It's too bad Apple won't support graphics cards under Apple Silicon, even as eGPUs hanging off a TB port.
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Moving on from iOS
- Thread starter dk001
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I love . Other than having a Microsoft Windows computer and laptop in my history I feel products are the awesome sauce. I will never give up having an iPhone or a iPad.
You most certainly can play games on a Mac
Caveats I’ve found:
1. There are loads of exclusive apps on iOS you might not get on Android. Check first.
2. There is no additional security check on Google Pay, just your Lock Screen. I always find that on Android devices the NFC field triggers too early or induces errors and works only 70% of the time.
On iOS you get into your phone and it then asks for an additional FaceID check. I’ve not once ever had Apple Pay fail on me.
3. There is no way to extract your purchases from iOS. Apps are a given but if you use iBooks they’re all stuck there.
4. Parental controls are not cross platform. If your kids are on iOS you can remotely run things. If you’re on Android you need to use their device directly. Ditto for Find My.
Im not saying don’t bother, just that you might find compromise is one compromise too many.
1. There are loads of exclusive apps on iOS you might not get on Android. Check first.
2. There is no additional security check on Google Pay, just your Lock Screen. I always find that on Android devices the NFC field triggers too early or induces errors and works only 70% of the time.
On iOS you get into your phone and it then asks for an additional FaceID check. I’ve not once ever had Apple Pay fail on me.
3. There is no way to extract your purchases from iOS. Apps are a given but if you use iBooks they’re all stuck there.
4. Parental controls are not cross platform. If your kids are on iOS you can remotely run things. If you’re on Android you need to use their device directly. Ditto for Find My.
Im not saying don’t bother, just that you might find compromise is one compromise too many.
I get the switch from iOS to android but don’t think I could ever lose macOS for windows.
That’s just me though.
That’s just me though.
I tried to switch from iOS to Android recently and much like Windows I find there's just too much , submenu after submenu after submenu. Multiple apps that do the same thing from companies adding their own skin on top of Android, unless you have a Pixel. Why do I need a Samsung web browser & Chrome?
Similar to Windows it's all kind of exhausting to use. I can have iOS and macOS setup with my preferences in a matter of 30min from scratch and if I do a one-one transfer it's like 5min. Additionally, as someone who sells and buys yearly the values for non Apple devices are awful.
Similar to Windows it's all kind of exhausting to use. I can have iOS and macOS setup with my preferences in a matter of 30min from scratch and if I do a one-one transfer it's like 5min. Additionally, as someone who sells and buys yearly the values for non Apple devices are awful.
Your experience is exactly an example of vendor lockin. There are many replacements for your issues.
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Switch to Windows and use on Android the full Microsoft stack. Everything will be aligned, don't use Google provided services...
That is mostly just a Samsung thing. Motorola, Nothing, Asus, OnePlus, etc. are all mostly just plain Android. (There are a few tweaks and add-ons, but mostly innocuous and easy to ignore.) If you found Samsung too overwhelming, you had options to declutter it and make it work for you. Launchers are the main appeal of Android. Springboard (iOS) is the most static launcher in the history of computing. Heck, Windows, the slow-moving behemoth, changes more in 2 years than Springboard changes in 10. But Android is for tinkerers. There are dozens of launchers available with endless customization and you can make the phone work the way you want it to rather than the other way around.
I bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab A9+ 8GB/128GB to add to the stable and I like it quite a bit. It was $199. The hardware is nice if not super fast.
Getting used to Android was the main reason to buy it, and while the Google Play store doesn’t have the same quality of apps for a lot of things, it’s still fine and I’m well set up inside the Google ecosystem. My next phone may be Android, may not be. It’s definitely more of a toss up than in years past, for sure.
Now to resurrect my ASUS ChromeBox that I see on my desk doing nothing.
There is a big difference between a gamer who wants to build a computer for the best performance and a Mac user who also wants to play an occasional game. I can also most certainly take my Prius to track day, but I don’t think I will impress with my lap time.
To get back on topic, this is a thread in an Android subforum. Welcome! We were talking about how to have less Apple in our lives.
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I prefer the early versions of Windows 10 Pro to the current MacOS, Windows 11 is just a bloated mess, though.
The main issue generally revolves around others. Although you can switch and start to use alternative apps that do the same or similar functions, your family and friends may not want to do the same.
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Maybe. Probably yes, won’t argue. I tried replacing AirDrop with Telegram but I really dislike Telegram, it is not straightforward. For Bluetooth to work I would have needed to replace all devices and it is very costly (replace iPads with some Samsung tablets, get Windows laptop instead of Mac etc).
Also tried cloud storage like Google Drive but honestly, still not this. There are some apps that imitate AirDrop but still not the best choice for me.
As for the photo editors, I used Snapseed but it is very basic for my needs, and Lightroom… I mean, it costs too much per month just to edit photos once in a while, not professional (I don’t get money for this🙂 It is hobby) or not daily basis.
Also tried shooting RAW on Androids. It is… fun! But still in the middle of nowhere because I end up with the same problem - the only decent RAW editor is Lightroom. I mean I am not RAW fan or something, I share Ken Rockwell’s opinion on it, but it sometimes is the only way to fight computational quirks that modern smartphones add to every photograph
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I recently came back to iPhone (16PM) after a decade with Android phones, and my experience is that both platforms have their pros and cons. Pick your hardware, and enjoy your choice.
I also kept a Windows 11 laptop in my mix (my daily driver is a 14" M4 MBP) because I wanted to stay current, and actually found using Windows fairly pleasant until Copilot started taking over their world. I gave it to a friend recently who was in need of a laptop, and I killed off as much Copilot as I could for her.
I've tried Android tablets. They're getting better, but they're pricing their higher quality ones at iPad levels. For me, the iPad is the best tablet for the money. Love my Mini 7.
Overall, I'm comfortable with either a MacOS/iOS or Windows/Android setup and could switch at will.
Crazy wish: If my 16PM had the Pixel's call screening it would be a dream come true.
Edited for spelling.
I also kept a Windows 11 laptop in my mix (my daily driver is a 14" M4 MBP) because I wanted to stay current, and actually found using Windows fairly pleasant until Copilot started taking over their world. I gave it to a friend recently who was in need of a laptop, and I killed off as much Copilot as I could for her.
I've tried Android tablets. They're getting better, but they're pricing their higher quality ones at iPad levels. For me, the iPad is the best tablet for the money. Love my Mini 7.
Overall, I'm comfortable with either a MacOS/iOS or Windows/Android setup and could switch at will.
Crazy wish: If my 16PM had the Pixel's call screening it would be a dream come true.
Edited for spelling.
Have been on Android since forever aside a brief time I had to use a hand me down iPhone 8 because my Android phone was broken. I’m on a iPhone 15 currently because I got it free from a promotion. I still prefer Android though, I’d still go back to Android if the iPhone 15 breaks or loses software updates. My next phone will likely be a OnePlus, TCL, or even Motorola as I’m trying to avoid American phones in Canada because of the tariff war. Samsung is an option but I want something different as my previous phone is a Samsung Galaxy A53.
For tablets, no company can beat the iPad, so I’ll continue buying iPads.
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Before I retired, my company had us on Samsung for years, I became quite fond of the stylus. I went from a 7+ this year to a 15+ due to apps and an outside need to stay in the Apple world, that need is now over. Before moving to the 15+ I got very close to ordering the OnePlus 13, I mean really, really got close but the deciding factor was I needed to stay Apple for a bit longer. I am pretty sure my next Android phone will be the OnePlus.
Rather odd me reading this thread, and thinking I might like to switch to Android, even if it is for a while, versus permanent.
However, I do think my thought is more about a 'change', versus not liking iOS/Apple. Afterall, the integration of Apple products is priceless, to me...
However, I do think my thought is more about a 'change', versus not liking iOS/Apple. Afterall, the integration of Apple products is priceless, to me...
MacOS may be Unix under the hood but their "add-ons" under the hood are most certainly not. I just finished a month long migration from an older Mac pro to a new one and many of the under-the-hood tweaks I typically make were more difficult and or impossible with the changes they've made to security mechanisms, APFS volumes, secure booting and code signing have made many things substantially more difficult than they would be with other distros. The fact they refuse to release proper documentation for things like APFS are about as anti-linux as it gets. Do you know that we're like, seven years into APFS and apple still has not released enough documentation for their to be *any* kind of third party APFS repair tools? Your APFS container take a dump? Hope you've got backups. That's it.
Same. I left iOS years ago and do not regret it. Android is far from perfect but I find iOS almost draconian at times and generally confusing in some of its design.
Windows had a nice spell with 10, but 11 pretty much undid all of that good will. I use it for work and, what, three years into 11 and I still am routinely cursing it for absolutely obtuse usability design and under the hood choices.
I recently did a migration to a new Mac pro on sequoia and it was not a pleasant experience. But I'll still take it over win 11 for my personal machine 10 times out of 10
I'm eyeing the OnePlus "R" series because the value for your money is unmatched especially in the Canadian cellphone market. Motorola would be my 2nd choice, but I don't trust them because of their poor software update support. Although, they have slightly improved on the update policy with some of their recent 2025 lineup.
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Everyone should use whatever they like, but I always get this silly feeling about someone who leaves the Apple ecosystem—as if they’re somehow a traitor. Which, of course, they’re not! But maybe it’s like a team thing, like in sports. You just get oddly loyal without realizing it!
