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

[Rorschach]

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 >

You know there are many ways to get offline mapping on Android right?

 

[Eric The Viking]

My 2012 Samsung Android tablet is still functionally better than my wife's 2019 iPad (and my mum's 2017 iPad pro). It also has a good GPS receiver built in, the absence of which in the ornery iPad is on its own an indication of how Apple regards its users - as cash machines. I don't want to waste money on a 4G or 5G device just to get a GPS receiver - they are cheap as chips these days.

I'll never forget the afternoon we got lost in the high desert of southern Utah - I was driving and my wife (with her old iPad) was "navigating" from the back seat. I couldn't work out why she had got us lost on an otherwise straightforward interstate road, until we pulled over and I realised she was trying to use her iPad's mapping, although it had neither WiFi nor GPS.

I'd 'strongly suggested' at the start of the drive she used my tablet (with downloaded Google mapping and GPS). She'd ignored me and was staring at a frozen cursor on a map that she couldn't relate to the surroundings, because it had stopped moving about 100 yards from our starting point. By the time we stopped we were about 250 miles further on...

... sigh.

E.

 

[Sideways]

You know there are many ways to get offline mapping on Android right?

Yeah
But sometimes you find an app or a tool that you just like the feel of and while I've looked at a bunch of android alternatives, I haven't found one I like as much as Pocket Earth. The one app served me for driving, hiking and logging the ground track of long haul flights so I could figure out what I was looking at out of the window
The look and feel of a map is personal taste thing. I'll adopt another eventually.

 

[Rorschach]

You know there are many ways to get offline mapping on Android right?

Yeah
But sometimes you find an app or a tool that you just like the feel of and while I've looked at a bunch of android alternatives, I haven't found one I like as much as Pocket Earth. The one app served me for driving, hiking and logging the ground track of long haul flights so I could figure out what I was looking at out of the window
The look and feel of a map is personal taste thing. I'll adopt another eventually.

Ok yes that I can understand, I have still not found a perfect app for that yet.

 

[petermillard]

There are lots, but wether they’re relevant to you depends on you and your requirements.

I use AirDrop to quickly transfer files/photos/videos - especially videos - between the iPhone / iPad / iMac without any ‘handshaking’.

‘Continuity’ means I can easily copy/paste between iPhone / iPad / iMac

I can send maps/directions between devices

iMessage. There are lots of messaging apps, but eg WhatsApp still doesn’t have a desktop client, and I refuse to touch eg Facebook messenger

iCloud for email/calendar/messaging works well and is very elegant. Google docs works but is fugly. Again - does this matter?? Up to you...

Find Friends; share - or choose not to - your location with someone. Want to see where your significant other is so you can pick them up / put the kettle on / get dinner in the oven? This works. And transfers from computer to phone as you leave the house...

Etc..etc.. and others, eg privacy/secure password integration, that I don’t think about, that ‘just work’ so readily I simply don’t register them, but these are the ones that spring to mind.

P

 

[Robbo3]

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.

Yes thanks. Every 179 days with T-Mobile (EE). It doesn't have to be a call though, it can be a text.

 

[Rorschach]

There are lots, but wether they’re relevant to you depends on you and your requirements.
P

Your post thee summed it up perfectly Peter.

All of these features are available on Android but the UI may not be as smooth or easy as that on the iphone.
If that UI is worth paying for or money is no object then a iphone is a great choice but the cost has always been one of the main reasons I baulk at apple products. I have a phone that will outperform (hardware wise) all but the latest iphone and it was less than 1/4 of the price and completely open to any network or contract. Software wise it will do anything that an iphone will do, but maybe not quite as smoothly.

I suppose it's a bit like cars, all cars will get you from A to B, what you pay for is comfort, smooth ride and of course a big chunk for the "look at me I drive an xxxxx". Owning an apple product is not just a practical choice, it is also a status symbol to most people.

 

[Andy Kev.]

Owning an apple product is not just a practical choice, it is also a status symbol to most people.

I think that might be true for some folk but I think I'm living proof that it's not so in all cases.

I have to use MS at work and so had a Microsoft laptop at home. It got slower and slower so eventually I had enough and thought I'd try an iMac (the desktop Apple) as it was on offer due to new models coming in. It was quick and has stayed quick. Once I'd made the shift from Word to Pages, which did not take long, there was no going back. The final proof came one day when I wanted to shift the table the computer was on to hoover the floor. I forgot to unplug it from the wall (I probably forgot it because that cable is the only wire there is) and as I dragged the table away the iMac crashed to the floor landing on one corner of the screen and putting a serious dent in the parquet.

I thought that would mean "goodbye computer" but I plugged it in again and it worked perfectly. That indicates build quality to me and it clinched me for Apple. I then bought a MacBook Air for when I work away from home and that works a treat too. Two months ago I even bought an iPod (they still make them!) and one of those Bluetooth chargeable speakers for when I'm away from home and that is a real treat!

All that said I've got a Blackberry phone (the Blackberry Classic) because it has a real keyboard, the latter feature making them unfashionable which led to the ridiculous price of €75!!!

Finally, I've come to the general view that Apple products are better but they are overpriced. 10-15% more than the rivals would be fair but of course they are a lots more relatively expensive than that. Conclusion: if you accept that you will pay over the odds but think that the benefits are worth it, get one. If you're getting one because you think it will make you look good, then IMO you are a t*t but who cares as it is your money.

 

[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.
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.

The main problem was copying from PC to iPhone. At the time, I asked someone far more knowledgeable from me and they reckoned it was not straightforward because OS won't let you mess around with the internals in the way that Android does. Obviously, Android is less secure in that respect! I needed a better battery life and bigger screen, so moved to the Lenovo which does the job for me.
Duncan

 

[RogerS]

Talking of apps, does anyone recall the Android sky map app that let's you point the camera up in the night sky and it tells you the names of stars etc ?

 

[Fidget]

Is this the one?

Sky Map

 

[RogerS]

If it is I can't see how to invoke the camera

Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

 

[Fidget]

Star walk 2

May be better for that, I had to turn off the rather annoying music in Settings

 

[Racers]

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.

Think of them as safety recalls for your car.

If you don't download any freeware/shareware etc you have no fears from windows updates.

Pete

 

[Flynnwood]

There are lots of messaging apps, but eg WhatsApp still doesn’t have a desktop client

https://web.whatsapp.com/ works in a browser.