What are your top reasons you stay with the iPhone instead of other platforms?

[emacna1]

Applications are uniformed, and widgets are not, they are different dimensions.

As for holding an Android, i had the transformer tablet for a while for a work tablet, i hated it.

The beauty of Android though is that you can choose what you want on your screen and what you don't. Hey, you don't want widgets, fine don't use them. Let's say there is one widget you do like though, find use it. No problems.

One of the main things that keeps me away from iOS is the fact that I have to have my icons on my screen.

As for the tablet, I'm sure it was running Android 3.0 which was Google's first attempt at tablet OS. Android 4.0 has become extremely polished as a tablet OS.

 

[fizz7283]

My parents both had android phones and they both switched over to iPhones recently. They say it's much easier to use and they don't get frustrated with it like they did their android devices.

I stay with it because it was so easy to learn to use and it does everything I want and need it to do plus more.

My phone, camera, music and GPS all in one. It's got a lot of great apps in the app store to enhance your experience more. I personally love the screen size and am hoping it doesn't increase on the next model. I have a feeling I'm not going to get my wish though lol

And a jailbroken iPhone is 10x better than an android customization wise.

 

[Peanut207]

It just works.

 

[Lindenhurst]

I was curious why others stay with the iPhone over Android and Windows.

My top reasons are:
1) Manufacturer support via apple store and on time updates
2) No fragmentation
3) Apps are better quality
4) Jailbreaking is much easier than rooting/flashing
5) Easier to sell since theres greater demand for iPhones

What are yours?

Just curious. Do you make these statements based on first hand experience, or based on what you hear from others without ever actually spending some time using an Android device?

----------

It just works.

Tell that to all those starting complaint threads on this very forum!

Nothing just works all the time. All things have issues.

 

[ritmomundo]

2 year contract... (the same reason I would stick with any phone. I don't have brand/platform/etc loyalty to any one company).

Was this thread necessary?

 

[Prof.]

Compatibility. Music, Apps, Videos, etc... I started my iTunes music collection when I was a sophomore in high school (2005) so when I got my first computer, it was a MacBook. iPhone, iPad, MacBook; everything works together flawlessly. If I were to switch to another phone, I have to come up with work-arounds to get all my iTunes music (some of it DRM-Protected) on that phone. I don't want to do that.

Plus, if I needed to get my phone replaced, I can just go to the Apple store a few miles from my house. I couldn't do that with a BlackBerry or Droid. Well, I could, but I'd have to take it to a Verizon store and that's not a pleasant experience...

 

[dsa1971]

Apps. Had iPhone since 3G so need a very good reason to switch. I had the HTC EVO for a short time and hater it. Battery life was terrible, screen resolution was poor, and at the time the Apps were very poor compared to their iOS equivalents. Recently tried Galaxy Nexus. A little large for my taste but nice screen and I did like the phone shape. Android apps were much improved. Resolution was nice. Battery life was poor. And the biggest issue was I had lots of hard crashes where phone would reboot. Since my return window for the Nexus was almost up I went to the iPhone 4s. Still happy with the 4s. Could use a slightly larger screen but not interested in any 5 inch screens.

My main reasons come down to Apps since I have that investment and have an iPad, the build quality of apple products, the stability of the OS (I have had so few crashes over the years), the design, usability (for me, it gives me enough flexibility and most of it's rigidity compared to Android doesn't impact me)

 

[sk1wbw]

Actually there is fragmentation with iOS, there are older versions of iOS that developers need to contend with. There are high quality apps on Android, jail breaking an android phone (rooting using their terminology) is even easier then the iPhone.

I use the iPhone because it meets my needs. I'm not married to a given manufacturer or platform. Its really which one that works best for me.

I've used android phones in the past and so I responded to bullets 2 - 4 stating how those are not real issues or incorrect.

Older versions of operating systems isn't fragmentation. If that were true, Windows is the most fragmented operating system out there.

 

[blackhand1001]

I was curious why others stay with the iPhone over Android and Windows.

My top reasons are:
1) Manufacturer support via apple store and on time updates
2) No fragmentation
3) Apps are better quality
4) Jailbreaking is much easier than rooting/flashing
5) Easier to sell since theres greater demand for iPhones

What are yours?

Jailbreaking is definitely not easier than rooting. It sometimes take months to get a jailbreak for a new update or device. Almost every android phone has root on day 1. The devices with unlocked bootloader don't even need an exploit.

And a jailbroken iPhone is 10x better than an android customization wise.

Can I have some of that Meth. Even with Jailbreak there are things you can't do that even without root on android you can do. Add in root and the custom roms and its not even funny how limited iOS is in customization.

 

[bandofbrothers]

Quality of workmanship.
Customer Service.
Stable operating system.

 

[joshwithachance]

Well for starters, the iPhone 4S is still the best looking smartphone on the market. iOS is sleek and smooth, and even more powerful once you jailbreak it. iCloud sync between my iPhone, iPad, and iMac is just perfection as well. Another really cool thing with the iPhone is that iMessage is really convenient because so many people have iPhones and use it now. On top of that, the camera is STELLAR. And finally, the accessories support and Apple customer service are just bar-none.

 

[chickenwingfly]

I was curious why others stay with the iPhone over Android and Windows.

My top reasons are:
1) Manufacturer support via apple store and on time updates
2) No fragmentation
3) Apps are better quality
4) Jailbreaking is much easier than rooting/flashing
5) Easier to sell since theres greater demand for iPhones

What are yours?

To be honest the only thing I kinda "miss" of Android is widgets (not to say you can have a few via tweaks, but HTML and not the same), but then they are battery killers anyway.

I think rooting vs jailbreak depends on the perspective.
End user ability? Then a jailbreak is click, click, done.
But then availability? You root a phone and then you're done (but then you have to beg on your knees and pray for a custom rom to work fine or live with beta versions of a superior OS version or buggy firmware, etc), but with iOS it's different, since (and specially) new major versions take time to get cracked, so... (But once it's done it works perfectly).

I think the fact the iPhone is made by a single company is great, no having to expect your phone manufacturer to update firmware on your 6 month old phone.


What drives me the most to iOS world then would be APPs.
A lot of the ones I tried on my ANdroid phone and on a Samsung Galaxy... where so lacking, so ugly I could not stand it. I know there are good ones, but then the GUI for most AppStore apps is very appealing.
Maybe that's it.

Oh and iCloud works wonders so I'm loving it (not that you had other ways os synching info in the past DropBox yadda yadda).

 

[nyfliiboy]

iOS and the music app. Those are the only things keeping me with apple

 

[fizz7283]

Jailbreaking is definitely not easier than rooting. It sometimes take months to get a jailbreak for a new update or device. Almost every android phone has root on day 1. The devices with unlocked bootloader don't even need an exploit.


Can I have some of that Meth. Even with Jailbreak there are things you can't do that even without root on android you can do. Add in root and the custom roms and its not even funny how limited iOS is in customization.

It's purely my opinion based on the android devices I've seen my family/friends use and my iPhone experience. The topic is what are the reasons I stay with iOS, and one of my reasons is because I feel I can customize my iPhone better than an android, easier.

 

[koigirl]

1. Reliable, regular OS updates
2. Simple, reliable, smooth OS.
3. Great App Store with quality, vetted apps
4. Build quality and aesthetics
5. Long shelf life for each iPhone model and good resale value
6. Product integration into Apple ecosystem with my MBP, iPad, Apple TV
7. No bloatware
8. Apple customer service!
9. Wide choice of accessories
10. Camera
11. iMessage and iCloud

These in no particular order

 

[cynics]

Guess we will agree to disagree

Jailbreaking consists of 2 steps: plug in your phone -> click jailbreak button on absinthe. Done! I've tried rooting a galaxy nexus w/ the toolbox program and it was confusing as hell and a lot more steps.

I've used both and android apps are lower quality in my opinion.

Not sure what you meant on the fragmentation without a real life example.

I do agree I find iOS easier to jb. However not by much and I find rooting to always be available near as soon as a new update arrives, usually same day.

 

[DodgeV83]

I was curious why others stay with the iPhone over Android and Windows.

My top reasons are:
1) Manufacturer support via apple store and on time updates
2) No fragmentation
3) Apps are better quality
4) Jailbreaking is much easier than rooting/flashing
5) Easier to sell since theres greater demand for iPhones

What are yours?

It is the best mobile device in photography, videos, security, updates, audio, navigation, games, voice commands, syncing with your computer/iPad, hardware integration and accessories.

 

[b166er]

the latest jailbreak required me to plug the phone in, quit iTunes, and click one button. I'm not sure how that is considered harder than rooting.

I stay with iOS because I have already invested in a lot of apps. I use a MBP and an iPad, so I enjoy the seamless syncing of my files and pictures.

iOS is not without its faults (which is why I jailbreak) but in my opinion it's worth dealing with some of the shortcomings for an overall better experience than Android can offer me.

That being said I have not used a new windows phone yet. The OS does not intrigue me that much, but I wouldn't mind playing with one just to see how it is. And while I'm not a huge Android fan, the things Samsung did at the software level for the SIII are very appealing to me. I think the SIII is the first Android phone to pose an actual threat to the iPhone. As long as Samsung keeps it up, Apple will finally have a real competitor and hopefully both companies will just keep trying to out do each other. For our sake.

 

[brendu]

iMessage is the biggest reason I can't leave apple. It saves me a ton of money on texts.

 

[ct2k7]

I've invested a lot into iOS.
I have tried Android, don't like it
I need to try Windows Phone, it looks nice, but the phones don't look as nice, apart from the Nokia series, but the phones are weak.

 

[brendu]

I've invested a lot into iOS.
I have tried Android, don't like it
I need to try Windows Phone, it looks nice, but the phones don't look as nice, apart from the Nokia series, but the phones are weak.

I felt the same way, I have been really interested in the Nokia lumia 900 lately. Had a chance to really play with one today and while I think microsoft is doing good things with wp7 the lumia 900 is just too big for me. Really disappointed about it, it's just too wide really.

 

[ct2k7]

I felt the same way, I have been really interested in the Nokia lumia 900 lately. Had a chance to really play with one today and while I think microsoft is doing good things with wp7 the lumia 900 is just too big for me. Really disappointed about it, it's just too wide really.

The app market is also apparently not as healthy or wealthy.

 

[Jimmy James]

Wirelessly posted

1. Time invested. I have everything set up exactly how I want. I don't have much inclination to find the best apps on other platforms and set them up to my preferences even if I could get it all for free. Even if they are just as good.
2. Apps. I love them.
3. Build quality. I'm not talking about style or design.
4. Ease of use.
5. Peripherals (ie. airport express)
6. iPad. I hope to get one eventually.

 

[dontwalkhand]

Ecosystem
-Includes AirPlay
-Docks & Accessories
-Home Automation Items
-iTunes

Design and Build Quality

Integration with Mac

Dozens of purchased apps

iMessage & FaceTime

 

[Wolfpup]

I don't have one yet, but the main reason I stick with iPods and would prefer an iPhone is iTunes/iPod are the only things that handle podcasts correctly. Not perfectly, in particular syncing on iOS is pretty flaky, but for example Zune Desktop doesn't let you manually delete podcasts, and Android doesn't have anything built in equivalent to iTunes/Zune.

The other thing is updates. Apple doesn't support them very long, but at least it's better than Android, where you're more often than not seeing outdated OSes shipping on brand new phones. Besides being frustrating, it's actually unsafe to use things like that on the internet. Seems like Apple's at least given two years so far, and eventually gets around to fixing security problems...even when Google does, the majority of devices get them either months late, or not at all.