clear a notification by swiping away.
-Home screen is the same as 4 years go when the iPhone launched plus the wallpaper change in iOS4. Needs something different as a splash page to feel a bit fresher.
-System Level toggles are not available. For example, to turn Bluetooth or Wi-Fi on, you've got to dig through menus. On android, it's push the toggle widget which is fantastic.

iPhone Likes
-Looks sleek as hell. I still like the design even though most people find it stale
-Feels like a premium product

iPhone Dislikes
-Screensize is far too small. As I previously stated many times before, 4" is the sweet spot between mobility and size (which is probably why the new iPhone is set to be this size.)
-Actual Back button. When in just iOS, you don't realize how much you miss the back button until you don't have one. I was fine without one when I had my iPhone. Went to Android and Windows Phone and got really into using my new iPad and sometimes i just wish i had the back button.
Click to expand...

I'd also add to that last dislike-notch a "lack of a menu" button. It's nice to just enter any app's settings right then and there. Can't do that on iOS usually.


----------


iRetired said:
the real reason I like this phone so much is that it just works.
Click to expand...

-______-
 
The messages app. A native quick reply would be good, it is the ONLY reason why I jailbreak to be honest with bite sms.
 
Likes-

-Polished OS
-Timely updates
-App ecosystem
-Apple quality

Dislikes-

-Small screen
-VGA front camera

lazard said:
because it's very restrictive.
Click to expand...

Thats because Steve thinks consumers are dumb and don't know anything so he decides what consumers want:rolleyes:
 
lazard said:
1. limited file types supported: only mp3, wav (although i don't think anyone uses this anymore), aac, alac, mp4, mov.

2. jailbreaking: required to tweak/customize iOS.

3. iTunes: hate it and how you're basically forced to use it for certain things.
Click to expand...

1. Many apps are available which can open file types which aren't natively supported.

2. Most people don't care about tweaking/customizing.

3. Your not really forced to use iTunes. I haven't used iTunes to sync my phone in one year+. Also why don't you like iTunes? Apple are moving away from iTunes and trying to make iOS devices standalone devices which don't rely on PC's, I have been trying out iOS6 and you really notice how they are being designed as standalone devices now.
 
Likes:

* Smooth and simple to operate (why have menus upon submenus when they are not needed, "any fool can make something complicated, its harder to make something complicated simple").

* Pretty much never needs a reboot (something I know is commonplace on Android when this and that stops working as it should).

* Quality and design of the hardware, and a good example to other smartphone makers that having the highest spec makes no difference whatsoever.

* iCloud: Absolutely brilliant IMO, had to replace my handset after drowning the other in the Mexican sea. Watching it restore every last contact and setting right down to the wallpaper is a wonderful thing. Within no time I felt like I had the same handset as before.

* Ecosystem: Sitting on my sofa and using my iPad, iPhone, and Apple TV all working together in perfect harmony.

* Apps: Little needs to be said here, so many, and much more polished that their Android counterparts pretty much 100% of the time.

* Aftercare: When you by an Apple product you KNOW that you are in good hands if anything goes wrong. Watching people get handset replacements etc at the Genius Bar without having to put up a fight is one of Apple's very strong points.

* Oh and I like the way that Apple do their own thing. An iPhone doesnt have every feature that an Android does because Apple arent trying to make an Android phone. They are very focused on the product they create.

Dislikes:

* Slightly small screen, but Id only want slightly larger. The 4" screen on the next iPhone sounds like it will be ideal for me. Don't need a phablet. However whilst small, its incredibly high quality which very often offsets its size for me.

* Slightly restrictive, but I understand the effectiveness of a closed ecosystem. Ive un-jailbroken my iPhone's many times because honestly I really don't need all the fluff.
 
Last edited:
I phone is so professional

As per my view i phone is good for professional use but not good for Internet user, its not good as for business purpose.
 
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