Termux/X11, sideloading, native Godot, file management, devic recycleability/reuseability, THE FUCKING BACK BUTTON, and crazy enough sometimes privacy even against apple's marketing stance (this is a bit more controversial, but in a high privacy situation things like universal android debloater just can't exist on apple - and having Icloud 'helpfully' store your encryption keys for you has felt as private as keeping it in my garage server)
But hey for some people the fisher-price option is the best option
The question is framed such that it implies an iPhone to be the better choice. Most people don't even consider switching to iPhone because it typically is a lot of effort for the average person who already has an Android. IOS has worse app support, it is more restrictive, with fewer features than Android typically has. Many people stick with what they have because it is what they are used to.
I personally don't use an iPhone because I use root and terminal tools often which aren't available on iOS and also don't want that Apple spyware in my life.
I've been forced to use iOS for my work phone and it is absolute dog shit... it feels like Android from 10+ years ago. The lack of customization and dumbass work flows drive me crazy every day.
So many screens in different apps. make you reach way to one corner or the other to go back a screen. In Android, back is one motion that can be done anywhere from any edge. And that behaves consistently across every app. In iOS some apps behave differently, even the same app with a different screen will handle the same gesture differently. It's an absolute shit show.
Want to open my app list, I just swipe up from anywhere on my screen. Want my notifications, swipe down from anywhere on my screen. In iOS I have to perfectly hit the top edge and slowly drag it down.
There are plenty of other reasons.
Access to the filesystem. Wtf! Lmao. I download a PDF and can't just open it? I have to basically share it with the app, it's so dumb.
Split screening apps.
Complete lack of customization. The launcher is ass.
Horrible keyboard and the one I like, SwiftKey is completely neutered and lacks the customization of Android. And some apps will use the apple keyboard even though I changed it to use Swiftkey. Again, no consistency.
Messages will pop a notification then when I open the messenger app they are not there. I can read the message in the notification area, but there is a period of time that it doesn't display in the actual app. Lmao. Dog shit.
Many, many other things.
Apps and services dying to backgrounding like the hotspot for one will just stop working after a certain amount of time.
Want to know how I change my brightness in Android? I just slide across the status bar in any app on any screen.
When I want to turn my flashlight on, all I do is hold my power button down for 3 seconds. Don't have to turn my screen on and click anything.
So many things. The settings in iOS are also a joke and the way they are organized, I just hate everything about it. It feels like I'm running Android from 2010 with less customization.
Basically iOS is complete ass.
I want to own my phone.
FREEDOM!!!! :-)
I have no desire to change.
I'm sure an iPhone would be a completely acceptable phone for me but I have no problems with android that iOS would solve. My phone already does everything I want it to do and more.
And I don't want to re-learn what all the best apps are. I already found great ones for what I need and I know many of them would be different on iOS. No need for me to go through that relearning.
More than that though, I love that my android can do USB OTG and allow me to plug in flash drives, SD cards, game controllers, and Ethernet adapters. I love that i can change the home screen app to entirely change the interface. I like that I can root it when it's getting slow to debloat it a bunch, or do thorough backups, or fuck around with app files. I love that the dev ecosystem doesn't require a yearly subscription.
Apple's walled garden is anti-consumer, anti-developer, and pretty much anti-everyone-but-apple.
It just doesn't make sense to me to use or develop for Apple under those conditions.
The phones being worse than the ones I prefer to use.
Like, they’re objectively less functional devices. I can’t pretend the features drops for every new model/OS aren’t just things android has has for years.
- Can't have the wifi and hotspot on and the same time
- Can't record calls
- Can't make homepage icons small
- Can't remove the default keyboard
- Worse apps
A central nervous system
I categorically refuse to use anything made by Apple.
Choosing my own default apps, getting apps from other locations (like F-droid), adblockers. Those are the big ones.
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Actually being the owner of my phone. Apple decides everything for their users and allows them little freedom. I want to be able to put random apps on my phone, including maybe even my own.
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Price. Shit's expensive. I now got a Pixel 8 for less than 500 euro's. Before that I had phones around the 300 euro price range.
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Their ecosystem. They try to lure you into an everything Apple ecosystem. Stuff like iMessage is horrible for consumers. With an Android phone I have choice of apps, smart watch, earbuds, etc. Apple will always try to force you into buying their fancy but expensive things.
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No benefit, there's plenty of cool Android phones.
Etc etc.
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There's a certain 'luxury' or 'sex appeal' to Apple products, but there are things I value more. I run /e/ os on a fairphone. I often ask people what kind of phone they have, and when they occasionally ask back, they are blown away that what I do is an option. The fact that I can show people there is another way is reason enough, in spite of everything I personally value.
I don't make very much money, and the phones I buy are usually between $100-200. The only way to do that with iphone is to get a phone that's both old and used. There's no new options in that price range at all. However, even if there was, or if I just bought used, it doesn't offer me any benefit to swap. My experience with ios was never very good back when I did use it, it restricts how you can use your phone really heavily. I love being able to install apps from F-droid or my web browser, and changing launchers gives you a lot of customization of your home screen. I also really value that once your android device isn't supported with software updates anymore, the community can still develop up to date android versions for those devices so you can use newer versions of android than the manufacturers intended
In 2003 (or thereabouts) I was a paying user of an Apple music product. They deliberately broke the way that I used their product, then once someone found a workaround, they broke that, too.
I tried to be their customer, and they kicked me out for not using Windows or MacOS. Now I'm emotionally invested in not giving them any money, ever.
More expensive. Less (no?) emulator support. Inertia. Don't care for apple interfaces or ecosystem much.
Not having a functioning browser. And no, it's not Chrome. Why would you want to use an ads pushing piece of garbage?
I only use FOSS
Can't put graphene on it, can't sideload apps, can't even organize your home screen in an acceptable manner last I checked which was admittedly long ago, never bought into the hype (which is the only reason to use apple).
Because I used an iPhone for most of my life and then realized what a walled isolated island it was. Android offers infinitely more freedom and I would never go back. The mere fact that you can't entirely customize an iPhone hoke screen is still shocking to me.
Hahaha great question. It's funny how I thought it was a silly question when asked the other way. In a way, my response is the same for both phones: 'The main thing stopping me is that I am not considering switching'.
That said, I carried both for years, so I can probably provide some insight. I switched from Windows Mobile to iOS in 2008. I had one phone until 2012. My "main" phone was iOS from 2008-2017. The biggest factor was (and still is somewhat) who had the best camera. Pixel 1 had a better camera, so I switched to Android as my main in 2017. These days, both have great cameras and it wouldn't be a reason to switch.
My current job doesn't need me to have two phones, but I still carry an iPad mini, so I remain in both ecosystems.
I prefer Android on my phone for lots of little reasons, but they all basically boil down to the same thing: Android lets me do what I want with my phone.
It's difficult to explain if you haven't been an Android user. If you don't know what a launcher is, it's the interface between you and your apps. I've never much liked Google's launcher. I don't like Google's keyboard, so I use my own. I like to change the default number of rows/columns of my app icons. I like switching between two bottom-row docks. Then there's stuff like default apps, and way better widgets, of course. Plus I can arrange my apps how I like.
Now - if you are on iOS and have never had this stuff, you won't miss it. If you want your phone to "just work" and never think about personalizing it, you have no reason to even value the personalisation that Android offers. But, if you've gotten used to your personal phone layout, being forced into the Apple way is restrictive.
Termux
I had to use a borrowed iphone for some time and the only thing I really missed about it was Apollo for Reddit. And that's gone now, so yeah. To change my ringtone, I had to use Bandcamp since there's no way to run itunes on Linux. There's no way to install third party games downloaded from places like itch.io. If I want to use my own phone to test mobile game prototypes, it's simple and cross-platform for Android. I need a damn Mac for iphones. I don't think Android phones are very good OS-wise or UX-wise either as of late, but at least they're slightly less locked down. Slightly.
Nothing is actively required to prevent me from using apple products.
It makes no sense to switch from either to the other imo. It would make sense to switch to mobile linux for those who are tech savvy and once it is more polished, the others.
I've had a z fold4 since release and I'm unwilling to go back to a regular phone. Also, more freedom on an android (like sideloading). I had 2 iphones before my current phone (7 plus and XS Max) and they weren't bad phones but I really missed android.
Apple. I want nothing to do with a closed ecosystem and I loathe how central AppleID is to absolutely everything.
I have fdroid and a few custom apks that wouldn't be available on their store, so those would be hooped as well.
Apple and I have very different notions of what it means to own something.
The OS
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Firefox with ublock and a normal engine
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Newpipe for downloading stuff off YT
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OSMand for offline navigation
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f-droid for foss software
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Rethink to carefully ban everything that doesn't need internet from connecting
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a phone with a nice amoled screen and all-day quickcharging battery that costs 180€ (motorola g52)
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not one ad anywhere
a better question is, why would I want anything else? An iphone seems like a sharp downgrade.
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I wouldn't buy a car that could only drive on roads approved by the maker, so same goes for phone.
Preference.
Paying 20% - 40% more for dumbed-down OS that limits what software I can use. I mean literally any one of those alone is a deal breaker. It was never gonna work.
every time I have to use anything apple related, I'm instantly annoyed by the horrible user experience
If they had full support for side loading, and supported the thunderbolt standard I feel most of my hardware problems could be solved with a type c case that's adds it a headphone jack and SD card slot
My list of problems: Too expensive, no 3.5 mm Headphone jack, no expandable storage, lack of foss apps and stores like f-droid, and the lack freedom to install and do what I want with the device I payed for.
- proper adblocking with AdAway
- ability to patch official apps to remove ads and improve the usability with ReVanced
- being able to root the device and use HttpToolkit to analyze the data that flows from apps to the web
- extensive customization (I can choose my own launcher and keyboard application)
- proper file management, especially with Total Commander
- watching Dolby Vision .mkv files with mpv
- price (iPhones are all way too expensive)
- Apple's stance against repairability
And this point is more hardware-related, but I've started to really love my Nothing Phone and its LED lights on the back, which produces amazing photos because the light is much softer than the small flash used by other phones. There isn't a single Apple device with a feature like this. You could probably get a case, but it's nice to have this integrated into the phone.
Sideloading apps
Paying x4 times the price for a device
iOS is trash. Simple as that, my parents have iPhones and I'm like 'oh you can just do X', then I go to look, get lost in menus, then find out the basic feature doesnt even exist. I can't sideload apps, I can't customise my UI, it's just incredibly limiting. iPhones are for basics, calls, texts, web browsing. If you wanna do anything else you are better off with an Android.
I don't like Apples attitude. And I want control of my own phone, not just whatever crumbs Apple will allow me.
File level access to files. I would love to have the option of moving files in folders and connecting it to a PC to drag and drop files.
True multi tasking.
Ability to install apps from other sources.
I feel like I'm using a toy phone I bought for a 7 year old.
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I'm used to Android
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I enjoy using apps from F-Droid
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Why would I pay more than 3 times more for a Brick, that gives me less freedom to do what I want and doesn't have app support and features I require.
Much like many of the iPhone users when you asked the converse question, it's not so much that something is stopping me, but that I have no interest in it. I don't see any benefits that I care about, and it would cost time and money to switch.
Let's pretend for a moment that I did have some desire to switch, perhaps due to some new hardware from Apple or changes to Android I found unpalatable. Here are some things I'd consider major barriers:
- Sideloading - I want to install stuff without permission from the hardware or OS vendor. Maybe I'll even write a niche app without asking permission.
- Administrative access - I have root on my Android phone, and I didn't have to fight it to gain root (I know that's not true of every device). If I don't have root or can't get it easily, it's not really mine.
That's... basically it, but those are big things and Apple's position on them is so opposite mine that they're risking severe sanctions from the EU to comply with the EU's sideloading regulations in the most useless way they can.
I'm a developer and android is more friendly to developers, i have more control over my device. I can use any browser without being stuck with Safari. If i don't like my phone i can choose from many more manufacturers without losing my apps and subscriptions.
I think most of all i have problem with Apples culture, their smugness and acting like they invented everything. I don't think I'm their target audience.
I've owned apple devices in the past. The thing I hate most is the ecosystem, it's so limited and simple to the point of frustration. They are missing basic features and customization options. Apple has the worst settings menu of any device I've ever used. If that wasn't bad enough the devices are incredibly over priced.
Battery life. Forced ecosystem. Lack of options. Apple watches suck. I love my s pen. I can watch YouTube for free with no ads. The refusal to integrate the messaging system compatibility. How they refused to move to usb-c until they were literally forced to by Europe. Spearheading the removal of audio Jack's and micro USB slots.
I dislike Apple as a company. I'm still miffed that Bill Gates bailed Apple out and saved them from bankruptcy in the 1990's. All he asked was that they would be more charitable if they got back on their feet. They obviously did that, but then proceeded to continue being one of the least charitable companies in the fortune 100.
Then there was the crap with forcing an update to underclock their iPhones in order to hide hardware issues causing reboots from their still under warranty batteries failing to provide enough voltage to supply the apu. Or the time when they told customers they were holding their phones wrong when they designed the antennas in a way that would kill their reception if part of your hand was on the side of the phone.
- Open source.
- F Droid
- Running mull, ad blocker, newpipe
I want to be the owner. <--- see the period there?
Apple with its love of walled gardens with no keys
The biggest issue is Apple and their closed ecosystem. I can modify, remove, or disable most of the apps and settings I don't like on an Android phone. I can even load a different OS if I want. With Apple most of that isn't even possible.
Notification light. Repairability (I can practically op this thing open like the hood of a car). Far cheaper options. Headphone jack. Side loading. Fingerprint sensor. Dedicated shutter and focus button. Non proprietary charger that isn't terrible. Emulators. Firefox plus adblocker. Customisability (least important for me honestly).
I am just happy that I have options. I can do whatever I want with this hardware. I own this device and have complete freedom. I work in repair and I am thoroughly aware of apple's anti-consumer practices and it disgusts me. I could never buy a device from apple out of principle.
It sickens me when I have to tell customers "your totally repairable device is fucked because apple makes it arbitrarily impossible to repair.". It makes me even sadder when they just buy another apple device, rewarding them for their behaviour.
Surely the other way around ?
But why ?
- Lack of choice
- Lack of stylus
- Lack of app stores and side loading
- Lack of customisaistion
- Shitty Apple policies
I used to use a Macbook daily before I got a Windows laptop.
The way Apple designs their products is akin to how parents treat their toddlers. You aren't allowed to do anything that Apple hasn't graciously allowed you to without painful workarounds or loopholes. Plus, whereas Android and Windows have janky solutions that still work, Apple refuses to implement something unless the masses can use it. The result is that Apple's software is years behind, and there is very little you can do about it.
Needless to say, after a few years, I just installed Windows on that Macbook, and eventually I got fed up with the bad drivers and got an HP Spectre instead.
Plenty of useful apps that cannot run on iOS. Mostly Termux and SDR-related apps (rtl_tcp server, SDR++, SatDump, Welle.io, SDRAngel, Dump1090,...)
I can run full-on desktop in Termux and access it via VNC server. I can also access it via SSH server. I can run a web server, HTTP proxy server, Kiwix server, Navidrome server, Jellyfin server, port-forward using socat. And that's just what I use or tried. In the past there was someone on Reddit running a public BBS server on an Android phone in Termux.
There's likely many other apps I use not available on iOS.
So if I'll be switching to a different platform, maybe PinePhone running Arch Linux with Plasma mobile? Probably only as a secondary phone for now though.
iPhones are too close to feature phones for me. Best thing they can run is probably a browser.
I had an ipad pro and it was an awful experience for me. Lack of customizations I deem normal, lack of real choice, limitations at every step. The walled garden felt hostile to me, the user. I sold it and got a Samsung tablet instead and it's been perfect. The only thing missing is procreate, but I have alternatives that do 99% of what I wanted.
Simple. I don't want to. I like android phones. Do I need another reason?
If I pay for something, I want to do whatever the fuck I want with it, so a big NO for apple devices.
no interest
on my android, I can install any os I want, install apps from anywhere, not just the app store
android gives me more options with hardware, from 200 to 2000 dollars
I have too many brain cells
I have no reason to switch. Android is generally better and upper-end android phones are much better.
I have tried Apple products before (2 iPods as gifts). All the good memories I have are from pirating them, the bad ones are from the base operation of the products. An Apple product on its own is a terrible experience. Only together with other products of the same brand is it worth it. But to achieve that you have to pawn your whole life and almost join a cult.
Besides, I'm not willing to pay a crazy amount of money for a device that does what my current phone already does but better (for my needs).
YouTube Vanced and Red Reader
Can't run GrapheneOS.
money
I do not want to support a trillion dollar company that makes it impossible to repair my own stuff.
A foss os with hardened security.
Just price, end old phones drop in price quick can get a good one thats a couple years old for like $250.
My phone doesn't mean much to me anymore, they were fun in the early 2010s when I could root them and overclock them and every new one was way better than the last.
But now any phone I get can do lemmy and discord and phone calls perfectly and last like 2 days on battery without being expensive.
I don't want to
Privacy.
Default Android < iOS < custom roms without Google play services and with DNS blockers
Reason 1: I once owned an ipad, the experience with it was so bad that I stayed away from iphone.
Reason 2: I now have Mac for work. My experience with it is so bad that I'm staying away from iphone.
The short time I used an iPhone, I just didn't like how it felt. The restrictive nature, personally really don't dig Apple's whole UI design. It felt like a quality phone, build wise, but Apple just ain't for me.
Also, price. I paid $100 for my Motorola that's good enough to last me the next 2 to 3 years, and features a headphone jack, which is all I really wanted. Could take or leave the Dolby Atmos shit, but the sound quality is decent for a phone.
I've used iPhone before
Never again
I don't want to pay for something that costs five times what's worth (like all Apple products).
No phone is worth more than $150~200
Apple control on every single detail of the device. I dont want that simple as that.
I get a headache every time I have to help my mom with her iPhone or try to do something on my kid's iPad. I know part of it is that I'm just very used to Android, but there's no excuse for finding an app or setting being so tedious on iOS.
lock-in and Apple tax
Lack of interest in dealing with that again. I had a company iphone so I could support staff who had iphones and itunes was massive shitty bloatware.
I used to have an original iPod. It was so buggy getting songs into it. It would freeze up half the time and corrupt its filesystem. I later found out that Apple deliberately made the windows experience buggy to draw more people to buy Macs. That's unforgivable behaviour.
Price. Also i don't wanna get locked into their ecosystem.
I had iphones for a while and had to jailbreak them to get them to do what I wanted. Then one bricked and I got an android. I didn't have to jailbreak it, I owned it, I wasn't stuck having to use iTunes, and I wasn't forced into thececosystem. Also, Smart Audiobook Player is android only.
For me it's a trust issue.
I don't trust that Apple (or Google) won't use their software against my interests on a device I own and have with me at all times.
With a non-apple phone I can ensure that my interests are preserved by vetting different software options.
Um, everything.
I have an iPhone for work and it's unintuitive.
Mostly IOS. Price as well I suppose.
Genuinely can't think of a good reason to switch at all.
Not giving a crap about what thing launches my apps on my pocket oracle
Sideloading apps The home screen layout (I'm sure this can be changed up though), gotta love launchers Live backgrounds that also work with launchers More styling options such as app icons for home screens. While less relevant with gestures now, their navigation setup The punchouts and larger things in the screen. I hate them, and hate that on android too. Apples lock in, esp things like file transfers. Google has some too of course, but Apple is worse.
How paranoid apple is with everything requiring a password, a two factor authentication, push notifications, etc. And the lack of customization without having to jailbreak or go through an insane amount of menus.
Switching to an iPhone, mostly.
Price, convenience and honestly a good reason.
If I wanted a phone nobody else has, I'd get a Pinephone.
I think the strongest feature of Android is that many apps are released first on Android and take months or years before they are ported to iOS. And even when they do, they are missing functionality I take for granted on Android. iOS is in fact more secure in general (if we assume Apple is altruistic) but this comes at the cost of basic things like apps running in the background, informative notifications and notification history, spam call filtering, and fast charging.
Also, if you are a normie it's a big plus to have all the default Google apps pre-installed on most phones. If you aren't, it's a big plus to have the freedom to strip all non-foss apps from your phone, replace the OS with a more FOSS-friendlt OS, and otherwise customize your phone.
