Apple Debuts Revamped 'Switch' Site to Lure Android Users to iPhone [Update: New Videos Added]

[Winni]

Likewise some think iOS is ugly and uninspired.

It looks dated, to say the least. From a pure usability perspective, it is not intuitive at all, way harder to use than any other mobile platform on the market and to top it all off, iOS is also brutally restrictive and gets in the way of the user all the time.

While Apple still sells very nice hardware, their iOS operating system totally sucks and is the killer argument AGAINST getting an iPhone or iPad.

 

[MH01]

Read and repeat after me:

Updates and upgrades are free
Updates and upgrades are free
Updates and upgrades are free
Updates and upgrades are free

You had to pay to upgrade from Windows XP or Windows 7 where as in the Mac world you can upgrade/update macOS for free with devices that are 6 years old still supported by the latest version of macOS. Btw, I raised the issue of Windows and the recent security fiasco as not an attack on Microsoft but to use it as an example of security being at the forefront for many 'normal people'. By the way, cut the crap and stop excusing the piss poor job that Google and it's OEM's do when it comes to getting updates out on time - the April update STILL has not arrived to Samsung phones in New Zealand with neither of the three big carriers receiving the software update for testing. Again, cut the crap.

Apple updates are very well managed, the rollout is excellent.

Given Microsoft is a software company and apple a hardware company, i see an issue with Microsoft providing free upgrades, and given how much we pay for apple hardware, the cost of those upgrades in factored in...nothing is free.

Also given the speed of my iPad Air 2 and iPhone 4S after its free upgrades.....one questions planned obsolescence.....I'd rollback in a flash if I could...sometimes the latest OS is not a great expereicnce... my preference is stable and great battery life over gimmicks and battery issues , and the later is the tread be it android or apple these days.

 

[JayIsAwesome]

Got a source to support those claims?

There isn't one. Hell if this was 2010, then yeah I'd agree. B/c Android back during that time was bowling shoe ugly to say the least. But Android has drastically improved in the looks department, starting with Android 4.0 ICS and it's even better today. Hell even Samsung's Touchwiz software looks better than years ago, while iOS has largely looked the same since 2007. And as far as the devices are concerned....I've said it once and I'll say it again....the likes of the GS8 make my iPhone look absolutely dated as hell. Basically if this was 2007, this would be like comparing a newly unveiled iPhone to an old ass Moto Q or ugly windows mobile phone or something.

Unlike quite few on here who bash a platform without actually giving it a fair chance or trying to throw out a random "fact" that is nothing more than a glorified opinion or only using one platform as opposed to testing both out....I actually have an iPhone and an S8. My iPhone still has its place. But it's definitely not the end all be all that many on here claim it is and quite frankly the same goes for the S8. However to me, Samsung seems to be in the position that Apple was from 2007-2010...the company that tried new things and pushed tech forward and tried new innovations, instead resting on the power of the brand. The S8 is an absolute gorgeous device, with an innovative design, and software that's actually improved. It has its quirks (Bixby) but overall, I'm impressed with what Sammy did.

I really hope Apple has something awesome up their sleeves in terms of software and hardware. I'm still pulling for them lead the pack again and have the best device across the board. June should give us somewhat of an idea of what to expect from Apple, especially if the rumored 10.5in iPad is announced. Looking forward to the iPhone 8, Note 8, and Pixel 2

 

[MrX8503]

yeah, everyone is posting that video.

You're right, the way the videomaker is using these 2 phones is a very common smartphone usage. I think the majority of people is using their phone like this...opening about 15/20 apps at the same time

/s

It's a worst case scenario that can be consistently tested. I would trust this over someone's unique sporadic usage that can't be tested. Tests need to be repeatable.

 

[JackieTreehorn]

Apple releasing/revamping this ''Switch'' site just a few weeks after the release of the new Samsung S8.

Coincidence??

I dont think so...

"Life is easier on iPhone'', not at all Apple. After 7 years using every new released iPhone I can tell you my life is much, much more easier (and a lot more productive) with my new S8 then every other iPhone from the past.

"Why is iPhone so fast'', no Apple. My new S8 is in some cases even faster/smoother then any of my previous iPhone 7 (or any of my earlier iPhones)

That 2nd video is pure nonsense

Girlfriend gets an Samsung every two years from work.

We try it for two weeks.

Then we just go back to Apple.

Once you see through the display and specs marketing b*llshit from Samsung and their kudo posters, it is just a very expensive nonfunctional and nonproductive shiny brick.

Our company doesn't even buy Samsung, for very obvious reasons.

 

[Geert76]

Girlfriend gets an Samsung every two years from work.

We try it for two weeks.

Then we just go back to Apple.

Once you see through the display and specs marketing b*llshit from Samsung and their kudo posters, it is just a very expensive nonfunctional and nonproductive shiny brick.

Our company doesn't even buy Samsung, for very obvious reasons.

After more then 3 weeks using my S8 I am much much more productive with my S8 than I could ever been compared to my iPhone 7 or any of my other iPhones (4S/5/5S/6/6S).
That's not an opinion but pure facts

 

[sirexilor]

I actually switched from iPhone to Android (OnePlus 3T). I've used the iPhone 6S for about 18 month, so I can give some feedback. I have AirPods too, they work very good with an Android phone.

Screen size. 4,7" is too small for me. Then again, 6S plus 5,5" is not too big but the iPhone itself is too big. Bezels and the poor screen-to-body-ratio is bad.. there are better alternatives on Android.
Oneplus 3T size: 6.01 x 2.94 x 0.29 in
iPhone 6S plus: 6.23 x 3.07 x 0.29 in

iTunes. I have a lot of music on with mp3's, and it's a nightmare to sync the music on the phone. It's slow and sometimes the covers on the albums are wrong and it's annoying to fix it. I have Spotify premium too, but not all music can be found on Spotify. With the Android, I just drag and drop the music from a folder to another folder. And done.

Taking out the pictures from iPhone. Yes I know, just plug the iPhone to a PC and PC sees the iPhone like a digital camera or sync via iCloud or something. Well, when tried to move photos from the iPhone to PC, it copied the first 10 pictures and after that iPhone stopped responding. I restarted iPhone and the PC, looked the issue from the web, no answer. So I synced the pictures to the OneDrive. It took a while, because OneDrive won't work in the background because of the iOS restrictions, so you have to have the app open or screen active.. other thing is that If I use Mac, the pictures get synced fine, but if you want to backup manually your photos, you have go to the hidden photo folder, where is the original photos and not the photos appication thumbnails.. you know what I mean.

No optical image stabilizer in the camera, only in the plus model.

iPhone 7 and forward are missing 3,5mm jack. I have devices and places where 3,5mm plug is still in use and adapters get lost easily and one more cable to worry about. So no thanks.

Last time I used Android was when the Android was on 4.4.x and then it sure was not good. Using 6.0.x and Nougat things are pretty good now. Of course it depends a lot from the manufacturer, but using Android nowadays is a lot better then before. If you don't root your device, install apk's from shady corners of the web or click every penis enlargement -ad on the web, you're totally safe. Same as using a computer, best spyware/firewall/virus control is you, between the screen and the seat.

Thing is that I can do and enjoy more doing my daily tasks with an Android phone than with an iPhone. Another thing is that OnePlus 3T is dual SIM phone. I can have my personal number and my work number in the same phone, don't need to carry two phones anymore.. this wasn't deal breaker for me.

If iPhone gets better in couple of things, I'll switch back of course.

 

[Marx55]

"Apple Debuts Revamped 'Switch' Site to Lure Android Users to iPhone".

To lure any user, just reduce price 50%. Apple should do it with all products, boost sales and increase market share worldwide.

 

[VernonDozier]

Read and repeat after me:

Updates and upgrades are free

You had to pay to upgrade from Windows XP or Windows 7 where as in the Mac world you can upgrade/update macOS for free with devices that are 6 years old still supported by the latest version of macOS. Btw, I raised the issue of Windows and the recent security fiasco as not an attack on Microsoft but to use it as an example of security being at the forefront for many 'normal people'. By the way, cut the crap and stop excusing the piss poor job that Google and it's OEM's do when it comes to getting updates out on time - the April update STILL has not arrived to Samsung phones in New Zealand with neither of the three big carriers receiving the software update for testing. Again, cut the crap.

Well...
I can buy a Windows 10 laptop (with license) in the US for under $350 at retail, and a Mac will cost $1250. So I can buy four Windows 10 machines during that same 3-5 years my sister owns her macbook.

But as for security, well, that's important too. So, from Jan 1 through today, Windows 10 has 68 known vulnerabilities-- CVEs. CVEs are very special- they're known vulnerabilities which have been reported to US Government (often by white-hat hackers) so they can be researched and fixed. These are "formal" requests shepherded by the US Government. Windows 7 has 67 CVEs. Microsoft's new name for Internet Explorer is "Edge". Edge has 37 vulnerabilities.

To compare, MacOS has 142. iOS has 194, Safari has 87 found in 2017 so far. So if your reading MacRumors on an iPhone or iPad tonight, there's 281 published vulnerabilities between iOS and Safari discovered so far in 2017.

To compare, if you were on a Windows 10 laptop running Edge, there are 105 CVEs prior to patching. Point is that for every CVE discovered and reported on PC platforms so far this year, there's over 2.67 found on iPhone/iPad/iOS platforms.


Where the stats get even more interesting is in tracking exploits. Exploits are software found in the "wild" that take advantage of that sloppy coding which makes it into a release. On iOS, there are a total of 7 exploits. Android has 2, and well, Windows 10 has zero.


The reason why Apple users need their OS completely re-installed (updates from Mavericks > Yosemite > Sierra) is because of file permissions and additional complexities with Unix, and unix subsystems. Windows updates will always be free, but getting 3 free laptops (maybe someone breaks in your car and steals them frequently) for the price of one Mac is also pretty cool too! (see what I did there?) However, and on Windows systems, the affected files are just replaced during a reboot.

As for New Zealand carriers decisions to release updates for phones, to me, that seems more like a carrier issue.

 

[alexgowers]

I love apple and prefer iPhone. That said, anyone on android is going to have a rough time adapting to iOS and I wouldn't recommend switching either way if you're happy with one.

Google is great if you aren't worried about your privacy and don't mind adverts to get free products. Apple is all about privacy and you using absolutely all their services to avoid janky workarounds and is very inflexible and rigid.

Hopefully it does inform people about is good about iOS but the language is misleading or out and out a lie. 'much easier' is not only wrong but a poor use of language when iOS has benefits that might make it easier for you.

 

[symphara]

Buying an Android phone involves considering a lot of variables, many of which you cannot foresee, such as future updates, poorly performing preinstalled software, a weak CPU, insufficient RAM and so forth.

I have no poorly performing preinstalled software, a weak CPU, insufficient RAM and so forth. In fact, in my history of Android phones, I've never seen this. My Android phone is running the default software (no custom ROM or launcher) and it's fast and fluid, it has never crashed (in just over one year of ownership), and it hasn't slowed down either.

In fact what you wrote reminds me of the time when I bought my $850 iPad mini, which couldn't hold 3 web pages loaded in tabs (it still cannot, many updates later). My lowly Nexus 4 at the time did much, much better. If you want poorly performing software and insufficient RAM look no further than Apple iOS devices.

If I were to recommend an Android phone to someone, I just wouldn’t know where to start. I’d have to explain too many caveats. There seems to be no gold standard among them, every year new cards are on the table. iPhone is a lot more predictable and stable in that regard.

It's not complicated to anyone but an iPhone user.

Once you put aside the desire to impress others with your overly-expensive phone, and just want a smartphone that does stuff well, you have a wealth of choice in the Android world.

Nearly every $300+ phone will do a good job, but there are some particularly good ones and some particularly good-value-for-money ones. It's easy to find out which, with minimal Google research. Just yesterday I read an article about how the Honor 8 Pro makes the iPhone 7 Plus look a bit crap, at half the price.

 

[44267547]

Some people like wasting time and tinkering with devices. It's how Apple Computer was founded in the first place.

iOS is the best mobile OS out there, but that doesn't make is less boring for those with a proclivity towards engineering. Google manages to include simple and advanced UI options within Android.

Don't you think that's quite obvious? Both Android and IOS has different Has pitfalls. That's why there is preferences and features To both softwares. So you're implying and in your opinion, Google manages to include simple/advanced UI with android, where as Apple is more structured and boring. Again, not everybody wants "Advanced" or "Simple." Your opinion on both versions of software isn't necessarily shared by others.

 

[symphara]

Google is great if you aren't worried about your privacy and don't mind adverts to get free products.

You're misinformed, you don't get adverts on Android (as in, the OS itself), and Google doesn't track your OS usage any more than Apple. Apps with ads are on both platforms.

I am concerned about my privacy, and specifically for this I choose Google over Apple. Google is transparent about what they do and what they track, and you have a lot of options to fine-tune and opt-out of stuff.

Unlike, say, Apple, who on OSX sends by default everything you type in Spotlight to Bing. Including local file searches.

I perceive Apple as an unethical, greedy company that is absolutely the greatest entity on this planet at selling lies to people, including its commitment to privacy and security. I work in security and I know for sure that their claim is a bare-faced lie that doesn't stand to any scrutiny and only impresses the naive or technically illiterate.

 

[djcerla]

Apple releasing/revamping this ''Switch'' site just a few weeks after the release of the new Samsung S8.

Coincidence??

I dont think so...

big sales hit that S8! https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre.../samsung-galaxy-s8-buy-one-get-one-free-offer

"Life is easier on iPhone'', not at all Apple. After 7 years using every new released iPhone I can tell you my life is much, much more easier (and a lot more productive) with my new S8 then every other iPhone from the past.

A lot more productive!

"Why is iPhone so fast'', no Apple. My new S8 is in some cases even faster/smoother then any of my previous iPhone 7 (or any of my earlier iPhones)

Yes? You must have been given a magic one, because the regular S8 is a laggard

 

[sudo1996]

I'm pretty unsatisfied with my iPhone now just because of all the glitches. But I periodically check to see if Android is still garbage, and it still is. Besides the system being a mess, it's unbelievably slow, and so are the apps. Is it because the apps are written in Java?

Oh well, you still have to give Google credit for making it work on such a wide variety of devices and having such an open ecosystem. It's not easy; look at the sorry state of Linux on the desktop.

 

[Seoras]

You clearly don't get it do you. I'm sick and tired of you guys comparing the removal of the 3.5mm jack to other entirely different hardware changes such as the shift from the 32-pin to 8-pin port or what you just said. There's an obvious difference, and it's that there is NO replacement for the 3.5mm headphone jack, it's GONE. The shift away from physical keyboards was replaced by virtual keyboards, and the shift away from clickable physical home buttons was replaced by a home button that had a motor to mimic the physical click. Well now instead of a replacement for the 3.5mm audio jack, it is now merged into the 8-pin connector. THIS is the REAL problem.
[doublepost=1495505548][/doublepost]

You are obviously a smart guy, probably a hardware engineer who really knows what he's talking about....
Naaaah....
Look, it's simple.
They took the components out of the phone and shrunk them into an adaptor that you can use if you really want to keep using your audio jack.
Want some little pictures and simple words to help understand this?
Happy to school you and the other angry birds on here...!

Enjoy!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital-to-analog_converter

 

[sudo1996]

You remind me of the VHS cd DVD crowd

You remind me of the FireWire 800 / Blu-Ray / LaserDisc / Thunderbolt 2.0 / mini-VGA crowd.
[doublepost=1495527393][/doublepost]

You had to pay to upgrade from Windows XP or Windows 7 where as in the Mac world you can upgrade/update macOS for free with devices that are 6 years old still supported by the latest version of macOS

You don't have to do anything. You can stay on Windows 7 for 10 years, not upgrade to Win10 (cuz it's trash), and enjoy not having to keep updating your machines and risking problems. Every darn OS X update breaks something. And now my Mac Pro is all of a sudden "unsupported" for no reason by Sierra, so now I have to use some hacky tool to update it if I want to use Xcode and other new things.

I'd be on Snow Leopard still if it were supported. Best OS ever! Of course, that's a bit extreme, but Apple should at least space out the major OS updates to every 2-3 years and focus more on improving performance.

 

[symphara]

Apple updates are very well managed, the rollout is excellent

Indeed. When my 13" Air was updated from Mountain Lion to Mavericks (and I paid for the update!) they broke the sleep resume. The laptop wouldn't initialize the keyboard and track pad, and had to be hard-rebooted pretty much every time. This lasted about 6 months, despite the large number of similar complaints on the Apple forums. Apple support did nothing but shrug their shoulders.

This is the epitome of excellence and good update management.

 

[sudo1996]

Some people like wasting time and tinkering with devices. It's how Apple Computer was founded in the first place.

iOS is the best mobile OS out there, but that doesn't make is less boring for those with a proclivity towards engineering. Google manages to include simple and advanced UI options within Android.

Jailbreaking iOS is fun though this was more the case in the iPhone OS 3 days

 

[mib1800]

big sales hit that S8! https://www.theverge.com/circuitbre.../samsung-galaxy-s8-buy-one-get-one-free-offer



A lot more productive!



Yes? You must have been given a magic one, because the regular S8 is a laggard

Who would do speed test this way? Stupid to say the least since when we ever open 15-20 apps one after another.

The following would be a better way to do speed test. Systematic. Able to see which phone is better at certain situations .

 

[Abazigal]

Tim should just resort to begging Apple customers to stay.

Maybe Tim should try and bring back innovation to Apple. EVEN Walter Isaacson agrees that Apple isn't the most innovative company any more! Why would people switch to an inferior system.

Only Apple denialists on this forum keep trying to defend Tim's dynasty.

There's nothing to defend.

The results will speak for themselves.

And the day will come when even the blindest of fools will have to admit that they were dead wrong about Apple all along.

 

[zen]

Apple releasing/revamping this ''Switch'' site just a few weeks after the release of the new Samsung S8.

Coincidence??

I dont think so...

"Life is easier on iPhone'', not at all Apple. After 7 years using every new released iPhone I can tell you my life is much, much more easier (and a lot more productive) with my new S8 then every other iPhone from the past.

"Why is iPhone so fast'', no Apple. My new S8 is in some cases even faster/smoother then any of my previous iPhone 7 (or any of my earlier iPhones)

That 2nd video is pure nonsense

I have to agree with all of this. As an iPhone user since 2007, when my wife was given a Samsung S7 by her work, I was skeptical and very scathing... until I tried it. And then I realised that Apple are *years* behind in phone hardware and software. I'll be getting an S8+ when my iPhone dies.

 

[Geert76]

you know what, maybe we should just stop thinking that the iPhone is superior to, let's say, the Samsung S8. Cause its simply not.

I had the S7 last year and had it for about 2 months, with this years S8 there is a massive positive difference between the 2 devices and its OS.

I am using the S8 now for 3 weeks, Samsung came from very very far wit their new flagship this year.

If I compare my iPhone 7 and my S8 and how I use it on a daily base, they are almost on par (in terms of smoothness and fluidness). Okay, maybe sometimes apps on my S8 open 0,0004 seconds slower on my S8 then on my iPhone 7, but then again, I can be truly more productive with my S8. And I'll take that 0,0004 seconds of slower openings apps as a loss for the truly productivity and nearly endless customization

 

[symphara]

you know what, maybe we should just stop thinking that the iPhone is superior to, let's say, the Samsung S8.

It's not superior at all.

Take a very simple use-case: you're in an app and you want to connect to the WiFi (or some Bluetooth device), then go back to the app.

In Android, this is very quick and simple: drop down the settings, long press the WiFi or Bluetooth icon, select the network or device, press Back and you're done.

In iOS, this is an unholy mess. You have to exit the app, hunt for the screen with the Settings, enter the Settings app, select the appropriate category, then there's no immediate way to go back to your app. Doing it by task switching means double-clicking the button, swiping to the app and selecting it. Way too convoluted.

This in a nutshell describes iOS vs Android daily use. Android has a flow from app to app, sharing is much better, you can select default apps, notifications are way better and easier to handle, you can access its filesystem, the app settings are where they should be, and everything takes fewer taps, clicks and swipes to do.

It doesn't matter how fast the latest A-whatever processor is, when you put in on a byzantine, convoluted OS that's mostly designed to make Apple more money by funneling its users into using Apple's monthly subscription services. The users will be poorer and less productive. But they look fashionable and upwardly mobile at Starbucks so I guess that's ok.

 

[mib1800]

Here is another speed test.

http://www.tomsguide.com/us/speed-test-galaxy-s8-vs-iphone-7,review-4380.html