iPhone SE (2016) People who switched from Android phone to iPhone - anything you miss from Android?

[FC255]

Hi, so after waiting for a compact android phone for too long I decided I'm going to give the new iPhone SE2 a shot, BUT I'm a bit worried about switching the OS since I've never used Apple device before. So I'd like to ask - is there anyone who switched from android to iOS (or uses both at the same time) and is missing something on the latter?

E.g.:

a) I've heard that you can't just pop iPhone to a windows PC and use it as USB drive as you can with droid phones, and that you can only transfer files via iTunes - is there any way to bypass this so that it behaves like a regular USB that you can plug in on any PC? (with 'jailbreak' or anyhow)

b) How is support for 3rd party apps (which aren't on the Apple App Store) - for example, can you get some YouTube downloader app on iPhone, such as TubeMate or NewPipe? Some app that allows you to download audio files from youtube, make playlist of them etc.

Or anything else that you could do on Android and can't do on iPhone? Thx in advance for sharing your experiences.

 

[FC255]

/bump

 

[ilikewhey]

There is one app I miss, forgot what it’s called but it lets me hotspot without counting towards my limit, it uses the cellular gb instead of Hotspot gb

 

[vseera]

So I’ve used both for many years and continue to do so, with iPhone being my main right now.

I miss the richer notifications from Android and the ability to quickly reply from them and take actions on them from the notification centre.

I also miss how when you get a call, it doesn’t take up the whole damn screen and I can silence and swipe it away.

You can of course do more stuff on Android like downloading torrents etc, but for normal stuff like automation, the iPhone is pretty good now - arguably better than Android.

You can’t switch default apps on iPhone, so that’s a big one if it’s important for you. And you can’t customise the home screen like Android, except move icons around.

I like the better quality of apps on iPhone and the sandboxing of them, better security etc. You won’t regret the switch, but it might take you some time depending on how important factors listed above are for you

Oh, I really really really miss the USB-C port from Android. My MBP, my iPad Pro and most of my stuff now uses it and I long for the day I can travel with one cable for all my devices (I have plenty of PD adapters). And maybe a small converter for the cable to Micro USB, for my kindle.

 

[throAU]

a) I've heard that you can't just pop iPhone to a windows PC and use it as USB drive as you can with droid phones, and that you can only transfer files via iTunes - is there any way to bypass this so that it behaves like a regular USB that you can plug in on any PC? (with 'jailbreak' or anyhow)

You can transfer files in and out of the camera storage (pretty sure they don't need to be photos) via Windows explorer. You haven't needed to use iTunes to work with an iOS device since 2011.

You can use https://www.sharedrop.io to basically do airdrop between pc and iOS or whatever via the local network.

 

[Mildredop]

Oh, I really really really miss the USB-C port from Android. My MBP, my iPad Pro and most of my stuff now uses it and I long for the day I can travel with one cable for all my devices (I have plenty of PD adapters). And maybe a small converter for the cable to Micro USB, for my kindle.

I was really surprised to read the SE2 doesn't have USB-C. I agree, everything I have, including my MacBook Air, uses USB-C, so buying a new device that uses something else is creating quite a sticking point for me.

 

[throAU]

I was really surprised to read the SE2 doesn't have USB-C. I agree, everything I have, including my MacBook Air, uses USB-C, so buying a new device that uses something else is creating quite a sticking point for me.

What will be interesting is to see whether or not apple include Lightning to USB-A or Lightning to USB-C.

Given all their machines are now switching to USB-C... including every laptop (the bulk of their computers sold) since 2016.

Then again I suppose they likely have a huge stock of USB-A 5 watt chargers.

 

[aleni]

4 major things I missed from my Realme X2 Pro.

1. Great battery life similar to the iPhone 11, but with super vooc charger on top of that. 0-100% in 33 minutes. Amazing tech!

2. 90hz refresh rate screen, going back to 60hz iPhone feels laggy now when I scroll fast on websites. I believe my eyes will adapt too to the 60hz again in couple of days.

3. All old console emulators without the hassle. Things like ps1, gameboy advance, nintendo ds, snes and even citra emulator to play 3DS games on my phone.

4. Youtube modded app that acts like youtube premium without ads plus can run in the background when you go back to home screen to reply some mail or chat.

But I stick with the iPhone because I love how polished iOS is, and I use a mac.

 

[The-Real-Deal82]

Not answering the OP's question but an observation from myself. I'm seeing less people these days going between platforms and find most people I know have just stuck with one OS for years. I used Android until 2012 and spent a few years with my eye on its development even though I was using an iPhone, but the iPhone now does everything I require. I don't even look and compare now and couldn't tell you what Android phones are currently out there.

I'm sure these OS's still copy off each other and take tips and inspiration with each release which is great for us consumers.

 

[FC255]

Youtube modded app that acts like youtube premium without ads plus can run in the background when you go back to home screen to reply some mail or chat.

So there's no such app for iOS? Can someone else confirm that I really can't get a 3rd party app that would let me download and organize youtube videos on iOS?

That would be a deal breaker for me unfortunately, looking for confirmation

 

[ian87w]

Hi, so after waiting for a compact android phone for too long I decided I'm going to give the new iPhone SE2 a shot, BUT I'm a bit worried about switching the OS since I've never used Apple device before. So I'd like to ask - is there anyone who switched from android to iOS (or uses both at the same time) and is missing something on the latter?

E.g.:

a) I've heard that you can't just pop iPhone to a windows PC and use it as USB drive as you can with droid phones, and that you can only transfer files via iTunes - is there any way to bypass this so that it behaves like a regular USB that you can plug in on any PC? (with 'jailbreak' or anyhow)

b) How is support for 3rd party apps (which aren't on the Apple App Store) - for example, can you get some YouTube downloader app on iPhone, such as TubeMate or NewPipe? Some app that allows you to download audio files from youtube, make playlist of them etc.

Or anything else that you could do on Android and can't do on iPhone? Thx in advance for sharing your experiences.

Based on your usage, I would just stick with Android. I mean why go through the hassles of not being able to do what you want to? And the move to taller aspect ratio for Android actually is not that bad for larger sized phones as the width is still decent enough for usability.

Plus, the iPhone SE 2 has the same tiny battery as the iPhone 8, 1821mAh. Even Apple stated that the battery life is only around the same as the iPhone 8, which is not great to begin with for 2020.

What's your current Android phone? If it's an older phone, you can check out Galaxy S10e or Huawei P30, which are still awesome phones today, and their size are quite compact.

 

[Six0Four]

I switched from 10 years of Android. I use a PC and have only transferred music and yes it has to be done by itunes which is really no problem.

Using an iPhone forced me to sign up for Youtube Premium lol. On Android i used Youtube Vanced. Worked perfect. Premium is nice though since i do watch a lot of Youtube on my TV as well.

 

[aleni]

So there's no such app for iOS? Can someone else confirm that I really can't get a 3rd party app that would let me download and organize youtube videos on iOS?

That would be a deal breaker for me unfortunately, looking for confirmation

it’s such a big hassle moving from android platform to iOS, especially if you’re not heavy invested in apple stuff like airpods, mac, apple watch etc.

Better stay at android and saves you a headache. Don’t jump to another platform just for the sake of change. If you want to try, maybe buy a second hand iPhone 7 just to try it as your secondary phone. It’s pretty cheap these days and it’s still a much capable phone.

 

[jamezr]

I use both iPhone and Android phones. I have had every iPhone since the first one
I would love to see always on display (AOD) and more customization for the home screen such as widgets.

 

[DiCaprioAngel]

So I have officially switched to Apple from having been a Samsung user for the past 8 years now. I ordered my 11 Pro Max today and it should arrive in the mail on Monday! I’ve had my share of good and bad experiences with Samsung (and same for Apple, which is what made me switch to Samsung all those years ago), and my reason for switching back is that I do miss the iOS and I do use my iPad all the time when I’m home, so I’m already used to the Apple ecosystem. So this is a long time coming! I‘ve seen the changes Apple has made since the iPhone 5 and they have progressed a lot since then. I find that one of the few things that I *will* miss is having control of what apps stay on the home screen and having the rest in the ’app drawer’ so I don’t have to look at them, but other than that, I didn’t really do much with the Samsung phones in terms of customization (just changed the wallpaper and used Samsung’s UI, so it wasn’t any different to what I will be using on the iPhone).

I guess I will have to wait til I get the phone and transfer over before I would really know what else I would *miss* about my Samsung phone. I can’t even say expandable memory because I got the 512gb on my Note 9 and didn’t really need an external memory card. I still have like 300gb available space which is good as I never had to worry about running out of space, and that’s the storage that I got for my iPhone so I won’t get that dreaded ‘running out of storage’ pop up lol. Plus, I plan on keeping the phone for a couple of years, so it should last me in that sense as well.

 

[aleni]

So I have officially switched to Apple from having been a Samsung user for the past 8 years now. I ordered my 11 Pro Max today and it should arrive in the mail on Monday! I’ve had my share of good and bad experiences with Samsung (and same for Apple, which is what made me switch to Samsung all those years ago), and my reason for switching back is that I do miss the iOS and I do use my iPad all the time when I’m home, so I’m already used to the Apple ecosystem. So this is a long time coming! I‘ve seen the changes Apple has made since the iPhone 5 and they have progressed a lot since then. I find that one of the few things that I *will* miss is having control of what apps stay on the home screen and having the rest in the ’app drawer’ so I don’t have to look at them, but other than that, I didn’t really do much with the Samsung phones in terms of customization (just changed the wallpaper and used Samsung’s UI, so it wasn’t any different to what I will be using on the iPhone).

I guess I will have to wait til I get the phone and transfer over before I would really know what else I would *miss* about my Samsung phone. I can’t even say expandable memory because I got the 512gb on my Note 9 and didn’t really need an external memory card. I still have like 300gb available space which is good as I never had to worry about running out of space, and that’s the storage that I got for my iPhone so I won’t get that dreaded ‘running out of storage’ pop up lol. Plus, I plan on keeping the phone for a couple of years, so it should last me in that sense as well.

iOS has advanced so much compared to 8 years ago. I used to miss android’s share sheet, I can like share anything like pictures etc to any apps in Android where I couldn’t with the old iOS.

Fortunately it’s getting better now.At least I can send pics from the share sheet to any chat apps in my iPhone. Not As advanced as Android but it’s better than nothing.

 

[DiCaprioAngel]

iOS has advanced so much compared to 8 years ago. I used to miss android’s share sheet, I can like share anything like pictures etc to any apps in Android where I couldn’t with the old iOS.

Fortunately it’s getting better now.At least I can send pics from the share sheet to any chat apps in my iPhone. Not As advanced as Android but it’s better than nothing.

I agree!! iPhone has come a LONG way since the iPhone 5 that I had. They went through a few design changes and software improvements since! So I am happy to be back! Now I am eagerly checking my tracking every five minutes hoping for an update lol I love how I ordered my cases for it at the same time as the phone and the cases will be coming first! 😭😭😭 I know patience is a virtue, especially with what’s going around, so I don’t mind waiting for mine. As long as I don’t have to way TOO long lol

 

[mrex]

widgets. there are no widgets on ios as they are on android. but i can live with it - it is just a phone... on ios homescreen is just a container for apps. a wallpaper is the only thing you can change. no, you cant download apps outside of appstore without a jailbreak.

im using both daily.