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Looking for an iPhone Alternative.

TehFalcon

TehFalcon

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 6, 2011
1,148
1,117
United States
I am debating selling my iPhone 5 for another phone.

Some things holding me back are iMessage, build quality, OS "Smoothness", a good camera (as good or better then the iPhone 5), and size.


I don't want a huge phone, I thing a size around the iPhone 5 is perfect, i don't have the biggest hands, and I HATE big phones like the Note 2, really anything bigger then 5" isnt for me.

As far as Build quality, I don't want plastic. So far HTC and Nokia look great, using metal and glass. The Reason I love apple is because of their build quality, I don't want plastic on something thats going to cost me alot of money.

iMessage is a big thing to me, most people I text use iMessage, and I text my girlfriend on her iPod Touch using iMessage, it's fast and efficient, and free.

OS Smoothness is another big thing, I never have lag or slowdowns on my iPhone 5, and I would like to keep it that way, and I don't want bloatware everywhere on my phone.

Camera is another thing, I love taking pictures with my phone, It's easy and fast, and I love the quality on them now.

So what would you guys recommend me?

I will not get a samsung phone, I have a hate for samsung, they do copy apple on a lot of things, and their build quality is terrible.

I'm currently looking at the Lumia 920 and the HTC One.
 
The 920 is over 6 months old now, so if you want to go the windows phone rout, you should probably wait at this point now.

The HTC One is just as smooth and fast as my iPhone 5 and built quality is just as good too. The camera is better in low light, is the same if your taking photos up close in good light, but the iPhone 5 is better if your taking photos farther back (like landscape photos or if your taking group photos). For me the battery has been worse, but others have reported better battery life, so it depends on how you use it.

Honestly, for the stuff you mentioned, you might as well stuck with the iPhone 5, the HTC One is more like a lateral move, it does most things on par with the iPhone, the only advantage comes with the extra features found in android and the larger and better screen and speakers. But you'll lose imessage which seems like something you'll miss as you'll have to download a 3rd party messaging system to continue to message with your girlfriends ipod, but that won't work as well.
 
Depending on if you are on a GSM network the Nexus 4 could be an option as well. It will be able to match iOS's smoothness most closely out of the box (if you are not interested in rooting/flashing). The build quality is pretty good. While not on the level of the iPhone it beats my S3 (even though I still love the S3). The screen is at a good size at 4.7 in. The only thing holding it back is the camera really... but that isn't a big deal to me because I don't generally take a lot of photos with my phone.

At the moment the only thing that can semi compare to iMessage would be a third party app such as Whatsapp. Babel may take care of this in the next itineration of Android however (assuming you get the upgrade). Just another possibility....
 
Just a quick question: you name a lot of things the iPhone is especially good at, and you say you kinda depend on iMessage, so why do you want to have another phone in the first place?:) why don't you just stick to what you have and be happy with it?
 
Think different.

OP.

The grass is not always greener in another field. More often than not its 'just different' grass.


An android or windows phone is not an iPhone and trying to make an Android / windows phone into an iPhone will only lead to frustration and dissapointment.

If the iPhone does everything you need it to do, and you don't want to face the possibility that some of those things will require major work arounds and compromises if you wish to be able to do similar tasks (such as iMessage and FaceTime) the reality is you will be better off sticking to the iPhone 5.

Services can be replaced by other services but require you and your friends/family/girlfriend to possibly install those alternative services too on their own devices in order for you to utilise them. (Whatsapp for example) If you think that sounds inplausible and impractical to you, again stick with what you have ... It works for you.



Both windows phone abd Android does many things the same, many things different and many things both poorer and better in equal measure. Accepting that before switching will lead to a lot less frustrating experience. Be prepared to do things differently, be prepared to utilise different apps, be prepared to give up features you at like on iOS simply because there is no alternative or the practicalities of getting your iOS using friends and family to install an alternative app is not really happening.

If your prepared for change, change. Step from one field into the other and see how walking in the new grass feels. It isn't necesserily better or worst than the grass in the apple field, its just different.

As apple used to say 'think different'....
 
WAM2 said:
I am debating selling my iPhone 5 for another phone.

Some things holding me back are iMessage, build quality, OS "Smoothness", a good camera (as good or better then the iPhone 5), and size.


I don't want a huge phone, I thing a size around the iPhone 5 is perfect, i don't have the biggest hands, and I HATE big phones like the Note 2, really anything bigger then 5" isnt for me.

As far as Build quality, I don't want plastic. So far HTC and Nokia look great, using metal and glass. The Reason I love apple is because of their build quality, I don't want plastic on something thats going to cost me alot of money.

iMessage is a big thing to me, most people I text use iMessage, and I text my girlfriend on her iPod Touch using iMessage, it's fast and efficient, and free.

OS Smoothness is another big thing, I never have lag or slowdowns on my iPhone 5, and I would like to keep it that way, and I don't want bloatware everywhere on my phone.

Camera is another thing, I love taking pictures with my phone, It's easy and fast, and I love the quality on them now.

So what would you guys recommend me?

I will not get a samsung phone, I have a hate for samsung, they do copy apple on a lot of things, and their build quality is terrible.

I'm currently looking at the Lumia 920 and the HTC One.
Click to expand...
You have listed all the things you like about the iPhone but don't give any reasons as to why you want to get rid of it? It sounds to me from what you have said that the iPhone is the best phone for you. Just stick with it, its a great phone and I can't for the life of me see your reasons for wanting to change. :)
 
Can you wait 6 months?

By then a few things might have occurred: HTC One capacitive button problems might have been fixed. A new pure Nexus might have been announced. A Motorola X Phone with almost pure Google might be out. And finally, a new Iphone 6 might be announced, to be ready in early 2014.
 
dkersten said:
Depending on if you are on a GSM network the Nexus 4 could be an option as well. It will be able to match iOS's smoothness most closely out of the box (if you are not interested in rooting/flashing). The build quality is pretty good. While not on the level of the iPhone it beats my S3 (even though I still love the S3). The screen is at a good size at 4.7 in. The only thing holding it back is the camera really... but that isn't a big deal to me because I don't generally take a lot of photos with my phone.

At the moment the only thing that can semi compare to iMessage would be a third party app such as Whatsapp. Babel may take care of this in the next itineration of Android however (assuming you get the upgrade). Just another possibility....
Click to expand...

That is a big deal to him though, and the camera is pretty crappy not gonna lie. I was at a wedding taking photos on saturday and just decided not to because how they looked when the flash went off.
 
My recommendation was going to be the LG Optimus G until I read what a big deal the camera is to you (it is to me as well, so I know what you mean).

While the camera isn't bad, it's definitely a notch below the iPhone 5 camera. But overall, the OG is a great, lightning fast phone that isn't too large (4.7" screen).

If you wanted to try WP8, maybe the Lumia 820, although I'm not sure how great the camera is on that phone either. I had a 920 for a while, and while it was a pretty great phone, I didn't feel like the camera was as good as advertised. It definitely wasn't as good in daylight as my iPhone 5, S3, or Note 2.
 
mattopotamus said:
That is a big deal to him though, and the camera is pretty crappy not gonna lie. I was at a wedding taking photos on saturday and just decided not to because how they looked when the flash went off.
Click to expand...

I agree, it definitely isn't perfect, not by a long shot. But it ticks everything else the OP is looking for so it could be an option. I don't think any phone is going to be a perfect match (S4 build quality, HTC One camera, etc) so for the price it could be a safe "test Android out" device

He could even keep is iPhone until he makes a decision and then if he doesn't like the Nexus 4, he could sell it for a little less than he purchased it for
 
HTC One will satisfy all your needs except for iMessage.

If you NEED iMessage, stick with the iPhone.
 
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