I can write pages of various small issues I have with the iPhone, some are well-known and have been acknowledged for years, yet never fixed (e.g. zooming on a PDF in Safari would scroll to a random page), others are new bugs that appear with new iOS releases but I'm really getting fed up. Like for instance my wife asking our HomePod-s to play some music, and instead my iPhone responding, despite her having a high soprano voice and me having a bass voice. Or I just tried listening to some music on my AirPods Max from my iPhone but they stay connected to my Mac and wouldn't switch to the iPhone and I have to restart the iPhone. There are so many issues like these, I can spend the entire day listing them. I've occasionally reinstalled some of these devices with the hope it can help but alas. And it seems the things are getting even worse. I actually have various (small) issues with all my Apple devices, not just the iPhone but decided to post here since the iPhone is the most popular Apple device. I've been a loyal Apple user since 2010 and have had almost every Apple device since. But I'm starting questioning if I should still stay. Whenever I've touched an Android device, I think: no way, that's much worse than the iPhone. But TBH I haven't tested premium Android devices. And I'm more and more inclined to switching teams. What do you think? Or are Android devices even worse and buggier than iPhones?
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Other Is it just the iPhone or are Android devices even worse?
- Thread starter CyberGene
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There was a small moment in time in September 2012 where I was prepared to be all in on the Apple ecosystem and Apple devices. For various reasons that didn't work out and I was forced to find alternative methods to make what Apple products I was using at the time work for me. Consequently, I just use what I like. And I feel no desire or FOMO to buy anything Apple sells that I don't need or want.
You seem to have integrated a lot of Apple stuff. That's fine, Apple should fix things. But there are alternatives. I don't have your AirPod Max issue because I don't use AirPods. I use a bone conduction headset from an entirely different manufacturer because it works for me. And it pairs just fine with all my Macs and iPhones/iPads. It's an Apple-centric device so controlling my iPhone/iPad with it is easy.
I'm not saying you should use what I use or that I have a better thing going. What I am saying, is this. Find what works for you and use that. If AirPods aren't working for you, find something else. Find a different home speaker thing if that works better. And plenty of people have Macs and Android phones or PCs and iPhones.
Use what's best for you. Don't accept bugs in stuff just because you're wanting to be loyal or something.
You seem to have integrated a lot of Apple stuff. That's fine, Apple should fix things. But there are alternatives. I don't have your AirPod Max issue because I don't use AirPods. I use a bone conduction headset from an entirely different manufacturer because it works for me. And it pairs just fine with all my Macs and iPhones/iPads. It's an Apple-centric device so controlling my iPhone/iPad with it is easy.
I'm not saying you should use what I use or that I have a better thing going. What I am saying, is this. Find what works for you and use that. If AirPods aren't working for you, find something else. Find a different home speaker thing if that works better. And plenty of people have Macs and Android phones or PCs and iPhones.
Use what's best for you. Don't accept bugs in stuff just because you're wanting to be loyal or something.
My first smart phone was an iphone, then I had about a dozen android devices, now i'm back on the apple ecosystem (I had an iphone 3G, 12pm, and now a 15pm).
The crazy thing with android is that there are just so many manufacturers. Your OS and your device are from two different companies that aren't guaranteed to be on the same page. If you're thinking about headphones, watches, laptops, tablets, bluetooth speakers, etc... you're potentially going to have a ton of companies trying to make their devices work with devices and software from other companies.
Most of my android phones were Nexus devices because I wanted to limit that craziness. My last few were even on the google fi network so that my experience would be as smooth as possible. This was before I had a smartwatch or bluetooth headphones or even a bluetooth speaker, so I didn't have many devices for it to play nice with. I thought it was a good experience, but I can't really speak to a lot of the issues you're talking about OP. I would just recommend to keep manufacturers in mind as you stack devices.
The crazy thing with android is that there are just so many manufacturers. Your OS and your device are from two different companies that aren't guaranteed to be on the same page. If you're thinking about headphones, watches, laptops, tablets, bluetooth speakers, etc... you're potentially going to have a ton of companies trying to make their devices work with devices and software from other companies.
Most of my android phones were Nexus devices because I wanted to limit that craziness. My last few were even on the google fi network so that my experience would be as smooth as possible. This was before I had a smartwatch or bluetooth headphones or even a bluetooth speaker, so I didn't have many devices for it to play nice with. I thought it was a good experience, but I can't really speak to a lot of the issues you're talking about OP. I would just recommend to keep manufacturers in mind as you stack devices.
I used an Android device from May 2020 to February 2021. It was nice, but confirmed for me that the reason I stick with iPhone is because I prefer iOS.
I made my stint on Android the best I could to allow for the best possible trial. I got a Pixel 3a XL (I still have the phone and it still works). So, a Google produced device with pure Android and updates direct from Google.
If I were to ever go back to Android, it's be back to a Pixel.
When my parents were dragged into the 21st century with their mobile phones they asked me what to get. Dad is a Windows pc user and Mom doesn't use a computer at all. I advised them vehemently to go iPhone - easy to use, reliable, and I can help with tech support.
"Great! We'll get iPhones tomorrow at the Verizon store."
Aaaaaand, they came back with Android phones.
The store rep got them some kind of a promo deal and sold them on Android. I hadn't used an Android phone since my HTC Evo 4G, but clearly I was going to be my parents' first, second, and third calls for help with their first smartphones. All those decades of flip phones and their first foray into this brave new world of high tech comms lands them on planet Android. So I bought a Pixel 3a XL, used but clean, to figure out this OS. Different than iOS but once you get the overall picture of how it works the differences are minor details.
My iPhones were always set up with iCloud - email, services, etc. Naturally the integration with my desktop iMac, MacBook Air, and iPad makes iPhone the best choice for Mac users. With Android, however, if you set it up using a Gmail account and avail yourself of the various Google services you can get a similar experience to iOS. In general I have found Android phones to have a few more issues than iPhones, and I'm too old to be solving these minor challenges, but the Pixel line has satisfied me. So much so I replaced the 3a XL with a Pixel 5 and still use it as a backup/travel phone.
"Great! We'll get iPhones tomorrow at the Verizon store."
Aaaaaand, they came back with Android phones.
The store rep got them some kind of a promo deal and sold them on Android. I hadn't used an Android phone since my HTC Evo 4G, but clearly I was going to be my parents' first, second, and third calls for help with their first smartphones. All those decades of flip phones and their first foray into this brave new world of high tech comms lands them on planet Android. So I bought a Pixel 3a XL, used but clean, to figure out this OS. Different than iOS but once you get the overall picture of how it works the differences are minor details.My iPhones were always set up with iCloud - email, services, etc. Naturally the integration with my desktop iMac, MacBook Air, and iPad makes iPhone the best choice for Mac users. With Android, however, if you set it up using a Gmail account and avail yourself of the various Google services you can get a similar experience to iOS. In general I have found Android phones to have a few more issues than iPhones, and I'm too old to be solving these minor challenges, but the Pixel line has satisfied me. So much so I replaced the 3a XL with a Pixel 5 and still use it as a backup/travel phone.
In the iPhone 5 days, before Apple came out with the 'Plus' sized phones, my wife wanted a bigger phone and was thinking about switching to Android. I told her to go ahead, but she'd be losing me as her tech support guy because I knew nothing about Androids and had no desire to learn. I told her she could take it to the Android Store if she had problems with it. She said "There's no such thing as the Android Store", and I smiled and said "Exaaaaactly!". 😆When my parents were dragged into the 21st century with their mobile phones they asked me what to get. Dad is a Windows pc user and Mom doesn't use a computer at all. I advised them vehemently to go iPhone - easy to use, reliable, and I can help with tech support.
"Great! We'll get iPhones tomorrow at the Verizon store."
Aaaaaand, they came back with Android phones.
My iPhones were always set up with iCloud - email, services, etc. Naturally the integration with my desktop iMac, MacBook Air, and iPad makes iPhone the best choice for Mac users. With Android, however, if you set it up using a Gmail account and avail yourself of the various Google services you can get a similar experience to iOS. In general I have found Android phones to have a few more issues than iPhones, and I'm too old to be solving these minor challenges, but the Pixel line has satisfied me. So much so I replaced the 3a XL with a Pixel 5 and still use it as a backup/travel phone.
This is in large part why I was able to easily move between my iPhone and Pixel in 2020 and back again in 2021. While there are certain iCloud things I do use. most of my stuff/apps centers around Google. Its cross platform and device agnostic. It was the only way I could get my iPhone 5 to function with a PowerBook G4 in 2012.
Now, it means I'm not constrained to operates solely within Apple's ecosystem.
I suppose everybody knows that over 80% of computer, and I would include iPhone/iPads in this too because that's what they are; mini portable computers, is attributable to user error, "According to various studies, a significant portion of computer user problems are attributed to user error. For instance, a discussion on the Android Central forums suggests that over 80% of difficulties and reported problems with smartphones are due to user ignorance or incorrect use of features."
I always bear that in mind when answering questions on Mac user forums. Not being judgmental, these devices are so complex now. At least 30% of all problems can be solved by searching for the answer in the appropriate places eg. https://support.apple.com/. or this or similar forums
In a number of cases users simply don't know how to ask the appropriate question in a search or dont understand the solution when they do.
It would be nice to think these devices would just do or not do the things we want without any effort on our part but that is simply not the case and hasn't been for a long time.
PS. It took me over 30min to set the time an date on my first Nokia, the 6200.
I always bear that in mind when answering questions on Mac user forums. Not being judgmental, these devices are so complex now. At least 30% of all problems can be solved by searching for the answer in the appropriate places eg. https://support.apple.com/. or this or similar forums
In a number of cases users simply don't know how to ask the appropriate question in a search or dont understand the solution when they do.
It would be nice to think these devices would just do or not do the things we want without any effort on our part but that is simply not the case and hasn't been for a long time.
PS. It took me over 30min to set the time an date on my first Nokia, the 6200.
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I'm really frustrated by bugs I run in to, but no idea if Android would be any better :-/
I think we share the same sentiment, but I don't love the way that statistic is presented. If that many users are having trouble using the computer(s) as intended, then the problem lies with a lack of intuitive UI. But you're right, they are very complex now and trying to make everything intuitive just isn't feasible at some point.
Both platforms has the pros and cons. And with Android it’s pretty device/manufacturer specific what your experience will be.
I mess around with Samsung at work, both their A models and S models and while I like the design and size of the models I hate the GUI and how slow the devices become after every larger Android release. People that complain about iPhones getting slower should try Samsungs a few major updates down the road.
But there are so much to choose from, I did have a look at my colleagues Nothing Phone 2a and that's a device I could get used too. Clean nice GUI, nice design and a bit of an iPhone feel to it.
Personally I am hoping for a "third" option being released. Maybe MS will release something or that Sailfish or some other platform that isn't iOS or Android will get in the game.
I mess around with Samsung at work, both their A models and S models and while I like the design and size of the models I hate the GUI and how slow the devices become after every larger Android release. People that complain about iPhones getting slower should try Samsungs a few major updates down the road.
But there are so much to choose from, I did have a look at my colleagues Nothing Phone 2a and that's a device I could get used too. Clean nice GUI, nice design and a bit of an iPhone feel to it.
Personally I am hoping for a "third" option being released. Maybe MS will release something or that Sailfish or some other platform that isn't iOS or Android will get in the game.
I wish somebody could explain to me why Apple doesn't have a "grandparent mode" on the phone. When we give these devices to our older relatives, they don't need all of the other distracting apps. They don't need so many features . They need to be able to play a game (usually some for of solitaire or sudoku) , make phone calls and maybe use another communication system such as WhatsApp. I'm surprised that there is not a way to hide a lot of the features on the phone when we buy them for someone
They do have a mode for that: https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/set-up-assistive-access-devcd5016d31/ios
Can we stick the ageism in the bin, where it belongs?
The consumer internet’s been a thing for 35-odd years. To take a single data point - my mother, a retired teacher, is 80-ish. She has been using the web for over 25 years (her first internet computer was a Lime G3 iMac), and is entirely comfortable with computers. True, her tolerance for technological nonsense is low, and her daily device is an iPad because it has very little technological nonsense, but she runs all her household finances (day-to-day banking, investments, pensions, etc.) and other administrative activities from it.
And you should see how many games she’s installed - and plays - on her iPad. “solitaire or sudoku”, ffs.
Here’s why there isn’t a “grandparent” mode. Because it isn’t required. Our “older relatives” are actually not stupid, or easily confused, or anything like that. What we (i.e. those of us with more than half a century under our belt) do need are accommodations to mitigate the nonsense inflicted on us by the twenty-somethings with perfect vision who think minimal, low-contrast interface elements are cool. Entropy is unkind to vision, and so we want everything macOS and iOS has to offer, but just bigger and not light-grey-on-lighter-grey.
I often wish we could return to the design language of OS X 10.6, and it’s not just nostalgia* - everything in Snow Leopard was just straight-up easier to see.
*It is quite a lot of nostalgia, though
I think both platforms have become so similar to each other at this point as google and apple continue to copy off each other. I do think android is a slightly better OS than iOS. However, I have been using iphones for the last few years simply for financial reasons: owning an iphone costs less money in the long run. Both iphones and higher end android phones generally cost the same to buy, however, the trade in values for android phones is horrible compared to iphone. That is literally the only reason I'm using an iphone.
I remember Samsung used to offer a very basic mode on their phones that they started back in the S3 or S4 days I think. I just googled it and they still do offer it, they call it "Easy Mode". I work in IT and yet I have often wished Apple would offer a very "basic" mode like that to be used on iphones for myself actually.
I can only speak for myself (and my dad/mom) in this regard…
For me, I've had a computer since I was 9 (1980). That got me started on computers (just a love for them) and other technology. So, 45 years now with computers and technology. From Bulletin Board Systems (BBS) to the internet and working with all this stuff. My job (graphic design) requires I know something about this stuff.
And I will keep going because I love seeing what's new in technology.
So, for one day my kid to hand me a phone with a dumbed down 'grandparent' mode would be nothing short of an insult. I'm sure there are others, even though their glory days might not have included anything we'd consider modern.
My dad was an electrical engineer. He was part of the team at TRW, Northrop and Rockwell that designed gyro systems for ICBMs (Minuteman and Peacekeeper) and the Space Shuttle. He was involved on the Star Wars project when he retired. My mother was a Computer Science teacher and in large part that is why there was a variety of computers that came and went through our house from 1980 onwards. My dad is no longer here and my mom is in her 80s now. Both would be insulted.
So, I'm with you.
They do.
being of grandparent age (over 70), I ignore what I don't use and use what I need - as for android versus apple - your call - I support apple products for my wife any other system is her problem (ok I'll do linux but not windows or android - its a google issue)
Another issue is that both platforms do "lock you in" and on top of that, app makers also do it.
A good example is the app Signal, you can't migrate from Android to iOS or vice versa. Whats app is a pain too from what I have understood, have heard a number of people loosing messages when migrating. Sure, with Whatsapp you can export messages, but Apps like Signal don't support that.
A good example is the app Signal, you can't migrate from Android to iOS or vice versa. Whats app is a pain too from what I have understood, have heard a number of people loosing messages when migrating. Sure, with Whatsapp you can export messages, but Apps like Signal don't support that.
I find Android to be buggy as hell. I use them when I'm travelling risky places because no one will steal it off me. The most annoying thing for me is on the Pixel 7A for example, you can't use NFC payments if the camera app is open. This happens periodically on and off. It was in the Pixel 6A as well. It's just weird stuff like that. Also things like gmail crapping out if you're without internet for a couple of days. No decent compass app ships that doesn't try and throw adverts at you. It just feels cheap and nasty and half finished.
Oh also the hardware is always crap. Get 18 months out of a reasonably expensive Android phone if you're lucky and the service options at least here in the UK are terrible. Conversely I just sold my 6s I had for 10 years and it got a software update in March this year still and they replaced a battery in store last year.
Oh also the hardware is always crap. Get 18 months out of a reasonably expensive Android phone if you're lucky and the service options at least here in the UK are terrible. Conversely I just sold my 6s I had for 10 years and it got a software update in March this year still and they replaced a battery in store last year.
@CyberGene: I share your experience of lots of buggy annoyances on Apple devices. Besides iPhones and iPads, I also use Windows and a Samsung Android tablet (for specific use cases that it works better for than an iPad). For mobile devices, I mostly stick to iPhone and iPad due to various feature preferences. But I have to say that I haven’t run into buggy behavior on the Samsung tablet yet (it’s actually my second one). My use of it is more restricted than of the iPads, so take that with a grain of salt, but if I would do what I do on the Samsung on the iPad, I would definitely already have run into buggy behavior. The annoyances I do run into on Android so far are feature-related, not bug-related.
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