[Gigabit]

Having just got an iPhone 6s after using Android for three years (used iOS before that) and still having my Android to compare to it (Moto G4 Plus, running essentially stock Android but I've used tonnes and tonnes of Android phones, ranging from the Samsung Galaxy S7, down to the OnePlus X, so I like to think I have a pretty good idea):

On iOS things just get supported better. For example, EE WiFi Calling and VoLTE are both supported on all the iPhones going back to the 6, so if you upgrade you'll have both those features. There is not one Android phone right now that supports VoLTE on EE and WiFi Calling and that is running the newest version of Android.

Some of the apps on iOS seem to be ever so slightly better designed, e.g. Spotify. It's a lot smoother transitioning between the "Now Playing" view and the Song/Album/Artist views.

Speed wise, I'd say iOS and Android are pretty much on-par. The Moto G4 Plus is as fast as the iPhone in day to day use. The iPhone drops frames occasionally, as does the Moto G4 Plus.

[1saintly]

Always had Android phones with Google account, when i replace phone i just relog into my Google account and contacts/settings/bookmarks/apps etc are all added automatically to the new phone.

I take it if i were to go and buy Apple (currently looking at new phones) That wouldn't work?

Also does it work in reverse, moving from Apple to Android?

[FiendishlyC]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1saintly

Always had Android phones with Google account, when i replace phone i just relog into my Google account and contacts/settings/bookmarks/apps etc are all added automatically to the new phone.

I take it if i were to go and buy Apple (currently looking at new phones) That wouldn't work?

Also does it work in reverse, moving from Apple to Android?

iOS will sync your contacts from a Google account using carddav with photos etc. Calendars and email too. But it won't be push like on android unless you use the Gmail app.

I don't have notification sounds on my iPad anyway so it doesn't bother me at the moment. You can force the email app to check for email by dragging down.

[bikerlad]

I've had Android phones since they came out. I'm likely to buy a new iPhone next month. I'd usually buy the new Nexus but I guess I'd lose wifi calling on EE until they can be bothered to certify it. You can guarantee it'll work on the new iPhone on day one.

Amex still hasn't come to the Android Pay party here in the UK, which is annoying, and I'd be able to use it on Apple. Whilst I am currently using my Monzo card more than Android Pay at the moment, I'd prefer to earn points from my Amex card.

I'll still use Android for my 2nd SIM, especially as I'm quite invested in Google Play, and want to be able to download from usenet and do things you can't do on Apple devices.

[midlandsfirst]

Couple of bad experiences with Apple support (both instore and email) both which ended up losing me money so Android every time for me.

[Gigabit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerlad

I've had Android phones since they came out. I'm likely to buy a new iPhone next month. I'd usually buy the new Nexus but I guess I'd lose wifi calling on EE until they can be bothered to certify it. You can guarantee it'll work on the new iPhone on day one.

Amex still hasn't come to the Android Pay party here in the UK, which is annoying, and I'd be able to use it on Apple. Whilst I am currently using my Monzo card more than Android Pay at the moment, I'd prefer to earn points from my Amex card.

I'll still use Android for my 2nd SIM, especially as I'm quite invested in Google Play, and want to be able to download from usenet and do things you can't do on Apple devices.

Same for me brother.

[ihatemarmite]

android - no iTunes.
Works seamlessly with gmail. iOS doesn't archive/search gmail well at all (at least on my devices)
keyboard better on android particularly if you like swipe typing
iPhone looks nicer (I think) but I don't think their software is what it was a few years ago. Buggy.

You can buy an iPhone from Apple and try it out and take back within 14 days for a full refund as long as it's still in new condition. Genius bar appointments in London at any rate are getting impossible to get other than same day ones, where you have to arrive at the store before it opens and queue for an urgent appointment. Just like the GPs

[Heanor_Man31]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ihatemarmite

android - no iTunes.
Works seamlessly with gmail. iOS doesn't archive/search gmail well at all (at least on my devices)
keyboard better on android particularly if you like swipe typing
iPhone looks nicer (I think) but I don't think their software is what it was a few years ago. Buggy.

You can buy an iPhone from Apple and try it out and take back within 14 days for a full refund as long as it's still in new condition. Genius bar appointments in London at any rate are getting impossible to get other than same day ones, where you have to arrive at the store before it opens and queue for an urgent appointment. Just like the GPs

iOS certainly isn't as flawless as it used to be but then again they've added features (i.e. Apple Maps) which should've worked from the 'get go' and ended up being (rightly) criticised before being made slightly better over time.

I also find Gmail tends to be poorer on iOS than it does, say, Android but that doesn't surprise me... Google's native OS is going to be looked after more favourably isn't it?!

I did own a HTC Desire a few years ago (around the time of iPhone 4s) and my biggest bugbear at the time was the inability to store a lot of apps on the SD Card.

Granted it's gotten better since but it did sour my experience somewhat.

[Gigabit]

You'd think Google apps would be better on Android but look at the YouTube app. It's missing tonnes of features the iOS app has had for over a year.

[ryan125hst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigabit

You'd think Google apps would be better on Android but look at the YouTube app. It's missing tonnes of features the iOS app has had for over a year.

It's not just me that's noticed this then. I got a Samsung Galaxy S7 last week to replace my almost 2 year old iPhone 5S having had a 3GS previous to that. I am loving the phone and I'm quickly getting used to using Android having always used iOS. My only disappointment is the lack of a few features on some apps. I doubt it's due to operating system restrictions, so it must be due to laziness on the developers part.

In YouTube, you can't sort by anything like you can on iOS or the PC. I often sort videos by upload data so the most recent video is at the top. On Android, you only have the option to display videos uploaded within the last hour/day/week etc. but there's no facility to sort them. I also noticed yesterday that you can't click on the account name in a comment to get to their YouTube profile yet I could do this on my iPhone. Upon doing some research, I found that you can't thumb comments up or down either (I never bother with this but it is still a missing feature).

In Facebook, everything is identical except that the upload date of a photograph doesn't display in the Android version of the app.

And in Speedtest, again everything is the same except the Android version doesn't show the SSID of the WiFi network or the mobile network and technology used. It's the only thing that's missing. It can't be that difficult to implement?

It's not the fault of the phone or Android, it's the fault of those who created the app. It's disappointing but I wouldn't go back to an iPhone for the sake of those features as I can do many things on the S7 that I can't on the iPhone (use an SD card and split screen to list two of them)

[earth]

Which phone is more reliable and less prone to break? I have had quite a few problems with Samsung mobiles and so has other family members of mine.

[Stiggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by earth

Which phone is more reliable and less prone to break? I have had quite a few problems with Samsung mobiles and so has other family members of mine.

In my experience, none are better than others these days.

All manufacturers have issues with phones at some point. Be that Samsung, Sony, LG and Apple.

Right now apple has an issue with touchscreens on 6 and 6S+ not responding and requiring a replacement phone.

[Shaun_Jameson]

Apple or Android is a ridiculous question,

iOS or Android maybe works, but Apple or Android makes no sense, unless we compare all of the 20'000 plus Android devices from phones to tablets to tv boxes to actual TV's against the 20 or so Apple devices.

Even then it's a crazy question, do we compare a £29.99 Android phone against a £600 Apple phone? Or do we compare a £700 Android phone with a £300 Apple phone?

I have a S7 Edge and a iPhone 6s, an honestly there is not much in it, in price or ability. It's literally down to which handset or Eco system you prefer. Android is becoming more and more of a walled garden every year. Unless you root, just like jail breaking on iOS.

[d'@ve]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shaun_Jameson

Apple or Android is a ridiculous question,

iOS or Android maybe works, but Apple or Android makes no sense, unless we compare all of the 20'000 plus Android devices from phones to tablets to tv boxes to actual TV's against the 20 or so Apple devices.

Even then it's a crazy question, do we compare a £29.99 Android phone against a £600 Apple phone? Or do we compare a £700 Android phone with a £300 Apple phone?

I have a S7 Edge and a iPhone 6s, an honestly there is not much in it, in price or ability. It's literally down to which handset or Eco system you prefer. Android is becoming more and more of a walled garden every year. Unless you root, just like jail breaking on iOS.

It's not a daft question if for you, either system (or system provider policy) contains deal breakers.

For me, Android and decent Android phones contain no deal breakers, there's nothing missing that I can't do without. But in iPhone 7, there are two major omissions: no (micro) SD card slot and no earphone socket. I am not interested in pricey Apple adapters and I will never buy an iPhone for those reasons. Not to mention cost, including essential adapters, which comes into the equation too.

Yes some Android models have mssing SD card slots - Samsung S6 for example so I wouldn't touch one of them either but they've corrected this with the S7 and it's not an Android issue as such... but NO current iPhones have those slots and the latest has no earphone socket either. Deal breakers, for me anyway.

[finbaar]

Listen, we live in the best of times. 10 years ago the pinnacle of smartphone goodness was either a crappy Nokia running Symbian or some god awful HTC running WM. They were truly rubbish devices. Of course some people thought they were great but they were wrong. Just go and try one now and you will see how wrong they were. Of course that doesn't mean things won't get better and better but things are great now.

So Android or iOS? Both are great and both will give you a great experience. First world problems.

[Dave 101]

Apple has steadily been making the user experience more and more miserable for people who like music. iTunes is a bloated, glitchy, terrible train wreck of a program that -- when it works at all -- seems to make it harder to do what you want with your music.

My wife asked me to put a tune from my computer on her iPhone.
Rather than drag it from one folder to another via usb I had to power up her laptop ( I don't have iTunes on my machine) put the tune into Itunes (after getting her to remember her iTunes ID) before being able to install it on her phone.
Approx 15 mins - on the Android it would take about 30 seconds.

This is just an example of how the two phones work in my house.

Both work great as phones for email, browsing the web, whatsapp, GPS etc etc and funnily enough making calls

Personally I find the whole iTunes thing an absolute nightmare.

[Cloudane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by planetf1

(and in part the fact I can't play so much could be a good thing..........)

Very true and often overlooked! I'm back on Android now, but this was perhaps the biggest reason I (temporarily) moved to iPhone 6. I was spending so much time installing different ROMs, messing about, documenting all the things I have to remember to do on a reinstall, sifting through pre-wipe-backups making sure I've not missed bringing across any game save data etc. I needed my life back!

It's a little different now in that rooting and custom ROMs are becoming more and more heavily discouraged. Android Pay, banking apps and now even Pokemon Go, insist you're using a locked down device.

=====

It's hard to say which is "better". The Apple experience always seems to be a lot simpler and more minimalist with sensible defaults, where on Android or PC you have more settings to sift through to get things sensible but more customisation. Obviously for now Android's advantage is a headphone socket I wouldn't be surprised to see them doing the same next year though. Especially if Apple's move allows more DRM, which the music and movie industries will be demanding Android OEMs to replicate on USB C.

Lack of customisation seems a bit severe on iOS sometimes. The biggest ones that bugged me were no weekend hours on "Do Not Disturb", and iOS app developers can't seem to be arsed to write in the code for changing notification sounds as often as Android devs, so you have a heck of a lot of Tritone (the old text notification from the original iPhone) going off and not knowing which app is making the sound without looking. Silly things but they wind me up good and proper.

On the other hand, iOS apps seem a bit less "spammy" with their notifications. On Android I usually have this massive string of icons across the top of my screen with everything battling for attention, and of course the setting on most is either "on" or "off" (So where I might want some app to tell me when a friend does something, I have to accept all the app's annoying little "don't forget to open the app today!" reminders as well - Apple are a bit more strict about app behaviour)

[Anika Hanson]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stiggles

In my experience, none are better than others these days.

All manufacturers have issues with phones at some point. Be that Samsung, Sony, LG and Apple.

Right now apple has an issue with touchscreens on 6 and 6S+ not responding and requiring a replacement phone.

It's the 6 with touch disease not the 6S.

[Stiggles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anika Hanson

It's the 6 with touch disease not the 6S.

My mistake.

[shaddler]

My son prefers Android because it's free of the hassle of iTunes.

[Dan Sette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave 101

Apple has steadily been making the user experience more and more miserable for people who like music. iTunes is a bloated, glitchy, terrible train wreck of a program that -- when it works at all -- seems to make it harder to do what you want with your music.

My wife asked me to put a tune from my computer on her iPhone.
Rather than drag it from one folder to another via usb I had to power up her laptop.

This is where it depends on the ecosystem that you use. Understandably a full Apple ecosystem is going to be a smoother experience than a cross platform one.

I am not a "fan" of either. I suspect they both do similar things. I am locked into an Apple system and the experience you have had is not mine.

ITunes plus iTunes match and family sharing (which I admit cost £21 a year) means any song is available to any device. Computer, Ipads and iPhones - both my wife and mine - all the time, anywhere there is wifi or 3g. It's held in the cloud, but is she absolutely has to have it on her phone, just taps the download icon.

[paulbrock]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan Sette

ITunes plus iTunes match and family sharing (which I admit cost £21 a year) means any song is available to any device. Computer, Ipads and iPhones - both my wife and mine - all the time, anywhere there is wifi or 3g. It's held in the cloud, but is she absolutely has to have it on her phone, just taps the download icon.

is that offering anything any different from Google Play Music (or the Amazon one)? Genuinely curious, it all sounds like standard stuff to me.

[LostFool]

I'm fully embedded into the Google ecosystem but I was given a work iPhone a few years ago (I think it was a 4) but I handed it back a few months later as I found it too annoying to use. ITunes was by far the worst aspect though. Apparently the MacOS application is OK but it was an absolute dog on Windows.

I just like how with Google/Android everything is synched across devices from phone, tablet and Chrome on various computers.