Other Thinking of switching to iPhone - looking for some advice

[alex_p_89]

Hey everyone,

So, I've been an Android user for years now, but my current phone is getting pretty old and slow, and I'm seriously considering making the jump to an iPhone for my next device. I see a lot of people raving about them, especially the ecosystem and how smooth everything works.

Honestly, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the different models available. I'm not necessarily looking for the absolute latest and greatest top-tier model if something a bit older or a "standard" version offers good value. My main uses are typical stuff: social media, browsing, taking decent photos, music, and maybe some light gaming. Battery life is also pretty important for me.

Could anyone share their experiences or give some recommendations on which iPhone model might be a good starting point for someone like me? What are the biggest pros I'd notice coming from Android? Any particular things I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

 

[iPhone-Guy]

I have a friend who just got an iPhone for his birthday after years on Android and he loves it. Based on what you said you would be using your phone for I recommend 16e for battery life but only one camera (still takes good photo/video), no Dynamic Island, no camera control, and only black or white. If you don’t care about any of the AI (it’s interesting and sometimes practical, might get better with iOS 19) then the basic 15 is pretty new and has a much better camera but worse battery life. The 16 is also very good or for better battery and larger screen then look at the 16 Plus. I have the 16 Pro and it is really nice for performance and camera but the 16 and 16e still have good performance and the 16 has a really good camera. If battery life and not super expensive then the 16e. If you want a better camera then 16.

https://www.apple.com/iphone/compare/?modelList=iphone-16e,iphone-15,iphone-16

This link compares the 16e, 15, and 16.

 

[eyoungren]

Hey everyone,

So, I've been an Android user for years now, but my current phone is getting pretty old and slow, and I'm seriously considering making the jump to an iPhone for my next device. I see a lot of people raving about them, especially the ecosystem and how smooth everything works.

Honestly, I'm a bit overwhelmed by the different models available. I'm not necessarily looking for the absolute latest and greatest top-tier model if something a bit older or a "standard" version offers good value. My main uses are typical stuff: social media, browsing, taking decent photos, music, and maybe some light gaming. Battery life is also pretty important for me.

Could anyone share their experiences or give some recommendations on which iPhone model might be a good starting point for someone like me? What are the biggest pros I'd notice coming from Android? Any particular things I should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any tips!

Just so you don't get caught up in things, thinking that Apple's ecosystem is the be all, end all for using an iPhone. Just realize that your Google accounts will transfer. You can use Gmail, you can install Google apps and you can use those apps with your Google accounts. Just because you're choosing iPhone it doesn't mean you have to abandon accounts.

Maybe you knew that, maybe you didn't. Just making it clear - because a lot of iPhone users won't, or don't realize that they can use things other than Apple's own stuff. Or they harbor a bad opinion about Google.

Whatever iPhone you settle on, you should also know…the iOS versions of Google apps tend to be better and smoother than the Android versions. Just a little thing to look forward to.

 

[MacPeasant123]

My recommendation would be to look at either iPhone 16e or iPhone 15, both of which has a USB-C port for charging.

If you consider the iPhone 14 or earlier, then you're looking at Apple's proprietary Lightning port for charging on those older models.

 

[James6s]

I’d probably recommend looking at the iPhone 16e as it’s the least expensive & latest device you can get from Apple.

Performance with the A18 is superb, battery life is excellent, the single camera with 2x can take some brilliant shots (take a look in the iPhone 16e thread running)

What is your current Android phone? I had a 15 Pro which suffered a major accident and I decided to try a Pixel 7 Pro, for a 2/3 year old flagship on the latest software it wasn’t good imo.

Battery life was rubbish, it got very hot which impacted performance, annoying lag and occasional stutters.

I gave up with the Pixel and got a 16e and have been impressed and very happy with this device.

Yesterday I helped my neighbour set up her new iPhone 13 (from an iPhone 7) and as I was setting up I was thinking man this thing still performs very well despite coming up to 4 years old in September.

So you could still get an iPhone 13/14/15 and they’re still going to be top performers with a good experience.

 

[Paddle1]

Everyone else has touched on the standard models so I'll touch on the pro models. If you want things like an Always on Display, a telephoto lens or a 120hz display then they are exclusive to the pro models. There are some other pro exclusive features too but those are the most obvious for the average user.

The upcoming standard iPhone 17 model is rumoured to get those display features if it's something you're interested in.

 

[Arctic Moose]

I would take a step back and examine why you want to switch.

For the record, I have been practically all-in on the Apple ecosystem for the last 33 years, and I feel that the ecosystem aspect is worth it for me.

However, many of the devices and services offered by Apple have competitors that offer advantages, such as price, feature set or reliability.

• Do you want an Apple Watch?
• Do you (or would you want to) use a Mac?
• Do you use Spotify or some other service that is not Apple Music, and are you happy with that?
• Do you already use Google Docs, or Microsoft 365, and are you happy with that?
• Do you already use Sonos, or some other type of smart speaker?
• Do you use DropBox, or similar, and are you happy with that?
• Do you have an Apple TV?

I wouldn’t want to give up shared clipboard, app integration in iCloud, familiar look and feel and a thousand other things, but I do feel a bit locked in, and there are drawbacks. HomePods are annoying, software reliability is downhill, Apple is behind on several new technologies, the iCloud Photos integration has lots of limitations and Siri is really, really bad. (Plus, I am doing what I can to phase out American.) If I gave up macOS for Linux, which I really do not want to do, I wouldn't miss the rest very much.