Is it possible to be happier outside the Apple ecosystem?

[Sensamic]

These days, it seems most people still stay within the Apple ecosystem because of the tight integration between their devices, but outside that factor, what other advantages are there to keep buying Apple products?

I was thinking... maybe one can be happier outside the Apple ecosystem? There are many reasons for it:

- More hardware to choose from, whether that's phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, etc.

More often, other brands offer way better hardware (screens, storage, ram, batteries, cameras, wired and wireless charging speeds...) for less money, and you can often find unbelievable deals on these products, like with Samsung.

I mean, less than 2 months after the Z Fold 7 release, I've seen the device 400€ cheaper (1.550€ outright). If you fandom a slim device, the S25 Edge can now be bought for 850€.

These are amazing prices for top notch hardware. Meanwhile, Apple is still selling the latest base iPhone 16 with 128GB and 60Hz screen for 800€...

Same can be said with tablets and smartwatches. The most expensive smartwatches can be found way cheaper 6 months after release.

Then, you have other Android benefits, like better AI features, Gemini, more customization, more consistent navigation throughout the OS, better multitasking, being able to download torrents, etc. Now Google and Samsung guarantee 7 years of OS updates, so not an Apple benefit anymore.

You can pair a Google or Huawei watch with a Samsung or Oppo, you can use an Ultra tablet with a Xiaomi phone, etc. Maybe the integration isn't as tight as with Apple or between same brand devices, but it's not terrible either. Now we have Android Quick Share for easy file transfers, but there's also third party options, like Blip, which works as good.

Having better hardware (Apple still doesn't have foldables, for example), more options, sometimes better software (now more obvious than ever with AI), and all that for much less money than with Apple.

So, if one doesn't need the super tight integration of Apple devices, can they be happier outside of their ecosystem?

For me, the most important factor in this debate is price. Being able to buy an S25 Ultra or Edge when there's discounts for the same price as the base iPhone 16 is just crazy.

 

[Michael0816]

I'll keep my Apple stuff, but everyone is free to choose what fits best for them.

 

[edubfromktown]

Yes- I've been quite happy for 4-5 years using an Android phone, Chromebooks, iPhone & iPad (wife), Mac's, and Raspberry Pi servers.

I stream music from a 2011 Mini (iTunes folder) running Sonos app to a small herd of Sonos speakers strewn throughout the house.

Share files between all platforms with LocalSend and sync contacts and some photos via Google apps.

 

[tbayrgs]

Of course it's possible, just takes a little work to replicate many of the native features and benefits of the Apple ecosystem. The strength of Apple's is that once you're in, there's an ease to it and many people find the opportunity costs of switching not worth it.

In the US, Apple Messages and FaceTime are much more important to people as WhatsApp really doesn't have the presence here that it does around much of the rest of the world.

The trick is using platform agnostic tools for things like contacts, calendar, notes, documents, photos and cloud storage. There are many great apps that have made themselves available across multiple platforms so use those in place of the Apple only versions and you find it opens up so many hardware choices. The most obvious options are those provided by Google as it's in Google's best interest to make there services available everywhere. Hell, Google Fit even can sync with Apple Health for fitness and health data. I have my fitness data from my Apple Watch synced to both. But it also means when I start wearing my new Pixel Watch next month that I can have the data in both Apple's and Google's ecosystem.

It just means putting in a little work to find those apps and services that can replace the Apple only versions. Stay there and it's much easier to dabble and play in all the ecosystems.

 

[Sammael]

It depends on what makes you happy.
Android is far superior when it comes to freedom and customization. If you really like to tinker, Android is an endless playground.

If you prefer seamlessness of the ecosystem as a whole, Android might not be the place for you.

 

[eyoungren]

I split it down the middle. My phone is an iPhone and I have an iPad. So, iOS for me.

But with the exception of one or two things, all my services are third party. Google, Yahoo, Dropbox, etc. That largely stems from 2012 when I moved to iPhone but the Apple ecosystem then would no longer work with my PowerBook G4. I had to find alternatives.

For years (up until December 2020), I was also jailbreaking. So, I had stuff and was able to do things with my iDevices that you couldn't do then with a stock device. For instance, I had Dark Mode long before it came to stock iOS.

 

[windrider42]

I myself prefer Apple. I have Windows gaming laptop as well and have owned Android. But owning so many Apple Devices, I find it seamless between all the devices.
Especially receiving codes when your logging into some place. Such a simple smooth process on Apple. I would never go back to Android.

 

[mblm85]

what other advantages are there to keep buying Apple products?

The main draw for me is the variety and quality of the apps available to me within Apple's App Store.

I dabbled with Android years ago and either couldn't find what I wanted, or the apps I found weren't tailored to the hardware. Certainly not as well as they are on Apple.

 

[Surenmunoo]

I much prefer Apple products, but I do use Windows 11 and Samsung S25U as well.

 

[Tig Bitties]

I'm a tech nerd and I own ZERO Apple products, and don't plan too, and I'm a very happy geek.

All smartphones in the family for my wife, myself and my two teenage kids are all Google Pixel's, and they love them, never once asking or wanting an iPhone

We're PC gamers I build all of our custom computers myself running Windows 11 Pro with good [H]ardware.

Our smart home systems are Google nest based.

Home theater setup is LG OLED home theaters i put together.

Don't own any tablets, don't see the need. Don't care for smartwatches.

Laptops are business based Toshiba's or Google Chromes for the kids.

Am I one of the few people on this forum that owns zero Apple products, with no intention of getting any in the near future?

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

No-one has managed to give me a compelling reason why I should stop liking all the things I like, and switch to Android. People can actually like iPhones, MacBooks, iPads, etc, just because they like them. If you took away my iPhone 14, my MacBook Pro, my iPad, and my Apple Watch, and gave me some bendy droid, a non-iPad tablet, and an expensive Windows laptop, I would be angry and irritated. Not happy.

Like what you like. If you find Apple products too expensive, too restrictive, or you just don't like them, then it's easy. Don't buy them! I don't like Android or Windows, so I don't use them.

 

[bhall110]

I don’t think anyone has an ecosystem that covers the same breath as apple. Samsung and google come close but to me it breaks down when you need a PC. Windows really sucks. Apple has done a really good job making a device in every product category that works well.

 

[aperfectcircle]

For me, I genuinely enjoy using Apple products and software. I like their hardware designs, whether that be phone, tablet or laptop, and I find their software a joy to use.

The integration is definitely a factor, and each successive year of updates brings enhancements to that integration that make the experience even better.

I would definitely never swap out my iPad Pro or Apple TV for an alternative, so that leaves my iPhone and Mac as the only devices that I’d possibly ever considering going outside of Apple for.

For the MacBook Pro, Windows is really the only alternative (sorry Linux folk) and I don’t much like using Windows. I’ve used it for years at work until I left the corporate world for consulting, and it always just annoyed me. I could cope with it though, and I do run Windows 11 in a VM on my Mac to keep up to date and have it available if I ever find the need for it. Hardware wise most Windows laptops to me are horrid but there are some very nice options. The Surface laptop is a nice piece of kit and some of the top end HP laptops are also very well designed. It’s the current state of X86 that puts me off but then that’s improving over time.

For the phone, the only realistic option is Android and personally I find Google’s software design to be incredibly ugly. Whether it’s Android, Google apps or Google websites, they’re just horrible to use - both design wise and logic wise. I particularly hate Google as a company as well, so even if they actually produced software I enjoyed using I’d be put off knowing that ultimately they’re an advertising company that just wants my data.

Long story short, could I move some of my devices away from Apple? Sure. Would I be happier? Not a damn chance.

 

[Ctrlos]

There are loads of great products outside the Apple ecosystem worth buying to save money. A pair of £30 CMF buds sound just as good as £130 Airpods. A £50 iPad keyboard from some chinese no-brand on Amazon is as good as Apple's £300 option. A knock-off Pencil is only £20 and great for drawing.

Is it worth building a non-Apple ecosystem? It depends on your mileage with Android. iCloud and Windows work together really well. Google services work anywhere but are web-based leaving you no local storage options. I find iCloud.com serves me better on Windows at work than the native office apps.

 

[TechRunner]

I found it pretty easy to have a platform agnostic setup. True, you don't get the tight integration you do with Apple, but I don't use enough of the functionality of it for that integration to make a huge difference in my day.

 

[DankeBrutus]

Is it possible to be happier outside the Apple ecosystem?​

Of course! It will just depend on what you value. If you value that integration between devices, which, let's be real, is not what it used to be, then you will probably want to stick with Apple. You can move over to a Google ecosystem of course. However, if you, like me, don't trust Google that isn't a solution. Android at least gives you more flexibility in general so that you can make and use your own ecosystem. You can do this on iOS as well but Android has a more feature-rich version of something like KDE Connect.

You could have your cloud storage and office suite with Nextcloud, Immich for cloud photos, file synchronization with Syncthing, audiobooks & podcasts with audiobookshelf, password management with a self-hosted instance of Bitwarden or KeePassXC. You can use KDE Connect for media controls, sending text messages from your computer, sending files back and forth, battery monitoring, and some more stuff on top of all that.

 

[eyoungren]

I don’t think anyone has an ecosystem that covers the same breath as apple. Samsung and google come close but to me it breaks down when you need a PC. Windows really sucks. Apple has done a really good job making a device in every product category that works well.

What's cool about Apple is that they don't bind you to their ecosystem. I use Google, Yahoo and Dropbox on my iPhone, and one or two things that are part of the Apple ecosystem - together.

 

[jamezr]

What's cool about Apple is that they don't bind you to their ecosystem. I use Google, Yahoo and Dropbox on my iPhone, and one or two things that are part of the Apple ecosystem - together.

Wait...Apple does bind you to some of their native apps. You can of course use different apps on and iPhone but you can't set them as defaults. You cant use Google Photos or Gemini as defaults. But you can for most other things like maps or mail and browser

 

[Cape Dave]

Of course! It will just depend on what you value. If you value that integration between devices, which, let's be real, is not what it used to be, then you will probably want to stick with Apple. You can move over to a Google ecosystem of course. However, if you, like me, don't trust Google that isn't a solution. Android at least gives you more flexibility in general so that you can make and use your own ecosystem. You can do this on iOS as well but Android has a more feature-rich version of something like KDE Connect.

You could have your cloud storage and office suite with Nextcloud, Immich for cloud photos, file synchronization with Syncthing, audiobooks & podcasts with audiobookshelf, password management with a self-hosted instance of Bitwarden or KeePassXC. You can use KDE Connect for media controls, sending text messages from your computer, sending files back and forth, battery monitoring, and some more stuff on top of all that.

Ouch! More passwords, Scotty! More accounts to keep track of!

 

[eyoungren]

Wait...Apple does bind you to some of their native apps. You can of course use different apps on and iPhone but you can't set them as defaults. You cant use Google Photos or Gemini as defaults. But you can for most other things like maps or mail and browser

Most of the things I do are covered by third party apps anyway, or the Apple apps are fine and/or part of the services with Apple I do use. Or it's a feature I just do not use at all. Some stuff Apple offers, I am not interested in.

Example: I use Apple's Camera app to take a pic, then Apple's Photos app to check that picture, and then I open the Dropbox app to upload the picture to Dropbox. Dropbox is set to automatically upload new pictures. I don't even need to keep it open, just open it, then close it. Dropbox does give you the option however to upload automatically if you want. Does it in the background. I just don't use it because sometimes I crop/rotate pictures and I don't want multiple copies on Dropbox. It also draws more power as it's a background process.

That picture then goes to every single computer/device I own that has a Dropbox folder, whether or not that PC/Mac/Device can use the Photos app or not. The image is there, right inside the Dropbox>Camera Uploads folder on every device/computer.

Google Photos works the same way, but I had Dropbox long before I started making use of Google's services.

 

[DankeBrutus]

Ouch! More passwords, Scotty! More accounts to keep track of!

Sure, but again it is all about what matters to the user. If you are allergic to password managers then ya having a single account to worry about is easier.

 

[Cuesca]

TBQH I think Apple is happier to be getting rid of me...

I've return and rebought countless devices ranging from the iPhone to iPads to MacBooks to get the right screen(I would buy something, check if it has an LG screen and if it does return it ASAP) because of the display lottery. Apple's customer service is great, but I must be on their list or something by now. If I were to guess how many products I've exchanged because of the display lottery it must be in the number of around 300 devices from 2010 to now.

I think by far the worst was the iPad Mini 6, returned 8 times until I got one with acceptable jelly scroll.

 

[Absrnd]

These days, it seems most people still stay within the Apple ecosystem because of the tight integration between their devices, but outside that factor, what other advantages are there to keep buying Apple products?

I was thinking... maybe one can be happier outside the Apple ecosystem? There are many reasons for it:

- More hardware to choose from, whether that's phones, tablets, laptops, smartwatches, etc.

More often, other brands offer way better hardware (screens, storage, ram, batteries, cameras, wired and wireless charging speeds...) for less money, and you can often find unbelievable deals on these products, like with Samsung.

I mean, less than 2 months after the Z Fold 7 release, I've seen the device 400€ cheaper (1.550€ outright). If you fandom a slim device, the S25 Edge can now be bought for 850€.

These are amazing prices for top notch hardware. Meanwhile, Apple is still selling the latest base iPhone 16 with 128GB and 60Hz screen for 800€...

Same can be said with tablets and smartwatches. The most expensive smartwatches can be found way cheaper 6 months after release.

Then, you have other Android benefits, like better AI features, Gemini, more customization, more consistent navigation throughout the OS, better multitasking, being able to download torrents, etc. Now Google and Samsung guarantee 7 years of OS updates, so not an Apple benefit anymore.

You can pair a Google or Huawei watch with a Samsung or Oppo, you can use an Ultra tablet with a Xiaomi phone, etc. Maybe the integration isn't as tight as with Apple or between same brand devices, but it's not terrible either. Now we have Android Quick Share for easy file transfers, but there's also third party options, like Blip, which works as good.

Having better hardware (Apple still doesn't have foldables, for example), more options, sometimes better software (now more obvious than ever with AI), and all that for much less money than with Apple.

So, if one doesn't need the super tight integration of Apple devices, can they be happier outside of their ecosystem?

For me, the most important factor in this debate is price. Being able to buy an S25 Ultra or Edge when there's discounts for the same price as the base iPhone 16 is just crazy.

You will be very happy....for a few months

 

[ignatius345]

I've return and rebought countless devices ranging from the iPhone to iPads to MacBooks to get the right screen(I would buy something, check if it has an LG screen and if it does return it ASAP) because of the display lottery.

I've literally never bothered to check into this and my experience with displays has been fine. The one exception I can think of was my 5K iMac, which developed some image retention. Had that replaced under AppleCare and went on using it just fine.

 

[MBAir2010]

MONDAY, after many months, i unboxed a mac mini m1, TV, 3 HomePods for downstairs entertainment which is screened area of the house.
The products are great make wise, but the software is difficult to alter or set-up as the name of the tv home location need to match the HomePods for default purposes.
There is some break up with sound, albums change songs with 17 seconds left IF a fan is on while voice activation is set….silly things like that are annoying as
YES
Leaving the  eco-system is better, less stress
But no one wants my  stuff as i will tweek this all out soon i hope!

Today’s  is not your olfer brothers !