For a Mac-ophile, are there any real advantages of an iPhone

[RogerS]

...over an Android phone?

For years, I've always had an Android phone of one sort or another but now I see that the iPhone 7S has dropped in monthly charges to something comparable to what I'd pay for an Android phone and so I was wondering ?

Are there any real benefits ? Anyone out there use both and wouldn't be without the Mac/iPhone combination ?

 

[Racers]

I have a personal Android and work iPhone some things are better Android and vice versa, over all I am leaning towards the Android.

Pete

 

[Simon_M]

I have an Apple iPhone 6s Plus an iMac and iPad, I don't have an Apple Watch. I just bought it without a contract.

There is some integration (I don't have an Android phone so I can't compare).

So sharing files can be done without needing to store them with Dropbox etc. using Airdrop to make them available locally.

Answering the phone from another Apple device e.g. iMac (or iPad).

There's probably more things that I just take for granted e.g. see https://www.apple.com/macos/continuity/

My phone is from September 2015 (so it's real "vintage" stuff) and works and looks the same as when I bought it (battery health is showing 96% of new). Apple constantly updates the iOS to bring it up to date whereas most Android phones provide 2 update releases (if you are lucky) and I share some paid for Apps with iPad. I haven't seen a compelling reason to upgrade it.

 

[Geoff_S]

I sync my diary and contacts between my Mac & iPhone and my wife's iPhone, but I'm not sure if this could be done with Mac/Android combination.

I only chose Apple because at the time, Windows was such hard work and so slow and I'd worked with it for years in IT and just felt like a change!

 

[Racers]

I copied my contacts from an iPhone to Android then back to an iPhone when they swapped our work phones about.

Pete

 

[Eric The Viking]

Search for Louis Rossmann on YouTube, for a view of Apple, from someone who really knows the hardware inside-out.

I don't have a view as such, except that historically Apple kit has had poor wireless performance. Most (all?) of my children have iPhones, and those refuse to work in parts of the house where my Android phone is just fine. Even though daughter #2 has a fairly recent one and Apple apparently 'took steps' to fix the issue (parts of the case of hers are the actual radiators) it's still pants compared to my n-generations older cheapo Android one.

One of her Apple devices also crashes my WiFi AP occasionally - they have a way of hogging bandwidth that upsets other devices, but so far I haven't found out which one is the culprit. That said I have a TP-Link box and it's pants. I'll go over to Ubiquiti when funds permit, as they can work as a mesh and we have awkward coverage holes presently.

E.

 

[MikeG.]

I'm reporting this thread. It's a rule here that posts are made in English. :lol: :wink:

 

[Inspector]

All the Apple products sync to each other easily, like calendar, contacts, Safari bookmarks, photos etc. Maybe it is doable with other devices but I don't own them so don't know. You can set them up to automatically back up the phone to the computer when you plug it in to charge. You either like Apple stuff or don't. I do.

Pete

 

[powertools]

I have no experience of Apple products in this household we both have android phones and google chromebooks and would not change .

 

[Flynnwood]

I resisted smart phones for a long while; eventually got an Android one in 2014 for work reasons. Around Jan 2018 I got an iphone SE and still have it. I wouldn't go back to Android unless there was a seriously compelling reason. Everything (for me) is just so much simpler on a iphone.

 

[Rorschach]

Put simply Apple is prettier and has an easier user interface. Android however is superior in every way including price, but much more complex if you really drill down into it.

Every feature that apple has you can get with android and a lot more, apple are a lagging a long way behind on the tech front.

 

[Racers]

Facebook market place on Android you tap the marketplace button and it takes you to the top of the listings, apple you have to swipe down untill you get to the top.
Pocket calls happen a lot on the iPhones and never for me on Android.

Pete

 

[Inspector]

See Roger. Some hate them and some love them. Easy enough to get one and try it. If it isn't for you, you can get another Android and join the haters. #-o

Pete

 

[RichardG]

Android is great for 2 years and then most phones stop getting security updates, Apple supports all it’s phones for 5 years or more, this is a very big plus point. From my experience of apple it’s products just work and carry on working. Our household is now Apple based and my hassle in turns of fixing things has reduced to almost zero, I wouldn’t buy anything else now.

Richard

 

[thetyreman]

I resisted smart phones for a long while; eventually got an Android one in 2014 for work reasons. Around Jan 2018 I got an iphone SE and still have it. I wouldn't go back to Android unless there was a seriously compelling reason. Everything (for me) is just so much simpler on a iphone.

same here, also got an iphone SE and really like it, best phone I've had in a long time (NOT to be confused with the 4SE or 5SE) it's much better and more up to date.

 

[Duncan A]

I used to have an old iphone 4SE. Great little phone, nicely made, simple to use. Regular OS updates, but the Apple ecosystem annoyed the hell out of me - impossible to just put files onto the phone and then copy them later without all sorts of Cloudy shenanigans. Perhaps I was missing something but that aspect didn't suit me at all.
When the iphone battery died of old age I moved to a Lenovo P2. Cheap, bigger screen, memory etc, massive battery, better reception. I can copy files back and forth any way I want to - direct to a folder of my choice. BUT no Android updates at all due to some sort of dispute between Lenovo and Three.
Android is clunky compared to OS - a bit like Windows compared to MacOS although the very latest Android seems to have become a bit tidier than it was.
Both Mac and Android are perfectly usable so I'd judge my next purchase on their merits at the time. Duncan

 

[Robbo3]

I used to have an old iphone 4SE. Great little phone, nicely made, simple to use. Regular OS updates, but the Apple ecosystem annoyed the hell out of me - impossible to just put files onto the phone and then copy them later without all sorts of Cloudy shenanigans. Perhaps I was missing something but that aspect didn't suit me at all.
Duncan

I have an Iphone 4S on a Pay As You Go tariff for emergencies & for its camera.
Don't know why you had transfer problems - you didn't say to what, but it's as simple as plugging in the cord, answering the Windows permissions question & copying them to your PC.
With Android, I use bluetooth. A few more steps but nothing really complicated.
For anyone that doesn't know, as long as you have Bluetooth capability built in or by using an adaptor, search for fsquirt.exe, right click & select 'Pin to start' or 'Send to' then 'Desktop, create a shortcut'. Now you will have quick access to bluetooth. They can be removed at any time.
To use, click on fsquirt.exe & follow the instructions in the window that opens.

 

[RogerS]

Robbo, in case you didn't know, with a lot of mobile operators, if you don't use your phone to make just one call within a set time frame then they will disconnect it.

 

[Sideways]

I see it as a race.
We all know that when a device is new, it works well. As software updates are added it becomes slower and slower to the point of being unusable.
The counter point is that without updates, especially, the web browser won't keep up with new technologies being used on websites and after a few years you won't be able to use some sites. A "few" is typically from 5 years onwards.
I'd rather have a device that works quickly and reliably until that point of obsolescence, but Apple and microsoft have both taken that choice away from me on their computers. They try to force software updates, which effectively make my hardware and software obsolete every few years whatever use I actually put my devices to.
As a mac user since the 80's (phone ipads laptops desktops) this has finally annoyed me enough to call time on apple. I no longer need the machines for work and I've stopped buying their products.
I now have a windows PC that runs as fast as when I set it up because I've learnt how to block the daily windows update requests and have done so for nearly 2 years. I have my first Android phone and it works well enough that I don't regret changing. I try to be very selective about the apps that I add to it.
The one and only app that I really miss from the move to Android is the superb "Pocket Earth". A little utility that lets you download "open street mapping" into your phone or tablet for navigation anywhere in the world without a mobile signal. It's an iOS only app
On the plus side, the android versions of other important specialist apps are as good or better than on iOS.
If you're a long time android user I'm sure there are things that bug you about it, but I wouldn't recommend apple unless you are someone who replaces your phone every 2-3 years so isn't troubled by the obselescence issue.
And, sadly, there's no real competition to the ipad. I'm amazed that the android manufacturers have gifted this segment to apple by not offering a competitive tablet.
< end rant >

 

[RogerS]

......
I'd rather have a device that works quickly and reliably until that point of obsolescence, but Apple and microsoft have both taken that choice away from me on their computers. They try to force software updates, which effectively make my hardware and software obsolete every few years whatever use I actually put my devices to.
....)

That's an interesting viewpoint as I've never had that trouble with my iMac and which is now 10 years old and still going strong. It's running El Capitan but hasn't had updates for a long time nor likely to. So no 'force software updates' there. The only issue I have is that some sites aren't that happy with Safari..but there's always Firefox to fall back on.