The iPhone from an Android Perspective

[tbayrgs]

For all that Apple has done wrong, they do a whole lot right. Using Android (Samsung) as my main and now only device since 1/2025, I sorely miss Apple's live activities. The fact that no Android manufacturer, and Google, even comes close is pathetic, tbh. There are promises to support more apps but that's all vapor to me thus far. Another one is password managers, it is still a mess on Android - I use Bitwarden. For some reason Firefox is just broken and the browser extension won't allow biometric log in. Samsung browser doesn't support Dark Reader extension or Bitwarden. Other browsers support zero extensions. I currently have 3 browsers installed on my Fold 7, though Firefox is still 99% functional. With Safari, which does support Bitwarden and Dark Reader, I just glance at my iPhone and I'm logged in or password filled, done.

For usual daily activities iOS is still supreme. Yet I still use Android because I enjoy it much more.

I have the same criticisms. Been living primarily with my Pixel 9 Pro Fold for a month and the inadequacies and inconsistency of browsers is a big frustration. When Chrome desktop is such a power house, how is mobile Chrome such a dumpster fire? I've been trying to live with it in place of Samsung Internet to have my web browsing synced across all my devices but mobile Chrome is just a hot mess. No extension support meaning I have to rely on private DNS settings to content block but then if I want to allow ads on a site I support, I can't easily white list it or one-time override it.

And autofill of anything is a crapshoot. Sometimes my 1Password recommendation will appear, often they don't unless I reset the autofill settings and relaunch Chrome. Performance with Samsung's browser is only marginally better. Bookmarks are multiple touches away and no bookmarks bar when using my Fold in 'tablet mode' (Samsung does this).

And I also miss live activities--don't notice it until they're not available. Apple Pay is also far more ubiquitous across the web and apps vs. Google Pay.

IOS and iPadOS don't necessarily offer the breadth of customization and functionality but the stuff it does well it does really well. I'm not leaving my P9PF behind because of these things but it sure would be nice if Google would dial it in better in some of these areas.

 

[tbayrgs]

What is "Apple's live activities" ??

I somewhat cursory and slightly outdated explanation but fairly accurate.

I would see order status, live sports updates, timer countdown, paid parking time remaining, live uber/lyft status updates, live weather updates (i.e. rain starting in 5 min and lasting for however long). Those are just what came to me off the top of my head.

 

[Ludatyk]

For all that Apple has done wrong, they do a whole lot right. Using Android (Samsung) as my main and now only device since 1/2025, I sorely miss Apple's live activities. The fact that no Android manufacturer, and Google, even comes close is pathetic, tbh. There are promises to support more apps but that's all vapor to me thus far. Another one is password managers, it is still a mess on Android - I use Bitwarden. For some reason Firefox is just broken and the browser extension won't allow biometric log in. Samsung browser doesn't support Dark Reader extension or Bitwarden. Other browsers support zero extensions. I currently have 3 browsers installed on my Fold 7, though Firefox is still 99% functional. With Safari, which does support Bitwarden and Dark Reader, I just glance at my iPhone and I'm logged in or password filled, done.

Have you tried Edge browser? It supports extensions... and I notice Bitwarden is available on it.

 

[Harthag]

Have you tried Edge browser? It supports extensions... and I notice Bitwarden is available on it.

Edit- tried Edge Canary which supports Bitwarden, dark reader, and ublock origin which is great. Bitwarden extension doesn't allow biometric login. It's an ongoing issue with Bitwarden that I can't believe isn't addressed. No issues on the iOS or desktop apps / extensions.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

There fixed the bolded above for you. You are right...it is not up to Apple to entertain us......But it is up to them to make/provide products that entertain us...if they wish us to buy those products!
I am not going to get into the whole Apple versus Android debate. That is a dead horse....

But look at the missteps by Apple. Look at AI.....now don't say YOU don't like or YOU don't use or see the need for it.
The whole world sees a need and use for it. Look at Apple demonstrating AI features for the iPhone 16 that weren't ready for a year. Then might not even be ready for the iPhone 17.....

Look at foldables..... The phone space has some amazing foldables and again Apple is late to the space in folding phones. Please don't spew the nonsense that they are late to the game because they want to do it right......Look at AI...
Foldables are the future of smartphones....There are slab like phones that unfold into larger phones.
Apple is rumored to release a folding phone in 2026.......so all the iPhone users who said folding phones were a gimmick....can then say how great they are now that Apple makes one...

Having tried several foldable phones now, I still don't see the point. They nearly all felt horrible to use, with awful hinges, delicate-feeling plasticky screens, and The Crease, and although the current Samsung Fold has improved on all of those, it still ends up feeling to me like a cheap, delicate phone with an awkward screen ratio that doesn't do anything useful for me, that costs AU$3000. Even if the rumours are true about the folding iPhone's screen ratios, and they perfect the hinge, crease, and screen feel, it's still a stupid amount of money for little tangible benefit. A better experience with eBooks and web browsing isn’t enough to make a folding phone worth it for me.

I believe that folding phones will stay a niche product. They might become a popular niche, but they will not become mainstream unless manufacturers force the issue, in which case old-school dumb phones will start selling in high numbers again.

Usual disclaimers for folding phone discussion: I'm not saying folding phones shouldn't exist, if you like them, enjoy! If they provide a tangible, useful benefit for you, great! If the crease doesn't bother you, perfect! Enjoy your folding phone, I'm sincerely glad you have a device you enjoy using.

AI is a whole different discussion.

 

[Ludatyk]

I believe that folding phones will stay a niche product. They might become a popular niche, but they will not become mainstream unless manufacturers force the issue, in which case old-school dumb phones will start selling in high numbers again.

Wouldn't a popular niche be considered mainstream? Critics say the high-end iPad Pro (13-inch model) is a niche product.. I think when a niche product becomes popular, it has broken into the mainstream category.

And as of now, it's on the verge of mainstream territory... awaiting for Apple foldable to enter the market. Because currently, only Android users are able to experience foldables. I feel as though once Apple shows up... it could introduce a whole new set of eyes for Android.

 

[FatLouie]

Wouldn't a popular niche be considered mainstream? Critics say the high-end iPad Pro (13-inch model) is a niche product.. I think when a niche product becomes popular, it has broken into the mainstream category.

And as of now, it's on the verge of mainstream territory... awaiting for Apple foldable to enter the market. Because currently, only Android users are able to experience foldables. I feel as though once Apple shows up... it could introduce a whole new set of eyes for Android.

For me, a niche product is often determined by the price. The more expensive, the more exclusive the clientele, thus the more niche the product. In our world of devices, that often does not hold, though.

Pixel 9 foldable is $1800 for the base model.
Sam Z-fold is $2000 for the base model.
Apple iPad Pro 13 inch with Pencil Pro is $1628 base.

However, once a person gets into that price range, say for an Apple iPad Pro, it is only a small step to mentally justify any of the foldables. For the $200 difference, I would seriously weigh the hardware and software pros and cons of the Pixel and the Z-Fold and pick the best one for me.

I performed the same cost analysis for a maxed-out Mac Mini, and by the time I considered all the factors, it made better sense to opt for the Mac Studio.

 

[tbayrgs]

For me, a niche product is often determined by the price. The more expensive, the more exclusive the clientele, thus the more niche the product. In our world of devices, that often does not hold, though.

Pixel 9 foldable is $1800 for the base model.
Sam Z-fold is $2000 for the base model.
Apple iPad Pro 13 inch with Pencil Pro is $1628 base.

However, once a person gets into that price range, say for an Apple iPad Pro, it is only a small step to mentally justify any of the foldables. For the $200 difference, I would seriously weigh the hardware and software pros and cons of the Pixel and the Z-Fold and pick the best one for me.

I performed the same cost analysis for a maxed-out Mac Mini, and by the time I considered all the factors, it made better sense to opt for the Mac Studio.

One small correction--iPP Pro 13 with Pencil Pro is $1428 ($1299 + $129). Still not cheap but a big further away from either of those foldables. And why include the pencil? Neither of the foldables support a dedicated stylus.

The customer that immediately can find value in a foldable and more likely justify its price is a someone who uses both a high end smartphone and small tablet. An iPhone Pro Max and iPad Mini combo starts at $1700 for base storage. Spending $100-300 more for a single device that fills both roles seems far more attractive to many. I was one of those users who subsequently ditched his iPad Mini thanks to the Pixel 9 Pro Fold.

 

[FatLouie]

One small correction--iPP Pro 13 with Pencil Pro is $1428 ($1299 + $129). Still not cheap but a big further away from either of those foldables. And why include the pencil? Neither of the foldables support a dedicated stylus.

I chose cellular, I suspect you did not, perhaps that is the price difference. Why add the pencil? Well, why make any comparison at all then? This is about cost, and cost as related to what some consider a niche product, not an item-for-item, or like-for-like comparison. I could price out an iPad Pro at $2600 (no pencil), and that would be a cost higher than a maxed-out Z-Fold or Pixel 9. Based on cost, which device appears to be a niche product?

People will spend $2,000 on an iPad or other device, but consider the foldable to be a niche product due to either its price or unique design, which could limit the product to a narrow group of customers.

I do not consider the foldable a niche product; it is simply a product within a price range that some customers will find reasonable.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

Wouldn't a popular niche be considered mainstream? Critics say the high-end iPad Pro (13-inch model) is a niche product.. I think when a niche product becomes popular, it has broken into the mainstream category.

And as of now, it's on the verge of mainstream territory... awaiting for Apple foldable to enter the market. Because currently, only Android users are able to experience foldables. I feel as though once Apple shows up... it could introduce a whole new set of eyes for Android.

I guess it's a matter of semantics. I'm coming from the perspective of never having seen one being used in the wild until I travelled halfway across Australia, where I saw a guy use a folding phone on a train.

 

[Ludatyk]

For me, a niche product is often determined by the price. The more expensive, the more exclusive the clientele, thus the more niche the product. In our world of devices, that often does not hold, though.

But what I’m trying to determine is do niche products ever make it to mainstream because the argument is whether foldables will remain a niche while never making it to mainstream.

I consider the high end model iPad Pro a niche product given the price tag as you mentioned… and it gets more expensive when you attach a Magic Keyboard to it. Which results in critics questioning why buy a 13” iPP+MK exist when there’s the MBA available.

But that’s beside the point, I think regardless of the 13” iPP being a niche product… it has entered mainstream territory.

I guess it's a matter of semantics. I'm coming from the perspective of never having seen one being used in the wild until I travelled halfway across Australia, where I saw a guy use a folding phone on a train.

Well, I don’t know the social circles you surround yourself with… but I’m amongst iPhone users. And here in the US, it’s dominated by the iPhone. That’s why I think more adoption will take place when Apple enters the market… well, at least here in the US.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

But what I’m trying to determine is do niche products ever make it to mainstream because the argument is whether foldables will remain a niche while never making it to mainstream.

I consider the high end model iPad Pro a niche product given the price tag as you mentioned… and it gets more expensive when you attach a Magic Keyboard to it. Which results in critics questioning why buy a 13” iPP+MK exist when there’s the MBA available.

But that’s beside the point, I think regardless of the 13” iPP being a niche product… it has entered mainstream territory.


Well, I don’t know the social circles you surround yourself with… but I’m amongst iPhone users. And here in the US, it’s dominated by the iPhone. That’s why I think more adoption will take place when Apple enters the market… well, at least here in the US.

Yeah, Australia seems to have a preference for iPhones over Android too. Foldable sales will absolutely rise once Apple starts selling one.

The way I see it, foldables are like sports cars. Great at certain things, loved by many, but too expensive and not the right fit for most.

 

[jamezr]

Having tried several foldable phones now, I still don't see the point. They nearly all felt horrible to use, with awful hinges, delicate-feeling plasticky screens, and The Crease, and although the current Samsung Fold has improved on all of those, it still ends up feeling to me like a cheap, delicate phone with an awkward screen ratio that doesn't do anything useful for me, that costs AU$3000. Even if the rumours are true about the folding iPhone's screen ratios, and they perfect the hinge, crease, and screen feel, it's still a stupid amount of money for little tangible benefit. A better experience with eBooks and web browsing isn’t enough to make a folding phone worth it for me.

I believe that folding phones will stay a niche product. They might become a popular niche, but they will not become mainstream unless manufacturers force the issue, in which case old-school dumb phones will start selling in high numbers again.

Usual disclaimers for folding phone discussion: I'm not saying folding phones shouldn't exist, if you like them, enjoy! If they provide a tangible, useful benefit for you, great! If the crease doesn't bother you, perfect! Enjoy your folding phone, I'm sincerely glad you have a device you enjoy using.

AI is a whole different discussion.

Disagree on foldables.....They are the future of smartphones. Not in the current form and functionality. But the products will evolve to unfolding and folding will be seamless and easy to do. Folding phones will become the norm when the hardware evolves in the next few years. When people can carry a slab like phone that also unfolds into a larger device when need. This is coming..... It will also introduce a higher price point which phone manufacturers will embrace and push to the buying public.
Innovation and development will be for the folding phones as that is where the $$$ will be......
Slab phones will be marketed as boring......

 

[Harthag]

Innovation and development will be for the folding phones as that is where the $$$ will be......
Slab phones will be marketed as boring......

Can't wait for that time to come. "Boring old slab phones" with top tier specs and huge batteries should be cheaper if it plays out that way. $3000 for the Z Fold 10 (with 6000 mAh battery) or $1000 for flagship slab with SD Elite 4 and 10,000 mAh battery, decision would be tough.

It's the same in the PC world. The $$$ is in 4K and 8K ( 🤣 ) now. You can build a beastly PC with a 5080 but use a 1440p monitor and be set for the next decade, which I just did. It was the same when 1440p monitors became all the rage because moar pixels, and cost $1000. I was very happy with my $200 1080p VRR 120hz monitor for many years.

 

[mjschabow]

I am actually cool with skipping the folding phase and jumping straight into the Holograph phase.

Though I'm definitely interested in seeing what Apple comes out with on the Foldable front. They have a great history of sitting back and watching other companies innovate and then they perfect it.

 

[Bungaree.Chubbins]

Disagree on foldables.....They are the future of smartphones. Not in the current form and functionality. But the products will evolve to unfolding and folding will be seamless and easy to do. Folding phones will become the norm when the hardware evolves in the next few years. When people can carry a slab like phone that also unfolds into a larger device when need. This is coming..... It will also introduce a higher price point which phone manufacturers will embrace and push to the buying public.
Innovation and development will be for the folding phones as that is where the $$$ will be......
Slab phones will be marketed as boring......

I can see manufacturers trying to force foldables on the market, it lets them put prices up. The problem is smartphones are already expensive, and if they try to pin too much to the top of the market, they’re limiting their customer base.

If phones get any more expensive, it’s time for a dumb phone and an iPad mini.

 

[Technerd108]

I can see manufacturers trying to force foldables on the market, it lets them put prices up. The problem is smartphones are already expensive, and if they try to pin too much to the top of the market, they’re limiting their customer base.

If phones get any more expensive, it’s time for a dumb phone and an iPad mini.

I agree. Once phones started hitting 1k I started to back off. Now $1300 is an entry level into the highest end of the smartphone market and keeps going up. I don't really see a big return on investment on a phone that costs more than most laptops. It is just a losing money proposition unless you do regular trade ins or sell privately so that your cost with trade is around $300-$500 total then it is okay but it is getting harder and harder to do each year. Samsung pre-order deals with Samsung trade ins are about the best deals. But who wants to spend $300-$500 a year just to get a deal. If you keep your phone 3 years then it will cost closer to $900 for a top end model with trade.

Honestly at the point we are at now with 6.9" slab phones and decent foldable it seems ridiculous to keep getting new models with limited new features and sometimes even less features. There is nothing my s24u can't do that a brand new phone can do regardless of cost. The newer phone might be slightly faster and take slightly better photos and have slightly better battery. After 5 years now it seems would be a good average life of a top end phone before you notice any real degradation in performance or features.

AI at this point is a joke. Most of the processing is done off device and with Android limited privacy using these services.

Everyone bad mouths Apple but IMHO they did things right. Make sure any LLM is private but to do that you don't get as much data which means the LLM takes longer to learn and perform. I think that is a fair trade off. Secondly, Apple probably didn't see much use for AI yet despite competition using it as a marketing tool until Apple could't ignore it anymore. Apple probably knew that most of the marketing claims are half truths and didn't want to deliver a sub par experience so they waited. They were probably going to wait until the tech had matured into a more functional use and integrate that seamlessly into the OS. However the marketing by the competition was too strong and Apple didn't defend their position and worst of all tried to go in with a half baked and feature less product rushed to market.

My big point is AI for me at this point is more of a nuisance than a benefit and it certainly is not a selling point for me. I like that at least with MacOS I can turn all the AI stuff off!

Also the trend if ever increasing prices is making me throw up in my mouth a bit. I get these things are expensive to R&D and produce but if they keep pushing the envelope in this economy they are going to simply lose sales. Until they lose sales enough they will continue as usual.

 

[tbayrgs]

I agree. Once phones started hitting 1k I started to back off. Now $1300 is an entry level into the highest end of the smartphone market and keeps going up. I don't really see a big return on investment on a phone that costs more than most laptops. It is just a losing money proposition unless you do regular trade ins or sell privately so that your cost with trade is around $300-$500 total then it is okay but it is getting harder and harder to do each year. Samsung pre-order deals with Samsung trade ins are about the best deals. But who wants to spend $300-$500 a year just to get a deal. If you keep your phone 3 years then it will cost closer to $900 for a top end model with trade.

Honestly at the point we are at now with 6.9" slab phones and decent foldable it seems ridiculous to keep getting new models with limited new features and sometimes even less features. There is nothing my s24u can't do that a brand new phone can do regardless of cost. The newer phone might be slightly faster and take slightly better photos and have slightly better battery. After 5 years now it seems would be a good average life of a top end phone before you notice any real degradation in performance or features.

AI at this point is a joke. Most of the processing is done off device and with Android limited privacy using these services.

Everyone bad mouths Apple but IMHO they did things right. Make sure any LLM is private but to do that you don't get as much data which means the LLM takes longer to learn and perform. I think that is a fair trade off. Secondly, Apple probably didn't see much use for AI yet despite competition using it as a marketing tool until Apple could't ignore it anymore. Apple probably knew that most of the marketing claims are half truths and didn't want to deliver a sub par experience so they waited. They were probably going to wait until the tech had matured into a more functional use and integrate that seamlessly into the OS. However the marketing by the competition was too strong and Apple didn't defend their position and worst of all tried to go in with a half baked and feature less product rushed to market.

My big point is AI for me at this point is more of a nuisance than a benefit and it certainly is not a selling point for me. I like that at least with MacOS I can turn all the AI stuff off!

Also the trend if ever increasing prices is making me throw up in my mouth a bit. I get these things are expensive to R&D and produce but if they keep pushing the envelope in this economy they are going to simply lose sales. Until they lose sales enough they will continue as usual.

Don't disagree with much of this but a touch of context regarding your bit about increasing prices, at least from the Apple since I'm most familiar with their prices. The iPhone X was released 8 years ago and cost $999. The iPhone 16 pro costs...$999. The first large pro phone, the XS Max cost $1099 for 64GB and $1249 for 256GB. The 16 Pro Max with 256GB costs $1199 six years later.

The original Galaxy Fold released in 2019 cost $1980. The newest Fold 7, light years better as a device, costs $1999. Taking into account inflation, phones actually cost less. Are they inexpensive? No. Do they cost as much as a very capable laptop? Yes. But I personally spend more time and do more things on my phone than my laptop. And you said it very well yourself...these phones are more capable and can last much longer. We don't need to upgrade as frequently as we'd like to.

 

[aggie99]

I am actually cool with skipping the folding phase and jumping straight into the Holograph phase.

Though I'm definitely interested in seeing what Apple comes out with on the Foldable front. They have a great history of sitting back and watching other companies innovate and then they perfect it.

I can't wait to see what Apple brings to the table for foldables to be honest. If their multitasking is close to as good as Samsung's and fully takes advantage of the bigger screen I'll likely make the jump. It's strange that the last couple years my strong preference for Android has diminished and in many instances I actually prefer iOS. The way iOS handles notifications is still by far my biggest complaint along with how aggressively iOS kills or refreshes apps that should be running in the background. I may be in the minority but I love the look and feel of iOS 26, although in its current state it is buggy as hell and my battery drains way faster than on iOS 18.

 

[aggie99]

Don't disagree with much of this but a touch of context regarding your bit about increasing prices, at least from the Apple since I'm most familiar with their prices. The iPhone X was released 8 years ago and cost $999. The iPhone 16 pro costs...$999. The first large pro phone, the XS Max cost $1099 for 64GB and $1249 for 256GB. The 16 Pro Max with 256GB costs $1199 six years later.

The original Galaxy Fold released in 2019 cost $1980. The newest Fold 7, light years better as a device, costs $1999. Taking into account inflation, phones actually cost less. Are they inexpensive? No. Do they cost as much as a very capable laptop? Yes. But I personally spend more time and do more things on my phone than my laptop. And you said it very well yourself...these phones are more capable and can last much longer. We don't need to upgrade as frequently as we'd like to.

Great points on the prices. I think the manufacturers know that they are at the outer limit of what consumers will spend and likely won't push it beyond that. Also probably part of why we haven't seen a whole lot of change in devices over the past few years. Pushing out near identical devices increases production efficiency and likely helps to absorb some of the inflation hit.

I also spend more time on my foldables than my laptop. Almost to the point I rarely need my MBP or my iPad or Samsung tablets. Bluetooth keyboard and magsafe/kickstand case on my Fold and it can just about do anything I needed on my laptop or iPad. Obviously there are some use cases where I still need my laptop, but rare. It's nice to just be able to carry one device to meetings and not lug around a laptop.

 

[jamezr]

The way iOS handles notifications is still by far my biggest complaint along with how aggressively iOS kills or refreshes apps that should be running in the background. I may be in the minority but I love the look and feel of iOS 26, although in its current state it is buggy as hell and my battery drains way faster than on iOS 18.

^^^^this^^^^ and navigation....IOS needs a back button....

 

[SteveJUAE]

I can't wait to see what Apple brings to the table for foldables to be honest. If their multitasking is close to as good as Samsung's and fully takes advantage of the bigger screen I'll likely make the jump. It's strange that the last couple years my strong preference for Android has diminished and in many instances I actually prefer iOS. The way iOS handles notifications is still by far my biggest complaint along with how aggressively iOS kills or refreshes apps that should be running in the background. I may be in the minority but I love the look and feel of iOS 26, although in its current state it is buggy as hell and my battery drains way faster than on iOS 18.

Apple already noted that their A series chips are not optimal for multi tasking or multiple windows . So my expectation is low.

 

[Technerd108]

^^^^this^^^^ and navigation....IOS needs a back button....

I completely agree! seriously can't understate or overstate how nice this would be. I have been saying this for years!

 

[Technerd108]

Apple already noted that their A series chips are not optimal for multi tasking or multiple windows . So my expectation is low.

Really? I have never heard that a series chips with generally 6 cores that have performed extremely well over the years against Android chips in performance and GPU with independent tests or benchmarks ever year.

I have seen a series chips in the last decade surpass Snapdragon chips for the first time.

How iOS handles multi-tasking has little to nothing to do with the chips.

Apple has chosen on purpose to keep focus on primary windows. Apple has chosen to prioritize apps in foreground to keep active and quickly inactivate background apps for battery life. Phone OS generally prioritize battery life.

If Apple ever makes a foldable I am sure all the widgets and layout will be well thought out so my expectation would be pretty high. Now I would like to be able to manually choose a performance mode if battery life is not my priority but that will never happen so why even think about it??

 

[eltoslightfoot]

Really? I have never heard that a series chips with generally 6 cores that have performed extremely well over the years against Android chips in performance and GPU with independent tests or benchmarks ever year.

I have seen a series chips in the last decade surpass Snapdragon chips for the first time.

How iOS handles multi-tasking has little to nothing to do with the chips.

Apple has chosen on purpose to keep focus on primary windows. Apple has chosen to prioritize apps in foreground to keep active and quickly inactivate background apps for battery life. Phone OS generally prioritize battery life.

If Apple ever makes a foldable I am sure all the widgets and layout will be well thought out so my expectation would be pretty high. Now I would like to be able to manually choose a performance mode if battery life is not my priority but that will never happen so why even think about it??

If the iPhone fold would be compatible with a smaller version of the pencil, I would likely buy day 1.