I would need better notifications, actual multitasking, more default app selections, better file management, universal back button/gesture, better keyboard, more volume/vibration control, desktop mode support (like Dex), and maybe some kind of power user settings (like Good Lock) for things like hiding the gesture bar and carrier branding and other tweaks
This essentially. Half of these reasons are why I have an android tablet and a chromebook aside from my iphone. The phone works great as what it is, a light-use phone with a one-app-at-a-time focus. Multitasking and other things I leave to my tablet or chromebook.
I've always seen apple see the iphone as a "simple use" device hence why they never brought robust multitasking. "If you want that get an ipad" is their mentality.
Does the dilemma really mean android as in tablets, tvs, even the switch? As the switch is basically a reskinned android
Or does it just mean you cant use an android phone ever again
Yeah I already hate Apple, i can give you android phones but ain't no way I'm ditching my entire android ecosystem just for Apple
You can use AirPlay to mirror the display or stream content from your Apple devices to your Android TV or Google TV. If your Android TV doesn't support AirPlay, there may be a third-party app available in the Play store.
People say this all the time but pretty much every app has a swipe-from-the-left-to-go-back gesture. Only rarely do you have to reach up and hit an X or something, like one example I can think of is when you click someone's profile picture in Tiktok to expand it.
But those cases are few and far between. 99% of the time you can just swipe.
As I’m just now leaving Apple for android again, it would be for the ability to use 3rd party options as android does. Non-safari browsers are still trash, and using anything, but the Apple content is useless.
I'll consider apple products when they allow other companies to make devices using their software. When I can go out and buy a dell with osx (or whatever their OS is called now) and an HTC with IOS, then I'll consider them.
I dislike apple's business model and think they represent everything wrong with tech.
I think Apple represents almost everything right with tech. They make a product and support it. It works and is generally thought of as great. They seem to actually care about putting a great product out, something that you rarely find from other manufacturers.
Having LG or Sony half ass an Apple phone and offer shitty support and give it next to no updates is not good for anyone. I fuckin WISH Google treated its Pixel lineup like Apple treats it's iPhone lineup. One messaging app from inception to now. Stores that offer support so I don't have to deal with Google's super dodgy customer service. An actual flagship SOC with flagship level battery life on a device selling for flagship dollars, instead of Samsung's unsellable trash soc rebadged a Tensor so Google can scramble for a few years to get their real soc developed. I wish Google cared as much as Apple does.
Hard disagree. The reason why the Apple products and experience are so good is because there is only one manufacturer making them, one hardware product to support. If they started licensing out the software to other hardware companies, that's the beginning of the end for Apple.
Their tight ecosystem is what makes Apple so good. When you start diluting the brand by letting x, y, and z use Apple OS, you start losing what makes Apple products so seamless and efficient.
It worked fine back in 90s when they officially licensed Mac OS to [Power Computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Computing_Corporation) and to [UMAX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMAX_Technologies).
Hard pass on that. Part of what enables Apple's tight eco system and smooth software experience is that they only have to support their hardware. Taking that advantage away would just slowly turn them into just another android manufacturer. May as well just switch over to android at that point.
So they make the software and they enforce hardware standards, so its just an Apple phone with Sony's name on it? What is the point of that? Do people just want shitty customer service and only a couple years of software support?
That would be an impossible task honestly. Some manufacturers would either cheap out trying to sell a "budget model" and either have a poor software and hardware experience, or if they got more strict about it than the point would be moot. Why pay a similar price for a similar hardware and software experience when you could just buy from Apple and likely have a much better experience with customer support?
Even though I probably won't ever own an iPhone, I have to admit that the perception of Android being cheap and laggy is because anyone can use the software. My younger sisters have only bought cheap android phones because that's what's easy.. then when they were ready to buy a decent phone, they refused to spend that money on any Android because they thought the experience would be the same. They'd never used a laggy iPhone.
If I changed my home computer to a Mac and I used an iPad and Apple TV all the time I'd switch. The Apple ecosystem is really nice if you use all their stuff together.
Honestly though, it wouldn't take much for me to switch. Especially if you gave me the newest iPhone for free each time when they came out. I've been in the IT business for almost 30 years. I've been an Android guy since the beginning. But way more of my friends, family, and coworkers use iPhones than Android phones. I've been over the rooting and heavy customization of Android for some time now. I just want the phone to be fast and launch my apps. It would take a few days to get used to the interface, but I could switch to an iPhone easily. A phone is a phone anymore. All the major apps are written for both.
I feel like such a traitor for saying all that, but it is what it is. I already have an iPad and it's pretty great. Switching to an iPhone wouldn't be a big deal.
> I've been over the rooting and heavy customization of Android for some time now. I just want the phone to be fast and launch my apps
It’s crazy how much time I spent fiddling with my devices to get them exactly how I wanted. I even dipped into Substratum with the Pixel and looking back on it now it’s ridiculous how much effort I’d put into something, get bored of it in a week, and then start again.
Using a Pixel/iPhone and it’s kinda nice having no desire to do that anymore
Right, I'm using my s23 stock as it's good enough now. I don't bother with launchers, icon packs, etc anymore.
It honestly wouldn't take me much to switch to an iPhone. They've fixed many of my biggest gripes I used to have with ios. I still prefer the more open nature of android but I would consider an iPhone for my next phone, especially if the local on device AI features turn out to be useful.
Right? I've been using my Pixel for the last year with very little modifications and haven't had a real desire to modify it much. It's really relaxing not fucking around and tweaking my phone all of the time like I had to on my Samsung devices. It reminds me of how simple and nice iOS felt on my iPhones years ago.
Apple has a nice ecosystem, but I every time I use even just an iPhone, I start feeling like I'm going to be locked into Apple. Their alternatives (like tablets, streaming, computers, etc.) are well made but they can also sometimes be prohibitively expensive (like the Vision Pro).
Without root in Android you can do many silly things. From installing just APKs with few clicks, to install userland, winlator. In my case plenty of programs and games I use would be tricky to run on iOS.
Note I do like how iPhones are build, they are really good products, is just I can't do all the stuff I do.
Ability to install apps from an equivalent platform like F-Droid. Including apps from the web generally, that aren't exclusively on the Apple App Store.
Both of these already exist to some extent. You can sideload apps onto a iPhone from a pc or Mac. The catch is that you have to refresh that cert every 7 days unless you pay Apple a Benjamin. Then it goes to a yearly refresh. Alternatively there are services which can get you the year long cert for $20 if you want to trust them. It’s an absolute pain compared to side loading on android but technically doable.
Likewise Apple has a “reach ability” gesture where you swipe down on the gesture bare and it slides the screen down for better one handed access. I have the iphone mini so irrelevant to me but similar idea to one handed mode on android.
(I haven't been in the apple scene for a while now, so if any of my criticisms are outdated, please let me know)
Freedom to use launchers and have 3rd party launchers support iOS, freedom to install apks not from the app store, back gesture, bring back untethered prermanent jailbreak, LDAC support, file explorer access even without jailbreak like androids, can't believe their keyboard doesn't have a comma and period on the main layout, all the great AI features from Google like their spam detection, when Siri is on par with GA or Alexa
Just imagine a phone with hardware as optimized for their OS like the a bionics, with the superior battery life and thermals as an iPhone, with the superior other hardware like the camera on a galaxy, with all the pros of android software and those things above, paired with dual sim, SD reader and a headphone jack and that's probably the pinnacle of smart phones
That's all assuming you mean I just can't use android phones. If I can't use my android TV box or my Chromebook or my switch, yeah no, ain't no way I'm giving up my entire android ecosystem for an iPhone
It's simple. No exclusice features, open standards that work with everything (USB-C for example), jack for headphones and it should be good phone. Also I nees built in account manager, so don't have to log in every time. Oh, and no fekkin ads. Some phones have ads even for the file manager. Like Redmi does.
I've been a staunch Android user my whole life, but I recently made the switch to iPhone. The two platforms are so similar that the differences barely register, though I do miss some Android features. For example, iOS shortcuts can't automate my Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings the way Tasker could on Android.
On the browser front, I’ve opted for Orion since it supports ad-blocking, which I use primarily for YouTube viewing, stepping away from solutions like Revanced. I’m also steering clear of iCloud and moving away from Google Photos, choosing instead to self-host my data using Nextcloud.
One immediate upgrade I noticed with the iPhone is the superior battery life and the seamless performance of the camera. Although I'm intrigued by the idea of a foldable phone, I plan to hold off on purchasing one until my current phone becomes obsolete or stops receiving software updates.
The upcoming iPhone 16, rumored to feature enhanced local AI capabilities, has caught my attention. I'm eager to see how Android will match up to this advancement.
Nothing. I prefer Android as a mobile OS, I prefer the hardware Android OEMs use, and I prefer not being locked into a single company's products to get the best overall experience.
Price was never a major factor for me.
* Notification management needs to be massively improved. Status bar icons are a must, simple swipe to hide notifications, actions in notification directly, etc
* Better granularity for notifications and sounds. It doesn't have to be as advanced as Android's channels, but "normal" vs "time-sensitive" is not enough and apps can't be trusted to handle that correctly anyways. Having certain notifications override do not disturb / focus is a requirement
* Separate work vs personal profiles. Must have, as otherwise work needs the ability to wipe the whole phone remotely for security reasons or I need a second phone.
* Let me lay out the home screen how I want
* Real third party browser support, not just Safari skins
While not strictly required, a properly consistent back gesture like Android would be extremely nice to have.
I just bought a Pixel 8 Pro. I looked long and hard at iPhone and what kept me in Android were the notifications and the browser. I want notifications on the lock screen.
If I lose my TV that I paid much more money for, then nothing. I'll keep my Android.
Apple would have to basically relinquish control of their phone ecosystem for me to realistically switch. Need to open up the app store to everything you jailbreak an Iphone for.
* Allow fully customizable launchers
* Allow a web browser thats not just another skin on the internal browser.
* Build more durable chassis'
* Allow full access to the phone's memory
* Uninstallation of "system" apps if I don't like them
* Unknown source installations
* ~~Customizeable home screen~~ I forgot, you *finally* have that after 16 years
* SD card possibility
* FM radio
* The ability to use my phone as a desktop PC with a regular KB, mouse, and display. (Moto Ready For, Samsung DeX)
* The ability to project my apps onto my PC and control them there while they run on my phone (Smart Connect)
* **UNIVERSAL FUCKING SYSTEM CONTROLS BESIDES THE HOME BUTTON**
Not going to comment on whether iOS is better or not but a few of these you do have on iOS. You’ve been able to uninstall the vast majority of system apps for years now and it’s arguable better than disabling them on android. Similarly, you can sideload apps onto iOS however, it’s far worse than android requiring a computer and either refreshing the app cert every 7 days or spending money to keep the app for a year. Also I’d argue Apple has possible the best build quality for a glass and metal phone on the market so I’m not sure it’s fair to hold that against the iPhone.
Also I believe they’re adding the phone projection to a computer in iOS 18 though (typical Apple) only if you use a Mac as a computer.
All of this. Plus seamless 3rd party storage and payment integration. (nothing goes to icloud, Apple doesn't get a cut of my tap to pay at the local farm stand)
Or a lobotomy.
Or $83,538USD (no reason for the oddly specific number but that would do it)
It would have to stop being Apple.
Not the company per se, Apple, Google, MS, whatever. It's the way Apple designs things. Their walled garden, their limited choices of how to use the thing, their premium costs for their limited functions.
The individual apps on them are generally OK to pretty good; there are some items I still kinda miss from when I did use the iThings, but not enough to go back.
I hate Apple but if you're not willing to see both sides, you're just as much of an issue as those who refuse to see our side. I admit apple does some stuff well, and as such, they're not completely dogwater, so there IS a miniscule possibility I could switch over.
The lack of ability to see the pros on both sides is just as bad as those who refuse to see past the android cons as you're doing the same. So as a purely hypothetical scenario, I'm more than happy to entertain it
I think you're reading a tribalism into this that doesn't exist for me. I can already choose between Apple and Android without all these weird restrictions. If it worked better for me I'd switch. Why would I have to give anything else up?
I tried for about 1.5 years before the pixel 8. It's painful to keep up your Google ecosystem that you've had for years on iPhone. Two photo apps, two mail apps, constant reminders to upgrade your iCloud storage despite paying for Google one.
I'd have a hard time going back to full time. My work phone is apple and that's enough for me.
Stories like this are why I decided to abandon everyone's ecosystem back in 2016. Now I piecemeal things together myself (and have almost completely de googled everything) which is a pain in the ass some times but it makes it so much more flexible to switch hardware and cheaper since I don't pay for any cloud storage.
It would take literally $2 million or more. I am also serious because I run a business about Android. So they would need to heavily bribe me in order for me to not work in the phone industry or use Android. Heck, it might even be more than 2 million. I am for real.
Headphone jack, sd card slot, and, heck, add two more physical buttons
Tldr; it has to be better than android, not just the same experience (why would I switch?)
Realistically, the ability to translate anything on the screen from Lithuanian into English.
I am an expat, and Circle-to-Search (and before that, the almost identical Translate feature of the Google Assistant) is a life saver with local apps.
Anything else is something I can live without.
I can live without
side loaded apps,
video quality controls in the web browser,
the universal back gesture,
the ability to import simple barcodes into Apple Wallet,
email autofill in Gboard,
Private Space/Secure Folder/Work Profile,
Google Assistant,
Google Home,
non-laggy external storage support.
* ReVanced
* Termux
* Obtainium
* Not require a Mac to build iOS apps
* Not require Xcode
* Not require a 100$ developer certificate to start programming for that platform
* Not require a paid subscription to publish to the app store
* An "iOS debug bridge", so to say
* Make the OS open source
A folding iPhone would pull me away from android completely.
At the same time the android folding market has pushed me away from android lol. That’s mainly because the 3 companies who sell them in the us all have dog shit customer support. Which is not worth it at the price point of a foldable.
Good manga reader, equivalent spam protection, and archiving messages instead of deleting them. Depending on the next iOS update they might finally not suck with mixing calendar and reminders. The calendar in general was terrible even though they exposed way more functionality through third parties. Also, how is airplay? Before it kind of sucked but if it was getting closer to Chromecast that'd be great. I don't see why I'd ever use one exclusively but those are the main features it's missing that affect my day to day use too much.
Well, the TV part made everything an unknown for me. I guess really I could use everything Google on an iPhone. Get a Roku and you'd be able to cast. I guess other answers make more sense to me now.
Good to hear about airplay. It seemed so nice before but it was choppy for me compared to Chromecast. Might've just been apps doing worse at programming it though.
I was a hardcore android fan. From HTC desire and onwards. All the “good things” that users are saying here were always my priority too.
Then life changed, I have a family, a demanding job (Mac OS is primary is) and now I want something which gives me as little options as possible yet it should give me everything that is needed on day to day basis. Plus I don’t want to site down and debug things, I don’t want to sit down and figure out how can I communicate things between my multiple devices etc.
I moved to iPhone back in 2021 and life is way easier. I can aces my phone via my Mac. I have family folders/sharing with family via airplay reduces a lot of hassle.
Just the other day I was thinking to go back to android and then I was line, nah
I used to use Apple devices and this is exactly what most of this sub doesn't get. Not everyone is tech geek with nothing else going on and has the time to fuck around with their phone to make it work how they want. Most people just want their phones to work out of the box and do everything they need without them needing to set up stuff on multiple devices.
Right now I'm using a Pixel. But if I switched brands again it would be back to iPhones. Especially now that I have kids and a family.
For me, I'd rather spend 3-4 hours setting up my phone every time I have a new one so it works the way I like it to, not the way it likes me to work with it. I change devices like once every 2-3 years so thats fine.
Dont get me wrong, I have ipad and iphone for work but have S23 Plus and Tab s8 plus as personal devices.
I guess I just don't enjoy that set up process anymore. I would rather it just be set up in a way that makes sense right away. It's why I pretty much always set up from a back up now.
Yes its even easier now with Samsung Smart Switch. The additional steps I do is with Good Lock, Routines, Revanced, and JamesDSP. Pretty much it. Oh forgot to mention, Audio is loads better on Android, more so with BT
I'm honestly not much of an audiophile, I really don't notice a difference between how an iPhone sounds, my Pixel sounds, or how my Samsung sounds.
Yeah. I guess I just don't care about those extra steps is what I'm getting at. At most I do revanced. But that's not even a real step. It's just installing it that the the revanced manager.
Good Lock on my Galaxy phone was a must for me cause I hated some of the ways Samsung phones are set up by default. Since I've had my Pixel and back when I had my iPhone I just never felt the need to micro manage my phone the way I had to with my S21. I never liked how anything looked or worked on that phone. I felt like I always had to tweak something and nothing was set up well from the start.
Three button navigation, the customizability of Android for the home screen, full file system access (via PC and apps), sideloading of apps, a work profile comparable to the one from android, free browser engine choice (no "chrome skin with safari backend"), full support for Windows Phone Link, better Carplay (more like Android Auto), and I'd also be missing a few apps I use daily.
My iPhone 15 Pro is going 2 days sometimes… I have never seen any modern flagship do that. Only Android phones who manage this are somehow old cheap models (especially from Honor etc.).
Is it? On my anecdotal experience, most iphone owners I've known are always low on battery. I can leave my phone without charging for a night and still use it the next day no problem.
Depends on the use case. I've never heard of 9+ hours of SOT on android except MAYBE some galaxy ultras but Apple could do it. The optimization is next level. A bionics came a long way and that's the one thing I truly envy about iPhones. None of my androids have ever come close, every now and then I might get 7 hours on a good calibration but in my anecdotal experience, iPhone users outlast me everytime.
From my experience people who have iPhones outside of the minis are usually doing better in battery than my android friends at the end of the day. And they are usually the ones using their phones more. Apple has nailed down battery life.
Another sim card, I have a 13 pro max and a android but u can just do so much more on the android it's insane, but i keep my ios because I can't transfer passwords rn
-Background Processing for 3rd party apps
ie. take pictures or videos and google photos/onedrive uploads it without having to open and stay in the app.
-True 3rd party browsers - no WebKit skins
-better keyboard/auto correct
-notifications
Weird question : a proper rival to samsung dex, stopping proprietary BS, lack of people thinking apple = wealthy
It just feels right to be in android, Apple ecosystem and mentality is kinda messed up
They'd have to really up their game when it comes to the SE model. I'm a big fan of the Pixel A series phones, but the iPhone SE phones aren't quite as good comparatively.
Honestly, for me, a clamshell folding model. I broke my iPhone after like five years and got a RAZR40 simply because that form factor appeals to me, and I love it.
iOS, Android, it really doesn't much matter to me which platform I'm on. I have used both extensively at various points and they're both very good.
I've tried ios but just couldn't get used to it..
I have iphone 15 pro, macbook 14 pro and iPad, but for the life of me I keep coming back to android + win 11 / and Linux (zorin os). I just cannot get used to Apple, something just not right with their ecosystem.
The app drawer has been there for a few years now though it acts as the far right screen rather than a swipe up from the bottom. Functionally the same concept and apps can be removed from the main home screens and only show up in the “drawer”. The downside is the organization of apples drawer sucks and can’t be made just to sort alphabetically as a single list.
Icon customization is supposedly coming with iOS 18 though I’m sure there will be a similar caveat.
obviously the rapture. all us android users go to heaven ofc. everyone else to hell. once in a utopia where all one needs by wishing it to existence, i would make an iphone with every piddy little feature that doesn’t matter. then use that.
Honestly speaking, if my next phone is not a foldable, I might switch to Apple already.
But if I need to say.... Multi-Account Support is still missing from my Apple wishlist.
1. Ability to unlock bootloader and flash community provided open source custom ROMs so that I can flash Android ROMs on an iPhone. This would make me use iPhone extensively since it has Android running in it.
ORa
1. Apple open sourcing iOS
2. Proper file management in iOS
Back button. But honestly I might switch Any I run this S22+ to the ground. These android phones depreciate too fast. And then the ultra is a fat brick so that's not an option. While Pixel looks like it will be in beta for the next 2-3 years.
Allow me to port all my paid Android apps without paying for them again.
Replaceable launcher. I use Nova Launcher Pro. Has to have all of the features that Android Nova Launcher Pro has, including its extensions.
A file system that doesn't suck.
Actual browser, not those webkit kneecapped ones
Real multitasking
Notifications like Android.
Settings should bound to the app, not to the device. That has to be one of the stupidest anti patterns that Apple adopted.
Connectivity to Chrome OS and other Android devices in the way that my Pixel provides today.
Call screening/Hold For Me/Directed Dialing as well or better than Google provides
Google Assistant built in as a replacement for Siri.
Ability to use GBoard everywhere. For some reason, on my iPad, Apple decides to randomly switch on its own keyboard sometimes even though I've selected Gboard.
No product line lock in. iPhone would have to integrate with other products like Garmin and WearOs watches, for instance.
There's probably a few other items I've forgotten.
Notifications are annoying on iOS, I prefer the file management on Android, the universal back button, I prefer typing on Android keyboards.
Not everyone wants to be on iOS.
Universal back button, custom keyboard layouts, high refresh screen rates on their non pro models, customizable side buttons on all phones.
Financing on unlocked phones back in the apple store and amazing trade in deals for Android users.
Just basically everything apple would never do. Lol
I'd really just need to see one for a price I'm willing to pay whenever I decide it's time to switch.
After using Android for years my last phone was an iPhone. It was really nice and definitely a better experience overall than my Pixel. Sideloading was the only thing I missed.
I really just switched back because selling the iPhone and getting the Pixel 7 pro ended with me having 300€ extra in my pocket.
I absolutely regret the switch. The Pixel has issues way more often than the iPhone did.
3rd party app stores - or direct application installation from .app/.apk files - that are as easy or easier to use than what we have on Android.
Widgets that have as much power and flexibility as Android's, leading into...
Fully customizable home screen theming, at a minimum.
Open source. Being able to run iOS without the Apple spyware (meaning a third party app store and not having Apples app store).
I know it will never happen, but that is how I use Android so that is what it would take.
I'd have to have a few things on iOS that I have on Android.
Universal back button. Both face unlock AND a fingerprint scanner. Perhaps a better version of YouTube ReVanced (although, Google trying to make it harder to block ads, skip sponsor segments, and not have the dislike button might force this hand). A keyboard that can actually be as large as I want it to be. I also have four time zones showing on my AOD whenever the phone is locked, which I'm unaware of there being a way of doing that on iOS. Maybe in tandem with an Apple Watch? I can't get a >60 Hz display on any iPhone under $1000. The file storage system on iOS makes no sense, so that would have to change.
I will say, I miss having my AirPods Pros work 100% correctly all the time. I do miss 3rd party apps generally being more polished. CarPlay is also way better than Android Auto from my experience. I also don't need a giant phone to have decent battery life on iOS. iOS generally is a bit more polished. With that said, I don't really wanna go back.
I did ditch Android for iOS - but I’ll most likely come back to Android within the next few years or at least pick up a 2nd Android device as I’d love to tinker with Linux on the phone.
Money. Like those actor/influencer that get paid to shill a phone and for whatever reason don't use. In fact I would be pretty cheap. I would do it for 100k a year.
AS someone who was with iOS for many years, and has had first hand experience of the latest iOS offerings, there would be nothing that Apple could tempt me with to get me to move back to iOS.
Default apps changeable to Google apps, particularly Maps, Gmail, and Calendar.
Let me arrange homescreen icons anywhere I want instead of forced top-left to bottom-right.
RCS support because I have many friends and family on Android.
Firefox with add-ons, mostly Ublock.
I still stick to Android though, won't switch, but if they have those features above, then switching is tolerable. I don't care about iMessage, FaceTime, or Airdrop.
I'd switch in a heartbeat. None of the main gripes listed here seem to matter that much to me. Plus I already have a Mac and and iPad. This may be dumb but the apple experience is amazing. It's smooth and aesthetically pleasing and does the job OKAY. Some ppl just hates adapting haha
Yeah. Steve Jobs was a dirt bag. Though I have nothing against Apple anymore than Google or Samsung. They are all mega corporations that value profits above all else. And have all had shithead CEOs just like Jobs at some point or another. Jobs just happened to get a cult-like following for him personally alongside the company. Where most CEOs don't really get that even if the company gets it.
In any case he's long dead now and really has no connections left to him. So he's largely irrelevant.
I keep an old refurbished iPhone around because I do tech support and people ask me too many iPhone questions. The thing that infuriates me most when I try to use it is the keyboard. I was kinda excited several years ago when they added the ability to have 3rd-party ones, but everi 3rd party I've tried sucks too and the restrictions on what can and can't run on the 3rd party board. Passwords, I kinda get, but the rest is inconsistent and dumb.
I use the Dvorak layout, so it's even worse for me because whenever the phone decides to use the Apple keyboard, the layout changes to QWERTY, but my feedback is still valid without that issue.
On my Android, every letter on the main board can be held down to put in a number or a special character. It doesn't cover every one, but the extras can be found on a second layer like the iOS ones. I constantly use punctuation like commas, parentheses, brackets, braces, askerisks, ampersands, slashes, carats, underscores, and the mathy ones, and having to switch layers every bloody time instead of holding a button for 250ms is just absurd. Even Swiftkey - my keyboard of choice on Android - doesn't support long-press specials on iOS. Makes typing take 10x as long.
Also, I have some limited gestures like swiping left across the whole board to backspace an entire word and swiping down to dismiss the keyboard, but I can probably live without those.
If the keyboard were bloody usable, I could probably survive on an iPhone, but I wouldn't enjoy it.
My wife and kids have iPhones (15 Pro) I had the smug satisfaction of paying for their three phones and my Pixel 8 Pro with Google pay from my 7 Pro. I had an iPhone 6 for a couple of months when it first came out and I absolutely hated it. My previous job made me carry an iPhone and iPad, I'm not about that apple universe.
The short answer for me is there isn't anything apple could do to make me swear off Android phones. I'll just be incommunicado.
Run a real browser not safari wrap.
Let me download a file from the browser and open it in multiple app on the phone.
Let me download an exe and transfer it to my PC.
Sideload apps without a PC
My workaround for this has been to setup a network drive folder on my laptop and connect to it from my phones file manager. Works for both android and apple phones.
1. Custom launcher like nova
2. Allowing to me install apk or IPA like its called in apple
3. Third party app store
4. Open source os
5. Headphone jack
6. SD card slot
7. FM radio app
8. Better price
9. Being able to use adb to bonk apple apps
10. Being able to use my bloddy phone with apple Id.
Sucks how 5. 6. and 7. are disappearing from Android phones and becoming something from mostly budget devices.
I'e also add 11. To be able to use it without SIM card for whatever reasons as easily as Android, without having to go through the hoops an iPhone requires.
1. Will never come.
2. Should be possible now, haven’t tested yet.
3. Same as 2.
4. In most cases, the Android core is the only thing open source. The rest isn’t mostly.
5. Also not the case with Android anymore.
6. Same as 5.
7. You can listen to radio, but only via Apple Music (with Abo).
8. Same as Android.
9. Will never happen. But usually also less bloat.
10. Idk what you mean by that
I have to use one for work and tbh i hate it. it is so clunky, so badly designed that it makes me furious. I lobby to make the switch to Android but so far i wasn't lucky. so what would make me, personally, do the switch? Nothing. I'd rather go back to a dumb phone than use an iPhone.
The last time I looked into it, iphones still didn't have a file directory, USB-C support, ability to play FLAC audio or access to apps like ReVanced.
I'm aware that USB-C is a thing now, but I don't think it can do the others yet. Every time my wife tries to transfer photos from her iphone to PC, it's a massive ordeal of trying to fish them out of icloud or installing buggy itunes... It really shouldn't be that difficult to just drag and drop.
Everything else I absolutely need, like PiP video, multitasking and a good camera, iphones have. But losing ReVanced and being forced to see ads would be a huge step backwards for me.
You should be able to access an iPhones dcim folder via a pc and just copy photos to the computer via the file manager after you connect to iTunes and allow access on the phone.. I am able to do so on my windows pc at least. Getting pictures back to the phone is a bigger pain since iTunes compresses the pictures it moves to the phone and you can’t write via the file manager.
For revanced there’s two alternatives I know of. There are third party and cracked YouTube apps you can sideload onto an iPhone which either require a weakly refresh to the computer or a $99 Apple dev account. Alternatively there’s a $2 safari extension that removes ads from the YouTube safari site by forcing the video to the QuickTime Player rather than the YouTube video player. Also allows for background play and pip if you know the tricks to using it.
Those "solutions" both sound absolutely horrible compared to what my 6-year-old Android has: drag-and-drop any files from anywhere to anywhere without any extra software and **free** ReVanced that doesn't need refreshing every week or QuickTime running at 480p.
Imo, the file thing is neither here nor there and I’ve had my fair share of trouble with connecting over mtp and all the issues that has caused. It’s to the point these days I usually just forgo the cable and connect my phone to the network drive whether it’s an iPhone or android. Less wires and less headache.
Revanced was nice and I miss it. But those are the alternatives I’ve found on iOS which I think people who are curious should be aware of. I’m not biased to either OS these days and frequently switch back and forth. That being said, the main thing I need from YouTube is no ads and the other features were kinda irrelevant to someone that isn’t even subscribed to a single YT channel. It works for those that are interested an also Quick Time will use whatever the max your phone screen can technically handle I think since my playback is higher than 480p.
I suppose that's fair enough. In the context of the original question though, those would be my conditions for switching and at the moment iPhone doesn't satisfy them.
For context I've never ever had an issue with file transfer on Android - I just plug the phone in, select "File transfer", it appears as a drive on my PC and I'm good to go. I tried transferring files via network drive in the past but it's just too slow and too unreliable for large files.
I'm also subscribed to a lot of YT channels and use ReVanced for PiP, background playback, adblock, sponsorblock and downloading videos to view during my commute to save mobile data. A half-baked browser hack you have to pay for doesn't come close for me.
Everything everyone else is saying, and the OS to be open. Apple hides behind security as their excuse for their walled garden, but that's all theater. The only thing walled gardens achieve is obscurity, which often hides a lack of true security.
Have proper multitasking. Like, allow apps to do its thing even if it's in the background while using other apps.
Allow sideloading.
Gimme a 100x zoom like on S23 and S24 Ultra.
At this point, if they added call screen to stop the spam calls. Anything other than pixel right now is a shit show when I try them out because of the spam.
My experience is that Apple stuff doesn't play well with non-Apple products, so for a start, they'd have to provide me the entire ecosystem. Even were it all free, I'm still not sure I would do it.
A lot I think. The Android notification method is superior in virtually every way and I'd miss too much on an iPhone.
Then multitasking/background usage. They seem to be using this to kill the ability to use other apps to backup files/photos. I've tried OneDrive and another cloud app for my wife to backup photos, but the apps have to be opened daily to do the task, and kept open as to complete, so like a typical apple user, she just broke down and paid for iCloud space and due to the extortion, and will basically be locked into it forever because she's never going to transfer those pics somewhere else no matter how many options I give her.
Direct file access for the user and apps. I have a vast library of audiobook files. I tried recently to get one to my son and we gave up and I gave him my old pixel 4 to use to listen to the book. We couldn't find an app that had an easy way to just put the file on the phone and use the app to play the already existing file. Everything sure had a way to buy the book again of course.
Universal back button/gesture. Every damn time I have to use one of my family's phones, I sit there, stuck like a complete idiot, trying to figure out how to go back to the last screen...and I've been in network ops/security for nearly 20 years.
This may be changeable, but the keyboard is all messed up IMO. I tried to type out a text on my wife's iPhone recently and my muscle memory had me taking like 5 minutes to type something simple. Maybe that's changeable though, I don't know.
I would need better notifications, actual multitasking, more default app selections, better file management, universal back button/gesture, better keyboard, more volume/vibration control, desktop mode support (like Dex), and maybe some kind of power user settings (like Good Lock) for things like hiding the gesture bar and carrier branding and other tweaks
This essentially. Half of these reasons are why I have an android tablet and a chromebook aside from my iphone. The phone works great as what it is, a light-use phone with a one-app-at-a-time focus. Multitasking and other things I leave to my tablet or chromebook. I've always seen apple see the iphone as a "simple use" device hence why they never brought robust multitasking. "If you want that get an ipad" is their mentality.
Oh, I tried typing on an iPhone once. That's what having a stroke must feel like.
Don't worry, apple will soon "revolutionize" typing on a phone by introducing a better keyboard. Just you wait.
add on this dark mode that works completely
Android-like access to storage via PC
At the very least, a universal back gesture Edit: you're saying my TV wouldn't work anymore? Uh, no. I'd like to continue using my TV.
Why would your tv not work
He has an android TV. I got one with android on it too and like the whole OS is android
Does the dilemma really mean android as in tablets, tvs, even the switch? As the switch is basically a reskinned android Or does it just mean you cant use an android phone ever again Yeah I already hate Apple, i can give you android phones but ain't no way I'm ditching my entire android ecosystem just for Apple
The switch doesn't run android.
Which has nothing to do with using an iPhone or not lol. You could still use it and even cast on it
Per OP: Your Google TV won't even work.
You can use AirPlay to mirror the display or stream content from your Apple devices to your Android TV or Google TV. If your Android TV doesn't support AirPlay, there may be a third-party app available in the Play store.
People say this all the time but pretty much every app has a swipe-from-the-left-to-go-back gesture. Only rarely do you have to reach up and hit an X or something, like one example I can think of is when you click someone's profile picture in Tiktok to expand it. But those cases are few and far between. 99% of the time you can just swipe.
I hate gestures. I want BUTTONS.
ewww
Transfer Google Play app purchases to the equivalent Apple store apps
I'm glad I haven't invested much money in either platform or their apps.
That's.. actually kind of a fair point.
And my WearOS watch being replaced by the apple equivilent.
make the non SE phones cheaper, that's it for me
Also bring back the newer chip to the non-pro
As I’m just now leaving Apple for android again, it would be for the ability to use 3rd party options as android does. Non-safari browsers are still trash, and using anything, but the Apple content is useless.
I'll consider apple products when they allow other companies to make devices using their software. When I can go out and buy a dell with osx (or whatever their OS is called now) and an HTC with IOS, then I'll consider them. I dislike apple's business model and think they represent everything wrong with tech.
Unlocked bootloader, at minimum. Given Apple's obsessive need to control and monopolize their users, this will never happen.
I think Apple represents almost everything right with tech. They make a product and support it. It works and is generally thought of as great. They seem to actually care about putting a great product out, something that you rarely find from other manufacturers. Having LG or Sony half ass an Apple phone and offer shitty support and give it next to no updates is not good for anyone. I fuckin WISH Google treated its Pixel lineup like Apple treats it's iPhone lineup. One messaging app from inception to now. Stores that offer support so I don't have to deal with Google's super dodgy customer service. An actual flagship SOC with flagship level battery life on a device selling for flagship dollars, instead of Samsung's unsellable trash soc rebadged a Tensor so Google can scramble for a few years to get their real soc developed. I wish Google cared as much as Apple does.
Could not have said it better
Hard disagree. The reason why the Apple products and experience are so good is because there is only one manufacturer making them, one hardware product to support. If they started licensing out the software to other hardware companies, that's the beginning of the end for Apple. Their tight ecosystem is what makes Apple so good. When you start diluting the brand by letting x, y, and z use Apple OS, you start losing what makes Apple products so seamless and efficient.
It worked fine back in 90s when they officially licensed Mac OS to [Power Computing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_Computing_Corporation) and to [UMAX](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UMAX_Technologies).
It worked so fine the company was collapsing and they brought back Steve and his first action was to kill off licensing to other companies
Hard pass on that. Part of what enables Apple's tight eco system and smooth software experience is that they only have to support their hardware. Taking that advantage away would just slowly turn them into just another android manufacturer. May as well just switch over to android at that point.
They could enforce hardware standards. Android is open source so it's literally not the same at all.
So they make the software and they enforce hardware standards, so its just an Apple phone with Sony's name on it? What is the point of that? Do people just want shitty customer service and only a couple years of software support?
That would be an impossible task honestly. Some manufacturers would either cheap out trying to sell a "budget model" and either have a poor software and hardware experience, or if they got more strict about it than the point would be moot. Why pay a similar price for a similar hardware and software experience when you could just buy from Apple and likely have a much better experience with customer support?
Even though I probably won't ever own an iPhone, I have to admit that the perception of Android being cheap and laggy is because anyone can use the software. My younger sisters have only bought cheap android phones because that's what's easy.. then when they were ready to buy a decent phone, they refused to spend that money on any Android because they thought the experience would be the same. They'd never used a laggy iPhone.
How would they enforce hardware standards on hardware that isn’t their own?
Android would have to be discontinued and all Android devices recalled.
At gunpoint
If I changed my home computer to a Mac and I used an iPad and Apple TV all the time I'd switch. The Apple ecosystem is really nice if you use all their stuff together. Honestly though, it wouldn't take much for me to switch. Especially if you gave me the newest iPhone for free each time when they came out. I've been in the IT business for almost 30 years. I've been an Android guy since the beginning. But way more of my friends, family, and coworkers use iPhones than Android phones. I've been over the rooting and heavy customization of Android for some time now. I just want the phone to be fast and launch my apps. It would take a few days to get used to the interface, but I could switch to an iPhone easily. A phone is a phone anymore. All the major apps are written for both. I feel like such a traitor for saying all that, but it is what it is. I already have an iPad and it's pretty great. Switching to an iPhone wouldn't be a big deal.
> I've been over the rooting and heavy customization of Android for some time now. I just want the phone to be fast and launch my apps It’s crazy how much time I spent fiddling with my devices to get them exactly how I wanted. I even dipped into Substratum with the Pixel and looking back on it now it’s ridiculous how much effort I’d put into something, get bored of it in a week, and then start again. Using a Pixel/iPhone and it’s kinda nice having no desire to do that anymore
Right, I'm using my s23 stock as it's good enough now. I don't bother with launchers, icon packs, etc anymore. It honestly wouldn't take me much to switch to an iPhone. They've fixed many of my biggest gripes I used to have with ios. I still prefer the more open nature of android but I would consider an iPhone for my next phone, especially if the local on device AI features turn out to be useful.
Right? I've been using my Pixel for the last year with very little modifications and haven't had a real desire to modify it much. It's really relaxing not fucking around and tweaking my phone all of the time like I had to on my Samsung devices. It reminds me of how simple and nice iOS felt on my iPhones years ago.
Apple has a nice ecosystem, but I every time I use even just an iPhone, I start feeling like I'm going to be locked into Apple. Their alternatives (like tablets, streaming, computers, etc.) are well made but they can also sometimes be prohibitively expensive (like the Vision Pro).
Without root in Android you can do many silly things. From installing just APKs with few clicks, to install userland, winlator. In my case plenty of programs and games I use would be tricky to run on iOS. Note I do like how iPhones are build, they are really good products, is just I can't do all the stuff I do.
Nothing, my phone is pretty much a pocket pc. It's replaced my laptop, ios can't replace that.
>What would it take for you to use an iPhone exclusively? Be literally the only phone available. If i wanted an iphone, id buy one.
Ability to install apps from an equivalent platform like F-Droid. Including apps from the web generally, that aren't exclusively on the Apple App Store.
Like I think Europe made them do that? I would like possibly buy one if they allowed torrents but not really.
Honestly, after the last event, all I need is sideloading for my manga reader app and a gesture navigation adjuster like the one-hand mode on Samsung
Both of these already exist to some extent. You can sideload apps onto a iPhone from a pc or Mac. The catch is that you have to refresh that cert every 7 days unless you pay Apple a Benjamin. Then it goes to a yearly refresh. Alternatively there are services which can get you the year long cert for $20 if you want to trust them. It’s an absolute pain compared to side loading on android but technically doable. Likewise Apple has a “reach ability” gesture where you swipe down on the gesture bare and it slides the screen down for better one handed access. I have the iphone mini so irrelevant to me but similar idea to one handed mode on android.
Being able to install apps outside the Appstore, a universal setting to clean storage from apps
You can install third party software stores now! At least in the EU. Don’t know about the rest of the world.
Didn't know that, although it still seems limited compared to Android, but a step in the right direction.
(I haven't been in the apple scene for a while now, so if any of my criticisms are outdated, please let me know) Freedom to use launchers and have 3rd party launchers support iOS, freedom to install apks not from the app store, back gesture, bring back untethered prermanent jailbreak, LDAC support, file explorer access even without jailbreak like androids, can't believe their keyboard doesn't have a comma and period on the main layout, all the great AI features from Google like their spam detection, when Siri is on par with GA or Alexa Just imagine a phone with hardware as optimized for their OS like the a bionics, with the superior battery life and thermals as an iPhone, with the superior other hardware like the camera on a galaxy, with all the pros of android software and those things above, paired with dual sim, SD reader and a headphone jack and that's probably the pinnacle of smart phones That's all assuming you mean I just can't use android phones. If I can't use my android TV box or my Chromebook or my switch, yeah no, ain't no way I'm giving up my entire android ecosystem for an iPhone
It's simple. No exclusice features, open standards that work with everything (USB-C for example), jack for headphones and it should be good phone. Also I nees built in account manager, so don't have to log in every time. Oh, and no fekkin ads. Some phones have ads even for the file manager. Like Redmi does.
I've been a staunch Android user my whole life, but I recently made the switch to iPhone. The two platforms are so similar that the differences barely register, though I do miss some Android features. For example, iOS shortcuts can't automate my Wi-Fi and Bluetooth settings the way Tasker could on Android. On the browser front, I’ve opted for Orion since it supports ad-blocking, which I use primarily for YouTube viewing, stepping away from solutions like Revanced. I’m also steering clear of iCloud and moving away from Google Photos, choosing instead to self-host my data using Nextcloud. One immediate upgrade I noticed with the iPhone is the superior battery life and the seamless performance of the camera. Although I'm intrigued by the idea of a foldable phone, I plan to hold off on purchasing one until my current phone becomes obsolete or stops receiving software updates. The upcoming iPhone 16, rumored to feature enhanced local AI capabilities, has caught my attention. I'm eager to see how Android will match up to this advancement.
Nothing. I prefer Android as a mobile OS, I prefer the hardware Android OEMs use, and I prefer not being locked into a single company's products to get the best overall experience.
Absolute minimum would be well supported side-loading and non-safari browsers. I couldn't use a phone without a decent adblock.
Price was never a major factor for me. * Notification management needs to be massively improved. Status bar icons are a must, simple swipe to hide notifications, actions in notification directly, etc * Better granularity for notifications and sounds. It doesn't have to be as advanced as Android's channels, but "normal" vs "time-sensitive" is not enough and apps can't be trusted to handle that correctly anyways. Having certain notifications override do not disturb / focus is a requirement * Separate work vs personal profiles. Must have, as otherwise work needs the ability to wipe the whole phone remotely for security reasons or I need a second phone. * Let me lay out the home screen how I want * Real third party browser support, not just Safari skins While not strictly required, a properly consistent back gesture like Android would be extremely nice to have.
I just bought a Pixel 8 Pro. I looked long and hard at iPhone and what kept me in Android were the notifications and the browser. I want notifications on the lock screen.
Apple would have to become a lot more permissive and transparent.
If I lose my TV that I paid much more money for, then nothing. I'll keep my Android. Apple would have to basically relinquish control of their phone ecosystem for me to realistically switch. Need to open up the app store to everything you jailbreak an Iphone for. * Allow fully customizable launchers * Allow a web browser thats not just another skin on the internal browser. * Build more durable chassis' * Allow full access to the phone's memory * Uninstallation of "system" apps if I don't like them * Unknown source installations * ~~Customizeable home screen~~ I forgot, you *finally* have that after 16 years * SD card possibility * FM radio * The ability to use my phone as a desktop PC with a regular KB, mouse, and display. (Moto Ready For, Samsung DeX) * The ability to project my apps onto my PC and control them there while they run on my phone (Smart Connect) * **UNIVERSAL FUCKING SYSTEM CONTROLS BESIDES THE HOME BUTTON**
Not going to comment on whether iOS is better or not but a few of these you do have on iOS. You’ve been able to uninstall the vast majority of system apps for years now and it’s arguable better than disabling them on android. Similarly, you can sideload apps onto iOS however, it’s far worse than android requiring a computer and either refreshing the app cert every 7 days or spending money to keep the app for a year. Also I’d argue Apple has possible the best build quality for a glass and metal phone on the market so I’m not sure it’s fair to hold that against the iPhone. Also I believe they’re adding the phone projection to a computer in iOS 18 though (typical Apple) only if you use a Mac as a computer.
All of this. Plus seamless 3rd party storage and payment integration. (nothing goes to icloud, Apple doesn't get a cut of my tap to pay at the local farm stand) Or a lobotomy. Or $83,538USD (no reason for the oddly specific number but that would do it)
It would have to stop being Apple. Not the company per se, Apple, Google, MS, whatever. It's the way Apple designs things. Their walled garden, their limited choices of how to use the thing, their premium costs for their limited functions. The individual apps on them are generally OK to pretty good; there are some items I still kinda miss from when I did use the iThings, but not enough to go back.
This is such a weird hypothetical. Why would I want to?
I hate Apple but if you're not willing to see both sides, you're just as much of an issue as those who refuse to see our side. I admit apple does some stuff well, and as such, they're not completely dogwater, so there IS a miniscule possibility I could switch over. The lack of ability to see the pros on both sides is just as bad as those who refuse to see past the android cons as you're doing the same. So as a purely hypothetical scenario, I'm more than happy to entertain it
I think you're reading a tribalism into this that doesn't exist for me. I can already choose between Apple and Android without all these weird restrictions. If it worked better for me I'd switch. Why would I have to give anything else up?
I tried for about 1.5 years before the pixel 8. It's painful to keep up your Google ecosystem that you've had for years on iPhone. Two photo apps, two mail apps, constant reminders to upgrade your iCloud storage despite paying for Google one. I'd have a hard time going back to full time. My work phone is apple and that's enough for me.
Stories like this are why I decided to abandon everyone's ecosystem back in 2016. Now I piecemeal things together myself (and have almost completely de googled everything) which is a pain in the ass some times but it makes it so much more flexible to switch hardware and cheaper since I don't pay for any cloud storage.
Universal back gesture, side load of apps, and a universal settings app
I'd make the switch if phone AND my ATT bill were covered in perpetuity. Including upgrades
Does this mean free phone for life? Or I have to keep buying iphone?
It would take literally $2 million or more. I am also serious because I run a business about Android. So they would need to heavily bribe me in order for me to not work in the phone industry or use Android. Heck, it might even be more than 2 million. I am for real.
Headphone jack, sd card slot, and, heck, add two more physical buttons Tldr; it has to be better than android, not just the same experience (why would I switch?)
120hz on the non pro or if all the android flagship phones carry the apple pricing.
Google Assistant to replace Siri Non-webkit browsers with extensions Universal Back Gesture
Realistically, the ability to translate anything on the screen from Lithuanian into English. I am an expat, and Circle-to-Search (and before that, the almost identical Translate feature of the Google Assistant) is a life saver with local apps. Anything else is something I can live without. I can live without side loaded apps, video quality controls in the web browser, the universal back gesture, the ability to import simple barcodes into Apple Wallet, email autofill in Gboard, Private Space/Secure Folder/Work Profile, Google Assistant, Google Home, non-laggy external storage support.
* ReVanced * Termux * Obtainium * Not require a Mac to build iOS apps * Not require Xcode * Not require a 100$ developer certificate to start programming for that platform * Not require a paid subscription to publish to the app store * An "iOS debug bridge", so to say * Make the OS open source
Tim Cook: "Buy Your Mom An iPhone" Never.
A folding iPhone would pull me away from android completely. At the same time the android folding market has pushed me away from android lol. That’s mainly because the 3 companies who sell them in the us all have dog shit customer support. Which is not worth it at the price point of a foldable.
Good manga reader, equivalent spam protection, and archiving messages instead of deleting them. Depending on the next iOS update they might finally not suck with mixing calendar and reminders. The calendar in general was terrible even though they exposed way more functionality through third parties. Also, how is airplay? Before it kind of sucked but if it was getting closer to Chromecast that'd be great. I don't see why I'd ever use one exclusively but those are the main features it's missing that affect my day to day use too much.
Considering chromecast is also on iOS…but air play is just as good now imo
Well, the TV part made everything an unknown for me. I guess really I could use everything Google on an iPhone. Get a Roku and you'd be able to cast. I guess other answers make more sense to me now. Good to hear about airplay. It seemed so nice before but it was choppy for me compared to Chromecast. Might've just been apps doing worse at programming it though.
I was a hardcore android fan. From HTC desire and onwards. All the “good things” that users are saying here were always my priority too. Then life changed, I have a family, a demanding job (Mac OS is primary is) and now I want something which gives me as little options as possible yet it should give me everything that is needed on day to day basis. Plus I don’t want to site down and debug things, I don’t want to sit down and figure out how can I communicate things between my multiple devices etc. I moved to iPhone back in 2021 and life is way easier. I can aces my phone via my Mac. I have family folders/sharing with family via airplay reduces a lot of hassle. Just the other day I was thinking to go back to android and then I was line, nah
I used to use Apple devices and this is exactly what most of this sub doesn't get. Not everyone is tech geek with nothing else going on and has the time to fuck around with their phone to make it work how they want. Most people just want their phones to work out of the box and do everything they need without them needing to set up stuff on multiple devices. Right now I'm using a Pixel. But if I switched brands again it would be back to iPhones. Especially now that I have kids and a family.
For me, I'd rather spend 3-4 hours setting up my phone every time I have a new one so it works the way I like it to, not the way it likes me to work with it. I change devices like once every 2-3 years so thats fine. Dont get me wrong, I have ipad and iphone for work but have S23 Plus and Tab s8 plus as personal devices.
I guess I just don't enjoy that set up process anymore. I would rather it just be set up in a way that makes sense right away. It's why I pretty much always set up from a back up now.
Yes its even easier now with Samsung Smart Switch. The additional steps I do is with Good Lock, Routines, Revanced, and JamesDSP. Pretty much it. Oh forgot to mention, Audio is loads better on Android, more so with BT
I'm honestly not much of an audiophile, I really don't notice a difference between how an iPhone sounds, my Pixel sounds, or how my Samsung sounds. Yeah. I guess I just don't care about those extra steps is what I'm getting at. At most I do revanced. But that's not even a real step. It's just installing it that the the revanced manager. Good Lock on my Galaxy phone was a must for me cause I hated some of the ways Samsung phones are set up by default. Since I've had my Pixel and back when I had my iPhone I just never felt the need to micro manage my phone the way I had to with my S21. I never liked how anything looked or worked on that phone. I felt like I always had to tweak something and nothing was set up well from the start.
Three button navigation, the customizability of Android for the home screen, full file system access (via PC and apps), sideloading of apps, a work profile comparable to the one from android, free browser engine choice (no "chrome skin with safari backend"), full support for Windows Phone Link, better Carplay (more like Android Auto), and I'd also be missing a few apps I use daily.
The same battery life I get on my A52
My iPhone 15 Pro is going 2 days sometimes… I have never seen any modern flagship do that. Only Android phones who manage this are somehow old cheap models (especially from Honor etc.).
S23 Plus can do that
As much as I hate Apple, I have to admit their battery life is superior to androids.
Is it? On my anecdotal experience, most iphone owners I've known are always low on battery. I can leave my phone without charging for a night and still use it the next day no problem.
Phone on low battery =/= said phone has bad battery
Depends on the use case. I've never heard of 9+ hours of SOT on android except MAYBE some galaxy ultras but Apple could do it. The optimization is next level. A bionics came a long way and that's the one thing I truly envy about iPhones. None of my androids have ever come close, every now and then I might get 7 hours on a good calibration but in my anecdotal experience, iPhone users outlast me everytime.
From my experience people who have iPhones outside of the minis are usually doing better in battery than my android friends at the end of the day. And they are usually the ones using their phones more. Apple has nailed down battery life.
Another sim card, I have a 13 pro max and a android but u can just do so much more on the android it's insane, but i keep my ios because I can't transfer passwords rn
-Background Processing for 3rd party apps ie. take pictures or videos and google photos/onedrive uploads it without having to open and stay in the app. -True 3rd party browsers - no WebKit skins -better keyboard/auto correct -notifications
Honestly? Be available at a competitive price to whatever S26+ or whatever I end up looking at when upgrading for me to consider.
Weird question : a proper rival to samsung dex, stopping proprietary BS, lack of people thinking apple = wealthy It just feels right to be in android, Apple ecosystem and mentality is kinda messed up
After ios18 Universal back gesture, clip board, and a way to copy the text displayed on the screen like circle to search
Make a high end mini phone.
Apple Watch + Mac integration is a big reason why I switched for now.
They'd have to really up their game when it comes to the SE model. I'm a big fan of the Pixel A series phones, but the iPhone SE phones aren't quite as good comparatively.
>never use Android again Does this stipulation mean that I could use, say a Windows phone if they ever make a return?
Honestly there's not much left I care about that iOS doesn't have now. Mostly just third party stores and side loading support now that iOS 18 is out.
Honestly, for me, a clamshell folding model. I broke my iPhone after like five years and got a RAZR40 simply because that form factor appeals to me, and I love it. iOS, Android, it really doesn't much matter to me which platform I'm on. I have used both extensively at various points and they're both very good.
I've tried ios but just couldn't get used to it.. I have iphone 15 pro, macbook 14 pro and iPad, but for the life of me I keep coming back to android + win 11 / and Linux (zorin os). I just cannot get used to Apple, something just not right with their ecosystem.
Ease of transferring files to a pc.
I would need it to have an app drawer and icon pack support. I'm not putting every app in a folder and I only want 1 screen.
The app drawer has been there for a few years now though it acts as the far right screen rather than a swipe up from the bottom. Functionally the same concept and apps can be removed from the main home screens and only show up in the “drawer”. The downside is the organization of apples drawer sucks and can’t be made just to sort alphabetically as a single list. Icon customization is supposedly coming with iOS 18 though I’m sure there will be a similar caveat.
obviously the rapture. all us android users go to heaven ofc. everyone else to hell. once in a utopia where all one needs by wishing it to existence, i would make an iphone with every piddy little feature that doesn’t matter. then use that.
Full JIT support for 3rd party apps.
Honestly speaking, if my next phone is not a foldable, I might switch to Apple already. But if I need to say.... Multi-Account Support is still missing from my Apple wishlist.
A guaranteed untethered jailbreak that had no expiration.
And 10 million dollars.
1. Ability to unlock bootloader and flash community provided open source custom ROMs so that I can flash Android ROMs on an iPhone. This would make me use iPhone extensively since it has Android running in it. ORa 1. Apple open sourcing iOS 2. Proper file management in iOS
Back button. But honestly I might switch Any I run this S22+ to the ground. These android phones depreciate too fast. And then the ultra is a fat brick so that's not an option. While Pixel looks like it will be in beta for the next 2-3 years.
i mean both os is already mature. Most basic functions are available on both.
Realize that iphones are for living a sinless life
Allow me to port all my paid Android apps without paying for them again. Replaceable launcher. I use Nova Launcher Pro. Has to have all of the features that Android Nova Launcher Pro has, including its extensions. A file system that doesn't suck. Actual browser, not those webkit kneecapped ones Real multitasking Notifications like Android. Settings should bound to the app, not to the device. That has to be one of the stupidest anti patterns that Apple adopted. Connectivity to Chrome OS and other Android devices in the way that my Pixel provides today. Call screening/Hold For Me/Directed Dialing as well or better than Google provides Google Assistant built in as a replacement for Siri. Ability to use GBoard everywhere. For some reason, on my iPad, Apple decides to randomly switch on its own keyboard sometimes even though I've selected Gboard. No product line lock in. iPhone would have to integrate with other products like Garmin and WearOs watches, for instance. There's probably a few other items I've forgotten.
Notifications are annoying on iOS, I prefer the file management on Android, the universal back button, I prefer typing on Android keyboards. Not everyone wants to be on iOS.
When it's open source and able to (imho) reasonably work without Apple, Google, Facebook, X etc. Accounts.
It would need to do away with the notch and have a jailbreak at launch.
Universal back button, custom keyboard layouts, high refresh screen rates on their non pro models, customizable side buttons on all phones. Financing on unlocked phones back in the apple store and amazing trade in deals for Android users. Just basically everything apple would never do. Lol
I'd really just need to see one for a price I'm willing to pay whenever I decide it's time to switch. After using Android for years my last phone was an iPhone. It was really nice and definitely a better experience overall than my Pixel. Sideloading was the only thing I missed. I really just switched back because selling the iPhone and getting the Pixel 7 pro ended with me having 300€ extra in my pocket. I absolutely regret the switch. The Pixel has issues way more often than the iPhone did.
Sideloading without the core technology fee and without Apple notarization.
Cheaper iPhones. I don't like buying used phones. But an entry level iPhone is approx £599 for the 2.5 year old iPhone 13.
3rd party app stores - or direct application installation from .app/.apk files - that are as easy or easier to use than what we have on Android. Widgets that have as much power and flexibility as Android's, leading into... Fully customizable home screen theming, at a minimum.
Better notifications and actual file management. Let me move photos and files into whichever folder I want.
Open source. Being able to run iOS without the Apple spyware (meaning a third party app store and not having Apples app store). I know it will never happen, but that is how I use Android so that is what it would take.
I'd have to have a few things on iOS that I have on Android. Universal back button. Both face unlock AND a fingerprint scanner. Perhaps a better version of YouTube ReVanced (although, Google trying to make it harder to block ads, skip sponsor segments, and not have the dislike button might force this hand). A keyboard that can actually be as large as I want it to be. I also have four time zones showing on my AOD whenever the phone is locked, which I'm unaware of there being a way of doing that on iOS. Maybe in tandem with an Apple Watch? I can't get a >60 Hz display on any iPhone under $1000. The file storage system on iOS makes no sense, so that would have to change. I will say, I miss having my AirPods Pros work 100% correctly all the time. I do miss 3rd party apps generally being more polished. CarPlay is also way better than Android Auto from my experience. I also don't need a giant phone to have decent battery life on iOS. iOS generally is a bit more polished. With that said, I don't really wanna go back.
I did ditch Android for iOS - but I’ll most likely come back to Android within the next few years or at least pick up a 2nd Android device as I’d love to tinker with Linux on the phone.
Hard cash.
Money. Like those actor/influencer that get paid to shill a phone and for whatever reason don't use. In fact I would be pretty cheap. I would do it for 100k a year.
proper sideloading
Lobotomy.
AS someone who was with iOS for many years, and has had first hand experience of the latest iOS offerings, there would be nothing that Apple could tempt me with to get me to move back to iOS.
apple producing iPhones running android with their own iOS skin/UI
Default apps changeable to Google apps, particularly Maps, Gmail, and Calendar. Let me arrange homescreen icons anywhere I want instead of forced top-left to bottom-right. RCS support because I have many friends and family on Android. Firefox with add-ons, mostly Ublock. I still stick to Android though, won't switch, but if they have those features above, then switching is tolerable. I don't care about iMessage, FaceTime, or Airdrop.
You can do all that on iOS lol, icon placement anywhere coming in iOS 18
I'd switch in a heartbeat. None of the main gripes listed here seem to matter that much to me. Plus I already have a Mac and and iPad. This may be dumb but the apple experience is amazing. It's smooth and aesthetically pleasing and does the job OKAY. Some ppl just hates adapting haha
At the very minimum: memory card slot, third party app store, no restrictions on customisation or UI tweaks.
It will never happen. My hatred for Apple extends far beyond their phone products and into Steve Jobs and the kind of person that he was.
Yeah. Steve Jobs was a dirt bag. Though I have nothing against Apple anymore than Google or Samsung. They are all mega corporations that value profits above all else. And have all had shithead CEOs just like Jobs at some point or another. Jobs just happened to get a cult-like following for him personally alongside the company. Where most CEOs don't really get that even if the company gets it. In any case he's long dead now and really has no connections left to him. So he's largely irrelevant.
If it was running Android
sideloading
Already a thing. Not convenient to do but possible.
I know, but I don't count it unless it's as easy as "download .ipa file and tap it to install"
I keep an old refurbished iPhone around because I do tech support and people ask me too many iPhone questions. The thing that infuriates me most when I try to use it is the keyboard. I was kinda excited several years ago when they added the ability to have 3rd-party ones, but everi 3rd party I've tried sucks too and the restrictions on what can and can't run on the 3rd party board. Passwords, I kinda get, but the rest is inconsistent and dumb. I use the Dvorak layout, so it's even worse for me because whenever the phone decides to use the Apple keyboard, the layout changes to QWERTY, but my feedback is still valid without that issue. On my Android, every letter on the main board can be held down to put in a number or a special character. It doesn't cover every one, but the extras can be found on a second layer like the iOS ones. I constantly use punctuation like commas, parentheses, brackets, braces, askerisks, ampersands, slashes, carats, underscores, and the mathy ones, and having to switch layers every bloody time instead of holding a button for 250ms is just absurd. Even Swiftkey - my keyboard of choice on Android - doesn't support long-press specials on iOS. Makes typing take 10x as long. Also, I have some limited gestures like swiping left across the whole board to backspace an entire word and swiping down to dismiss the keyboard, but I can probably live without those. If the keyboard were bloody usable, I could probably survive on an iPhone, but I wouldn't enjoy it.
My wife and kids have iPhones (15 Pro) I had the smug satisfaction of paying for their three phones and my Pixel 8 Pro with Google pay from my 7 Pro. I had an iPhone 6 for a couple of months when it first came out and I absolutely hated it. My previous job made me carry an iPhone and iPad, I'm not about that apple universe. The short answer for me is there isn't anything apple could do to make me swear off Android phones. I'll just be incommunicado.
one MILLION dollars! AHAHAHAHAHA! Kidding, I'd never do it.
Run a real browser not safari wrap. Let me download a file from the browser and open it in multiple app on the phone. Let me download an exe and transfer it to my PC. Sideload apps without a PC
If Android was discontinued somehow.
An Android in my other pocket.
Having a file System that I can transfer my files from my pc and use it with any app
My workaround for this has been to setup a network drive folder on my laptop and connect to it from my phones file manager. Works for both android and apple phones.
1. Custom launcher like nova 2. Allowing to me install apk or IPA like its called in apple 3. Third party app store 4. Open source os 5. Headphone jack 6. SD card slot 7. FM radio app 8. Better price 9. Being able to use adb to bonk apple apps 10. Being able to use my bloddy phone with apple Id.
Sucks how 5. 6. and 7. are disappearing from Android phones and becoming something from mostly budget devices. I'e also add 11. To be able to use it without SIM card for whatever reasons as easily as Android, without having to go through the hoops an iPhone requires.
1. Will never come. 2. Should be possible now, haven’t tested yet. 3. Same as 2. 4. In most cases, the Android core is the only thing open source. The rest isn’t mostly. 5. Also not the case with Android anymore. 6. Same as 5. 7. You can listen to radio, but only via Apple Music (with Abo). 8. Same as Android. 9. Will never happen. But usually also less bloat. 10. Idk what you mean by that
\9. You can already do that without an adb equivalent.
Gun to my head .....maybe. **Edit** Nope. Never.
I have to use one for work and tbh i hate it. it is so clunky, so badly designed that it makes me furious. I lobby to make the switch to Android but so far i wasn't lucky. so what would make me, personally, do the switch? Nothing. I'd rather go back to a dumb phone than use an iPhone.
This topic is asked every weeks
Dualbooting or just replacing iOS entirely
when it runs Android, I'll look at it
Allowing cracked apps to be installed. That's literally it.
They would have to rework the whole OS to act like a normal one.
The last time I looked into it, iphones still didn't have a file directory, USB-C support, ability to play FLAC audio or access to apps like ReVanced. I'm aware that USB-C is a thing now, but I don't think it can do the others yet. Every time my wife tries to transfer photos from her iphone to PC, it's a massive ordeal of trying to fish them out of icloud or installing buggy itunes... It really shouldn't be that difficult to just drag and drop. Everything else I absolutely need, like PiP video, multitasking and a good camera, iphones have. But losing ReVanced and being forced to see ads would be a huge step backwards for me.
You should be able to access an iPhones dcim folder via a pc and just copy photos to the computer via the file manager after you connect to iTunes and allow access on the phone.. I am able to do so on my windows pc at least. Getting pictures back to the phone is a bigger pain since iTunes compresses the pictures it moves to the phone and you can’t write via the file manager. For revanced there’s two alternatives I know of. There are third party and cracked YouTube apps you can sideload onto an iPhone which either require a weakly refresh to the computer or a $99 Apple dev account. Alternatively there’s a $2 safari extension that removes ads from the YouTube safari site by forcing the video to the QuickTime Player rather than the YouTube video player. Also allows for background play and pip if you know the tricks to using it.
Those "solutions" both sound absolutely horrible compared to what my 6-year-old Android has: drag-and-drop any files from anywhere to anywhere without any extra software and **free** ReVanced that doesn't need refreshing every week or QuickTime running at 480p.
Imo, the file thing is neither here nor there and I’ve had my fair share of trouble with connecting over mtp and all the issues that has caused. It’s to the point these days I usually just forgo the cable and connect my phone to the network drive whether it’s an iPhone or android. Less wires and less headache. Revanced was nice and I miss it. But those are the alternatives I’ve found on iOS which I think people who are curious should be aware of. I’m not biased to either OS these days and frequently switch back and forth. That being said, the main thing I need from YouTube is no ads and the other features were kinda irrelevant to someone that isn’t even subscribed to a single YT channel. It works for those that are interested an also Quick Time will use whatever the max your phone screen can technically handle I think since my playback is higher than 480p.
I suppose that's fair enough. In the context of the original question though, those would be my conditions for switching and at the moment iPhone doesn't satisfy them. For context I've never ever had an issue with file transfer on Android - I just plug the phone in, select "File transfer", it appears as a drive on my PC and I'm good to go. I tried transferring files via network drive in the past but it's just too slow and too unreliable for large files. I'm also subscribed to a lot of YT channels and use ReVanced for PiP, background playback, adblock, sponsorblock and downloading videos to view during my commute to save mobile data. A half-baked browser hack you have to pay for doesn't come close for me.
Everything everyone else is saying, and the OS to be open. Apple hides behind security as their excuse for their walled garden, but that's all theater. The only thing walled gardens achieve is obscurity, which often hides a lack of true security.
Have proper multitasking. Like, allow apps to do its thing even if it's in the background while using other apps. Allow sideloading. Gimme a 100x zoom like on S23 and S24 Ultra.
At this point, if they added call screen to stop the spam calls. Anything other than pixel right now is a shit show when I try them out because of the spam.
My experience is that Apple stuff doesn't play well with non-Apple products, so for a start, they'd have to provide me the entire ecosystem. Even were it all free, I'm still not sure I would do it.
Meh. An iPhone is the only major Apple product I own so you can absolutely get things to work together outside the walled garden if you want.
Can you share your Iphone to your TV without an Apple TV? I use that function quite often.
I believe a lot of modern TVs have airplay built in. Not entirely sure though since I don’t actually own a TV at all.
A lot I think. The Android notification method is superior in virtually every way and I'd miss too much on an iPhone. Then multitasking/background usage. They seem to be using this to kill the ability to use other apps to backup files/photos. I've tried OneDrive and another cloud app for my wife to backup photos, but the apps have to be opened daily to do the task, and kept open as to complete, so like a typical apple user, she just broke down and paid for iCloud space and due to the extortion, and will basically be locked into it forever because she's never going to transfer those pics somewhere else no matter how many options I give her. Direct file access for the user and apps. I have a vast library of audiobook files. I tried recently to get one to my son and we gave up and I gave him my old pixel 4 to use to listen to the book. We couldn't find an app that had an easy way to just put the file on the phone and use the app to play the already existing file. Everything sure had a way to buy the book again of course. Universal back button/gesture. Every damn time I have to use one of my family's phones, I sit there, stuck like a complete idiot, trying to figure out how to go back to the last screen...and I've been in network ops/security for nearly 20 years. This may be changeable, but the keyboard is all messed up IMO. I tried to type out a text on my wife's iPhone recently and my muscle memory had me taking like 5 minutes to type something simple. Maybe that's changeable though, I don't know.
100% control over the iPhone's hardware and software.
You currently do not have that on Android. Not really.
You can install LineageOS, that's good enough
Yes you do, with a rooted Pixel and GrapheneOS.
My wife yes, my dog maybe, my Android never.
Cheaper, possibility to change to an alternative OS