Other Is it just the iPhone or are Android devices even worse?

[Charlesrfinal]

I've had every new iPhone since the 3G. Buy the best Apple Watch every 2 years, currently on a titanium case (gold) 45mm series 10 (ultra isn't for me)

I've never had an issue with the watch out of the box, they've always performed awesome.

Only 2 phone issues I've ever had were the 5 and 6 and which took crooked photos out of the box. Both replaced on launch day.

The phones get faster and better featured. I've had no quality issues.

 

[CyberGene]

I've had every new iPhone since the 3G. Buy the best Apple Watch every 2 years, currently on a titanium case (gold) 45mm series 10 (ultra isn't for me)

I've never had an issue with the watch out of the box, they've always performed awesome.

Only 2 phone issues I've ever had were the 5 and 6 and which took crooked photos out of the box. Both replaced on launch day.

The phones get faster and better featured. I've had no quality issues.

Open a PDF in Safari and zoom in on it. Now you have your first issue. You can thank me later 😉

 

[eyoungren]

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.

But that's a choice. To be 'locked in'. I can come and go from iPhone to Android and back because none of my data is 'locked in' to Apple. It isn't even locked in to Google!

If Google said tomorrow, 'You may no longer use Google stuff on the iPhone', I'd simply transfer everything to my Yahoo account. People choose to put all their eggs in one basket or another. I choose to split mine. And if there is someone or something requiring me to use them exclusively if I want to use their app or device or whatever…well then, screw them. I won't use it

No one forces me, no one locks me in. I do the deciding.

 

[grammatica]

I admit that sometimes the Google Pixel 9 Pro piques my interest. I like the direction Android is headed in. iOS just gets boring. I know, it's a phone, what else do I want? IDK—something new?

Anyway, the reason I don't switch is because of iOS apps. Developers are more dedicated to iOS, native APIs, etc. Also, some small apps are only on iOS.

 

[TracerAnalog]

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

And similarly, give me an expert mode that allows me to do anything I want... 😎

 

[killhippie]

I wish apple thought more about the phone being a phone. Samsungs even the A series ( A16 5G I have as an emergency phone) has 7 years of Android updates and 7 years of patches for £199 yes is basic but its big and robust they all come with built in spam protection warnings and blocking and Knox and built in AV, iOS well thats £1 a month for Hiya to give the same service which is free on Android handsets to block spam calls and to let you know about possible nuisance calls. Also knox hardening is great, these days there is very little difference between a top range Android running 15 (16 looks very iPhone like) and iOS apart from bugs it seems!

 

[Rodan52]

I'm not sure what "Buggy Behavior" actually is. In Tomb Raider "The Shadow of the Tomb Raider" there was a "bug" which prevented jumping up onto a wrecked plane body. The only way to fix it was the leave the Crypt. On exiting the cave a bell sounds, you can then turn around go back. The jump is then possible. That's a bug.
I've never had a Behavior like that on any Apple native app.

 

[DankeBrutus]

I admit that sometimes the Google Pixel 9 Pro piques my interest. I like the direction Android is headed in. iOS just gets boring. I know, it's a phone, what else do I want? IDK—something new?

That new Android 16 design looks really good. I liked the Material You design when it first launched too. Rumour is that iOS 19 will have a redesign, we'll see if that ends up being the case in June. While I like the clean look of current iOS I had a iPod Touch 4 arrive in the mail last year which was running iOS 6 and I found myself missing that skeuomorphic look. I had the Touch 4 way back when it came out.

My first real smartphone was a Samsung Galaxy S3. I had some super cheap slide phone with Android before then, back when it was Android Marketplace instead of Google Play, and an old Blackberry before that. After the S3 I got an S6 and the Galaxy S6 made me stop using Android. I picked up an iPhone 6s and have not gone back since. I have been tempted because Android phones are where manufacturers do something different. That new Motorola Razr looks cool, but I am still not totally convinced of the longevity of these new flip phones. I don't think I would ever go back to Samsung. The Pixel lineup is enticing and Google has improved their timeline on security updates at least. Those Nothing phones are unique looking. At this point though the iPhone is both my old reliable and the devil I know.

 

[Harthag]

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?

The gap is HUGE between current flagship Android devices and budget ones or older ones. The cheaper ones will be updated far less frequently if at all, will lag, poor battery, app incompatibility, etc. Use a Pixel 9 Pro XL or Galaxy S25 Ultra and the experience will be very different (incredible if you learn all of the features). You won't find a phone without any bugs. For example, the Pixel still cannot handle muting notifications on my phone speaker while connected to any Bluetooth earbuds and they both notify simultaneously. The only solution is to turn on silent mode on the phone, but that will cause me to miss all notifications. That's why despite my love for it, I can't use a Pixel as my daily phone. Samsung has a native app and phone setting to route everything through headphones only and so does OnePlus.

Until very recently on iOS I'll be typing a text message and the volume gets maxed out for no reason causing my key presses to also be at max volume. That annoyed me to no end.

You should give a flagship Android phone a try if you buy from a retailer with a good return policy and see what you make of it. The Alternatives section of MR is very helpful.

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!". 😆

In general I agree with you, this is what makes Android a very hard sell for many people. It depends where you buy the device from. Samsung Care+ is excellent. I had a defective charging port on an S24+, Samsung sent a ticket to a local UbreakIfix shop and they replaced it quickly. Best Buy's top tier Total plan also has you covered if you buy from them (and have many other devices from BB that are covered).

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.

You can't compare a Pixel 6A and 7A to the 9 Pro XL or Samsung S25 Ultra. You just can't. The SD Elite is crap? I have never seen an ad on my Pixel or Samsung devices because I use VPNs and system-wide private DNS. Of course the 6A and 7A feel cheap- they are. And that's perfectly fine. The S25 Ultra is a joy to use, gets monthly updates, and has top tier hardware. You are 100% spot on with after-sale support. Android is for the most part terrible. Nothing beats the peace of mind of being able to go into the Apple store for issues.

 

[macbookj0e]

I can’t speak for android but if you’re thinking of ditching your mac for windows I’d definitely reconsider.

I’ve used macs for years and never had any problems with any of them. My windows laptops in comparison make me pull my teeth out on a daily basis!

 

[Allen_Wentz]

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

It is not all light-grey-on-lighter-grey; you forgot all the light-grey-on-light-blue. All those designers and their cutesy light-grey-on-lighter-grey ideas of what design should be need some classes in UI design.

 

[TgeekB]

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?

Pixel devices are nice. It’s Google I’m tired of. I’m now Google free and very happy. What slight issues I may run into with my Apple devices does not compare to the stalking Google does. My life is much better now.

 

[Cape Dave]

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.

View attachment 2510316

That is how long it took me to set the time on my first, and only, digital watch

 

[ProbablyDylan]

The thing is that neither Apple or Google (or Samsung, OnePlus, etc) are interested in making quality products with quality software anymore. The new iPhone will do insane numbers even if the software isn't there. The new Pixel will sell better than the last even if the design is the same. The new Samsung will be praised all over social media even if it's the same as last year inside and out.

Nobody wants to make a good product anymore.

 

[Tzvia]

I'm starting to look myself as I need to replace my aging Samsung S8+. It's 8 yo now and has gone through several batteries- one even cracked the back when it swelled- that at least made it easy to get the back OFF so I could replace the battery. It works fine, that is why I keep it going, but it's getting old at this point. No new OS updates, and some apps won't install or update if it's already installed. I never personally owned an iPhone, before this Samsung I had an S2, and before that, a Palm Pre (Yea I actually bought one). I did have iPhones at work, they were OK but I preferred the old Samsung. Just more familiar. But now, as I have an MBA and iPad (never owned Apple other than their stock till almost 3 years ago) I am thinking iPhone just for the synergy. I'm gonna swing by my carrier (Spectrum) at some point and just look at the devices. I miss the 'free phone' days, but I get it- I was paying around $100 per line a month back then, and now I pay 40 bucks for two. I think I am gonna go dark side of the force after having Samsungs for 14 years, unless the Samsung feels more solid or has a noticeably better looking display. Bugs I am sure there are with both, but at least my home security camera software works better on iPad than Samsung so that will be a plus.

 

[cuzo]

I'm really frustrated by bugs I run in to, but no idea if Android would be any better :-/

Android got bugs too but android phones have a habit of draining faster at nighttime than ios. Also Green line issues.

 

[cuzo]

The thing is that neither Apple nor Google (or Samsung, OnePlus, etc) is interested in making quality products with quality software anymore. The new iPhone will do insane numbers even if the software isn't there. The new Pixel will sell better than the last, even if the design is the same. The new Samsung will be praised all over social media, even if it's the same as last year,, inside and out.

Nobody wants to make a good product anymore.

Disagree that at the end of the day, it's just a phone, and I prefer Apple's approach to how they make a phone by just focusing on communication and battery.

Android, after a while, feels more like a computer than a phone.

A phone isn't supposed to stay at all day long; it's a phone, and Apple focuses on that. I've seen a lot of bugs on iOS at times, the screen doesn't shut off automatically, and Safari acts up, but I don't want to browse on a phone for hours a day.

If op goes to Android, op will be back to iOS within 6 months because the tech oil wears off quickly after a while, and you'll focus on the essentials.

 

[CyberGene]

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)

Wow, I need to correct myself. I installed 18.5 yesterday and they have finally fixed that issue! 😲 I never thought they’re gonna fix it because it was there for maybe 3-4 years already, was acknowledged in their issue tracker but never got fixed until the latest iOS from this week. I guess better later than never.

 

[Contact_Feanor]

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

there absolutely is. When my 87 year old grandfather wanted to switch to a smartphone to be able to video call with his children/grandchildren we set up his iPhone with assistive access. It WAY simplifies everything, though you do need a little time to set it up to their wishes the first time.

 

[mblm85]

The unfortunate truth is that fixing bugs isn't sexy work. Building new features is the interesting work, and where the money and power is.

And for the general consumer, it's those new features that sell phones, not bug fixing. The public largely work around issues they encounter.

Only the more tech-minded (like the members of this forum) pray for a Snow Leopard to happen on mobile platforms. I don't think that's coming any time soon though.

 

[Fuchal]

I used Android for the past 2 months and it's just as annoying as iOS, only in different ways.

 

[TgeekB]

The thing is that neither Apple or Google (or Samsung, OnePlus, etc) are interested in making quality products with quality software anymore. The new iPhone will do insane numbers even if the software isn't there. The new Pixel will sell better than the last even if the design is the same. The new Samsung will be praised all over social media even if it's the same as last year inside and out.

Nobody wants to make a good product anymore.

What do you suggest? They have reached peak output. Until something new comes along what are they supposed to do? Enquiring minds want to know.

 

[ProbablyDylan]

What do you suggest? They have reached peak output. Until something new comes along what are they supposed to do? Enquiring minds want to know.

Why can't we record both front and back cameras natively in iOS? While we're here, why is the notification center so buggy? Will CarPlay ever get features that don't require me to buy a new car?

Why can't Google make a UI for Android that doesn't look and feel horrible? How long will Android Auto be laughably bad?

Why doesn't Samsung work on their foldable UX to make them even more versatile? Or, better yet, bring their QD-OLED tech to mobile?

When will OnePlus figure out how to let apps run in the background so that notifications aren't delayed? Or that people want phones smaller than 8" diagonal?

Why hasn't anyone made a software keyboard as fast, accurate, and reliable as the one that was on Windows Phone 8.1 in...2014?

There's lots that can be done. Just that nobody has real incentive to actually do any of it.

 

[TgeekB]

Why can't we record both front and back cameras natively in iOS? While we're here, why is the notification center so buggy? Will CarPlay ever get features that don't require me to buy a new car?

Why can't Google make a UI for Android that doesn't look and feel horrible? How long will Android Auto be laughably bad?

Why doesn't Samsung work on their foldable UX to make them even more versatile? Or, better yet, bring their QD-OLED tech to mobile?

When will OnePlus figure out how to let apps run in the background so that notifications aren't delayed? Or that people want phones smaller than 8" diagonal?

Why hasn't anyone made a software keyboard as fast, accurate, and reliable as the one that was on Windows Phone 8.1 in...2014?

There's lots that can be done. Just that nobody has real incentive to actually do any of it.

Perhaps you can lead the way. Sounds easy! 🤣

 

[rambo47]

Apple has a huge advantage in that they control the hardware and software. Apple is tailoring their iOS for just a handful of phones, and all those phones have a common architecture. Google has to design their OS for dozens of phones in dozens of configurations, made by a bunch of different manufacturers. Samsung, Motorola, etc - all put their own skins on the OS.