Apple is losing me: that's why.

[beosound3200]

I wouldn't say that the screen size is the only downside of the iphone. The lack of functionality is a big issue, for me at least.

*for most people, sorry

for some, that 'lack of functionality' called ios is actually the biggest plus

 

[Black Magic]

Not everyone knows me, for sure, but I'm a quite active forum member.
And surely I can define myself like a true passion at Apple user.
My first Apple experience are dated 1989, with Macintosh. The complete switch from windows environment dated 2005 when I purchased the iMac Intel powered , followed a few months after by a white MacBook 13". Never had regrets. Never look back.
Quite naturally I bought my first iPhone in 2008, the iPhone 3G (the original iPhone wasn't available in Europe), and since then I owned every iPhone's iteration, including my actual iPhone 5S.
Due to my job I need to have with me a second phone, so I basically tried every other interesting products (I'm a really tech enthusiast), but my primary phone was and is the iPhone. I also have an iPad, actually every single version except for the iPad 3 (when I decided to switch from my previous iPad 2, Apple released the 4). And a MacBook Pro 15". And a Mini. And a MacBook Air 11" (for my wife).
My home is permeated with a strong Apple ecosystem.
Well, for the first time in my recent life, I'm not sure my next flagship will be the iPhone 6.
Why ? I can't give you a direct answer. Am I satisfied by my iPhone 5S ? Yes .... and no.
It's a premium product. It's well designed, well manufactured, it has a top notch technology inside (I truly love how Apple caught all other vendors unprepared with the A7) ..... but it is somewhat "half baked".
The display is too small. Don't get me wrong, I need a compact primary phone (my secondary is a phablet), but this one is too small by any means. The missed the point after iPhone 5. That was the moment to make a change.
And this is related to iOS 7.
It was a new iOS, an innovation compared to every previous iteration, but is was not really innovative .... I don't know how to explain it. It was "more of the same" , just presented in a slightly different form.
Now we are waiting for the iPhone 6. We know it will sports a bigger display. We know there will be a phablet version.
But it will be "more of the same", nevertheless.
I'm not going to judge something without seeing it, but with all the rumors and with the iOS 8 presentation I'm afraid we are not going to have a revolution here.
I'm using Android and windows Phone 8.1 on a daily base (Nexus 7 and Lumia 1520), and while they have several defects (especially Android), they both are satisfying me more than iOS. WP 8.1 in my opinion is absolutely the best os out there (I'm speaking about the os, not the App Store ).
Now I'm debated, and I don't know what to do.
There are strong points in favor of iOS and iPhone (think about the App Store, by far better than any regardless what Android supporters are claiming), and the ecosystem I'm used to. But I'm not going to spend 730€ or more for the iPhone 6 if it won't satisfy my expectations.

How many of you share my feeling ?
What do you think about this ?

You really lost me with Windows Phone 8.1 being the best OS out there. Seriously? Feature wise it's still playing catch up with iOS and Android as it just now introduced Cortana and Do Not Disturb.

iOS 8 should address many of your concerns I would imagine. It sounds like you maybe just burnt out to be honest. Being that your hobby is playing with tech, you get bored and bounce around. It's an expensive hobby though and at some point you will get tired of upgrading video cards and tinkering. You will want something that works and meets your needs. When that day comes, you will be holding your new iPhone.

 

[gotluck]

*for most people, sorry

for some, that 'lack of functionality' called ios is actually the biggest plus

yes, this is true

but there are still people that look at it as a negative 🙂

for example, jailbreaking saves ios for me personally, without it.. forget about it!

 

[beosound3200]

yes, this is true

but there are still people that look at it as a negative 🙂

for example, jailbreaking saves ios for me personally, without it.. forget about it!

can you be kind enough to say what jailbreak tweaks you specifically use?

i always wanted to know about this vast functionality outside of ios, but i never really stumbled across anything noteworthy aside from customisation/looks tweaks.

thank you

 

[gotluck]

can you be kind enough to say what jailbreak tweaks you specifically use?

i always wanted to know about this vast functionality outside of ios, but i never really stumbled across anything noteworthy aside from customisation/looks tweaks.

thank you

sure 🙂

anyattach - email attachments in replies, multiple email attachments

ifile - access to the file system

adblocker - once you've blocked ads its very hard to go back

fascy (faster scrolling speed)

controllers for all - use ps4 controller (and others) through bluetooth as gamepad, fully supported on any game with controller support

retroarch emulater - play n64, snes, nes , pxs, nds, and other game systems (w/ controller support)

streamenhancer, scrubradio (by andy wiik)- adblocker's for the youtube app, itunes radio, unlimited skips, audio scrubbing in spotify

flux

icleaner - gets rid of those temp files that accumulate in the 'other' space in itunes

bittorrent client itransmission

osexperience - a bit clunky, but allows resizable multiwindow multitasking on ipads

fullscreen force, makes phone apps fullsize on ipad (doesn't work in all cases)

there are tweaks to get around apps not letting you airplay

nitrous- use the better javascript engine in apps other than safari

safari download enabler

purge - easily and quickly close background apps

I only have an ipad now, so am a bit out of touch with more of the phone tweaks

I've always jailbroken for functionality, not looks, I dont theme

 

[beosound3200]

sure 🙂

anyattach - email attachments in replies, multiple email attachments

ifile - access to the file system

adblocker - once you've blocked ads its very hard to go back

fascy (faster scrolling speed)

controllers for all - use ps4 controller (and others) through bluetooth as gamepad, fully supported on any game with controller support

retroarch emulater - play n64, snes, nes , pxs, nds, and other game systems (w/ controller support)

streamenhancer, scrubradio (by andy wiik)- adblocker's for the youtube app, itunes radio, unlimited skips, audio scrubbing in spotify

flux

icleaner - gets rid of those temp files that accumulate in the 'other' space in itunes

bittorrent client itransmission

osexperience - a bit clunky, but allows resizable multiwindow multitasking on ipads

fullscreen force, makes phone apps fullsize on ipad (doesn't work in all cases)

there are tweaks to get around apps not letting you airplay

nitrous- use the better javascript engine in apps other than safari

safari download enabler

purge - easily and quickly close background apps

I only have an ipad now, so am a bit out of touch with more of the phone tweaks

I've always jailbroken for functionality, not looks, I dont theme

thank you very much for the info! 🙂

ill look into it

 

[Altis]

You really lost me with Windows Phone 8.1 being the best OS out there. Seriously? Feature wise it's still playing catch up with iOS and Android as it just now introduced Cortana and Do Not Disturb.

iOS 8 should address many of your concerns I would imagine. It sounds like you maybe just burnt out to be honest. Being that your hobby is playing with tech, you get bored and bounce around. It's an expensive hobby though and at some point you will get tired of upgrading video cards and tinkering. You will want something that works and meets your needs. When that day comes, you will be holding your new iPhone.

Have you used WP 8.1? They are at least improving and currently have a very usable OS, conditional to whatever third party apps you may need (which OP noted as its failing). I wouldn't write it off until you've explored it more... the consensus of my personal use and reviews that I've seen seem to be that it's great, except for the app store.

iOS is the one catching up these days, adding features that have been around on jailbreaks or other platforms. They still refuse to add some basic features such as a dark theme (or flux-like ability) or address incessant app/tab refreshes or post-animation delays, or a Music app that is improved at all (a proper equalizer, queue function) -- and are arguably making worse.

I do concede your point about what happens when you're constantly indulged in the latest tech toys... nothing is really all that special anymore. That's why it can be nice to re-evaluate platforms every now and again. You can always come back later as things change.

That being said, Apple is serving my needs worse now than it did previously, and as much as I would like to stay with Apple products, they simply aren't addressing the shortcomings for my use (if iOS 7 and 8 are any indication). Where they used to be leaps and bounds ahead of the others, now the alternatives are every bit as good in many ways.

I do think it's nice that there are several decent options now.

 

[SpoonCody]

That being said, Apple is serving my needs worse now than it did previously, and as much as I would like to stay with Apple products, they simply aren't addressing the shortcomings for my use (if iOS 7 and 8 are any indication). Where they used to be leaps and bounds ahead of the others, now the alternatives are every bit as good in many ways.

I agree. Even just from the few extra features that Android offers or the few extra things that it can do that iOS can't, I'm finding Android serving nearly all my needs better.

My Android device is easier to use, more accommodating to my needs and specific wants, allows me to be more productive, and I even find certain things about it more reliable (Maps, for example).

The point being, my Android phone overall seems more capable to cater to me. Whereas when I use my iPhone, I find myself needing to cater to it.

Unless the MOto X+1 and Nexus 6 completely bomb this year, put me into the camp of "Android winning me over" too.

 

[jrswizzle]

That being said, Apple is serving my needs worse now than it did previously, and as much as I would like to stay with Apple products, they simply aren't addressing the shortcomings for my use (if iOS 7 and 8 are any indication). Where they used to be leaps and bounds ahead of the others, now the alternatives are every bit as good in many ways.

I do think it's nice that there are several decent options now.

Huh? iOS 7 and 8 have addressed nearly every shortcoming iOS has.....

Aside from playstation controller support, theming and torrents, I'm not sure what's left? Certainly nothing WP8 has....

 

[Shanghaichica]

Huh? iOS 7 and 8 have addressed nearly every shortcoming iOS has.....

Aside from playstation controller support, theming and torrents, I'm not sure what's left? Certainly nothing WP8 has....

That remains to be seen. I need to see just how good the sharing options are and how far iCloud drive goes in addressing the lack of a filing system.

 

[Meister]

I just changed from WP 7.8 to iOS.
WP was missing rudimentary functions I expect from an OS.
I also recently acquired a device running android 4.3.
It seems to be overloaded and unpleasant to use.

 

[SpyderBite]

The average consumer does not want to wade through hundreds of features and customization options. They want a phone that just works.

I am not defending Apple. I'm merely pointing out a reality. While majority of us enthusiasts would love to see an iPhone riddled with options and features; the reality of it is that most of the iPhone sales are people who want it simple.

Enthusiasts have to remind themselves that they are the minority of iPhone sales. But that never seems to happen.

 

[Black Magic]

The average consumer does not want to wade through hundreds of features and customization options. They want a phone that just works.

I am not defending Apple. I'm merely pointing out a reality. While majority of us enthusiasts would love to see an iPhone riddled with options and features; the reality of it is that most of the iPhone sales are people who want it simple.

Enthusiasts have to remind themselves that they are the minority of iPhone sales. But that never seems to happen.

See you get it! I have a Samsung Galaxy 3 it has Android 4.4.2 (I believe). When I go to settings and see a sub menu called MORE SETTINGS that has the same options duplicated in another section, someone is doing something wrong at Google or Samsung.

I'm well past the point of wanting to tinker and tweak tech toys. When I get off work, I don't want to come home and work on my PCs and phones, I want to relax and enjoy my down time. Some people like to upgrade video cards in their PC and tweak drivers to get an extra few FPS to play the new game. I'd rather buy a console and slide the disc in to start playing.

People do have choices though and I can't fault them for having preferences. What a boring place it would be if they didn't.

 

[Savor]

Look at the last 18 months. TechRadar doesn't even rank iPhone 5s among the Top 5! HTC still tops in PhoneDog Rankings. It has become Android flagship vs Android flagship nowadays. Apple has not won Best Smartphone of the Year from GSMA since iPhone 4. After 4s, my interest waned. It probably started before that when I tried out webOS during the summer of 2011. Not that the 4s or iOS5 were bad updates. 4s was clearly an improvement over the 4 internally esp being dual core and the 7x faster GPU. And iOS5 gave us a better notification system aping Android's style.

What's the killer new feature on iPhone 6? Bigger screen? Welcome to 2011, iOS fans. Even Nexus S back in late-2010 already had NFC.

 

[Black Magic]

Look at the last 18 months. TechRadar doesn't even rank iPhone 5s among the Top 5! HTC still tops in PhoneDog Rankings. It has become Android flagship vs Android flagship nowadays. Apple has not won Best Smartphone of the Year from GSMA since iPhone 4. After 4s, my interest waned. It probably started before that when I tried out webOS during the summer of 2011. Not that the 4s or iOS5 were bad updates. 4s was clearly an improvement over the 4 internally esp being dual core and the 7x faster GPU. And iOS5 gave us a better notification system aping Android's style.

What's the killer new feature on iPhone 6? Bigger screen? Welcome to 2011, iOS fans. Even Nexus S back in late-2010 already had NFC.

Who looks at TechRadar? It's a low budget no name site. Anandtech on the other hand has industry wide respect.

 

[AxoNeuron]

Mac

Yosemite causes me to abandon OS X – abandonment after more than two decades of enjoying, supporting and promoting Apple software for Mac hardware.

iPhone and iPad

I planned to get a more modern iPhone, but Yosemite has almost completely destroyed the confidence that I once had in Apple's integrity. And so my first iPhone will be my last.

Destruction of confidence, abandonment of essential human interface guidelines, and so on.

Plans to purchase an iPhone, thoughts of purchasing an iPad for myself: all gone.

I'm sure Tim Cook will sob uncontrollably and cry himself to sleep tonight after hearing this. Wow, what a disaster for Apple. Some people are just stuck in the past and cannot stand change.

Good luck with....umm...

...windows 8? ROFL.

----------

Look at the last 18 months. TechRadar doesn't even rank iPhone 5s among the Top 5! HTC still tops in PhoneDog Rankings. It has become Android flagship vs Android flagship nowadays. Apple has not won Best Smartphone of the Year from GSMA since iPhone 4. After 4s, my interest waned. It probably started before that when I tried out webOS during the summer of 2011. Not that the 4s or iOS5 were bad updates. 4s was clearly an improvement over the 4 internally esp being dual core and the 7x faster GPU. And iOS5 gave us a better notification system aping Android's style.

What's the killer new feature on iPhone 6? Bigger screen? Welcome to 2011, iOS fans. Even Nexus S back in late-2010 already had NFC.

Supposedly, Android phones have better specs. On paper.

But the truth is, there's a reason why even the fastest android phones have tremendous UI lag. Android is just inefficient. They don't even have a thread task scheduler!

Even worse is this ridiculous marketing spec-war they are all engaged in, throwing in more RAM and more cores in to the CPU when there are more important specs they can't control, like CPU. For example, most high end android phones have at least four cores, but since most apps are single threaded, they can only use one core. And when you look at the iPhone, it SLAMS every android phone out there on single-threaded benchmarks, the only benchmark that really matters. It doesn't just win by a small amount either, it absolutely crushes every android phone out there.

Hell, some of them are even throwing in 8 cores. It's like the ridiculous Ghz war in computers, where people automatically assumed that higher Ghz ALWAYS equals better performance, but it just doesn't because there's more to it than just clock speed. A lot of android fans just don't look in to the subtleties of performance.

So for the vast majority of apps, the iPhone will be much faster, because Apple doesn't play this ridiculous spec marketing war. They can differentiate themselves just by making their own OS, which is custom designed from the ground up to run as efficiently as possible on their custom hardware.

 

[petvas]

You really lost me with Windows Phone 8.1 being the best OS out there. Seriously? Feature wise it's still playing catch up with iOS and Android as it just now introduced Cortana and Do Not Disturb.

iOS 8 should address many of your concerns I would imagine. It sounds like you maybe just burnt out to be honest. Being that your hobby is playing with tech, you get bored and bounce around. It's an expensive hobby though and at some point you will get tired of upgrading video cards and tinkering. You will want something that works and meets your needs. When that day comes, you will be holding your new iPhone.

I think that is also what happened to me. I also have the feeling that the new iPhone will be "more of the same" in a different form, slightly improved. I value the ecosystem and the Apple philosophy, but would like to see more brave steps into the future. After so many years iOS hasn't changed a bit, at least in the way it works. It has change in the way it looks, but we still get pages of icons that can be used to launch our apps. At some point Apple will have to move beyond that and try something different.
The same goes for the iPhone 6 design. As I said on another thread I created, i would like Apple to start taking more risks. If you see an iPhone 6, it is an evolution of the first iPhone design. At some point maybe Apple should just make a cut and design a brand new phone, that has no resemblance to the old ones..

Edit: I am still getting the iPhone 6 though..I love Apple, I just have an HTC One M8 as a second phone for all those moments where iOS bores me.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I think that is also what happened to me. I also have the feeling that the new iPhone will be "more of the same" in a different form, slightly improved. I value the ecosystem and the Apple philosophy, but would like to see more brave steps into the future. After so many years iOS hasn't changed a bit, at least in the way it works. It has change in the way it looks, but we still get pages of icons that can be used to launch our apps. At some point Apple will have to move beyond that and try something different.
The same goes for the iPhone 6 design. As I said on another thread I created, i would like Apple to start taking more risks. If you see an iPhone 6, it is an evolution of the first iPhone design. At some point maybe Apple should just make a cut and design a brand new phone, that has no resemblance to the old ones..

Edit: I am still getting the iPhone 6 though..I love Apple, I just have an HTC One M8 as a second phone for all those moments where iOS bores me.

Out of interest, what are you expecting mobile manufacturers to do in order to be brave and try something different? You mention iOS needs to change the way it looks, but what is wrong with the form it has now? It works great IMO and is simple to navigate etc. Would there be any point changing it for the sake of it and to satisfy a few people who get bored looking at a device? Its a tool and has been designed to be easy to use with clean graphics. I don't see much point changing it just because its followed a certain theme since its incarnation. Microsoft Windows hasn't changed an awful lot over the years in terms of appearance, but we use it as an everyday tool without getting bored of it. 🙂

 

[petvas]

Out of interest, what are you expecting mobile manufacturers to do in order to be brave and try something different? You mention iOS needs to change the way it looks, but what is wrong with the form it has now? It works great IMO and is simple to navigate etc. Would there be any point changing it for the sake of it and to satisfy a few people who get bored looking at a device? Its a tool and has been designed to be easy to use with clean graphics. I don't see much point changing it just because its followed a certain theme since its incarnation. Microsoft Windows hasn't changed an awful lot over the years in terms of appearance, but we use it as an everyday tool without getting bored of it. 🙂

I don't want change for the sake of change. I want meaningful changes. I would like a better way to organise my apps and information on my home screen. Is the answer widgets,like on Android? Not necessarily.
The solution must be simple to use, and still keep the cleanness of iOS.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

I don't want change for the sake of change. I want meaningful changes. I would like a better way to organise my apps and information on my home screen. Is the answer widgets,like on Android? Not necessarily.
The solution must be simple to use, and still keep the cleanness of iOS.

I suppose options are no bad thing. I organise all my apps in folders so know where to find them quickly and effectively. I would rather the information was on a pull down menu that allowed more choices than filling the home screen personally. I'm not a fan of widgets and search bars on the home screen and live feeds etc. If the choice was there for people who like that sort of thing, I wouldn't be against that, but then again that would be just like Android.

 

[petvas]

I suppose options are no bad thing. I organise all my apps in folders so know where to find them quickly and effectively. I would rather the information was on a pull down menu that allowed more choices than filling the home screen personally. I'm not a fan of widgets and search bars on the home screen and live feeds etc. If the choice was there for people who like that sort of thing, I wouldn't be against that, but then again that would be just like Android.

Widgets are not that bad. I was also against them but I have them on my HTC One M8 and some of them can really be very productive:

• Twitter & Facebook quick post button
• Showing weather information
• Showing tasks and appointments (in iOS this is done differently, so that's ok)
• Checking the latest mails
• Writing a new mail

Basically, I would like to have something like "quick actions", combined with some basic information. Widgets on Android can clutter the interface a lot and are not the best solution..

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Widgets are not that bad. I was also against them but I have them on my HTC One M8 and some of them can really be very productive:

• Twitter & Facebook quick post button
• Showing weather information
• Showing tasks and appointments (in iOS this is done differently, so that's ok)
• Checking the latest mails
• Writing a new mail

Basically, I would like to have something like "quick actions", combined with some basic information. Widgets on Android can clutter the interface a lot and are not the best solution..

I had them and tried them on my previous Android phones, HTC and a Samsung and found them to be unreliable by not updating when they were supposed to and I found if you enabled them to update often, they drained the battery too quickly. By the time I got home from work my battery was dead most days. Not a fan of widgets at all, sorry. I would rather have apps I can click on to perform the tasks I need.

 

[petvas]

I had them and tried them on my previous Android phones, HTC and a Samsung and found them to be unreliable by not updating when they were supposed to and I found if you enabled them to update often, they drained the battery too quickly. By the time I got home from work my battery was dead most days. Not a fan of widgets at all, sorry. I would rather have apps I can click on to perform the tasks I need.

They work very well here, but of course, as with everything on Android, you need to find out the right widgets 🙂
My HTC One M8 has much better battery life than my iPhone 5S.

 

[The Game 161]

I would really struggle without widgets now. Love my CBS Sports NBA widget with scores under that. Got my calendar, google now to search, goal.com news widget, tennis news widget and my music widget along with my fitness tracker widget.

I love these options. Not sure I could go back to a phone without them. Plus that and I love the S pen options too much along with of course removeable batteries.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

They work very well here, but of course, as with everything on Android, you need to find out the right widgets 🙂
My HTC One M8 has much better battery life than my iPhone 5S.

Yeah I think that is what put me off Android was the need to fiddle, I can't be bothered with that. I'm the type of person that has 3 icon's on their PC desktop and a single row of icon's on their iPhone, so widgets do nothing for me. I'm pretty lucky with my iPhone battery. I get a full day out of it with quite a lot of use. A friend of mine here in the office has the HTC M8 and its a stunning phone I have to say. Too big for me though 🙂