I want to switch to the Galaxy A54, but how would that work in the Apple ecosystem?

[ish4y]

Samsung recently launched the Galaxy A54 in The Netherlands with sweet trade-in deals and offers. On top of that it received a price cut and it's now a bargain on online marketplaces. It'll also receive 4 years of OS updates and the image processing is finally up there with the big boys (the 4K, OIS and image processing on all cameras are seriously competitive). The newer mid-range Android devices made me realize how much phone these OEMs can deliver for barely 350 euros. The progress here is wild. I'm starting to believe they're selling these at a loss. On the outside, you're roughly getting the same specs as a Pro iPhone. We're talking: borderless high refresh rate OLED displays, glass sandwich, multiple focal lengths and big batteries. My daily driver is the 128GB 3rd generation iPhone SE, which I purchased new after my refurbished iPhone 12 ended up being botched. But damn, I did not expect to miss that gigantic, vibrant OLED panel this much. I never shell out more than 450 EUR on a phone, so the SE was what I allowed myself to purchase at the time. And besides wanting a boxed phone with warranty that just works, I also chose it for its software and the power of A15 Bionic.

But my God, do I have a love-hate relationship with the SE. This device checks all boxes and it works amazingly together with my iPad (2021) and MacBook Air M1, but it's too utilitarian and the battery remains trash. Other than raw performance, the SE looks like an embarrassment in front of its Android competitors. Before I buried myself deep into the Apple ecosystem, I had the craziest, experimental Android phones you could think of and I never stopped missing them. I switched to Mac and iPad for content creation and all-around productivity, because every Windows workstation I had in the past was underwhelming for my use cases.

For mobile computing though, I think I could switch back to Android. My worries are that I'm locked in the walled garden. I pay for iCloud Drive to store my personal files I made in the iWork suite. I use the built-in password manager. My most important documents from university are stored on OneDrive and OneNote, so that luckily isn't a worry. I Sign in with Apple almost everywhere. I don't use platform-agnostic apps for (personal) note-taking, reminders and calendar. So to get myself a nicer phone experience, I have to give myself a headache (probably by using Google services, like Keep, To-Do and Calendar). Almost all media I consume on my phone is stored locally. I still prefer microSD cards, MP3s, FLACs, MKV movies – and that won't change anytime soon as long as streaming services keep removing the content I love most. So expandable storage is a big plus. Also, the only way I can get that a fully-functioning modern iPhone with OLED is when I spend nearly double the MSRP of A54. I'm a student working in retail. An iPhone 12 Pro is equal to three paychecks.

I don't use Handoff and the Universal Clipboard rarely works between my Mac and iPhone. I also never forward calls to my Mac. The only Continuity features I'm going to miss are automatic fill-in and AirDrop. For the latter there have been alternatives using the Nearby Share protocol, but I don't know if they work well. I could buy myself another refurbished iPhone 12 for double the price of a second-hand (new from a reseller) A54. But the truth is that I probably have to replace the battery soon and that the condition will be another nightmare. I can trade-in my SE for 350 euros and get the A54 for 280 euros. The SE (3rd generation), A54 or a used and abused iPhone 12 are the best options at 400 euros in this country.

I want to go with the A54. My biggest worries are the password manager and the iWork suite. For the latter that means I can no longer view my .pages documents on Android and I also will not be able to edit them last-minute. I've rarely had to do those things though. My Mac is strictly for writing, but the convenience of my documents being there whenever I need them is just nice to have. The solution probably is LibreOffice and using Google Drive in Finder on my Mac to sync those documents. But itt sounds a bit cumbersome.

I've seen tech YouTubers like Michael Fisher and Marques Brownlee use their Android flagships alongside their Mac all the time. Marques carries an iPhone and a Pixel, and he uses Google services for his note-taking. Michael said he doesn't see why his Android should go near his Mac. I just wonder how I can integrate all these devices to create somewhat of a seamless experience, without running into headache-inducing issues.

Is there anyone who has done the same? What advice could you give me and what troubles will I run into? Thanks!

 

[The_Interloper]

Your issue is the locked-in apps/services you are using from Apple, namely Keychain and iWork. You need to get your stuff out of those and onto a platfrom-agnostic set of tools.

For Keychain, simply export your usernames and passwords into another password manager of your choice. I use Bitwarden (instructions here) as it's cross-platform, open source and free.

For iWork, both Google Docs and Microsoft Office will allow easy cross-platform sync and sharing. LibreOffice has no mobile apps, so this may not be suitable. You will have to change .pages files to .docx files - you can simply export these individually in Pages, but it may be cumbersome if you have a lot of files. There may be some way of batch converting them, not sure.

The free web-based Microsoft Office apps are excellent if you don't want to go the Google route or pay for an Office365 subscription. Since you already use OneDrive, this may be a good option.

 

[sers]

Just use Google or Microsoft's services. They are cross platform and you don't have to worry if you're using a Mac, PC, iPhone or Android device. I prefer Google's services personally, but it's your choice. I like Apple, but can't stand the fact they force you to use their devices if you want to use their services. This is one of the major thing that irritates me about Apple. Also, Google's online products are much more powerful than Apple's.

 

[airattack111]

No more blue texts to your phone #. You can still use iCloud via username/email on your Apple devices though. I think people in Europe hardly even use iMessage/RCS/SMS texting anyways in favor of WhatsApp... ? I'm American and still get texts from friends asking why my texts are green now lol. I switched in April (S21 FE) after using iPhones for over a decade.

The most annoying part will probably be passwords, iWork, and cloud storage like you mentioned.

You could start using a 3rd party password manager now, and get it built and synced up to your current Apple passwords. I use 1Password (paid), works great, I used it even when I only had macbook/iphone devices. There's also Bitwarden and a couple others that are free.

iWork... that's a tough one. You'll have to start using either Microsoft 365 or Google Drive apps for mobile and all your other devices too. You could probably still use pages,sheets,etc. in the browser if needed but I doubt it runs very well in a mobile browser.

Storage you can use OneDrive to backup photos on your Samsung, you can import iCloud photos to the phone. You'll probably have to pay depending on your storage needs for both iCloud and OneDrive/Google Drive until you get it organized in a way you like.

I got a great deal on a brand new S21 FE in April and made the switch. I was tired of the iPhone and wanted to try something different. It's a great phone and is very similar to the iPhone really. There's a couple things better about the iPhone and vice-versa.

The main things I like about the iPhone is slightly better gestures. Certain swiping on the Samsung isn't very intuitive to me after using iOS for so long. Like on certain apps when you open a fullsize photo, you can just swipe down on iPhone to close it, on the Galaxy you have to swipe back. Also swiping forward in a browser on the Galaxy goes (back) instead of (forward). Simple things like that lol. The lock screen & pull down menu on the Galaxy is slightly more annoying than the iPhone one. Other than those things, the Galaxy is exactly the same or better. More customization is the biggest improvement of course.

PS: I know you want the SD storage of the A-series model. It's an awesome phone but some of the bells and whistles that iPhones and the S-galaxies have that are missing on the A-model could be annoying... I think the a54 has weaker thumb print detection, weaker cameras, weaker water resistance, big and bulky (no need for a case at least), and a few other oddities that make it less advanced than even the older S9/S10 in some cases. It has the SD card and the S23-level computing tech which is nice. Check out the S21 FE if you get a chance, it follows the update schedule of the S22. I got the 128gb for around $330 brand new. You'll be paying for all kinds of cloud storage anyways so you can use that instead of sd cards lol. Good luck.

 

[Shouldibuy]

let me know your descision OP, thinking about the a54 or the ultra 23 for long term, my s8plus has been working perfectly all these years since launch so flagships will carry you a long time. but the a54 has such good specs on paper and the price range i am really thinking about it

 

[ish4y]

let me know your descision OP, thinking about the a54 or the ultra 23 for long term, my s8plus has been working perfectly all these years since launch so flagships will carry you a long time. but the a54 has such good specs on paper and the price range i am really thinking about it

I don’t have the budget for the S23 Ultra, but it’s undoubtedly the best Android flagship money can buy. If you need high-end performance for intensive workloads, a sturdier metal frame, DeX, the S-Pen, a superzoom telephoto camera or 8K video recording (which is a gimmick on a smartphone sensor, let’s not lie), I’d consider it. But most of that stuff is just bells and whistles.

For most people the A54 will suffice. It has a flagship-level camera system with multiple focal lengths and OIS, a stunning OLED display, longevity, battery back-up and a microSD slot. Reviewers called that thing almost a flagship. Some might argue the mid-range Exynos processor might lose its performance overtime, but to me that’s just fear-mongering. I’ve had Android phones for five years and it even happened to me once on an expensive LG flagship with a Snapdragon 821.

Also, mobile SoCs have changed A LOT since your S8 was launched back in 2017. You could also consider the A34 with an even better Dimensity chip that APPARENTLY performs better in benchmarks and overheats less, which is weird as this model is positioned on a lower tier. The image processing is comparable and it has a larger OLED panel. But you’re trading in the glass back for matte plastic.

I’m not considering to switch anymore, as the Apple ecosystem has been rewarding me exceptionally well, when trying to get service at my nearby Store. The Geniuses just read out the device info in my SE, schedule an appointment and do as I please, most of the time. That level of service has never occurred to me when I was an Android user. Most OEMs still suck for after-sales.