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What features will I miss jumping from iPhone to Android one?

W

wfzen

macrumors newbie
Original poster
I have iPhone 5 and plan to buy a Huawei Mate 10 Pro. I wonder what are the features will I not be able to find in a Android phone? For example, how do I share location with my family members that all use iPhone?

Thanks for any suggestions,
 
The usual Apple only features and services—Apple Messages, FaceTime, Continuity features and as you mentioned, native location tracking from Apple devices.

There are third party solutions of varying effectiveness available to you on Android though just do a little research and see if your regular contacts, if they rely on these Apple services, are willing to switch to an alternative.
 
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tbayrgs said:
The usual Apple only features and services—Apple Messages, FaceTime, Continuity features and as you mentioned, native location tracking from Apple devices.

There are third party solutions of varying effectiveness available to you on Android though just do a little research and see if your regular contacts, if they rely on these Apple services, are willing to switch to an alternative.
Click to expand...

Yes I think it's important to recognise you not only lose the polish of iOS, access to apps that are thoughtfully built and designed first for iOS and then badly ported to Android (with only a few exceptions), privacy, seamless experiences across all your screens, and all the delights that Apple brings to the table when it comes to maintaining communication with your friends and family.

You should think very carefully before giving all the above up.

As some of the threads in here show, plenty of people regret their decision later (although admittedly others are satisfied or OK with their choice). Whatever you do, don't rush into it. Think about how important your Apple devices are to you, and how much value they bring to your life, and how sad you'll feel when you walk away from it.

how do I share location with my family members that all use iPhone?
Click to expand...

You'll have to send an SMS letting them know where you are. There's no way to track it like you can with iOS.
 
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It is very simple to share location via Google Maps. WhatsApp works as well for me as iMessage for conversing with any friends/family willing to download the app- no complaints from any of them Snapchat is the same basic experience I had with iPhone. I use Textra for messaging with acquaintances who use iMessage and wouldn’t understand using other options. I don’t make video calls and thus don’t miss FaceTime but if I did I would use Skype. I use One Note for syncing penned notes between my Note 8 and iPad Pro. I switched over to Google Photos before I made the switch and have always used/preferred gmail and google maps to Apple’s native apps anyway. It is not as painful to make the switch as some would infer. I easily adjusted and don’t foresee myself returning to iPhone anytime soon. Samsung Pay is accepted everywhere I go and works flawlessly for me. The Samsung browser is the best, most stable browser I’ve ever used.

I don’t understand the presumed superior “polish” of iOS. My 2017 iPad Pro lags, freezes, and stutters more than my Note 8.
 
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dumastudetto said:
Yes I think it's important to recognise you not only lose the polish of iOS, access to apps that are thoughtfully built and designed first for iOS and then badly ported to Android (with only a few exceptions), privacy, seamless experiences across all your screens, and all the delights that Apple brings to the table when it comes to maintaining communication with your friends and family.

You should think very carefully before giving all the above up.

As some of the threads in here show, plenty of people regret their decision later (although admittedly others are satisfied or OK with their choice). Whatever you do, don't rush into it. Think about how important your Apple devices are to you, and how much value they bring to your life, and how sad you'll feel when you walk away from it.



You'll have to send an SMS letting them know where you are. There's no way to track it like you can with iOS.
Click to expand...
I feel like you're trying to make this sound more like a life or death decision than it is, but mkay 😀.

As for the SMS thing. There are so many ways to share your location on both platforms I wouldn't even think of SMS. Pretty sure I've never used IOS location sharing. I share my location via Whatsapp, or Facebook messenger or whatever other messaging platform..

Maybe IOS location has features I'm not aware of that you can't get on Android.. No idea tbh there.
 
The polish of iOS? Ever since iPhones started using bigger, higher def displays they have lost that polish they once had. Nowadays any iPhone lags, freezes and stutters way more than a flagship Android device. How times have changed.

As for what you will miss, the main things that repeatedly come up are iMessage, Airdrop and the Apple 'ecosystem'. Do all your family use iPhones and are you an American? If so then you are likely to massively miss iMessages for some reason that only an American can do. Do you own a ton of iPads and Macs? If so then you are going to miss the ecosystem. Do you regularly transfer video from your iPhone to your iPad etc? Then you are going to miss AirDrop because most Apple users hate using non-stock apps and features.

You can share your location with Google maps, Whatsapp, Facebook and there are probably others.
 
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I switched after almost 2,5 years iOS to a Note 8. After 3 days hardcore usage with the Note, I was thinking like "man I was blind but now I can see"!!

What was really bringing me to Android was iOS 11, freezes, stutters and worst of all was that Bluetooth and hotspots wasn't working as flawless as on my Note. For someone that is constantly on the go, that could be crucial.

I wasn't missing iMessage because almost everyone here in Europe uses WhatsApp or Facebook Messenger.
All my apps on iOS exist even on Android, so no big deal there.
 
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4RunnerHeaven said:
You will be back. iOS will start to call you after around 3-6 months. It does me as well as many on here. I had the Note 8, and now going back to the X.
Click to expand...
Sadly, this happens to A LOT of people.

iOS 11 was a hot mess in terms of performance, but iOS 12 fixed it.
 
tbayrgs said:
The usual Apple only features and services—Apple Messages, FaceTime, Continuity features and as you mentioned, native location tracking from Apple devices.
....
Click to expand...
Use apps like airmore or airdroid. Google has location tracking for device, you have to explicitly turn it on. imessage is just a locked messaging app, nothing superior about it. tons of alternatives available.

the question should be more like - what will you be getting... answer is MUCH more. freedom, customization, device choice, hardware without artificial limitation and so on.

Hater said:
OS stability.
Click to expand...
LOL.
 
chagla said:
Use apps like airmore or airdroid. Google has location tracking for device, you have to explicitly turn it on. imessage is just a locked messaging app, nothing superior about it. tons of alternatives available.

the question should be more like - what will you be getting... answer is MUCH more. freedom, customization, device choice, hardware without artificial limitation and so on.
Click to expand...

I wasn't actually assessing any judgement on whether Apple's solutions are objectively better, just trying to identify possible pain points when switching from an iPhone yet continuing to interact with other Apple centric users.

The benefits of these Apple features and services varies depending on how ingrained your regular contacts are in Apple themselves. There are lots of alternatives but if you are interacting predominantly with other iPhones, they often can't fully replicate the ease and functionality of the native solutions. That's all. Only the OP can really figure that out for themselves.
 
Completely subjective, but Android ain’t what it used to be. I’d had Android phones since the platform’s conception till last year, even though I used a Mac and my husband and closest friends were all iOS users. Then my latest 6-mth-old “waterproof” Android got put through a wash cycle together with my ancient, *ancient* iPod mini. Only the latter survived...

I had preferred Androids because they had seemed more customizable without being rooted and appeared to have a wider variety of open source apps. Then Google bought Android and native apps I didn’t want got progressively more intrusive till I couldn’t see the difference between my level of control over my phone than what my iOS friends had.

Durability-wise (and this may be just my particular experience), I’d cracked screens on every Android I’d ever had despite Otter cases. I run mountain trails. I fall. I drop things *a lot*. Got my first iPhone after the “drowning incident” Oct last year. No case, just the hard screen protector. After dozens of rough landings on concrete etc. it’s got exactly one tiny scratch on it. I did crack the screen protector once but the phone was unscathed.

Also, the listening chip on my Android was worthless. I could. Not. Get it used to my voice when I was out of breath. Siri gets me 99% of the time.

And if you’re a Mac user, it’ll feel like your laptop and your phone have gone from a NATO relationship to a Cold War
 
4RunnerHeaven said:
You will be back. iOS will start to call you after around 3-6 months. It does me as well as many on here. I had the Note 8, and now going back to the X.
Click to expand...

This goes in both directions. I tried an iPad Mini to replace my Samsung tablet and just didn't feel comfortable in iOS (my phone is also Android).

dumastudetto said:
You'll have to send an SMS letting them know where you are. There's no way to track it like you can with iOS.
Click to expand...

Oh? So enabling the sharing of my location in Google Maps isn't enough?

Hater said:
OS stability.
Click to expand...

Can you elaborate? My Pixel 2 XL didn't need a reboot for the entire month of March (I think it was March). The only reason I rebooted was because I received the monthly security patch. If there was instability, it was purely on the app side, the OS never crashed and had to be forced to restart.

I've heard of people being notified of an iOS update, postponing it and then having trouble unlocking their phone, being forced to DFU the device and do a complete OS restore. How do I know? I was the one that helped with the DFU/restore. No, this is NOT the only example. Yes, despite my lack of interest in using iOS on my personal devices I DO still know my way around (I HAVE to, for my job), and have a couple Macs of my own that are helpful for helping people with their devices.
 
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tbayrgs said:
The usual Apple only features and services—Apple Messages, FaceTime, Continuity features and as you mentioned, native location tracking from Apple devices.
Click to expand...
My agency issued device is an Android and this is about all I miss from it. Aside from that I find Android to be a more capable IS.
Hater said:
OS stability.
Click to expand...
In the past I would have agreed with you but not anymore.
stealth.pilot said:
I switched after almost 2,5 years iOS to a Note 8. After 3 days hardcore usage with the Note, I was thinking like "man I was blind but now I can see"!!

What was really bringing me to Android was iOS 11, freezes, stutters and worst of all was that Bluetooth and hotspots wasn't working as flawless as on my Note. For someone that is constantly on the go, that could be crucial.
Click to expand...
iOS 11 is terrible for stability and it is part of the reason I am considering switching to Android on my personal line.
 
dumastudetto said:
Yes I think it's important to recognise you not only lose the polish of iOS, access to apps that are thoughtfully built and designed first for iOS and then badly ported to Android (with only a few exceptions), privacy, seamless experiences across all your screens, and all the delights that Apple brings to the table when it comes to maintaining communication with your friends and family.

You should think very carefully before giving all the above up.

As some of the threads in here show, plenty of people regret their decision later (although admittedly others are satisfied or OK with their choice). Whatever you do, don't rush into it. Think about how important your Apple devices are to you, and how much value they bring to your life, and how sad you'll feel when you walk away from it.

You'll have to send an SMS letting them know where you are. There's no way to track it like you can with iOS.
Click to expand...

The stuff I highlighted above is incorrect.

I used iPhones for years and switched to a Note 8 when they first came out and have enjoyed the experience. And, all of my family still have iPhones. There are pros and cons on both, and you have to decide what is most important to you. There are alternatives to all the things you do in the Apple ecosystem.
 
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4RunnerHeaven said:
You will be back. iOS will start to call you after around 3-6 months. It does me as well as many on here. I had the Note 8, and now going back to the X.
Click to expand...
Had the X for 3 months and "uppgraded" to a 8+ instead.
It just felt wrong in my eyes, the notch, round screen corners, heavy for it's size etc. on the other hand I liked the 8+ much more, well the bezels didn't felt good coming from the X but otherwise it was a great phone.

It is still to early for a conclusion, but I think the Note 8 offers so much more. Splitscreen is really nice on Android, and I really like it on my iPad Pro, but always missed it on my iPhone.
 
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stealth.pilot said:
Had the X for 3 months and "uppgraded" to a 8+ instead.
It just felt wrong in my eyes, the notch, round screen corners, heavy for it's size etc. on the other hand I liked the 8+ much more, well the bezels didn't felt good coming from the X but otherwise it was a great phone.

It is still to early for a conclusion, but I think the Note 8 offers so much more. Splitscreen is really nice on Android, and I really like it on my iPad Pro, but always missed it on my iPhone.
Click to expand...
I hate the notch
 
Nowadays there is a great degree of parity between iOS and Android. Apps look the same on both devices. iOS copy Android features and Android copy iOS feature, so both OS end up offering very similar core features.

It's usually the smaller details that makes the biggest difference.
 
Last edited:
AirDrop - use this feature all the time.
IOS updates - Updates take forever to come through for Android users if at all.
Longevity of support - Phone support tends to be at best 2 years on Android side but for iPhone is much longer.
Customer support - far superior for Apple products.
 
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