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Mobile OSs I Tried Android Again… Why Does It Feel Like a Group Project That Never Ends?

I just switched back to Android as my main phone. My backup/second will be my iphone and I couldn't be happier. It was a four and a half year experiment with iOS.

I like the transit passes in Apple wallet but didn't like how Apple pay worked so I never paid for goods with it. Paying with Google wallet is much easier for me - I only have to present an unlocked phone and tap - no buttons to press and I can unlock with face, fingerprint or pattern. The dual e/SIM functionality started if well until I switched to iOS 26. After that, whenever I crossed a border, iOS would turn off one of my SIMs. I couldn't figure out what was happening for a while. I found out from apple support that was expected behaviour which was not present in iOS 18. I used almost all Google apps on the iPhone because I still have Android device. Regardless, I couldn't use Apple cloud because it won't back up photos from Android devices. Google happily backs up any device regardless of OS.

My number one reason for switching is the calendar app that I use, aCalendar, it is the most intuitive app I've used. They don't make an iOS version but I tried to find a similar one and it seemed like all calendar apps on iOS work exactly the same - I know because I probably downloaded 50 calendar apps on iOS. Three taps to get anywhere whereas aCalendar is one swipe.

My new phone, a Xiaomi 17, can accept two physical SIMs or two eSIMs or one of each. The switch very smooth - Android copied my data, including 20k songs and download the equivalent apps from the play store that were on my iPhone. The battery is almost double that of iPhone 17 - I've already gotten three days of use from one charge.
 
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scott craft said:
This is how I feel when I have to use my wife's iPhone. But I know it's because I don't use an iPhone regularly because I've owned them before and had no issues once I got accustomed to how they work.
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Ditto. I find iOS cumbersome to use every time I need to help my wife do something on her iPhone. Oddly, it's also the iPhones in the family that have issues printing to both home printers but no issues from my TriFold or past Fold 4, 5, and 6.

I love MacOS but much prefer Samsung OneUI over my previous iPhones and iOS.
 
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It's each to their own, right? I've been using iOS since v1.1, and for the most part, I like how it works. I get super frustrated every time I have to use my wife's Pixel as Android makes no sense to me. But it wouldn't would it! I've barely ever used it, I don't know it. I'm sure if, for some unknowable reason, I ended up having some random 'droid, I could get up to speed in an afternoon with the internet.

I find the whole Holy War [Mobile Edition] so exhausting. iPhones and iOS are fantastic. Some things could be better, but, internet whiners aside, it's great. I can't speak for the constellation of 'droids, but there seem to be many options that have very strong fans, so I can only assume that many of those devices are actually also quite great, and I'm sure that there's a variant of Android to please every 'droid fan!
 
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steelslicerx said:
Gave Android another shot. Regret arrived before my apps finished installing.

Beautiful hardware. Impressive specs.
Then the experience hits you like a group project where nobody showed up prepared.
  • Three apps for one job
  • Five places to change one setting
  • Notifications arguing with each other
  • Random battery “optimizations” quietly breaking things
Android doesn’t ship finished—it ships flexible.
Translation: you finish it.

Somewhere between fixing what shouldn’t need fixing and choosing defaults I already chose yesterday, I realized:

This isn’t customization. It’s unpaid QA.

Switched back. Everything just worked.
No meetings. No debugging. No existential questions about my notification shade.

Respect to those who enjoy it—but I’m convinced Android users either love chaos… or don’t remember life without it.
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I completely agree. Once you've got over the hardware honeymoon period you'll find friction somewhere that ruins the illusion.

I mean no disrespect here though but did you rinse this post through AI at all? I mean, its fine if you did (its just for a forum post!) but I see the 'This isn't XXX. Its YYYY.' syntax everywhere on obvious AI-written posts always followed by short two to three word sentences and it can't just be a writing style that has virally spread around.

That tends to be limited to singular words journalists like to copy from each other like 'Colorway', 'Ostensibly', 'Half-Decade' and other overused terms.
 
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Bungaree.Chubbins said:
It's each to their own, right? I've been using iOS since v1.1, and for the most part, I like how it works. I get super frustrated every time I have to use my wife's Pixel as Android makes no sense to me. But it wouldn't would it! I've barely ever used it, I don't know it. I'm sure if, for some unknowable reason, I ended up having some random 'droid, I could get up to speed in an afternoon with the internet.

I find the whole Holy War [Mobile Edition] so exhausting. iPhones and iOS are fantastic. Some things could be better, but, internet whiners aside, it's great. I can't speak for the constellation of 'droids, but there seem to be many options that have very strong fans, so I can only assume that many of those devices are actually also quite great, and I'm sure that there's a variant of Android to please every 'droid fan!
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I think alot of it is muscle memory, once I got used to android I found that it was easier to use, and it worked for you, not just working as Apple intended. I know that's cliche, but that's my experience. The keyboard and difficulty swiping away spam notifications (compared to Android) is what drove me to my S26U from my 17 pro max.

I think Apple win on Hardware, and software updates (maybe tied with pixels), but the ecosystem benefits can be mostly worked around with third party software, or indeed Android updates (airdrop).

I do love my mac, but I wish iOS played nicer with my Garmin, and google home kit.
 
Android feels cheap and nasty. I don't know anyone who's real motivation to buy it isn't really hiding that they're just being cheap or contrarian. Everyone I've known who bought an Android flagship, mostly Samsung, has an iPhone now because it was an awful experience.

I do actually have an Android handset available, a Pixel 7A, which I bought because it's cheap and I occasionally travel to places which are risky so an iPhone makes you a target. Those are the places where everyone uses Android because they generally can't afford an iPhone.
 
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cjsuk said:
Android feels cheap and nasty. I don't know anyone who's real motivation to buy it isn't really hiding that they're just being cheap or contrarian. Everyone I've known who bought an Android flagship, mostly Samsung, has an iPhone now because it was an awful experience.

I do actually have an Android handset available, a Pixel 7A, which I bought because it's cheap and I occasionally travel to places which are risky so an iPhone makes you a target. Those are the places where everyone uses Android because they generally can't afford an iPhone.
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If the first post wasn't so unhinged, this would have been one of the funniest wrong takes I've ever seen. I see more people going to Android from iPhone.

iOS looks like they couldn't afford any dyes so it's all see through.
 
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robvalentine said:
If the first post wasn't so unhinged, this would have been one of the funniest wrong takes I've ever seen. I see more people going to Android from iPhone.

iOS looks like they couldn't afford any dyes so it's all see through.
Click to expand...

I think it depends what part of the world you are in and the economic situation there to be fair.

I mean here in the UK I barely see anyone with Android any more, unless I leave the M25 and enter the badlands.
 
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Heat_Fan89 said:
Exactly!

I'll be 68 years old later this year and somehow I can manage to understand and use and efficiently operate Windows, Linux, macOS, iOS, iPadOS and Android. I have learned to adapt to all types of environments. Lesson to the OP, stick with what you feel comfortable with and stop throwing shade on something you are too lazy to learn.
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Maybe you're too lazy to read and not judge, boomer. He didn't complain at all about not understanding or not finding things. The complaints he has are not at all " he needs to learn the system". The complaints are about the concept of the system (duplicated apps, the same settings that are all over the place; defaults that don't stay picked, etc.) and yet you just go to straight to "he's too lazy". Guess what, not engaging with an argument and instead jumping to straw men arguments is intellectual laziness.
 
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cjsuk said:
I think it depends what part of the world you are in and the economic situation there to be fair.

I mean here in the UK I barely see anyone with Android any more, unless I leave the M25 and enter the badlands.
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There is more to the UK than the London-Circle-Jerk you know.
 
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cjsuk said:
I think it depends what part of the world you are in and the economic situation there to be fair.

I mean here in the UK I barely see anyone with Android any more, unless I leave the M25 and enter the badlands.
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I live in kent, and the number of people I know here with Android is higher than those with iPhones. I didn't move out of London due to house prices either, although I got a three bed new(ish) build for the price of a studio apartment in London, but I digress.

Even if I go into London, I see lots of Androids on the tube, and indeed colleagues, so I'm not sure you ever leave an apple store. iOS only has a small lead overall in the UK.
 
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Contact_Feanor said:
Maybe you're too lazy to read and not judge, boomer. He didn't complain at all about not understanding or not finding things. The complaints he has are not at all " he needs to learn the system". The complaints are about the concept of the system (duplicated apps, the same settings that are all over the place; defaults that don't stay picked, etc.) and yet you just go to straight to "he's too lazy". Guess what, not engaging with an argument and instead jumping to straw men arguments is intellectual laziness.
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What's wrong with being a boomer?
 
capamac said:
The Galaxy A17 is Android's strength imo ... coz it's $175 new and unlocked, while iPhone 17e starts at $599 (3.4 times higher cost), iPhone 17 at $799 (4.5 times higher cost) and iPhone 17 Max (same size as A17) starts at $1,099 (6.2 times higher cost.)

Many of the nicer Android phones have prices closer to iPhone prices, and are thus not as competitive.
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You pick a low-end Android device and compare the price to Apple's latest & greatest devices.

lol
 
cjsuk said:
Android feels cheap and nasty. I don't know anyone who's real motivation to buy it isn't really hiding that they're just being cheap or contrarian. Everyone I've known who bought an Android flagship, mostly Samsung, has an iPhone now because it was an awful experience.

I do actually have an Android handset available, a Pixel 7A, which I bought because it's cheap and I occasionally travel to places which are risky so an iPhone makes you a target. Those are the places where everyone uses Android because they generally can't afford an iPhone.
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My wife is a die-hard Pixel user (and is she is definitely not cheap or contrarian), and when I use her phone, it kinda feels fresh and nice. I keep eyeballing the Pixel, and might end up purchasing one for myself if Apple doesn't clean up the Liquid Glass nonsense, or at last give me options to disable it in a more complete way.

As for people with android to iphone, i've seen both ways. Coworker of mine moved from iPhone (and apple watch) to Samsung a few months ago because he is tired of Apple "blowing smoke up his ass", his words.. He's not a techy person, either.

I really, don't enjoy using my iPhone anymore. That's probably why my screen time is >hour a day now. The Mac is still alright. I don't care anything about iMessage or the ecosystem...i actually try and avoid ecosystems where I can.
 
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robvalentine said:
I think alot of it is muscle memory, once I got used to android I found that it was easier to use, and it worked for you, not just working as Apple intended. I know that's cliche, but that's my experience. The keyboard and difficulty swiping away spam notifications (compared to Android) is what drove me to my S26U from my 17 pro max.

I think Apple win on Hardware, and software updates (maybe tied with pixels), but the ecosystem benefits can be mostly worked around with third party software, or indeed Android updates (airdrop).

I do love my mac, but I wish iOS played nicer with my Garmin, and google home kit.
Click to expand...
I don’t have enough experience with Android to comment on details. Given that every time I have had to use an Android it has been massively irritating, I still love my iPhone 14, and I like iOS 26, I can’t imagine what would have to happen to make me contemplate switching.

I have never had difficulty swiping away notifications, do I don’t know what was going on there.

The benefit of the ecosystem is that I don’t have to mess around with third party stuff if I don’t want to!
 
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