Long time Android user, specifically Samsung Note 2 & 3. Current phone is a two year old Note 3 and admittedly is working fine. However, it has begun to slow down, is no longer being updated, and has some annoying quirks like freezing or losing widget support which requires a restart to fix. I'm also on my 2nd battery (Anker) and the front facing camera/screen sensor has been replaced once (by me) and is on the fritz again. I expect better build quality from Apple. I am hard on a phone but the Note's have held up decent for me. I don't drop them or abuse them, but talk 2-3 hours per day along with 3+ hours of screen time for my job and need a phone that can make it through the day.
Reasons I'm looking to go to iOS with an iPhone:
-I'm the only Android user in my extended family. While this doesn't matter much, I can't FaceTime anyone or share a charger. My wife switched to an iPhone a year ago and now we have two chargers/cords/car chargers due to the difference in Lightning and microUSB. I also use OSX for my home desktop and laptop. However I don't feel that not having an iPhone has held me back any there.
-Something different. After 4 years on an OS that has basically stayed the same I'm looking for something fresh. Kind of ridiculous I know.
-Samsung bugs, glitches, freezes, etc. This obviously isn't bad enough for me to stop using my current phone, but it can get annoying. Additionally, everything out there has dropped support for removable batteries or microSD cards, so Samsung no longer has the edge they once held over an iPhone (in my opinion).
-Native apps. On my Note 3 I use Chrome, Textra, Dialer One, and a few other minor 3rd party apps to overcome the limitations of the native Samsung/Android apps. I expect iOS to deliver out of the box and avoid this hassle.
Reasons I'm hesitant to switch and am looking for input:
-T9 dialer support. This is the biggest reason I don't have an iPhone. I'm in construction and spend my day driving around and making tons of calls. I need to quickly find and dial a phone number out of a contact list of over 1000. It goes back to my Blackberry days, but being able to start typing a contact's name (or number) on the number pad and it quickly sort them out to the necessary contact is invaluable. Also many of my contacts have strange names that make this easier for me to keep track. For instance, I may have contacts named "Acme Brick", "Acme Brick Warehouse", "Acme Brick Driver John", "Acme Brick Sales Desk", "Acme Brick Guardshack"...you get the idea. T9 dialer support is crucial to me and why I use Dialer One on my Samsung (who's stock dialer is horrendous).
-Samsung Keyboard. I love that on my Note 3 the keyboard has a dedicated number row above the first row of letters. Such a time saver. Additionally, the fact that I can long press a letter to get a ? or $ makes too much sense for it not to be implemented on the iPhone (my opinion).
-Google Now. I don't fly much at all, but having Google Now sift through my Gmail and list my flight status, gate, and time the night before I go somewhere is amazing. Packages that are ordered show up as a card that I can quickly track instead of searching for an email and going from there. I fear things like this are some of the "little things" I'll miss switching to iOS. Also, being able to lay in bed and type "remind me at 730 am to call Sam" in the Google Search widget and it create a reminder has become very useful. I know Siri can do this, but from what I understand you have to say it and are not able to type it and I find that somewhat unbelievable.
-Replaceable battery & microSD. While this is getting harder to find, the only reason I still have a two year old Note 3 is because I have replaced the battery to be able to make it through the day. I do expect better battery life and build quality from Apple, though. I also value the microSD. When I take too many pictures and fill up a 32GB card, I just buy a 64GB and keep rolling. I don't have to worry about memory and I value that a lot.
-File & photo syncing. I use an app called SyncMe to sync my photos, SMS backup file, voice notes, and anything else I need to my desktop computer every night around 4 AM while my phone is charging. It's so simple and allows me to view photos from my phone in a normal file structure and be able to archive anything I need in case I lost my phone the next day. My desktop is a 5+ year old iMac (best investment ever) and I do NOT use iPhoto and much prefer folders for photo organization.
-SMS Backup. I use SMS Backup & Restore to create a backup file of my SMS messages daily and then sync that to my computer. In my business, 2/3 or more of my communication is over text messages and having a backup file to recall bids, prices, offers, etc. has saved me more than once. I consider some form of SMS backup a must have. I also use an app called SMS Backup + that syncs all of my texts to Gmail. While it is not 100%, it provides an easily searchable way to find something at a computer and a long term archive of texts
-The back button. I don't know how iPhone users get away without it, but the back button seems to make so much sense. Apple's sold like a billion iPhones, so maybe I'm the one missing the boat but it seems to make things so much easier.
-S Pen. I may not use it for a month and then use it 5 times in one day. Being able to take a picture, draw on it, and then send it out can be unbelievably helpful in my line of work. Other than very light note taking in Action Memo and writing on pictures I don't use it for anything else.
That's pretty much it. If you've made it this far, I'd appreciate any unbiased opinions based on my needs and wants. I very much appreciate your time.
Reasons I'm looking to go to iOS with an iPhone:
-I'm the only Android user in my extended family. While this doesn't matter much, I can't FaceTime anyone or share a charger. My wife switched to an iPhone a year ago and now we have two chargers/cords/car chargers due to the difference in Lightning and microUSB. I also use OSX for my home desktop and laptop. However I don't feel that not having an iPhone has held me back any there.
-Something different. After 4 years on an OS that has basically stayed the same I'm looking for something fresh. Kind of ridiculous I know.
-Samsung bugs, glitches, freezes, etc. This obviously isn't bad enough for me to stop using my current phone, but it can get annoying. Additionally, everything out there has dropped support for removable batteries or microSD cards, so Samsung no longer has the edge they once held over an iPhone (in my opinion).
-Native apps. On my Note 3 I use Chrome, Textra, Dialer One, and a few other minor 3rd party apps to overcome the limitations of the native Samsung/Android apps. I expect iOS to deliver out of the box and avoid this hassle.
Reasons I'm hesitant to switch and am looking for input:
-T9 dialer support. This is the biggest reason I don't have an iPhone. I'm in construction and spend my day driving around and making tons of calls. I need to quickly find and dial a phone number out of a contact list of over 1000. It goes back to my Blackberry days, but being able to start typing a contact's name (or number) on the number pad and it quickly sort them out to the necessary contact is invaluable. Also many of my contacts have strange names that make this easier for me to keep track. For instance, I may have contacts named "Acme Brick", "Acme Brick Warehouse", "Acme Brick Driver John", "Acme Brick Sales Desk", "Acme Brick Guardshack"...you get the idea. T9 dialer support is crucial to me and why I use Dialer One on my Samsung (who's stock dialer is horrendous).
-Samsung Keyboard. I love that on my Note 3 the keyboard has a dedicated number row above the first row of letters. Such a time saver. Additionally, the fact that I can long press a letter to get a ? or $ makes too much sense for it not to be implemented on the iPhone (my opinion).
-Google Now. I don't fly much at all, but having Google Now sift through my Gmail and list my flight status, gate, and time the night before I go somewhere is amazing. Packages that are ordered show up as a card that I can quickly track instead of searching for an email and going from there. I fear things like this are some of the "little things" I'll miss switching to iOS. Also, being able to lay in bed and type "remind me at 730 am to call Sam" in the Google Search widget and it create a reminder has become very useful. I know Siri can do this, but from what I understand you have to say it and are not able to type it and I find that somewhat unbelievable.
-Replaceable battery & microSD. While this is getting harder to find, the only reason I still have a two year old Note 3 is because I have replaced the battery to be able to make it through the day. I do expect better battery life and build quality from Apple, though. I also value the microSD. When I take too many pictures and fill up a 32GB card, I just buy a 64GB and keep rolling. I don't have to worry about memory and I value that a lot.
-File & photo syncing. I use an app called SyncMe to sync my photos, SMS backup file, voice notes, and anything else I need to my desktop computer every night around 4 AM while my phone is charging. It's so simple and allows me to view photos from my phone in a normal file structure and be able to archive anything I need in case I lost my phone the next day. My desktop is a 5+ year old iMac (best investment ever) and I do NOT use iPhoto and much prefer folders for photo organization.
-SMS Backup. I use SMS Backup & Restore to create a backup file of my SMS messages daily and then sync that to my computer. In my business, 2/3 or more of my communication is over text messages and having a backup file to recall bids, prices, offers, etc. has saved me more than once. I consider some form of SMS backup a must have. I also use an app called SMS Backup + that syncs all of my texts to Gmail. While it is not 100%, it provides an easily searchable way to find something at a computer and a long term archive of texts
-The back button. I don't know how iPhone users get away without it, but the back button seems to make so much sense. Apple's sold like a billion iPhones, so maybe I'm the one missing the boat but it seems to make things so much easier.
-S Pen. I may not use it for a month and then use it 5 times in one day. Being able to take a picture, draw on it, and then send it out can be unbelievably helpful in my line of work. Other than very light note taking in Action Memo and writing on pictures I don't use it for anything else.
That's pretty much it. If you've made it this far, I'd appreciate any unbiased opinions based on my needs and wants. I very much appreciate your time.
