You've considered Android but stayed with iPhone -- why?

[AbsynthMinded]

As many others have mentioned, out of the box functionality is my biggest draw. I own a Nexus Tablet and an iPhone and I wouldn't have it any other way.

My tablet is more or less for reading and entertainment purposes. When I am on my tablet its usually because I have time and therefore time customize it fully and have a wide range of apps to put on it. It also carries nothing sensitive, which is useful with respects to messing around with it or even rooting the device. The nexus tablet is moving into that out of the box direction that google envisioned but it isn't quite there for me yet.

My phone on the other hand, is for productivity and functionality so I just need it to work at all times. I am happy with the way Apple handles the smartphone, there are obviously a few flaws but nothing that makes me want to leave for the time being. It keeps consistent/reliable iOS functionality and a lot of big companies cater to the Apple environment. I am fine with the stock iOS and find no need to jailbreak as it serves its purpose well. I also like how long Apple stands behind its products, even after warranty from my experience (software updates and hardware replacements).

 

[Flow39]

Because I hate inconsistent app icon size/shape. This bothers me to no end

An icon pack with icon masking solves this quite well!

I hated that as well, but I installed Apex Launcher and the Elun icon pack and now everything is uniform and looks great!

 

[Flow39]

I bought a 2014 Moto X in February after using iOS since iOS 4 and an iPhone 6. I was really happy with my iPhone, but I wanted something else to try out that had more customization and freedom. Plus I wanted to try it to give a truly unbiased opinion of both OSes. I got the Moto X, a 32 GB Pure Edition, on sale from Motorola for $450. I put my SIM in it and was really enjoying Android. It was the first time I didn't think that I'd upgrade to the next iPhone.

I kept using it, and I started noticing small little annoyances. The home screen would redraw CONSTANTLY, causing a ten second delay where I couldn't use the phone at all. RAM was being used like crazy, even when nothing was open. I usually have 700-800 MB of RAM left out of 2GB with nothing open. Battery life was pathetic. A 2300 mAh battery that couldn't last more than 3 1/2-4 hours of SoT. Standby time was also terrible- it usually drains 2-3% per hour on standby. I tried all the battery fixes (location services battery saving mode, turn down brightness, delete widgets, use dark themes in apps, use Moto Display, clear cache partition) and nothing was working. Lag was still evident, even on Android 5.0 (which I do like, but is too buggy right now).

As soon as Apple announced their March 9th Apple Watch event, I switched back to my iPhone. I haven't looked back since, even though I do pick up the Moto X and play with it from time to time. Don't get me wrong, I do like the Moto X and Android, but there were just too many problems with them that I didn't want to have to constantly be dealing with and fixing. If I had to get rid of my iPhone, I wouldn't hesitate picking up an Android phone (probably the Nexus 6 or 2015 Moto X). I just use iOS now because of how reliable, consistent, fluid, and fast it is, and I'm not looking to use an Android device as my daily driver for a while. iOS is good for me.

A little update. I switched back over to my Moto X after the September 9th event because I was ready to try Android again after Android 5.1 was released. So, I pulled my SIM out and put it in the Moto X for a week. Then I went back to my iPhone for a few weeks, and then back to the Moto X, now I'm back on my iPhone again, and probably here to stay for a long time. Here is my experience with it.

I was soooo excited to be back on a more open and customizable platform. Just the sheer amount of tweaking I could do from changing the system font, to running different launchers, to changing icon packs had me glad I switched over. I really appreciated the extra resolution of the Moto X's 1080p display along with the vibrant AMOLED panel, especially when watching videos. The front facing speaker made videos and music just that much better than a bottom or back facing speaker. I loved having the sweet animations of Android Lollipop and the sheer personalization options available to me. I also really liked how the bezels were so slim (take notes Apple) and the 5.2" displayed-equipped Moto X fit into almost the exact same footprint as the 4.7" display-equipped iPhone 6.

Pretty quickly out of the gates I started noticing the drawbacks of the Moto X and Android. First, the camera was bleh. It had "camera lag" as I like to call it, where it takes a second to have the image on screen catch up to what was being recorded through the lens. It really is not that great of a camera.

Second, Moto's gestures, such as double chop to activate flashlight or double twist the wrist to activate camera just randomly stopped working, requiring a reboot. For someone that eliminated the camera shortcut from their home screen because of this gesture, having it not work was bad as I had to jump into the app drawer and look for it.

Third, the app quality. A lot of the Android fanboys will even admit to this one. The quality of apps on iOS are just better. The apps have a universal design language that is consistent with iOS for the most part, along with unified fonts and consistent menus. On Android, many apps have still not been updated for Android 5.0 and its new design language and animations. Some are still using design cues from Android Gingerbread! I will say this though, apps on Android tend have much more functionality (probably because Android is so open compared to iOS).

For the fourth and final point, the drawback is battery life. I honestly took this for granted on iOS. The battery life on my iPhone 6 absolutely blows the Moto X out of the water. Even with the iPhone's "measly" 1810 mAh battery, it still got more screen on time than the Moto X and its 2300 mAh battery. I use my phone for almost the same amount every single day, doing the exact same tasks. I usually put about 1.5-2 hours of screen on time onto my phone before noon. On my Moto X, at noon I would be left with about 50% battery. On my iPhone, by noon I have 70-75% remaining. This is with the same settings on both phones, minus the fact that I leave Wi-Fi on when not connected on my iPhone while I turn it off while not connected on my Moto X. I usually only got about 2.5 hours of SoT if I was lucky on the Moto X. The poor battery life was the main reason I switched back to the iPhone.

I really missed the integration with my other Apple devices, but that is nitpicking so I didn't mention that. I really do like Android, but the poor battery life on almost all Android phones is what is keeping me on iOS. I'll be using the iPhone for a long time to come.

 

[OneWiseAcre]

My first and only smartphone is my 4S. For the past two or three years I would look seriously at Android alternatives, either for the larger screen before the iPhone 6 came out or simply to save money with a more moderately-priced phone.

I've been thinking about the 2015 version of the Moto X, which seems like it's going to be a very good phone, especially considering its value. If a 64 GB model is $499, that would put it 2/3 the cost of a 64 GB iPhone 6S if Apple's prices remain the same. $250 is a pretty substantial savings in my budget.

Still, I have about decided to get the 6S instead. I plan to keep the phone for at least four years, so the higher price seems less a factor over the long haul. The way that the iPhone works seamlessly with my iPad and MBP, however, is the primary factor that keeps me from buying a Moto X.

Anyone else? Or perhaps you've gone with an Android and haven't looked back. I'm interested in any perspective.

 

[OneWiseAcre]

My first and only smartphone is my 4S. For the past two or three years I would look seriously at Android alternatives, either for the larger screen before the iPhone 6 came out or simply to save money with a more moderately-priced phone.

I've been thinking about the 2015 version of the Moto X, which seems like it's going to be a very good phone, especially considering its value. If a 64 GB model is $499, that would put it 2/3 the cost of a 64 GB iPhone 6S if Apple's prices remain the same. $250 is a pretty substantial savings in my budget.

Still, I have about decided to get the 6S instead. I plan to keep the phone for at least four years, so the higher price seems less a factor over the long haul. The way that the iPhone works seamlessly with my iPad and MBP, however, is the primary factor that keeps me from buying a Moto X.

Anyone else? Or perhaps you've gone with an Android and haven't looked back. I'm interested in any perspective.

 

[Broadus]

A little update. I switched back over to my Moto X after the September 9th event because I was ready to try Android again after Android 5.1 was released. So, I pulled my SIM out and put it in the Moto X for a week. Then I went back to my iPhone for a few weeks, and then back to the Moto X, now I'm back on my iPhone again, and probably here to stay for a long time. Here is my experience with it.

I was soooo excited to be back on a more open and customizable platform. Just the sheer amount of tweaking I could do from changing the system font, to running different launchers, to changing icon packs had me glad I switched over. I really appreciated the extra resolution of the Moto X's 1080p display along with the vibrant AMOLED panel, especially when watching videos. The front facing speaker made videos and music just that much better than a bottom or back facing speaker. I loved having the sweet animations of Android Lollipop and the sheer personalization options available to me. I also really liked how the bezels were so slim (take notes Apple) and the 5.2" displayed-equipped Moto X fit into almost the exact same footprint as the 4.7" display-equipped iPhone 6.

Pretty quickly out of the gates I started noticing the drawbacks of the Moto X and Android. First, the camera was bleh. It had "camera lag" as I like to call it, where it takes a second to have the image on screen catch up to what was being recorded through the lens. It really is not that great of a camera.

Second, Moto's gestures, such as double chop to activate flashlight or double twist the wrist to activate camera just randomly stopped working, requiring a reboot. For someone that eliminated the camera shortcut from their home screen because of this gesture, having it not work was bad as I had to jump into the app drawer and look for it.

Third, the app quality. A lot of the Android fanboys will even admit to this one. The quality of apps on iOS are just better. The apps have a universal design language that is consistent with iOS for the most part, along with unified fonts and consistent menus. On Android, many apps have still not been updated for Android 5.0 and its new design language and animations. Some are still using design cues from Android Gingerbread! I will say this though, apps on Android tend have much more functionality (probably because Android is so open compared to iOS).

For the fourth and final point, the drawback is battery life. I honestly took this for granted on iOS. The battery life on my iPhone 6 absolutely blows the Moto X out of the water. Even with the iPhone's "measly" 1810 mAh battery, it still got more screen on time than the Moto X and its 2300 mAh battery. I use my phone for almost the same amount every single day, doing the exact same tasks. I usually put about 1.5-2 hours of screen on time onto my phone before noon. On my Moto X, at noon I would be left with about 50% battery. On my iPhone, by noon I have 70-75% remaining. This is with the same settings on both phones, minus the fact that I leave Wi-Fi on when not connected on my iPhone while I turn it off while not connected on my Moto X. I usually only got about 2.5 hours of SoT if I was lucky on the Moto X. The poor battery life was the main reason I switched back to the iPhone.

I really missed the integration with my other Apple devices, but that is nitpicking so I didn't mention that. I really do like Android, but the poor battery life on almost all Android phones is what is keeping me on iOS. I'll be using the iPhone for a long time to come.

Thanks for sharing that. I decided to stay with iPhone and bought a 64GB SIM-free 6s. I've had it for about a week and am well pleased. Battery life has been good, and you can only imagine the difference in moving from a 4S.

Actually, the long life of my 4S was a positive to going with the 6s.