Apple does do some things really well. Android could, and I really want to see them do it, but as of right now, there are some things Android does not do well.
Addition: And I think one thing that really hurt the Android ecosystem is when Android phones went through that phase of every phone flagship phone had some sort of gimmick. Where as Apple really just buttoned down and developed a really solid phone. A lot of android phone makers were just focusing on gimmicks like styluses or niche features to set them apart from other Android instead of just really developing a good solid smart phone.
Why people buy Samsung or other manufacturer phones, and then gripe that the company is as stingy with backwards support and updates as they've always been boggles my mind. Why would anyone ever think this time would be different?
For reference, Apple just released a security update for the 5s from 2013 this past June.
The 6S (2015) ran the latest OS until ios 16 this year.
The 5s debuted Sept 2013 as the first 64-bit phone, and the first phone with a Secure Enclave, so I'm kind of hopeful they'll just keep limping it along forever for good will... I own a pair of them and adore them dearly.
On the topic of iOS, be sure to check out https://libimobiledevice.org/, which provides utilities like ifuse that will even get you access to your Photos sqlite database; including all the machine generated tags, aesthetics scores and such.
As of 2019 at least, I was able to reset my first ten iPad (2010) and redownload and use Netflix, Hulu, Crackle, Apple’s iWork suite, Spotify and play music that I had previously purchased from iTunes.
So basically there are GREAT midline phones. I'm not coding on my phone, I m reading slack and email and taking photos.
Are you sure it will keep working fine after two major updates or it will slow down terribly?
This is how I look at it as well. Because anyone can make an Android phone, Android phone makers had to either race to the bottom or come up with their special gimmick. Those that came up with a gimmick became the phone for people who care about that gimmick. But this ceded the domain of "people who don't particularly care about which phones have which gimmicks," aka most people, to Apple.
Pixel managed to break out of this by having their gimmick be "flagship by the people who wrote most of the OS, so, just generally well-implemented," but it took a while to get there.
I dunno what a Dynamic Island is, sounds like a really unpleasant place to take a vacation.
- It's waterproof, dustproof, and shock-proof out of the box. I can image an iPhone can pull this off in a third-party protective case.
- It can sideload software; I have some important apps managed by f-droid. Sorry, iPhone can't do this by design. It's not "strictly better", every such decision is a balancing act. But it's what I prefer.
Things like microSD card, 3.5mm jack, etc are nice but not the essential differentiating factors.
iPhones are engineered very well, and even stands up to abuse quite better than the run of the mill Android phones. Dust proof, water proof etc out of the box.
Man, do I wish regulators would force Apple to break their monopoly on App stores on iOS! Apple can keep their App Store exactly how it is today, but as a user I should be allowed to install “aftermarket” apps via side loading. Sure, I can fall for “insecure” unvalidated 3rd party apps pulling a scam on me, but that’s my prerogative, not Apple’s. They sold me hardware I paid for, they gave me an opportunity to spend and buy apps at their store, but that’s where it should stop. They shouldn’t be allowed to prevent competitors from selling apps to me unless they bend over to Apple. I just don’t see how this is any different from Microsoft bundling Internet Explorer with Windows and pulling dirty tricks from preventing people from installing/using 3rd party web browsers in the nineties.
It was definitely a long way getting there but android is in a pretty great place right now.
I can't imagine ever going back to iPhones. I felt extremely crippled every time I tried to do anything. I remember having no access to the filesystem, having to use proprietary software (iTunes... never again) and having to jailbreak my iPhone to install custom ringtones from my own music. When I got my first android phone and could just plug it in, drag and drop files from my computer, I felt the strongest and weirdest catharsis, akin to "I don't have to suffer anymore".
I've been dismayed with the bloat that's been creeping into Android phones (I'm currently on a Huawei P30).
I've never tried the Zenfone, but now I have to - thanks for the recommendation.
I don’t think they ever grew out of it.
Unlike any previous (Android) phone I've had, it still feels just as fast as it did when it was brand new. To date, the longest I've had any phone is around 3.5 years, and in 2 out of 3 cases it was due to hardware failure. Even if this one were to die tomorrow I'd definitely get another, although I think it's more likely that this one will last at least another couple of years, at which point it will be ~5 years.
And it was one of the best features of android.
Apple makes boring product, that makes it easy for app developers to test (recently less so).
AFAIR Android has still more de ices.
Android is more of a power user device (you can do more, you can root it, think hack as in hacker news).
From power user perspective iPhone is like Windows and Android like Linux.
For now. Remote attestation is becoming mainstream and every app will find a reason to require it. Computing freedom was the whole point of tolerating Android's imperfections. Without that, it's just a poorly kept Google walled garden. My next phone will be an iPhone.
A widely adopted platform/operating system with every improving security fundamentals versus a kernel with numerous spins each awaiting their day on the desktop: This is apt in a manner the author certainly did not intended..
Indeed. I am on my fourth iPhone, an 11 pro now three years old that I expect to keep for at least another year. More would be nice, but that probably requires a battery change. I had my two previous phones for four years each, no problem. I really don’t understand people who just have to get a new phone ever year or two (or three)!
It will never happen. Those people are just not mentally able to understand that other people have different needs, wants, values, and opinions than them.
More seriously it’s actually a meme or a trope that I noticed.
I keep two phones because of personal reasons not relevant to this discussion.
I prefer the iPhone.
I write that on my trusted 2016 SE from Apple and that the finest piece of phone I own. And one of the only I personally owned.
The durability alone is nice.
My send me a succession of phone for various raison. It’s rare that any catch my fancy.
First they are large and two :Android is subpar in my eyes. Saving grace : It is vastly more convenient to shove things in it.
[1]: https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-s-secret-project-nightin...
I understand there are flagship devices that don't have this problem, and maybe this is unfair of me, but I came to expect that devices using Android would likely be riddled with garbage from whatever OEM was relying on the OS. While I do think it's cool that Google made Android so open, it also opened a bit of a Pandora's Box.
However, in the long run, it is likely that open platforms will win. Eventually, the Android ecosystem will get to a point where such software updates stop being a challenge. Then you can just buy a generic Android phone and nearly everything will work. Probably it becomes similar to buying a Windows PC.
But you can't get security updates for a long time, except for a few models into which manufacturers or enthusiasts put efforts.
Linux kernel does not have a stable binary interface. Most phone devices (cameras, fingerprint sensors, even video controllers and radio modules have closed-source drivers. You can't expect manufacturers of these parts to update the drivers for their 3-year-old components for a newer kernel: they want to sell this year's parts instead. Reverse-engineering these drivers is tedious, and only buys you a few years on a handful of models.
Long-term support works for Apple because they have essentially one line of phones, with a narrow set of components, and an enormous power over suppliers. So they can afford to buy serious users' loyalty.
I didnt want a religious war, I just want to use my phone in peace without hearing how you feel about my vendor of telephone. I cant even mention it in passing.
I don't really have many techy friends though so, that might weigh into it a little.
There are deeper questions of privacy and eco-system lock in on all sides. But to most people is just isn't that big of an issue.
Honestly my big gripe still is - I miss Windows phone!
I wish they would make another small-form-factor phone again. I hear the 13 mini or something like that is reasonable, but it is still bigger.
My very first iPhone (first gen) was the all-time best.
But I just can't stand using the thing. So, I'm an Android user. But you'd have to be really misinformed to not be able to admit on paper, they are superior devices.
That aside, it feels certainly like Android leaves you with Goldilocks syndrome. You -can- buy phones with great battery life, great cameras, and great software/ui, but not all 3. Pixel has middling battery life. Samsung's UI/software is slow and bloated. Moto has terrible cameras.
I wonder how many years it will take before I can convince some people that I actually just prefer Apple's phones to competing phones and that I'm not actually brainwashed or forced by Apple to never leave. But that's exactly what a brainwashed person would say...