Finally back on iPhone after using Android for two years

[amro]

You won't see me bashing Android, though. It was a good experience, but there is still something about iDevices/iOS I really like.

I switched from iPhone 5 to an HTC One (original) because I was a little annoyed with Apples's closed system. I even played around with Jailbreak on the 5, but hated that I had to worry about when/if that would be disabled. I really ended up enjoying Android on the HTC. I did some ROM'ing, but in the end I ended up getting tired of wasting my time with that. I settled on Google Play edition ROMSs which are basically pure Android with no skinning, and really enjoyed that. Switched to the HTC One M8 for my next phone and really think that's one of the best Android phones out there, even compared to the new Nexus 6 and Moto X.

What brought me back was bigger screens, Swype capability and TouchId/Apple pay. I also like the changes in iOS from 7 onwards. I decided on an iPhone 6 Plus, and couldn't be happier.

The one thing I really miss from Android is the Tasker app. I had just started recently using it and had come to depend on it for ease of use. I started with simple things like automatically setting my ringer to off, vibrate of full volume depending on certain triggers like WiFi network id availability or Bluetooth availability. I could have it automatically set my phone to vibrate as soon as it sensed my company network WiFi. It didn't even have to connect. When it connected to my car's Bluetooth or home WiFi, volume would go right back up. There's a ton more stuff that Tasker can do, and I was just getting into that.

The only thing I could find on the app store was IFTTT, but that is more a social "case" app than a system "case" app. Am I missing something? Is there a Tasker equivalent app? Google search doesn't seem to think so.

TL;DR? Switched from Android back to iPhone 6 Plus. Love it. But, need a "Tasker" equivalent app.

 

[maka344]

Welcome back - I've been tempted for a while to try Android however, for me, the customer support isn't there. I cannot be without my phone for 3-4 weeks while they fix issues plus the quality of the iPhone is simply stunning

 

[Tyler23]

You won't see me bashing Android, though. It was a good experience, but there is still something about iDevices/iOS I really like.

I switched from iPhone 5 to an HTC One (original) because I was a little annoyed with Apples's closed system. I even played around with Jailbreak on the 5, but hated that I had to worry about when/if that would be disabled. I really ended up enjoying Android on the HTC. I did some ROM'ing, but in the end I ended up getting tired of wasting my time with that. I settled on Google Play edition ROMSs which are basically pure Android with no skinning, and really enjoyed that. Switched to the HTC One M8 for my next phone and really think that's one of the best Android phones out there, even compared to the new Nexus 6 and Moto X.

What brought me back was bigger screens, Swype capability and TouchId/Apple pay. I also like the changes in iOS from 7 onwards. I decided on an iPhone 6 Plus, and couldn't be happier.

The one thing I really miss from Android is the Tasker app. I had just started recently using it and had come to depend on it for ease of use. I started with simple things like automatically setting my ringer to off, vibrate of full volume depending on certain triggers like WiFi network id availability or Bluetooth availability. I could have it automatically set my phone to vibrate as soon as it sensed my company network WiFi. It didn't even have to connect. When it connected to my car's Bluetooth or home WiFi, volume would go right back up. There's a ton more stuff that Tasker can do, and I was just getting into that.

The only thing I could find on the app store was IFTTT, but that is more a social "case" app than a system "case" app. Am I missing something? Is there a Tasker equivalent app? Google search doesn't seem to think so.

TL;DR? Switched from Android back to iPhone 6 Plus. Love it. But, need a "Tasker" equivalent app.

Unfortunately, all of those things you described as doing with the "tasker" app are currently impossible with a stock iPhone, app or no app. Hopefully in a future iteration of iOS, but for now you're out of luck.

 

[Tobias Funke]

Never owned an android phone!

 

[RCRod83]

Totally agree with the taskbar app. I was hoping that the IFTTT would be more robust, but it would require Apple to be more open.

I'm really big into automated tasks. Folks at work get mad at because I'll spend a few extra hours automating a task so that in the future, I can just press a key or run a command and tada!

 

[amro]

Unfortunately, all of those things you described as doing with the "tasker" app are currently impossible with a stock iPhone, app or no app. Hopefully in a future iteration of iOS, but for now you're out of luck.

Yeah, that's what I thought. Oh well.

 

[davpel24]

I'm in the same boat as you. I was an iPhone user from day one (fifth in line during the original iPhone launch!) and a first day buyer through the iPhone 4. Left IOS after experiencing horrible connection issues with the 4 due both to "antennagate" and bad AT&T coverage. Remained an Apple customer throughout with Macbooks, an iMac and each generation of the iPad, but gave up on the iPhone for what I thought was for good.

Started my Android life with the Evo 4G and owned more than 15 devices over the past few years. Like you, I really enjoyed Android and will never knock it. But I got tired of certain issues and the last Android phone I owned, the Note 4, really turned me off for good. Touchwiz is just god-awful!

Bought an iPhone 6 Plus last week and am in heaven. The only thing I miss is my Moto 360 smartwatch. It was beautiful, worked great and, despite early rumors to the contrary, got excellent battery life. I'm sure I'll get an Apple Watch next year, but i really loved having a round smartwatch. If only Apple would allow Google to open up the Wear platform to IOS users.

 

[shorestyle]

Ditto! i've been using android for 3 years. I had the note 2..gs4..htc one m7 and nexus 5...as soon as I saw apple release an iphone the size of android phone I was on it like fly on **** hahah

64GB Space Grey 6 on Tmo unlimited everything plan. Couldn't be happier.

 

[amro]

I'm in the same boat as you. I was an iPhone user from day one (fifth in line during the original iPhone launch!) and a first day buyer through the iPhone 4. Left IOS after experiencing horrible connection issues with the 4 due both to "antennagate" and bad AT&T coverage. Remained an Apple customer throughout with Macbooks, an iMac and each generation of the iPad, but gave up on the iPhone for what I thought was for good.

Started my Android life with the Evo 4G and owned more than 15 devices over the past few years. Like you, I really enjoyed Android and will never knock it. But I got tired of certain issues and the last Android phone I owned, the Note 4, really turned me off for good. Touchwiz is just god-awful!

Bought an iPhone 6 Plus last week and am in heaven. The only thing I miss is my Moto 360 smartwatch. It was beautiful, worked great and, despite early rumors to the contrary, got excellent battery life. I'm sure I'll get an Apple Watch next year, but i really loved having a round smartwatch. If only Apple would allow Google to open up the Wear platform to IOS users.

The 360 is really nice. It looks like a watch which is what I was hoping the Apple Watch would be more like. Although, I think the UI on the Apple Watch looks like it was done better than Android's. Will have to wait and see.

 

[Tgrey]

I switched to android since 3GS, I won't use any phones with less than 5 inch screen

 

[silverblack]

I missed having an app that would track my calendar events and mute my phone automatically. There is one app that does this in iOS, but it's really bad. For some reason it needs to turn on location service CONSTANTLY for it to track my calendar. It makes absolutely no sense.

 

[Sketchr]

In addition to my iPhone, I also use an android...currently the Lg g3. Though I'm very partial to iPhone. However android does have a few features and apps I prefer. One app I really wish iPhone would obtain is the current caller.id Would appreciate knowing the name of the unknown, non contact person calling me.

 

[jimbo1mcm]

I've been back and forth from IOS to Android. I recently had an LG G2 ( for the big screen, from my Ip5). I really liked the G2. Big screen in a reasonable form factor. Battery life was great. I got the Ip6 and couldn't be happier. Now, if IOS was on a G2.........!!!!

 

[KPOM]

The 360 is really nice. It looks like a watch which is what I was hoping the Apple Watch would be more like. Although, I think the UI on the Apple Watch looks like it was done better than Android's. Will have to wait and see.

The 360 looks nice in pictures until you realize just how huge it is. I'm much more excited about the Apple Watch.

 

[mib1800]

I

Started my Android life with the Evo 4G and owned more than 15 devices over the past few years. Like you, I really enjoyed Android and will never knock it. But I got tired of certain issues and the last Android phone I owned, the Note 4, really turned me off for good. Touchwiz is just god-awful!

What was so awful with Touchwiz on Note4?

 

[the caveman]

What was so awful with Touchwiz on Note4?

Id like to know that too. Touch wiz has come a long way and not what it used to be. The note 4 is actully a beast of the device and touchwiz is not all that bad.

 

[Smartass]

So what do you expect from us now? To give you a cake for switching back to iOS? to say "good boy we're proud of you!"? Really dont see the point of these threads.

 

[recklesslife85]

What was so awful with Touchwiz on Note4?

Lag. I just returned my Note 4 because of it. Annoying when it's 2014 be the specs it has. Press the multitasking button and it took a good 2 seconds to load, I know that doesn't sound long but still annoying. Nexus 6 I think is the way to go with Android now or a OnePlus One (which has endless customisation and buttery smooth)

 

[mib1800]

Lag. I just returned my Note 4 because of it. Annoying when it's 2014 be the specs it has. Press the multitasking button and it took a good 2 seconds to load, I know that doesn't sound long but still annoying. Nexus 6 I think is the way to go with Android now or a OnePlus One (which has endless customisation and buttery smooth)

Just because of this? It is not 2 seconds. It is more like one second delay.

This is caused by the multi-use of the left button (i.e. long press will open the menu). So the hardware has to wait past the long press delay to determine that you are not long pressing. The default long press delay is 0.5sec. If you change this to lower value, it may lessen the delay.

Or just use a 3rd party task manager which will open instantly. I think opening the task manager in Iphone is a lot worse since you have to double press which much more tedious and slow (and eventually killing the home button like what happened to my 3GS and 4s).

Other than this the Note 4 is buttery smooth.

 

[the caveman]

Lag. I just returned my Note 4 because of it. Annoying when it's 2014 be the specs it has. Press the multitasking button and it took a good 2 seconds to load, I know that doesn't sound long but still annoying. Nexus 6 I think is the way to go with Android now or a OnePlus One (which has endless customisation and buttery smooth)

That part where you press multitasking button delay is annoying ill grant, but other than that, note 4 is surpisingly smooth.

 

[XTheLancerX]

I'm 14, but have been fortunate enough to have had a very thorough experience with iOS before I even got my first smartphone. I had had an iPod Touch 2nd gen for a long time, it finally reached it's last days with iOS 4.2.1, with a jailbreak on top of that even.

After saving up quite a bit, I bought an iPod Touch 5th gen on launch when I was 12. Best purchase I have ever made. At that point I had already begun taking interest in electronics, especially after watching my brother build our first gaming PC. Anyway, iOS 6 screamed on my iPod Touch from what I could remember. It was so unbelievably fast, fluid... It was everything I could have dreamed for, being 12. I had also gotten into iMessage, iCloud, and things of the like, nothing that was available on slow iOS 4.2.1.

Time passed, iOS 7 came along. I was extremely excited, this whole new design and everything. I would watch videos almost nonstop about it, follow up on the changes that each beta brought. Finally, it rolled out, and compared to my mom's iPhone 5, things were pretty darn stuttery and just in general, slow. Over the past year and a half or so with my iPod, I had saved up quite a chunk of change again, and begun looking for yet another new device.

School was starting to get a little more serious, being assigned iPads, having to formulate essays and various writing assignments much more often... My eyes were set on having an iPad of my own. My friend recently bought an iPad Air, and the thing was great; Asside from iOS 7.0.x being... Quirky, rebooting, etc. my eyes were set on the Retina Mini. It's "iPad Air" specs in a smaller, more convenient form factor, along with a friendlier price really interested me. Long story short, I bought the iPad mini with Retina Display. I was able to get all the school things on it to replace the gross iPad 2 the school gave me. This purchase was probably a better one than the iPod!

Over this really long set of events, I grew to love iOS. A lot. When the new idea of me having a smartphone began to make its way into my family, I was dead set on getting an iPhone 5S. However, my family was slagging iPhone left and right, and my "friend" also had an irrational hate for Apple products (previously was the exact opposite) so I was swayed in the direction of the Galaxy S4.

Mistake. Big mistake. From the second week out with this phone, I could tell it was just definitely not for me. I mean, the ability to tinker with Android was great and all, but I think it just makes things too complicated. Why should you have to change literally everything about your phone from the way it was out of the box to make you actually like it? No thanks. Also, nothing was cohesive. The entire experience was segmented, and taking picters (something I greatly enjoy), getting them to my iPad, editing them with the superior apps iOS has, then putting those back onto my phone was a tremendous pain.

Luckily my dad was just about eligible for his next upgrade. He had taken a large interest in Galaxy phones over the past few months that I had mine, and he agreed to let me use his upgrade if he could have my phone. He actually really liked this idea, and was very happy in the end.

Anyway, now was my chance! I could finally get the smartphone I could truly be satisfied with. iPhone 6. I am now typing this with my iPhone, and again, couldn't be happier. iCloud is something I quite enjoy almost daily. Getting photos to and from my iPad and iPhone is seamless, and on top of that, I can send SMS and make phone calls on either my iPad or my iPhone, thanks to Continuity inside of iOS 8. Safari Tabs and Handoff makes everything else even easier.

Anyway, that has been my still short, but general experience inside of the mobile computing world, and I have learned that for now, iOS will always will be my go-to mobile OS. Was that too long?

 

[PSB136]

I missed having an app that would track my calendar events and mute my phone automatically. There is one app that does this in iOS, but it's really bad. For some reason it needs to turn on location service CONSTANTLY for it to track my calendar. It makes absolutely no sense.

What app is it? I'd like to check it out. Thanks.

 

[silverblack]

What app is it? I'd like to check it out. Thanks.

AutoSilent, the one and only one that would track your calendar events and mute your phone. It's a paid app, and I don't recommend it unless you are prepared to have your phone's location service running in the background THE ENTIRE TIME.

 

[KPOM]

Welcome back, Cotter!

 

[Gathomblipoob]

Kotter.