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  • So first, I will say that the phrase "stopping me from switching" kind of implies that I'm looking to switch but can't.

    I used to have android between the iPhone 4s and the iPhone X. Back then, there were significant features that I wanted that I couldn't get from iOS. Tho now there isn't much that android has that I don't feel I have access to that is significant .

    As for what keeps me around and happy with iPhone is

    • I'm in software engineering and I have always been mac person. I know windows has had the Linux subsystem for a long time now but it feels like a new feature and clunkier than max being freebsd based. My current job forces me to use windows, and I hate it but it's been 4 years, so I've adjusted. That said, the Mac/iPhone/iPad interoperability is great
    • I love my Apple Watch. I'm sure Android wearable have gotten better but the integration feels complete and well supported. I don't have to worry about my phone getting updated and my watch stopping working
    • The find my network is pretty great. I know there are other solutions but airtags are great. All of my devices also have seamless location tracking and sharing out of the box.
    • I pay for the TB of iCloud storage (it's outrageously priced but I'm used to it now). It's great to have all my devices able to just all be using it. Latest addition to my icloud usage was using the Logitech Circleview doorbell and camera. It saves directly to icloud. I don't have to worry about storage and I also don't have to worry about the company sharing my footage with cops cause the data is stored in my icloud drive.
    • it's not flawless nor perfect but knowing that there is app review before something gets published makes me feel better about the entire ecosystem. Kind of like how a bouncer at a bar let's ya know that when you go inside, the riffraff had to at least sneak in
    • apple pay works great for me
    • having all my devices made by the same company is a pro for me but I know others might see it as a con. But my Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, Apple TV, HomePods, AirPods, etc all just being from apple means I have less to keep up with. I don't have to worry about a matrix of who makes what and when it's gonna get updated or dropped
    • resell/trade in value is great cause old devices have such a long life due to software updates
    • my shit just works and I'm happy
    • I know it might be contraversal but I trust Apple. Be it them having a pretty good record on user privacy, or them not allowing bloatware cause of user experience, or them not cramming AI into shit the same way everyone else did (even with the upcoming IOS, their implementation seems well thought out and conservative
    • backups and transferring to new devices has been completely painless (which I do suprisingly often)

    Over the years, I've gone from being a major tech enthusiast to now not wanting to have to futz around when I'm not on the clock. I still like getting tech and adding it to my home, but I don't get in the weeds anymore. I just want my shit to work. I want my stuff to just work for my family.

    I dunno, tweaking and futzing used to be important to me. But now confidence and simplicity matter more to me now

  • First thing: Privacy. I am aware that iOS is not entirely private too, but I trust Apple Photos much more than Google Photos. You can even enable end-to-end encryption iirc.

    Second point is control over my data. I can easily export my photos from Apple Photos as files, whereas Google maliciously separates Photos and Metadata upon export. In my experience this is the same for a lot of other services as well. Being able to easily export my data enables me to escape the walled garden more easily should I get fed up with one system. I also try to use as many open source services as possible for this as well as other reasons.

    Apple has a lot of malicious practices too, especially when it comes to EU citizens and third-party app stores, etc. - but in my experience Google is no better.

    Lastly, I considered switching to an Android with Graphene OS (privacy focused Android derivate) a couple of times, but the added control over your data comes with a lot of other inconveniences. So for now, I’m just sticking to iOS.

  • I just switched back to iPhone a couple of months ago, after 10 years on Android.

    In short, I trust Apple more than Google. That’s not to say Apple is 100% trustworthy, but I definitely trust them more than Google.

  • The original reason I switched from android to iOS is because iPhone’s consistently work well and smoothly, all receive the same updates at the same time, and you’d get more updates out of them which helps them last longer. I just didn’t feel like dealing with the hassle of only getting 2 software updates on a major flagship (which was slowed by 6 months to a year by carriers having to apply their own patches) all for a phone that didn’t work too well to begin with.

    Android has come a long way since then and I can pretty confidently say I’d be more than happy switching to a Pixel or Galaxy S phone these days. I’d even argue their phones are generally nicer in terms of design, and I love that they are more open for customization and other fun uses (ex. Game emulation, termux, mobox, etc).

    The main thing stopping me is that Apple’s integration is just too convenient to beat. Everything syncs seamlessly between iPhone / iPad / Mac and it genuinely feels like they are extensions of each other rather than separate independent devices. Android just doesn’t offer enough for me to justify it over the Apple ecosystem.

    That being said I do have an android phone I bought used on eBay for some of the fun stuff I mentioned above. I highly recommend it to any Apple users who don’t feel like fully switching to android

    • tbf Samsung has a decent-ish ecosystem as well...
      as long as all your devices are Samsung ones

      there's stuff like automatic earbud switching, dragging files between devices, "continue work on other device", Samsung seamless codec for audio etc

    • I remember in the bad old days of the early to mid 2000s, Apple was pushing software updates considerably past the ability of their hardware to actually run it. I had a 5th Gen iPod Touch and after about two and a half years of owning it, it had become basically a brick. Non-responsive UI more often than not and it took upwards of 8 minutes just to reboot the thing, because they were pushing software updates to it intended for a device 2-3 generations ahead. And this was not an isolated incident. I'm convinced it was on purpose, intended to push people to buy the new models.

      Is this still a problem? I switched to Android and never looked back round about 2008.

  • Used to use android, but switched to iPhone when the 12 came out. I simply don’t care about the flexibility anymore... I used to tinker a lot, but now I personally don’t find it amusing. And even if I did want to tinker, the Shortcuts app provides a lot of cool features. iOS is refined, sleek, and I enjoy the UI. AirPlay works miles better than anything on android. CarPlay is a better experience. The ecosystem just works. Apple Maps street view is available in places google maps isn’t. I’m currently on the 15 pro max, and the design and feel of the phone is awesome. Probably a handful of other things that don’t immediately come to mind.

  • Nothing is really stopping me, I just think iPhones align better with me now.

    I am going to give 3 examples of why I switched from Android to iPhone. 1 - I used Samsung Galaxy S every generation till the S5, flashing ROMs every second day and I got tired of it. One thing that particularly bothered me was when I got my officially branded Galaxy S car holder, Car charger and a lot of other accessories and they didn't work with the SII.

    2 - I use to jog quite a lot and used the arm strap with the cable and I thought I want a phone that prioritizes wireless audio. Apple was the first company that did that. I would have thought it would have been Sony with some of their previous phones.

    3 - Samsung had many of the things I like in iPhone now already back in the Galaxy S and SII time. S Calendar, S notes, S diary, S transfer I think. That was dropped as a novelty after a few times. Once apple start with something they keep it, at least for a while.

    I know phones are more mature now and Samsung probably doesn't do this anymore (Or hopefully they don't). But I already made the switch and I don't feel any reason to switch back at the moment.

    Why I like iPhone: 1 - It doesn't change much over generations which helps with not having to buy new accessories the whole time.

    2 - It doesn't allow me to change much so I don't bother changing much (I still do the dev betas etc, but they are not as time consuming as Roms)

    3 - They don't generally try to be first to the market

    4 - Privacy is better than commercial Android (I know you can get Android builds that are better)

    5 - I like(d) that the App Store is the only way you can get Apps

    6 - I like the eco system (I now have homepods, apple tv, macbook, iPad, iPhone, airpods and watch) - I know Samsung has a good one, but too late.

    7 - Homekit/Homekey and carplay/carkey - I literally can walk around without keys. (I know this isn't unique, but again when I bought by car Apple was the only option)

    8 - I don't feel like I have to upgrade every year.

    I think I can do most my likes with Android as well. I just like the way Apple does it currently and they restrict some of my shortcomings.

  • I think there is a core reason for everyone. Strong reliable basics.

    I want to FOSS everything and I moved to a Samsung phone as a start but even basic things such as weather app are not good. There is a weather widget for Samsung but no stand alone app for some reason.

    Other things like apple notes, I don't even know which cloud based note taking app can replace that, Obsidian is a hassle to sync, OneDrive is slow as hell, Google keep is pretty much the only viable alternative.

    Then I have to look for a to-do list app again same problems, I don't want a subscription and Microsoft To-do is literally the only option with online sync that I could find.

    Now there are things like Apple's Journal app, like.. there is pretty much nothing that is both free and reliable. I am even open to one time purchase options but I feel everything is a free tier with subscription options.

    Apple literally does one thing, strong reliable basics. Their notes app is simple as hell, but it works reliably and I know it is not randomly going to disappear/get dropped in 2 years.

    • My Samsung phone shipped with Samsung Notes on it, which works perfectly as a basic notes app and while not FOSS, so far as I can tell if you haven't logged into a Samsung account the contents stay local. You can also just deny internet permissions to the app if you're paranoid about it. But if you want a cloud sync it supports that with a Samsung account, can't speak on that feature very much as I don't use it.

      Accuweather has both an app and a widget I've been using with zero problems for almost a decade.

      I use Keep Notes for cloud sync notes and to-do lists shared in real time with my partner and family.

      I don't use a Journal app, but from some brief searching Obsidian seems to do most of what you'll want out of it, and could also serve as a generic notes app.

      I either already had all of these installed or, in the case of Obsidian, found it within about 2 minutes of brief searching. (Looked up what the Journal app does -> "hmm, this sounds like Onenote" -> there is no Libre office Onenote alternative -> didn't Evernote used to be good? -> Evernote has enshittified, Obsidian is the best rated replacement).

      At the risk of maybe sounding like an asshole, I really don't understand your complaints here. All of these suggestions either came baked into my OS or were very easy to find on the app store. Keep Notes was the only one I had to be introduced to and only that because I had no use for a multi-user-sync list or notes app beforehand.

    • Thank you for a solid response. I hate that android users say their phone is better in every way and yet they can not mimic the simplicity of a bare bones Apple phone. I don’t need all the hacker shit that android users love to brag about.

  • I don't really care about phones and my parents give me their old iPhones for free.

  • Honestly? The hardware just seems so much more solid. I was a longtime android user. My brother is a techie and was going on and on about how I should switch to iPhone. I was pretty much like you guys. “Why wouldn’t you use android?”

    But then I changed jobs and went through two android phones in a matter of a year or two. I decided to spend the extra money on an iPhone. I wasn’t able to get an android to last me much past lunch, battery-wise. I bought an iPhone 11pro and noticed the difference straight away. First of all, the bloatware on android is ah-bsurd. Yeah, iPhone feels more like a walled garden, because it kinda is. But who am I kidding? I wasn’t jailbreaking and rooting my phone or whatever. I’m not super tech savvy. I’m also not a big phone user. My screen time sits around 1hr these days.

    And my now much older iPhone has not given me any of the problems I was having with the many android phones I went through. I don’t have to think about how poorly my phone is working. I don’t have to worry about the annoying problems I had with my androids. It’s maintained its battery capacity from like three years ago, when I bought it used. From my perspective, when I’m forced into buying another one, what, three, four more years from now? (barring some accident) I’ll probably stick with my second-ever used iPhone. Because then I don’t have to worry about it again for another five+ years.

    I was refusing to get an iPhone because it was basically the juggernaut. But it’s not like Samsung/android is some scrappy underdog protecting my privacy. They’re another massive, shitty corpo. I just don’t see much difference in ethics using one over the other. Or privacy. If I’m not sticking it to some shitty corp, sacrificing my convenience for my moral compass, why sacrifice usability

  • iMessage is encrypted in transit by default when talking to other iPhone users, and 95% of my contacts use iPhones. That is the ONLY reason I use an iPhone.

    • Apple keeps the encryption keys and they can access all of your messages, if they feel like it. signal is encrypted by default and just saves when you created and when you last logged in to your account.

      • At least in the US it is very difficult to convince people to switch from text messaging to another service. The way iPhone does it by default with other iPhones is really the only way it happens for most users.

  • I’ve used android at various times. Most recently around 3 years ago. I probably won’t switch back unless there is some really compelling hardware I just can’t resist.

    Some reasons I prefer iPhone is that iMessage was just a better experience for messaging than SMS and the fragmented support that RCS had back when I was an android user.

    iOS is also consistent experience across devices rather than having a different flavor with different launchers and bloat per manufacturer. Android is nice in that you can extend your experience by sideloading apps but eventually the more you add, the more chances you have of them randomly crashing and detracting from the experience

    Finally I am locked in to the hardware ecosystem, android/Google do have their own alternatives to this but they aren’t as nice as apple’s. AirPods just work. AppleTV doesn’t have ads unlike google tv. Your iCloud files, photos, messages etc. just sync to your Mac without thinking.

    If I did get a new android device I’d probably be a pixel but I just don’t trust google. And I don’t trust them to support a device or service and keep it out of the killedbygoogle graveyard

  • The eco system really. I was anti apple for quite some time cuz I was always a gamer. Did android til maybe galaxy s2 I think and always had windows mobile phones prior to that. For a while I couldn’t do an iPhone without being jailbroken, but damn near every tweak I could have wanted has been incorporated into the OS. Plus they hired a couple of those jailbreak and jailbreak tweak developers.

    AirPods work extremely well… M series MacBooks are insane… kids have an M series iPad. Have wore a watch since I was in 1st/2nd grade. For while I had every series of Pebble watch and that was my first smart watch (damn good watches). Of course grabbed an apple one when they came out.

    2 Apple TVs as well. Everything just works so well together. On top of these I have a windows desktop and a Linux server and a remote Linux server. I’m not crazy against any one brand like some of the psychopaths you see here on Lemmy. I’d even be down to try out some of the newer androids. Just would be a waste at this point.

  • Spent a fortune on apps that are also accessible to my family who also have iPhones, and this gives me good parental controls. Switching would be a massive ball ache for not much reward if any.

  • I actually switched from Android to iPhone maybe a year and a half ago, after I got an iPad to take notes on for university and really enjoyed using it.

    • I hate Google
    • I mostly like how iOS works
    • I mostly don’t like how Android works, it has a lot of rough edges and jank (imo, partially resulting from stock apps sucking or just not being there at all but there not being enough low level access for third party apps to provide a well integrated replacement)
    • Shortcuts/Automation is amazing
    • Builtin Calendar/Contacts/Reminders apps are amazing and especially lets me connect to my DAV server without any hassle
    • Nobody has built anything that comes close to Apple’s cross-device interactions (but I guess that’s also Apple’s and Google’s fault for locking the systems down)
    • A consistent look and feel across the system is very important to me and iOS apps seem to care more about that. Even Google’s own apps used different visual styles sometimes last I used it
    • The hardware and OS looks nice without being overly flashy, it just hits that sweet spot of “pleasant design”
    • If I want to develop apps I really don’t want to touch anything related to Java

  • Basically it’s habit. I’ve been on the iPhone since the “3G” (2008), which also has brought me to many other Apple products.

193 comments