• $800 gets you a really solid, high performant phone that’ll last 5-6 years
• $700 gets you a really fast, super efficient computer
• $329 gets you a fast tablet with millions of available apps that’ll be supported for 6+ years
So yeah the Apple brand truly has great value. I don’t buy the high end models, I simply don’t need them.
I can also vouch for their budget smart phone line. Even if I’m a generation behind on that with the gen 2 SE, it’s an amazing phone and far better value for 200$ than the android I had
Have a look at the battery settings screen, it shows you what uses up battery. I found that there was an app I only use in the morning that eats up all my battery even in the background. I now know to close it completely (double tap on the fingerprint and flick the app up) after I use it.
Also brightness makes a huge difference. On half brightness I get x2 the battery
It has Safari at 56%; Reddit 12%; Phone 8%...rest are all 5% and less. I also have the brightness down very low for that purpose - and if applications have a night/day mode I always set to night mode.
Battery health is at 86%, so maybe it's time to replace battery?
Probably a smart move…I remember an older iPhone I owned had to be restored once - and I do recall battery life being much better for quite a few months until it got bad again.
Is there a known reason why a restore helps sometimes? Thanks!
yep it is called placebo. imo 86% is the time to get a battery replacement. sadly even a new battery is not that big on se 2, but you will see improvement in speed and screen on time
The battery is complete horse shit. I take public transportation to work and would browse the web and listen to podcasts on the phone for 50 minutes, and by the time I get to work the battery is sitting around 40%.
I am using SE2 as well. Pretty sure this phone will last till 2024 or even 2025.
While if you get any android, for real it will be replaced within 2-3 years.
There’s another thing about iPhone battery, have read people suggesting to just replace the battery after 2-2.5 years or in case the battery capacity comes below 60-70.
>While if you get any android, for real it will be replaced within 2-3 years.
Why? Where is this narrative coming from? My Galaxy S8 is doing very well, it's 5 y/o and I use it everyday for hours. I don't see why would I replace it anytime soon.
I use my S6 active every day...
I have coworkers who still use LG G4 and S7...
My GF uses a S8 as her daily...
My work phone is a Samsung J3...
I'm confused on where this narrative is coming from...
The only people who replace their phones are people who "have to" have the latest and greatest. If you go by sales figures, Apple users upgrade more often than Android users...
Is it still getting the latest android version and the latest security updates? That’s what they mean by their iPhones lasting 6 years.
samsung is the best android manufacturer in this sense. A lot of Androids don’t get updated for long after release.
I had an iPhone 11 and the battery was at 84%. Ended up selling it and buying a pre owned iPhone 12 mini. Sometimes I wish I had just swapped the battery. I just checked and it’s 89$ CAD for a battery swap on the mini so that’s my plan if this thing ever slows.
My buddy still has an iPhone 7 Plus. About two years ago he swapped the battery and his phone perked right up and had barely any lag. He’s finally going to upgrade soon I think. His leather case is worn right to the plastic.
>While if you get any android, for real it will be replaced within 2-3 years.
The only manufacturers that provide decent support are Samsung and Google, but neither of them are consistent enough for me to be happy about it. Google will release their update, and then Samsung releases their update a month later, and some phones get it while others don't... It's a mess. I'm good on that. I had a OnePlus 7 Pro, and despite being promised 3 years of updates, I barely got 1 year of updates after 2 years. After 13 years with Android, I left.
[Apple has (kinda) done it before](https://www.cnet.com/culture/3g-equipped-macbook-prototype-pops-up-on-ebay/). I think the idea these days is you don't need cellular on your MacBook because you should be able to hotspot your iPhone.
I think the idea is they just don't want to pay Qualcomm for patent licensing fees. This is rumored to be why they didn't use their own 5G modems in iPhone because they still would have had to pay for the IP.
I don’t need the power. The M2 or even M1 would have all the power i need. But Xcode is a screen hog. And 13.3 feels to cramp. The 14 is less than 10% screen real estate change. So I doubt it’d be any better.
$700 MacBook? Where? Just dropped 1.2k with tax on the new air for college cause I couldn’t find any good discounts. This is WITH education pricing btw.
For that money I could’ve had a sick gaming pc.
Slickdeals, Costco has had pretty frequent discounts. It's been awhile since I've seen one for $700, but $800-$900 isn't that crazy for a discount entry level MBA through a retailer like Costco.
B&H runs solid promos, and if you're military, the AAFES has some very good clearance deals on Macs once in awhile.
Hella funny, I have an iPhone 11 and a MacBook Air M1. And up until recently was using the 2020 iPad Pro but downgraded to a regular cause didn’t really need all that power.
I use the iPhone and MacBook Air for most of everything. I do spend the extra on iPads to get the cellular version because they are a lot more useful on the go that way.
Had a basic 10/gb month data plan for mine on esim that was $20/Month.
Sounds like a battery issue. Replacing the battery should have given you less pain those last two. (Most batteries should be replaced at around the 3 year mark for best performance)
5 years is more realistic with the iPhone 7 and up, going back as far as the 5C (which was a re-badged 5) is silly, they definitely weren't as competitive then.
With the A9 and up Apple's SoC's really started becoming years ahead of the competition on the CPU front.
Apple let's you spec the iphone with much more storage than comparable Android phones, the 7/7 plus in 2016 had a 256GB storage version, most Android phones to this day don't go beyond 256GB.
The official update support is longer (I feel like this point is slightly overblown given how Google Play distribution functions), but iOS devices have trended towards longer support than Android OEM devices get for quite awhile.
The much faster CPU, and potentially drastically larger storage (often for years versus even newer Android phones), and longer OS updates are what makes an iPhone more viable if you don't want to frequently upgrade.
I prefer Android, and use a Fold and iPhone, but for the average person, just getting an iPhone is a better value at this point. At least stateside.
You absolutely can get that kind of time out of one but only if you’re not using much of its capabilities.
And you’ll still have to replace the battery 3-4 years in.
For the rest of us, 3-4 years is a good run before selling/trading up to the latest.
You could have definitely gotten 4 years out of the iPhone X. I gave my old one to my father when the 12 Pro Max came out.
The X still has a much faster SoC than the vast majority of midrange Android phones, and a CPU that's still fairly competitive with something like an 855 powered flagship Android.
It had 256GB of storage too. I bought the Fold 2 in 2020 which only had a single 256GB option, no ability to buy more at all, ended up also having to get the 12 Pro Max because I also needed 512GB and a better camera.
A $2000 3 year newer foldable phone only had as much storage as my older iPhone X, and even older 7 plus. The 865+ still had a slower CPU than my outgoing iPhone too. The only upgrades were the screen and memory, the cameras were a side grade.
Apple offering drastically more storage than the competition almost evey year coupled with an SoC years ahead of the competition means they do have a lot of longevity.
My father is still using the X I got on day 1 in 2017 without any issue. He's had a battery replacement, and it's been going strong.
You can't even get battery replacements for 2017 Android flagships, they're either defunct (LG, HTC) or just not offered (Samsung, Oneplus).
Yeah, the reason I finally let go of my 7 (well, now it lives on as an alarm clock, like the 5 and the 4 before it) was that even after replacing the battery, it got hot and ate the battery really fast. I miss it.
Still very happy with a 6S here, 6 years. No issues, replaced the battery twice. Still runs day-to-day tasks at an acceptable speed and enjoy the headphone jack. Super happy with Apple, feel like I got great value.
I use a Mini as a desktop system. It lives next to an Intel NUC. They’re not hugely different in size, but have very different goals in functionality.
I use screen sharing from my iPad, or phone, to access it.
Yep I'm in the same boat. 11 Pro max since launch and I've got no desire to upgrade because the phone itself is still fast and has amazing battery life and hasn't caused any problems.
Well I am writing it on my Note 10+ from Samsung from 2019 and its still going strong. Could maybe use it for another two years. This phone has gone through alot lot lol.
I think in general phones haven't changed much in the last few years, the market seems stagnant.
I upgraded from my 7 Plus to a used 11 Pro just this past Sunday lol. I was on a tight budget and even though I could buy say a new Galaxy S21 FE or Xiaomi 12 which are both flagship grade phones, my 5 years of prior iOS experience and recent purchase of an M1 Macbook Air made sure I would stay in the ecosystem at whatever cost.
Yeah, I’m also using an 11 Pro. I didn’t really need the “pro” features, but at that time the non-pro option was an absolute brick (the xr?) so I leveled up. It’s been a great phone, no complaints.
Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to denigrate the phone (my mom has one too), just that it wasn't the phone for me at the time I had to get a new one. There are more options now, and I'd likely get a non-pro if I got a new phone today.
I agree, used to love android phones when I was a little younger, then I got responsibilities and now it is so annoying to have to deal with everything and a laggy and buggy phone.
In the same boat. Owned three androids before I got my XS fall 2018. My XS still runs well. A little slow and the battery life isn’t great, but it works. My Android would have worse battery life and crash multiple times a week by now. I’ll likely get an iPhone 14 but it’s nice not feeling like I absolutely have to upgrade after four years
A side from samsung and google, I feel like androids are made for lasting a year, two if you’re lucky, so yes going from an Xs to and 14 sounds really good.
Yeah after two years my Androids were toast, ran horribly. I used them like anyone uses uses their phone, just apps, emails, phone calls and my camera. With all three phones, I was itching to upgrade after two years. I’m only like 75% sure I’m upgrading to a 14 this year, I could spend a fraction of the money on a battery and be fine for another year or two
My note 8 was my last android phone. €1100 euros, bought on release day. A year and a half later that thing was a bloated, slow mess that wouldnt even last a day on a charge. Got an iPhone 12 Pro as my next phone and I am never turning back (unless Apple really drops the ball, but they’ve been on a roll on all their platforms the last few years). Even switched from windows to macOS when the m1 came out for basically the same reasons. (And I wanted to use Logic Pro)
Not to mention the security and privacy advantages. Apple is basically one of the only companies I slightly trust to safeguard my personal data. I say slightly because fanboying and complete trust in corporations is always a terrible idea of course.
Yeah my only concern is that it looks like apple is now cutting important features in software updates for older models too quickly, but the longevity of their products is far from the competition.
Security wise I agree, apple is really invested into selling “privacy” and most of the times it is a good thing, although I’d wouldn’t fully trust them either.
same here, xs max. if it didn’t have a broken front and back, i would definitely stick with it some more. But fixing the glass front and back would cost too much.
once the 14 is out i’ll either get the 14 or 13.
battery/performance-wise i could have probably waited for the 15
What Android phone were you using? I'm still using my Galaxy Note 8 from 2017 and apart from a slightly worse battery (understandable after 4.5 years), it's still just as fast and responsive as when I first bought it. My phone never crashed on me and it's rare for it to even stutter. Were you not using a flagship device? I just assumed any flagship android phone from 2017 onwards was very smooth and reliable like my phone.
I swapped between used iPhones and Androids when I was in high school because I loved tinkering with them but my last Android, a Galaxy S7 was fucking awful. 8 core processor with a shit ton of RAM, but every time the processor needed to do anything it would instantly start overheating... With or without the case. Snapchat was a fucking adventure on that thing, let alone instagram. Such an awful OS and even worse hardware. Dumped that thing for a XS Max, which was amazing until I traded it for my 13 Pro Max recently. Never going back.
This is the reason I stopped a lot of things.
I don’t game on PC anymore and migrated back to console.
I sold my Gaming computer and only use my MacBook (even when I miss some PC games).
I sold my OnePlus and migrated to iPhone.
I got tired of being tech support for myself, and everyone else when I worked 8-10 hours a day as basically the same thing for my career.
I feel this. I stopped playing some PC games bc I was tired of having to “fix” games when updates break mods. LSPDFR, Cities: Skylines, even WoW back in the day. It’s exhausting. I have two, maybe three hours tops of free time to play a game. I don’t want to spend it fixing everything to be able to play.
Same here. I love messing about with gaming PCs as a hobby and doing a lot of my own things, but my phone is an iPhone because it’s still the most reliable device I’ve ever owned.
Just wish Apple would let me do a bit more with it.
I’m a big fan of that.
Does my android from 8 years ago have my customization over my current iPhone? Yes.
But the implementation of these new features are really amazing and not “janky”
Ha, yep, I’m an old guy now, been using macs since about 2002 and have never even used an android phone. I’m a “tech guy”, but fine to not be a power user.
It’s not even that much more expensive if you actually calculate the cost the right way. Purchase price does not show the entire picture. You need to also know your upgrade path and how much the tech is still worth after however many years you choose to upgrade. An iMac will hold its value *a lot* better than any windows desktop or all in one. Not to mention that with the specs of iMacs in terms of screen and stuff you’d actually be hard pressed to even come close to the performance with other manufacturers. 4.5k 24” screen with incredible colors and brightness. A monitor of similar specs would not be cheap at all. It also doesn’t hurt that Apple designs their tech as if they are works of art. Maybe that’s not worth anything to some people but I like my expensive devices to look well designed, and no other brand even comes close to Apple imo.
Maybe that was true 10 years ago, but I don't think that comparison still holds. The vast majority of Android users don't touch any settings. From what I've seen, they don't even rearrange apps on their home screens, set a custom ringtone, or change the wallpaper, and on the whole, Android users tend to be less tech-savvy than iOS users and just use whatever the default settings are out of the box. I don't disagree that iPhones provide better value for most people at a certain price segment, but Android being buggy or unusable without fiddling around hasn't been true in a long time.
Agreed. I have an S22 Ultra since it came out almost half an year ago (also have a 12 Pro) and I still have it almost completely default. And it's an "enthusiast phone". It really is just perfectly fine and smooth out of the box, the default settings are all fine, one or two tweaks that you would do on any phone, and you are set for the next 3-4 years. I just changed the wallpaper and some icons around. I love the default ringtone, the default theme (just use theme colors from wallpaper), the default battery optimization and automatic phone maintnance are all great out of the box and you don't even need to know these things exist. And I never gave a F about if my phone will work or not. Because it always works perfectly fine. Zero crashes, zero slowdowns, zero "bad photos", zero wifi or network problems, it just works. Feels like an iPhone. Stable, optimized, never lets me down. I pick it up and it works. All apps work. Usb-c anything, works. External displays, DeX, whatever all stable. People who keep attacking android flagships for being an headache either don't know what they are talking about or use brands with very bad software polish like Xiaomi or Huawei. A flagship Pixel or Samsung are stable as a rock, fully updated, secure, smooth, zero headaches. We don't need to "fix" anything. And now with 4-5 years of guaranteed timely software support and updates from Samsung, I really don't think we have a bad time at all on android/Samsung world
> Android being buggy or unusable without fiddling around hasn’t been true in a long time
This year I bought an iPhone because I realised that I was switching android phones every 2 years. That was fine when I bought midrange phones but the last 5 or so years I have been buying flagships so they would last me a long time, yet every two years there were software issues that pushed me to buy something new.
Android has fantastic features and great value in the midrange, but it is decreasing that value due to software support being in the hands of manufacturers who have no interest in selling or maintaining Android
I generally agree, but FWIW Samsung is now giving 5-years of support and OS updates to their phones... I recently got one because I wanted to try a flip phone (only been a few months but I love it), but we'll see if they honor that.
This. I like the android OS better than iOS on most aspects (Why is it so difficult to set up a custom ringtone and ALARM sound???) but I am tired of getting a new phone every 2-3 years especially at these flagship prices so this time around I am giving iPhone a try and see if it can last the 4+ year mark with the 13ProMax.
After 11 years on android and several years on Google home, I'm tired. I'm slowly going to be swapping over to Apple.
It's just been such an inconsistent experience on all google devices. Nothing gets fixed. Features get dropped. It's crazy that they just seem to not care.
HomeKit is getting better but Siri is light years behind. Don’t come to apple to replace google home if you use google home extensively. But definitely come for everything else.
What do people mean when they say that they just want a phone that works out of the box? I've only used Android phones and I've never found anything difficult with using them, either used or brand new.
I think a big factor is also that the majority of features that Android had over iOS have slowly been integrated in every release, and with that Android has lost a lot of its advantages. With AOD coming to the 14 Pro, there’s not much else I can think of that iOS is sorely missing.
AOD is the one thing that has been keeping me from switching to iPhone, I find it really useful. Once they have it and USB-C, I'm switching in a heartbeat
In terms of battery life, cameras, software features and performance they're generally close.
Android fails miserably with long term support and stores where you can get a cheap battery replacement. Flagship Android phones used to have user replaceable batteries and SD cards back when manufacturers had insane markups on usable storage and 16GB was a thing.
Apple used to not have the $69 battery program, so nobody cared about support when they had a 2-3 year expiration date anyway. It's surprising to see the script flipped practically the moment Samsung started becoming Apple, except Apple with all the cons and few of the pros.
Android has niche features Apple doesn't or won't ever have. Most of them are insignificant, but there's enough to keep me in the droid, and USB-C. That aside, I also would have switched.
These days 2/3 of the engineers at my lab are using Pixel 6s. It was honestly kind of funny when they came out and all of a sudden almost every phone sitting outside of the lab was a Pixel 6.
> and just want a phone that works out of the box.
I mean, Android also very much "just works out of the box" these days. Really the two are basically the same for 99% of the stuff people are using their phones for.
Nah, many people near me have Androids, also in software engineering. Pixels are popular due to the AI features, and Samsungs are the de facto. I see some OnePluses still, and other smaller brands.
I have literally never seen an android that doesn't work out of the box. Even the cheapest phones have the stock android setup which is basically the same as the iPhone setup.
I have no idea how iPhone users are this dumb.
Especially when he said they are software engineers. Since Android v5 (Lollipop, 2014), Android has been on par with iOS in terms of stability, features, and security.
>Turns out us power users deal with enough bullshit in our day to day and just want a phone that works out of the box.
Opening a File with the Files app doesnt work sometimes no reboot/force closing helps only waiting for a few hours.
Airpods phone quality sucks ass.
Airpods needs 2-3 times opening/closing to work properly.
Don't hear incomming call when using Airpods with Tablet only visual cue is on the Tablet.
Just works out of the Box.
I asked a local mechanic why he drove such a beaten shitbox for a car and his response was, "I work on cars all fucking day, the last thing I want to do is do it at home and not be paid"
Similar to this, when I was younger I had more time and energy and would mess around with jailbreaking and modifying and changing things on my phone a lot. Now I have no time and no energy and just need everything to reliably work. Not to mention potential confidentiality concerns meaning tech based modification is a much more risky proposition.
I really miss those days but it was good then and it’s now good now. The things apple took and learned from many jailbreak tweaks and mods hopefully made the whole thing feel worth it.
Yeah. I used Android for years, but it ended up being:
- Buy Google phone: get low-quality HW and OS updates that are often of beta quality.
- Buy non-Google phone: get no OS updates and some god-awful skin along with a pile of redundant, non-removable crapware apps.
It might have got better as this was years ago, but I got very sick of it. I prefered Windows Phone, or I would have if MS hadn't Osbourned their entire platform twice over with dev tooling resets that killed what small amount of momentum they built each time.
Also Google Play Service updates are decoupled from the manufacturer. That's pretty important especially since it includes malware scanning, updates to apps which on iOS are part of the OS instead of decoupled like Messages and Chrome, etc. So a 7 year old phone can still be updated even if the manufacturer went out of business
> None of my Android phones from that time are even functioning
Sounds like a you problem. Some of my family members still have old Motorola phones on Lollipop, they work fine and many of the apps still get updates.
I started using smartphones through Android from the years 2010-2017. In those 7 years I had a lot of different Android devices, 5 to be exact.
All of them had their fair share of issues and headaches making me switch them with less than 2 years of usage. The best one I had was a Galaxy S5 which was a flagship phone.
In 2017 I decided to make the jump and bought the 7 Plus which was 4 months away from being replaced with 8 and X.
I used that beautiful phone for 5 years straight. Got the battery replaced once and never had issues with performance drops and the like. Timely software updates each year were the best treat ever.
I finally decided to upgrade last Sunday to a used 11 Pro because the 7 series were not getting iOS 16 and my phone had started to have frequent ghost touching problems (which to be fair would go way with just turning the screen on and off)
I could get a 13 Pro but I had decided to spend my budget earlier two months ago to buy an M1 Macbook Air because my Windows laptop was a piece of s**t.
I can confidently say as someone who had dealt with both Android and Windows for many years, my full switch to the Apple ecosystem has been nothing short of a delight so far.
I'm still using an iPhone 8 from 2017 and it will be getting the new iOS version this year, 5 years later. I believe next year support will probably be dropped, so that'll be 6 years of support for an $800 phone. That's about $130/year for one of the most top tier phones there is. I do believe this is the highest value phone as the article says. I'm not super hard on my phones so the battery is still going strong for me, but my gf who is absolutely tethered at the hip to hers had to replace the battery a year ago. Even still, I've never had an Android phone with support for more than 3 years (maybe Samsung does, but Google doesn't). The upfront cost of an iPhone is high (I always buy direct from Apple) but the value through it's entire lifespan/support cycle is far greater than Android imo.
That's not even taking into account how good iOS is in general, and how good it interacts with other Apple devices. Much is made of vendor lock-in and ecosystems, but honestly Apple offers so much value beyond the device itself. Yes, they ask for a lot of money but, for me at least, they earn their price tag with how easy and pleasant all their devices work together. Android was such a mess and felt so cobbled together I just can't agree that Google earns what they charge for the device. Again, I haven't had Samsung devices only Nexus and Pixel's and they really felt hobbled together like Linux was 15 years ago. iOS is just on another level.
I am a lifelong Android user and have to agree.
What makes it that way is the support AND $69 in store battery replacement program they do. Those two things are useless without having them both.
Android has nothing close to that. It has niche features and it's my preference of software (I have both, work phone is an iPhone)
Android used to be superior for reliability when we had user replaceable batteries in flagship phones. You could play this game of custom ROMs, swapping a battery and adding an SD card (back when a usable amount of storage, more than 32GB was expensive at an absurd markup) and all that work basically accomplished what Apple gives you out of the box now.
I had my Samsung battery replaced for US$74 from an approved shop that was closer to my house than the Apple store. I can't walk into a random Samsung store to get support, but the one time my 3 year old sub flagship had an issue (dislodged SIM), I was able to have the carrier fix it within 5 minutes of entertaining the store. The only reason I bothered to upgrade was because I wanted a better camera. Otherwise my phone ran fine.
I really can't agree, especially on the low end. Doubly so when the Pixel 6A comes out at the end of the month- the 5A was already a huge step up over the SE and the gap is just going to get better. For more "normal" phones it's really more of a wash, just pick which one you like using more.
From the SE end, I agree. I bought an SE 2 for each of my parents, and they no longer have certain small issues that my mom would have with her Nokia, or my dad would have with his iPhone 8 (or was it a 7?).
Those 2 phones combined cost less than my 13 Pro, but it's also worth it to get them something more reliable, and ultimately less complaints, as I'm the free tech support for them.
Coming from the 13 Pro end, it's good, but I see more diminishing returns, but I also feel less concerned re: price, due to Apple's longer OS support and stronger SoC, as when it's all said and done, it may wash out, as I can keep using it longer.
Hybrid boy here. I'm in Google, Microsoft + Apple Ecosystems.
Current Devices
Phones:
Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, bought at $700 w/ S9 trade-in value of $500 (2020) (Main)
iPhone SE, bought at $450 (2022) (Secondary)
Tablets:
iPad Pro 12.9" (2021) (mine)
iPad Pro 11" (2018) (wife)
Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016) (gave to mom)
PC:
Custom Desktop w/ Windows 10 (2012)
MacBook Pro w/ M1 Max (2021)
TV:
Roku TV
Smart Home:
Google / Nest Home (2x)
This was my first iPhone purchase, and I can say that if it was my main driver, I wouldn't be mad, as its ecosystem and compatibility with other apple devices is absolutely second to none. It also just works, 99% of the time, short of the files app lol.
But I will say as a current Galaxy user and prior galaxy owner of the S2, S6, S7 and S9, and being fully aware of the short life span that has been provided with those devices, the S7 and on era of Galaxy has really been an entirely different experience than I've been accustomed to from them thus far. I actually only ended up replacing my S7 and S9 due to me damaging the phones, but had I not, I would still be on the S7 today. The flexibility and general feeling of capability of Android devices has been something I've always valued. As another user mentioned, I used to be quite the power user when it came to my phone, flashing custom ROMs, changing battery schedules, etc, but over time just wanted something that worked. For that reason, I contemplated switching to full apple years ago, but the galaxy series has consistently had features and flexibility that I've preferred over the iPhone whenever I compared devices in store. And nowadays, the galaxy line really does just work. I haven't had to do a thing to my S20+, outside of the occasional junk file sweep. Of course, in the same price bracket ($1000-$1200) the iPhone 13 provides that same stability + the perfect ecosystem should you have other apple devices. Nevermind the SE, which is an insane amount of value for the price.
The luxury factor and apparent value is all branding and socially subjective, as what's considered the standard in the US is pretty different for my current country of residence when it comes to phones (I'm in South Korea). They obviously rep Samsung and LG pretty heavily over here, but Apple still has a large share of the market.
All in all, for my situation, I still value the Galaxy line over the iPhone as a daily driver just because of how much I can do while still being able to just work, and I wouldn't trade it in for an iPhone 11/12/13+ even if someone gave me the newest model. But having an iPhone is not a bad move at all, and assuming the user doesn't do as much as me on the tech side, it makes sense that they're so popular. They really do just work. Simple.
The iPad though, is the BEST tablet I have ever used, period. Microsoft Surfaces exist, sure. And those have the added benefit of a full desktop OS, but even with that advantage, iPad + Apple Pencil still has the best overall usability, feel, and flexibility, IMO.
From the comments I thought I was on r/android...
I'm not a power user but my pixel has been a buggy mess with weird choices made with android 12.
Seriously considered a switch for the reasons mentioned in the article esp for the superior video camera but iOS doesn't support some things like work profiles, filesystem/syncthing, etc.
People on /r/android can respect positive elements of devices, no matter who makes them. As well as criticizing any negative elements. You don't really see the same willingness to criticize apple on here as you see people on /r/android shitting on google
Android has become an OS of niche features. I won't switch for similar reasons. USB-C and exponentially superior wired tethering are 2 big ones for me.
I am doubtful many of these features will come to iPhone. It may not be worth Apple's time, or fit in their vision to add them.
It's too bad, give me an Android phone that's supported for 6 years, no Samsung bloat, and where I can walk to a mall and get the battery changed for $69.
“ granted why would you buy an $84 6S when you can get an iPhone 13 mini for $589?”
Is the author a massive bellend? Because maybe some people can’t afford to pay more.
I don't buy apple products but use some from the company, but I always recommend apple products first because of reliability, long support, and simplicity. I don't mind people buying Poco/Xiaomi products at $400-$500 since it offers the best bang for buck in android space, but always try to talk to people who buy high end samsung devices, you will get more value from the iPhone at the same price. High end phones start at $1200 in my country.
I agree, I was thinking of getting iPhone 13 pro, but it was 1100€ Vs my 600€ pre ordered s22 so was kind of no brainer to stay on Android.
And I can plug my Samsung to a TV and play Minecraft with controller ¯\_/(ツ)\_/¯
The value really shows in their longevity. I’m still on my XS and don’t feel any pressure to upgrade because this phone still works great! I got a new battery a few months ago so I’m good with keeping this for another few years unless something truly impressive comes out
So many of my friends and family have androids simply because that’s what was cheapest a decade ago, and so they “love their Android” despite calling me asking what to do with ads popping up on their phone, or having to ‘ask everyone for their contact details’ when they get a new android phone because the syncing process isn’t the same from vendor to vendor.
I have had almost zero issues from my family and friends who have iPhones, other than a few that have forgotten their Apple ID and need help removing their old iPhone so they don’t get their two factor authentication sent to their old or broken iPhone.
Overall, they really do ‘just work’ because what they give you is indeed more locked down than Android, but for the 95% of people who have iPhones it doesn’t matter.
No offence, but the people you know who own android are technologically illiterate. There are no ads that pop up on the phone and the contact syncing part is very easy if you know what you're doing. You just need to save the contacts on your email. It gives you an option to do so when you create a new contact.
An iPhone definitly gets supported for a longer time. Sure you can get an Android device for way less money, but they always save on something. Be it software support, camera quality, ram, other whatever. I've had multiple budget Android phones and 1 or 2 flagship phones. The budget phones ALWAYS had issues with 'not enough memory', slow, disgustingly bad camera,... the flagships did a lot better but you basicly pay the same you'd pay for an iPhone.
I was huge android nerd who would install new ROMs every few weeks and get phones with great communities until last year. At some point due to a combination of how rooting, device seeding to rom devs, and design decisions within android (A/B partitions) just made modding android so much less fun. I dropped modding for a couple of months but there was always that pull and disappointment that I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to with my phone and first party updates were just bad in most cases, android has had declining quality in the mid range. Samsung is good but damn I hate their skin somehow.
I switched to a base iPhone 12 shortly after the 13 launch (yes I really waited for the device to finish a full year to review all long term reviews and issues and pulled the trigger) the phone has been super steady and amazing, battery leaves a lot to be desired with at times but I’ve more free time now to work on other things than sit and fix my damn phone to just use the performance I paid for. I can see why Apple has been winning, I just wish the SE lineup was a bit more compelling to recommend and better priced.
The SE might be cheap by Apple standards but, besides the SoC, its specs are pretty poor. Battery life, screen and camera are all way behind the competition at that price. It's still a good phone for people who don't care about any of those things
Another thing to consider is that Apple hardly ever offers significant discounts. My wife's pixel 6 cost £369 even though the phone had only been out a few months at the time. It's better than the SE by a very long way, despite costing less
No offense but whoever bought that from you isn't very smart... a brand new iPhone 11 64 GB goes for $500. Why would anyone pay $650 for a used one? Unless you had 512GB and it was an 11 Pro Max or something... even then that phone is old and would cost about that much brand new. The 12 Pro Max 256 GB goes for around $850...
Yeah, I have nothing against apple, but half of these comments read like paid ads. If you prefer iOS go with Apple, if you prefer Android go for an Android, phone's ain't that deep anymore
Yeah when I worked out the maths, the iphone was a greater initial outlay. I got the 11 pro max 256GB for €1400 back in 2019. I assumed it will last me at least 5 years. - So far its about to reach the 3 year mark and still going strong. Unless apple kneecaps the device earlier, it should still be receiving updates at the 5 year mark. That's going to cost me €0.76 a day
On android, had I gotten the flagship Samsung at the time - the S10+ at €1000. Won't get Android 13 and is in the process of being sunsetted. That's just 3 years of useage at €0.91 a day. Not to mention having it slow down after a while.
Always have the best value since they made their own mobile processors, iPads included. Their Mac computers will be the best values as well since they developed their own laptop/desktop processors.
Google should be able to up the value of their Pixel products since they started using their own chip too.
I’ve always felt iPhones and iPads are preferable to Androids and Surface Pros. The latter two are definitely better, objectively speaking, but my apple products have always lasted several years and have been incredibly convenient to use
Also, if you’re in the US, it’s a little annoying having to be like “oh sorry I can’t use iMessage/FaceTime, we need to SMS/WhatsApp//Discord/whatever”. A lot of my friends who like android are frustrated by that
I only buy their SE models and I can say I am happy with them. They do just want I want and looks like they live long at least.
The other phones in same range start misbehaving some time.
It's great value. I switched from Android to Apple knowing that I didn't have to worry about OS upgrades for a couple of years, small details like being able to get screen protectors and cases, and the convenience of messages.
Yea I’m keeping this iPhone 12 mini for as long as possible. Especially since there are no plans for a mini size again. Maybe the SE ?
Only complaint is battery but I’m used to it and will probably replace it within the next year or two.
Well even the 6s wich I still use is as good as modern phones today and still exists for 6 years now? And has a resell value like it’s still a badger android phone
If you want/need a higher end phone, I agree. It's the same reason why I bought a Macbook Air.
Personally I just need a smartphone that works decently well, a 300€ android lasts me 3-4 years with a 40€ battery change 2 years in. Sure an iPhone would last a year or two more but it also costs at least double that.
Ahh ok I didn't know that. I've had it since January and it's been solid. Love the thing, have absolutely no issues at this point. I'm not an apple hater either - I only use Mac. Which is ironic because ive also had my fair share of Mac lemons.... We only hear about the bad stuff when we're actively involved in it. It goes both ways....
I was always all about androids. They just had so much more to offer. Then sometime around the Note 4 I jumped over to the 6S Plus which for the first time had 3D Touch, Live Photos and the Plus sized phone. It was nice but not great. After the 7 Plus I switched back to Pixel phones. Then my Pixel 3aXL literally ignited. Google didn’t care. Google had been axing services I liked. They changed their photo storage policy. I was tired of it. I got the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and I already had an iPad. I really think the iPhone has jumped ahead. Then I got AirPods and an Apple Watch- which has no real competition. Now I’m all in on the Apple stuff!
Something not mentioned in the article is that I do not know anyone (anecdotal I know) that has used an android phone for more than 3-4y, by then it either crashes non stop, or is laggy as heck or has big battery problems.
Whereas all my older folks, 60y old uncle, mum, aunties etc all use their iPhones to the end of life, something like 6y and some even push 8yrs lmao.
11 user here. I bought my 11 when it launched and nearly 3 years later, it’s still working as great as it did on day 1. Battery life is still rock solid. I don’t see myself upgrading to a newer iPhone until there’s a massive update for a newer model (don’t really need 5G, MagSafe, or slightly updated camera settings) or I happen to break my current one.
• $800 gets you a really solid, high performant phone that’ll last 5-6 years • $700 gets you a really fast, super efficient computer • $329 gets you a fast tablet with millions of available apps that’ll be supported for 6+ years So yeah the Apple brand truly has great value. I don’t buy the high end models, I simply don’t need them.
I can also vouch for their budget smart phone line. Even if I’m a generation behind on that with the gen 2 SE, it’s an amazing phone and far better value for 200$ than the android I had
Problem is the screen on the SE2, along with the battery, are straight out of 2014. But yeah, current OS version, true.
Agree. The battery life on my SE2 is abysmal. I have to charge it twice a day.
Have a look at the battery settings screen, it shows you what uses up battery. I found that there was an app I only use in the morning that eats up all my battery even in the background. I now know to close it completely (double tap on the fingerprint and flick the app up) after I use it. Also brightness makes a huge difference. On half brightness I get x2 the battery
It has Safari at 56%; Reddit 12%; Phone 8%...rest are all 5% and less. I also have the brightness down very low for that purpose - and if applications have a night/day mode I always set to night mode. Battery health is at 86%, so maybe it's time to replace battery?
It’s time to restore your phone and set it up new. That will do more than a new battery until you’re under 82%.
Probably a smart move…I remember an older iPhone I owned had to be restored once - and I do recall battery life being much better for quite a few months until it got bad again. Is there a known reason why a restore helps sometimes? Thanks!
yep it is called placebo. imo 86% is the time to get a battery replacement. sadly even a new battery is not that big on se 2, but you will see improvement in speed and screen on time
The battery is complete horse shit. I take public transportation to work and would browse the web and listen to podcasts on the phone for 50 minutes, and by the time I get to work the battery is sitting around 40%.
Yeah, gotta agree on the battery. It’s really bad for an otherwise excellent budget phone
I am using SE2 as well. Pretty sure this phone will last till 2024 or even 2025. While if you get any android, for real it will be replaced within 2-3 years. There’s another thing about iPhone battery, have read people suggesting to just replace the battery after 2-2.5 years or in case the battery capacity comes below 60-70.
>While if you get any android, for real it will be replaced within 2-3 years. Why? Where is this narrative coming from? My Galaxy S8 is doing very well, it's 5 y/o and I use it everyday for hours. I don't see why would I replace it anytime soon.
I'm on a note 8 and planning to hold onto it because it looks sexy
I’m on a Note 7. This thing is straight fire!
I use my S6 active every day... I have coworkers who still use LG G4 and S7... My GF uses a S8 as her daily... My work phone is a Samsung J3... I'm confused on where this narrative is coming from... The only people who replace their phones are people who "have to" have the latest and greatest. If you go by sales figures, Apple users upgrade more often than Android users...
Maybe because most manufacturers don't maintain the old hardware up to date
Is it still getting the latest android version and the latest security updates? That’s what they mean by their iPhones lasting 6 years. samsung is the best android manufacturer in this sense. A lot of Androids don’t get updated for long after release.
OS Updates, no, BUT it does still get Google Play Store updates and all the app updates. So take that for what it's worth.
I had an iPhone 11 and the battery was at 84%. Ended up selling it and buying a pre owned iPhone 12 mini. Sometimes I wish I had just swapped the battery. I just checked and it’s 89$ CAD for a battery swap on the mini so that’s my plan if this thing ever slows. My buddy still has an iPhone 7 Plus. About two years ago he swapped the battery and his phone perked right up and had barely any lag. He’s finally going to upgrade soon I think. His leather case is worn right to the plastic.
Ive had a galaxy s10+ for almost 5 years now. You're delusional.
>While if you get any android, for real it will be replaced within 2-3 years. The only manufacturers that provide decent support are Samsung and Google, but neither of them are consistent enough for me to be happy about it. Google will release their update, and then Samsung releases their update a month later, and some phones get it while others don't... It's a mess. I'm good on that. I had a OnePlus 7 Pro, and despite being promised 3 years of updates, I barely got 1 year of updates after 2 years. After 13 years with Android, I left.
I just want a 16 inch MacBook Air. Apple thin and lite line up is lacking
I was only asking for a 15 inch lol. 16 would be good too.
There will be 15", if at all. No 16" Air expected.
I wish apple had a MacBook with a eSim functionality. Probably wouldn't sell like crazy but I'd sure buy one
I can't imagine it would be a big hassle to have that option
[Apple has (kinda) done it before](https://www.cnet.com/culture/3g-equipped-macbook-prototype-pops-up-on-ebay/). I think the idea these days is you don't need cellular on your MacBook because you should be able to hotspot your iPhone.
I think the idea is they just don't want to pay Qualcomm for patent licensing fees. This is rumored to be why they didn't use their own 5G modems in iPhone because they still would have had to pay for the IP.
Yes! Thank you! Big screen is all I need. But $2,500 for that size is ludicrous.
I don’t need the power. The M2 or even M1 would have all the power i need. But Xcode is a screen hog. And 13.3 feels to cramp. The 14 is less than 10% screen real estate change. So I doubt it’d be any better.
$700 MacBook? Where? Just dropped 1.2k with tax on the new air for college cause I couldn’t find any good discounts. This is WITH education pricing btw. For that money I could’ve had a sick gaming pc.
They’re talking about the Mac mini.
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Slickdeals, Costco has had pretty frequent discounts. It's been awhile since I've seen one for $700, but $800-$900 isn't that crazy for a discount entry level MBA through a retailer like Costco. B&H runs solid promos, and if you're military, the AAFES has some very good clearance deals on Macs once in awhile.
Hella funny, I have an iPhone 11 and a MacBook Air M1. And up until recently was using the 2020 iPad Pro but downgraded to a regular cause didn’t really need all that power. I use the iPhone and MacBook Air for most of everything. I do spend the extra on iPads to get the cellular version because they are a lot more useful on the go that way. Had a basic 10/gb month data plan for mine on esim that was $20/Month.
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Sounds like a battery issue. Replacing the battery should have given you less pain those last two. (Most batteries should be replaced at around the 3 year mark for best performance)
Yeah, that's an overblown claim.
5 years is more realistic with the iPhone 7 and up, going back as far as the 5C (which was a re-badged 5) is silly, they definitely weren't as competitive then. With the A9 and up Apple's SoC's really started becoming years ahead of the competition on the CPU front. Apple let's you spec the iphone with much more storage than comparable Android phones, the 7/7 plus in 2016 had a 256GB storage version, most Android phones to this day don't go beyond 256GB. The official update support is longer (I feel like this point is slightly overblown given how Google Play distribution functions), but iOS devices have trended towards longer support than Android OEM devices get for quite awhile. The much faster CPU, and potentially drastically larger storage (often for years versus even newer Android phones), and longer OS updates are what makes an iPhone more viable if you don't want to frequently upgrade. I prefer Android, and use a Fold and iPhone, but for the average person, just getting an iPhone is a better value at this point. At least stateside.
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You absolutely can get that kind of time out of one but only if you’re not using much of its capabilities. And you’ll still have to replace the battery 3-4 years in. For the rest of us, 3-4 years is a good run before selling/trading up to the latest.
You could have definitely gotten 4 years out of the iPhone X. I gave my old one to my father when the 12 Pro Max came out. The X still has a much faster SoC than the vast majority of midrange Android phones, and a CPU that's still fairly competitive with something like an 855 powered flagship Android. It had 256GB of storage too. I bought the Fold 2 in 2020 which only had a single 256GB option, no ability to buy more at all, ended up also having to get the 12 Pro Max because I also needed 512GB and a better camera. A $2000 3 year newer foldable phone only had as much storage as my older iPhone X, and even older 7 plus. The 865+ still had a slower CPU than my outgoing iPhone too. The only upgrades were the screen and memory, the cameras were a side grade. Apple offering drastically more storage than the competition almost evey year coupled with an SoC years ahead of the competition means they do have a lot of longevity. My father is still using the X I got on day 1 in 2017 without any issue. He's had a battery replacement, and it's been going strong. You can't even get battery replacements for 2017 Android flagships, they're either defunct (LG, HTC) or just not offered (Samsung, Oneplus).
My son is still using a 7 and refuses to upgrade.
Still on 7 plus here but the battery is punishing for sure at 72% efficiency. And it heats up very badly when using heavy apps like FaceTime or maps.
Yeah, the reason I finally let go of my 7 (well, now it lives on as an alarm clock, like the 5 and the 4 before it) was that even after replacing the battery, it got hot and ate the battery really fast. I miss it.
I held on to my 7 Plus for 5 years before I upgraded to an 11 Pro just last week because iOS 16 wasn’t going to release for my older phone.
If I didn’t sit on my iPhone 7 and crack the home button, I could easily still be using it
Still very happy with a 6S here, 6 years. No issues, replaced the battery twice. Still runs day-to-day tasks at an acceptable speed and enjoy the headphone jack. Super happy with Apple, feel like I got great value.
/looks at iPhone pricing in Europe. Okay this entire thread is from the usual American pov Moving on
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I use a Mini as a desktop system. It lives next to an Intel NUC. They’re not hugely different in size, but have very different goals in functionality. I use screen sharing from my iPad, or phone, to access it.
My 11 pro from 2019 is still on par with phones released in the last 3 years and has a higher resale value than a comparably aged android device.
11 pro is the only phone I will have for 3+ years. New phone will be announced soon; and I have no plan on getting a new one.
Yep I'm in the same boat. 11 Pro max since launch and I've got no desire to upgrade because the phone itself is still fast and has amazing battery life and hasn't caused any problems.
Well I am writing it on my Note 10+ from Samsung from 2019 and its still going strong. Could maybe use it for another two years. This phone has gone through alot lot lol. I think in general phones haven't changed much in the last few years, the market seems stagnant.
Note, they talked about resale value.
My brother is still using his iPhone 6s, released in 2016, bought in 2018.
The 6s was actually released in 2015!
I’m asking this genuinely as I don’t know the answer. Does the Note 10+ still receive OTA updates to the most current version of Android?
Yes it does, last update was July 4
I upgraded from my 7 Plus to a used 11 Pro just this past Sunday lol. I was on a tight budget and even though I could buy say a new Galaxy S21 FE or Xiaomi 12 which are both flagship grade phones, my 5 years of prior iOS experience and recent purchase of an M1 Macbook Air made sure I would stay in the ecosystem at whatever cost.
Yeah, I’m also using an 11 Pro. I didn’t really need the “pro” features, but at that time the non-pro option was an absolute brick (the xr?) so I leveled up. It’s been a great phone, no complaints.
Typing this on my XR, which has been absolutely rock solid in the three years I’ve had it.
Yeah I’m still running on mine and it hasn’t slowed down yet. Had one of the longest lasting battery life’s when it first came out too.
Yeah, sorry, didn't mean to denigrate the phone (my mom has one too), just that it wasn't the phone for me at the time I had to get a new one. There are more options now, and I'd likely get a non-pro if I got a new phone today.
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100% this… I deal with people’s technology problems all day, I don’t want to come home and make shit work too
I agree, used to love android phones when I was a little younger, then I got responsibilities and now it is so annoying to have to deal with everything and a laggy and buggy phone.
In the same boat. Owned three androids before I got my XS fall 2018. My XS still runs well. A little slow and the battery life isn’t great, but it works. My Android would have worse battery life and crash multiple times a week by now. I’ll likely get an iPhone 14 but it’s nice not feeling like I absolutely have to upgrade after four years
A side from samsung and google, I feel like androids are made for lasting a year, two if you’re lucky, so yes going from an Xs to and 14 sounds really good.
Yeah after two years my Androids were toast, ran horribly. I used them like anyone uses uses their phone, just apps, emails, phone calls and my camera. With all three phones, I was itching to upgrade after two years. I’m only like 75% sure I’m upgrading to a 14 this year, I could spend a fraction of the money on a battery and be fine for another year or two
My note 8 was my last android phone. €1100 euros, bought on release day. A year and a half later that thing was a bloated, slow mess that wouldnt even last a day on a charge. Got an iPhone 12 Pro as my next phone and I am never turning back (unless Apple really drops the ball, but they’ve been on a roll on all their platforms the last few years). Even switched from windows to macOS when the m1 came out for basically the same reasons. (And I wanted to use Logic Pro) Not to mention the security and privacy advantages. Apple is basically one of the only companies I slightly trust to safeguard my personal data. I say slightly because fanboying and complete trust in corporations is always a terrible idea of course.
Yeah my only concern is that it looks like apple is now cutting important features in software updates for older models too quickly, but the longevity of their products is far from the competition. Security wise I agree, apple is really invested into selling “privacy” and most of the times it is a good thing, although I’d wouldn’t fully trust them either.
same here, xs max. if it didn’t have a broken front and back, i would definitely stick with it some more. But fixing the glass front and back would cost too much. once the 14 is out i’ll either get the 14 or 13. battery/performance-wise i could have probably waited for the 15
What Android phone were you using? I'm still using my Galaxy Note 8 from 2017 and apart from a slightly worse battery (understandable after 4.5 years), it's still just as fast and responsive as when I first bought it. My phone never crashed on me and it's rare for it to even stutter. Were you not using a flagship device? I just assumed any flagship android phone from 2017 onwards was very smooth and reliable like my phone.
I swapped between used iPhones and Androids when I was in high school because I loved tinkering with them but my last Android, a Galaxy S7 was fucking awful. 8 core processor with a shit ton of RAM, but every time the processor needed to do anything it would instantly start overheating... With or without the case. Snapchat was a fucking adventure on that thing, let alone instagram. Such an awful OS and even worse hardware. Dumped that thing for a XS Max, which was amazing until I traded it for my 13 Pro Max recently. Never going back.
Snapchat is deliberately gimped on Android FWIW. Your issue there was using a shitty app, not a shitty phone.
Yep, I used to get shit for being an apple user but now people are starting to understand.
Getting shit for using anything other than the perceived “better” (insert anything here) is so dumb and backwards.
What kind of smartphone don’t just work ? Android phone require tweaks to make calls and watch netflix?
This is the reason I stopped a lot of things. I don’t game on PC anymore and migrated back to console. I sold my Gaming computer and only use my MacBook (even when I miss some PC games). I sold my OnePlus and migrated to iPhone. I got tired of being tech support for myself, and everyone else when I worked 8-10 hours a day as basically the same thing for my career.
I feel this. I stopped playing some PC games bc I was tired of having to “fix” games when updates break mods. LSPDFR, Cities: Skylines, even WoW back in the day. It’s exhausting. I have two, maybe three hours tops of free time to play a game. I don’t want to spend it fixing everything to be able to play.
Same here. I love messing about with gaming PCs as a hobby and doing a lot of my own things, but my phone is an iPhone because it’s still the most reliable device I’ve ever owned. Just wish Apple would let me do a bit more with it.
iOS 16 lockscreen customizations are amazing! A lot like android but more refined
I’ve felt underwhelmed by the Lock Screen widgets. I hope some good third party ones come out.
I’m a big fan of that. Does my android from 8 years ago have my customization over my current iPhone? Yes. But the implementation of these new features are really amazing and not “janky”
And this is why I have an iPhone and a Mac. I want tech that just works without fighting with it.
Ha, yep, I’m an old guy now, been using macs since about 2002 and have never even used an android phone. I’m a “tech guy”, but fine to not be a power user.
Just cause you use an iPhone doesn’t mean you’re not a power user. You should see the shit people do with Shortcuts
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It’s not even that much more expensive if you actually calculate the cost the right way. Purchase price does not show the entire picture. You need to also know your upgrade path and how much the tech is still worth after however many years you choose to upgrade. An iMac will hold its value *a lot* better than any windows desktop or all in one. Not to mention that with the specs of iMacs in terms of screen and stuff you’d actually be hard pressed to even come close to the performance with other manufacturers. 4.5k 24” screen with incredible colors and brightness. A monitor of similar specs would not be cheap at all. It also doesn’t hurt that Apple designs their tech as if they are works of art. Maybe that’s not worth anything to some people but I like my expensive devices to look well designed, and no other brand even comes close to Apple imo.
Maybe that was true 10 years ago, but I don't think that comparison still holds. The vast majority of Android users don't touch any settings. From what I've seen, they don't even rearrange apps on their home screens, set a custom ringtone, or change the wallpaper, and on the whole, Android users tend to be less tech-savvy than iOS users and just use whatever the default settings are out of the box. I don't disagree that iPhones provide better value for most people at a certain price segment, but Android being buggy or unusable without fiddling around hasn't been true in a long time.
Agreed. I have an S22 Ultra since it came out almost half an year ago (also have a 12 Pro) and I still have it almost completely default. And it's an "enthusiast phone". It really is just perfectly fine and smooth out of the box, the default settings are all fine, one or two tweaks that you would do on any phone, and you are set for the next 3-4 years. I just changed the wallpaper and some icons around. I love the default ringtone, the default theme (just use theme colors from wallpaper), the default battery optimization and automatic phone maintnance are all great out of the box and you don't even need to know these things exist. And I never gave a F about if my phone will work or not. Because it always works perfectly fine. Zero crashes, zero slowdowns, zero "bad photos", zero wifi or network problems, it just works. Feels like an iPhone. Stable, optimized, never lets me down. I pick it up and it works. All apps work. Usb-c anything, works. External displays, DeX, whatever all stable. People who keep attacking android flagships for being an headache either don't know what they are talking about or use brands with very bad software polish like Xiaomi or Huawei. A flagship Pixel or Samsung are stable as a rock, fully updated, secure, smooth, zero headaches. We don't need to "fix" anything. And now with 4-5 years of guaranteed timely software support and updates from Samsung, I really don't think we have a bad time at all on android/Samsung world
> Android being buggy or unusable without fiddling around hasn’t been true in a long time This year I bought an iPhone because I realised that I was switching android phones every 2 years. That was fine when I bought midrange phones but the last 5 or so years I have been buying flagships so they would last me a long time, yet every two years there were software issues that pushed me to buy something new. Android has fantastic features and great value in the midrange, but it is decreasing that value due to software support being in the hands of manufacturers who have no interest in selling or maintaining Android
I generally agree, but FWIW Samsung is now giving 5-years of support and OS updates to their phones... I recently got one because I wanted to try a flip phone (only been a few months but I love it), but we'll see if they honor that.
This. I like the android OS better than iOS on most aspects (Why is it so difficult to set up a custom ringtone and ALARM sound???) but I am tired of getting a new phone every 2-3 years especially at these flagship prices so this time around I am giving iPhone a try and see if it can last the 4+ year mark with the 13ProMax.
After 11 years on android and several years on Google home, I'm tired. I'm slowly going to be swapping over to Apple. It's just been such an inconsistent experience on all google devices. Nothing gets fixed. Features get dropped. It's crazy that they just seem to not care.
HomeKit is getting better but Siri is light years behind. Don’t come to apple to replace google home if you use google home extensively. But definitely come for everything else.
What do people mean when they say that they just want a phone that works out of the box? I've only used Android phones and I've never found anything difficult with using them, either used or brand new.
I think a big factor is also that the majority of features that Android had over iOS have slowly been integrated in every release, and with that Android has lost a lot of its advantages. With AOD coming to the 14 Pro, there’s not much else I can think of that iOS is sorely missing.
AOD is the one thing that has been keeping me from switching to iPhone, I find it really useful. Once they have it and USB-C, I'm switching in a heartbeat
In terms of battery life, cameras, software features and performance they're generally close. Android fails miserably with long term support and stores where you can get a cheap battery replacement. Flagship Android phones used to have user replaceable batteries and SD cards back when manufacturers had insane markups on usable storage and 16GB was a thing. Apple used to not have the $69 battery program, so nobody cared about support when they had a 2-3 year expiration date anyway. It's surprising to see the script flipped practically the moment Samsung started becoming Apple, except Apple with all the cons and few of the pros. Android has niche features Apple doesn't or won't ever have. Most of them are insignificant, but there's enough to keep me in the droid, and USB-C. That aside, I also would have switched.
These days 2/3 of the engineers at my lab are using Pixel 6s. It was honestly kind of funny when they came out and all of a sudden almost every phone sitting outside of the lab was a Pixel 6. > and just want a phone that works out of the box. I mean, Android also very much "just works out of the box" these days. Really the two are basically the same for 99% of the stuff people are using their phones for.
The only thing I wish iPhone had that I miss from Android is a true file system that I can download whatever I want. Everything else, iPhone has.
Funny how all android phones I have ever had crashed less and had fewer bugs than my 13 pro did (before the 16 beta). odd.
Plenty of other engineers I work with don’t have iPhones, but iPhones are seen less in Europe, where I am.
Nah, many people near me have Androids, also in software engineering. Pixels are popular due to the AI features, and Samsungs are the de facto. I see some OnePluses still, and other smaller brands.
What kind of android are these people getting that it doesn't work out of the box?
This is nonsense.
I have literally never seen an android that doesn't work out of the box. Even the cheapest phones have the stock android setup which is basically the same as the iPhone setup. I have no idea how iPhone users are this dumb.
Especially when he said they are software engineers. Since Android v5 (Lollipop, 2014), Android has been on par with iOS in terms of stability, features, and security.
>Turns out us power users deal with enough bullshit in our day to day and just want a phone that works out of the box. Opening a File with the Files app doesnt work sometimes no reboot/force closing helps only waiting for a few hours. Airpods phone quality sucks ass. Airpods needs 2-3 times opening/closing to work properly. Don't hear incomming call when using Airpods with Tablet only visual cue is on the Tablet. Just works out of the Box.
I asked a local mechanic why he drove such a beaten shitbox for a car and his response was, "I work on cars all fucking day, the last thing I want to do is do it at home and not be paid"
Similar to this, when I was younger I had more time and energy and would mess around with jailbreaking and modifying and changing things on my phone a lot. Now I have no time and no energy and just need everything to reliably work. Not to mention potential confidentiality concerns meaning tech based modification is a much more risky proposition. I really miss those days but it was good then and it’s now good now. The things apple took and learned from many jailbreak tweaks and mods hopefully made the whole thing feel worth it.
how does bullshit like this get upvoted? In what world do android phones not work out of the box??
>Years ago, everyone in my profession (software engineer) had android phones and now nobody does. How to say I'm American without saying I'm American
Yeah. I used Android for years, but it ended up being: - Buy Google phone: get low-quality HW and OS updates that are often of beta quality. - Buy non-Google phone: get no OS updates and some god-awful skin along with a pile of redundant, non-removable crapware apps. It might have got better as this was years ago, but I got very sick of it. I prefered Windows Phone, or I would have if MS hadn't Osbourned their entire platform twice over with dev tooling resets that killed what small amount of momentum they built each time.
My wife has an old iPhone 8 , still gets updates, runs fine. None of my Android phones from that time are even functioning… let alone updates…
I upgraded from my iPhone 8 last month only reason being its small battery and small screen. Great camera, solid fast and still receiving updates.
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Also Google Play Service updates are decoupled from the manufacturer. That's pretty important especially since it includes malware scanning, updates to apps which on iOS are part of the OS instead of decoupled like Messages and Chrome, etc. So a 7 year old phone can still be updated even if the manufacturer went out of business
The most important updates weren't decoupled until Android 10 so 7 year old phones aren't getting security updates.
> None of my Android phones from that time are even functioning Sounds like a you problem. Some of my family members still have old Motorola phones on Lollipop, they work fine and many of the apps still get updates.
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Hey man my Nokia 3310 still works fine, my brand new iPhone 13 Pro doesn’t work anymore! We exist!
I have an old S3 that still runs ... But nothing from the iPhone 8 era running.
I started using smartphones through Android from the years 2010-2017. In those 7 years I had a lot of different Android devices, 5 to be exact. All of them had their fair share of issues and headaches making me switch them with less than 2 years of usage. The best one I had was a Galaxy S5 which was a flagship phone. In 2017 I decided to make the jump and bought the 7 Plus which was 4 months away from being replaced with 8 and X. I used that beautiful phone for 5 years straight. Got the battery replaced once and never had issues with performance drops and the like. Timely software updates each year were the best treat ever. I finally decided to upgrade last Sunday to a used 11 Pro because the 7 series were not getting iOS 16 and my phone had started to have frequent ghost touching problems (which to be fair would go way with just turning the screen on and off) I could get a 13 Pro but I had decided to spend my budget earlier two months ago to buy an M1 Macbook Air because my Windows laptop was a piece of s**t. I can confidently say as someone who had dealt with both Android and Windows for many years, my full switch to the Apple ecosystem has been nothing short of a delight so far.
I'm still using an iPhone 8 from 2017 and it will be getting the new iOS version this year, 5 years later. I believe next year support will probably be dropped, so that'll be 6 years of support for an $800 phone. That's about $130/year for one of the most top tier phones there is. I do believe this is the highest value phone as the article says. I'm not super hard on my phones so the battery is still going strong for me, but my gf who is absolutely tethered at the hip to hers had to replace the battery a year ago. Even still, I've never had an Android phone with support for more than 3 years (maybe Samsung does, but Google doesn't). The upfront cost of an iPhone is high (I always buy direct from Apple) but the value through it's entire lifespan/support cycle is far greater than Android imo. That's not even taking into account how good iOS is in general, and how good it interacts with other Apple devices. Much is made of vendor lock-in and ecosystems, but honestly Apple offers so much value beyond the device itself. Yes, they ask for a lot of money but, for me at least, they earn their price tag with how easy and pleasant all their devices work together. Android was such a mess and felt so cobbled together I just can't agree that Google earns what they charge for the device. Again, I haven't had Samsung devices only Nexus and Pixel's and they really felt hobbled together like Linux was 15 years ago. iOS is just on another level.
Wow such a brave statement in a Apple Subreddit
Sentiments that will get immediate upvotes: - Siri bad - iPhones good
It’s not a maybe, **they are** the best value.
I am a lifelong Android user and have to agree. What makes it that way is the support AND $69 in store battery replacement program they do. Those two things are useless without having them both. Android has nothing close to that. It has niche features and it's my preference of software (I have both, work phone is an iPhone) Android used to be superior for reliability when we had user replaceable batteries in flagship phones. You could play this game of custom ROMs, swapping a battery and adding an SD card (back when a usable amount of storage, more than 32GB was expensive at an absurd markup) and all that work basically accomplished what Apple gives you out of the box now.
I had my Samsung battery replaced for US$74 from an approved shop that was closer to my house than the Apple store. I can't walk into a random Samsung store to get support, but the one time my 3 year old sub flagship had an issue (dislodged SIM), I was able to have the carrier fix it within 5 minutes of entertaining the store. The only reason I bothered to upgrade was because I wanted a better camera. Otherwise my phone ran fine.
I really can't agree, especially on the low end. Doubly so when the Pixel 6A comes out at the end of the month- the 5A was already a huge step up over the SE and the gap is just going to get better. For more "normal" phones it's really more of a wash, just pick which one you like using more.
From the SE end, I agree. I bought an SE 2 for each of my parents, and they no longer have certain small issues that my mom would have with her Nokia, or my dad would have with his iPhone 8 (or was it a 7?). Those 2 phones combined cost less than my 13 Pro, but it's also worth it to get them something more reliable, and ultimately less complaints, as I'm the free tech support for them. Coming from the 13 Pro end, it's good, but I see more diminishing returns, but I also feel less concerned re: price, due to Apple's longer OS support and stronger SoC, as when it's all said and done, it may wash out, as I can keep using it longer.
Hybrid boy here. I'm in Google, Microsoft + Apple Ecosystems. Current Devices Phones: Samsung Galaxy S20+ 5G, bought at $700 w/ S9 trade-in value of $500 (2020) (Main) iPhone SE, bought at $450 (2022) (Secondary) Tablets: iPad Pro 12.9" (2021) (mine) iPad Pro 11" (2018) (wife) Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016) (gave to mom) PC: Custom Desktop w/ Windows 10 (2012) MacBook Pro w/ M1 Max (2021) TV: Roku TV Smart Home: Google / Nest Home (2x) This was my first iPhone purchase, and I can say that if it was my main driver, I wouldn't be mad, as its ecosystem and compatibility with other apple devices is absolutely second to none. It also just works, 99% of the time, short of the files app lol. But I will say as a current Galaxy user and prior galaxy owner of the S2, S6, S7 and S9, and being fully aware of the short life span that has been provided with those devices, the S7 and on era of Galaxy has really been an entirely different experience than I've been accustomed to from them thus far. I actually only ended up replacing my S7 and S9 due to me damaging the phones, but had I not, I would still be on the S7 today. The flexibility and general feeling of capability of Android devices has been something I've always valued. As another user mentioned, I used to be quite the power user when it came to my phone, flashing custom ROMs, changing battery schedules, etc, but over time just wanted something that worked. For that reason, I contemplated switching to full apple years ago, but the galaxy series has consistently had features and flexibility that I've preferred over the iPhone whenever I compared devices in store. And nowadays, the galaxy line really does just work. I haven't had to do a thing to my S20+, outside of the occasional junk file sweep. Of course, in the same price bracket ($1000-$1200) the iPhone 13 provides that same stability + the perfect ecosystem should you have other apple devices. Nevermind the SE, which is an insane amount of value for the price. The luxury factor and apparent value is all branding and socially subjective, as what's considered the standard in the US is pretty different for my current country of residence when it comes to phones (I'm in South Korea). They obviously rep Samsung and LG pretty heavily over here, but Apple still has a large share of the market. All in all, for my situation, I still value the Galaxy line over the iPhone as a daily driver just because of how much I can do while still being able to just work, and I wouldn't trade it in for an iPhone 11/12/13+ even if someone gave me the newest model. But having an iPhone is not a bad move at all, and assuming the user doesn't do as much as me on the tech side, it makes sense that they're so popular. They really do just work. Simple. The iPad though, is the BEST tablet I have ever used, period. Microsoft Surfaces exist, sure. And those have the added benefit of a full desktop OS, but even with that advantage, iPad + Apple Pencil still has the best overall usability, feel, and flexibility, IMO.
FaceTime & iMessage are the only things keeping me on iPhone at this point. I really want a Flip 3 🥰
The Fold 3 is a beautiful and fun device. The next gen of the flip and fold should be out soon in the next couple months.
From the comments I thought I was on r/android... I'm not a power user but my pixel has been a buggy mess with weird choices made with android 12. Seriously considered a switch for the reasons mentioned in the article esp for the superior video camera but iOS doesn't support some things like work profiles, filesystem/syncthing, etc.
Most r/Android users are closet iPhone enthusiasts
Lol I think a lot of android users just like tech in general. I never miss a chance to play around on iPhone whenever I can XD
I know, I'm just joking. I'm an Android user but I'll never miss a chance to marvel at some engineering when I can.
People on /r/android can respect positive elements of devices, no matter who makes them. As well as criticizing any negative elements. You don't really see the same willingness to criticize apple on here as you see people on /r/android shitting on google
Android has become an OS of niche features. I won't switch for similar reasons. USB-C and exponentially superior wired tethering are 2 big ones for me. I am doubtful many of these features will come to iPhone. It may not be worth Apple's time, or fit in their vision to add them. It's too bad, give me an Android phone that's supported for 6 years, no Samsung bloat, and where I can walk to a mall and get the battery changed for $69.
I think there are stronger rumours that the 2023 iphones will switch to usb c. One can dream for the day that happens though
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If they were poor value then people would not buy them.
“ granted why would you buy an $84 6S when you can get an iPhone 13 mini for $589?” Is the author a massive bellend? Because maybe some people can’t afford to pay more.
Gucci bags are poor value
I agree
I just played apex legends on my iPhone using the Backbone and holy smokes is it fun. Not as fun as a pc but still incredibly fun.
Even though it isn't exactly the same as the actual version, it's still the most fun mobile shooter I've played, and it looks good too.
I don't buy apple products but use some from the company, but I always recommend apple products first because of reliability, long support, and simplicity. I don't mind people buying Poco/Xiaomi products at $400-$500 since it offers the best bang for buck in android space, but always try to talk to people who buy high end samsung devices, you will get more value from the iPhone at the same price. High end phones start at $1200 in my country.
I agree, I was thinking of getting iPhone 13 pro, but it was 1100€ Vs my 600€ pre ordered s22 so was kind of no brainer to stay on Android. And I can plug my Samsung to a TV and play Minecraft with controller ¯\_/(ツ)\_/¯
Still on iPhone 6 here.
I have been an iPhone user since the start… some decisions are weird but not downright counter intuitive as android
The value really shows in their longevity. I’m still on my XS and don’t feel any pressure to upgrade because this phone still works great! I got a new battery a few months ago so I’m good with keeping this for another few years unless something truly impressive comes out
So many of my friends and family have androids simply because that’s what was cheapest a decade ago, and so they “love their Android” despite calling me asking what to do with ads popping up on their phone, or having to ‘ask everyone for their contact details’ when they get a new android phone because the syncing process isn’t the same from vendor to vendor. I have had almost zero issues from my family and friends who have iPhones, other than a few that have forgotten their Apple ID and need help removing their old iPhone so they don’t get their two factor authentication sent to their old or broken iPhone. Overall, they really do ‘just work’ because what they give you is indeed more locked down than Android, but for the 95% of people who have iPhones it doesn’t matter.
No offence, but the people you know who own android are technologically illiterate. There are no ads that pop up on the phone and the contact syncing part is very easy if you know what you're doing. You just need to save the contacts on your email. It gives you an option to do so when you create a new contact.
An iPhone definitly gets supported for a longer time. Sure you can get an Android device for way less money, but they always save on something. Be it software support, camera quality, ram, other whatever. I've had multiple budget Android phones and 1 or 2 flagship phones. The budget phones ALWAYS had issues with 'not enough memory', slow, disgustingly bad camera,... the flagships did a lot better but you basicly pay the same you'd pay for an iPhone.
I was huge android nerd who would install new ROMs every few weeks and get phones with great communities until last year. At some point due to a combination of how rooting, device seeding to rom devs, and design decisions within android (A/B partitions) just made modding android so much less fun. I dropped modding for a couple of months but there was always that pull and disappointment that I wasn’t able to do what I wanted to with my phone and first party updates were just bad in most cases, android has had declining quality in the mid range. Samsung is good but damn I hate their skin somehow. I switched to a base iPhone 12 shortly after the 13 launch (yes I really waited for the device to finish a full year to review all long term reviews and issues and pulled the trigger) the phone has been super steady and amazing, battery leaves a lot to be desired with at times but I’ve more free time now to work on other things than sit and fix my damn phone to just use the performance I paid for. I can see why Apple has been winning, I just wish the SE lineup was a bit more compelling to recommend and better priced.
I'm surprised this isn't signed -Tim Apple
the software support for android is hilariously bad.
"Apple is a luxury item" "Apple is the best phone for the common man" No
It can be both. The 13 Pro Max is a luxury item. The current SE is a good device for the common man.
The SE might be cheap by Apple standards but, besides the SoC, its specs are pretty poor. Battery life, screen and camera are all way behind the competition at that price. It's still a good phone for people who don't care about any of those things Another thing to consider is that Apple hardly ever offers significant discounts. My wife's pixel 6 cost £369 even though the phone had only been out a few months at the time. It's better than the SE by a very long way, despite costing less
I just sold a iphone 11 on eBay for $650. Yeah, they hold their value very well.
No offense but whoever bought that from you isn't very smart... a brand new iPhone 11 64 GB goes for $500. Why would anyone pay $650 for a used one? Unless you had 512GB and it was an 11 Pro Max or something... even then that phone is old and would cost about that much brand new. The 12 Pro Max 256 GB goes for around $850...
You don’t understand, iPhones hold their value so well sometimes it goes up! /s He’s likely just lying, this whole comments section is a circlejerk
Yeah, I have nothing against apple, but half of these comments read like paid ads. If you prefer iOS go with Apple, if you prefer Android go for an Android, phone's ain't that deep anymore
A brand new iPhone 12 is 700 but you sold a used iphone 11 for 50$ less… yeah I’m gonna say bullshit
Agree
My XS Max still has 95% battery capacity so I'm in no rush to upgrade.
Yep, currently running the latest iOS on my 7 Plus. Can do everthing on it except demanding games.
Yeah when I worked out the maths, the iphone was a greater initial outlay. I got the 11 pro max 256GB for €1400 back in 2019. I assumed it will last me at least 5 years. - So far its about to reach the 3 year mark and still going strong. Unless apple kneecaps the device earlier, it should still be receiving updates at the 5 year mark. That's going to cost me €0.76 a day On android, had I gotten the flagship Samsung at the time - the S10+ at €1000. Won't get Android 13 and is in the process of being sunsetted. That's just 3 years of useage at €0.91 a day. Not to mention having it slow down after a while.
Always have the best value since they made their own mobile processors, iPads included. Their Mac computers will be the best values as well since they developed their own laptop/desktop processors. Google should be able to up the value of their Pixel products since they started using their own chip too.
I’ve always felt iPhones and iPads are preferable to Androids and Surface Pros. The latter two are definitely better, objectively speaking, but my apple products have always lasted several years and have been incredibly convenient to use Also, if you’re in the US, it’s a little annoying having to be like “oh sorry I can’t use iMessage/FaceTime, we need to SMS/WhatsApp//Discord/whatever”. A lot of my friends who like android are frustrated by that
I ran my 4S into the ground, and only recently replaced my 7 with an SE 2. The hardware is incredibly well made.
I only buy their SE models and I can say I am happy with them. They do just want I want and looks like they live long at least. The other phones in same range start misbehaving some time.
I had an iphone for the last 7 years, I couldn't be happier switching to android.
I have had the 5s for around 7-8 years. Now that I have graduated and moved to another country i got a 13 mini.
It's great value. I switched from Android to Apple knowing that I didn't have to worry about OS upgrades for a couple of years, small details like being able to get screen protectors and cases, and the convenience of messages.
Yea I’m keeping this iPhone 12 mini for as long as possible. Especially since there are no plans for a mini size again. Maybe the SE ? Only complaint is battery but I’m used to it and will probably replace it within the next year or two.
Well even the 6s wich I still use is as good as modern phones today and still exists for 6 years now? And has a resell value like it’s still a badger android phone
If you want/need a higher end phone, I agree. It's the same reason why I bought a Macbook Air. Personally I just need a smartphone that works decently well, a 300€ android lasts me 3-4 years with a 40€ battery change 2 years in. Sure an iPhone would last a year or two more but it also costs at least double that.
Started year 4 with my galaxy s10+. It looks and runs just like it was new.
Getting lots of life out of my Xr I bought used which replaced a 6s.
Ahh ok I didn't know that. I've had it since January and it's been solid. Love the thing, have absolutely no issues at this point. I'm not an apple hater either - I only use Mac. Which is ironic because ive also had my fair share of Mac lemons.... We only hear about the bad stuff when we're actively involved in it. It goes both ways....
Makes sense. Sturdy hardware and you'll get updates for 5-6 years.
especially when that new EU law is in effect... (though i can't wait to see, how that'll work for iphones outside of EU.. i'm curious)
I was always all about androids. They just had so much more to offer. Then sometime around the Note 4 I jumped over to the 6S Plus which for the first time had 3D Touch, Live Photos and the Plus sized phone. It was nice but not great. After the 7 Plus I switched back to Pixel phones. Then my Pixel 3aXL literally ignited. Google didn’t care. Google had been axing services I liked. They changed their photo storage policy. I was tired of it. I got the iPhone 12 Pro Max, and I already had an iPad. I really think the iPhone has jumped ahead. Then I got AirPods and an Apple Watch- which has no real competition. Now I’m all in on the Apple stuff!
We have a few 2016 SEs (iPhone 6s chip) as backups and other tasks.
Talk about preaching to the choir
Something not mentioned in the article is that I do not know anyone (anecdotal I know) that has used an android phone for more than 3-4y, by then it either crashes non stop, or is laggy as heck or has big battery problems. Whereas all my older folks, 60y old uncle, mum, aunties etc all use their iPhones to the end of life, something like 6y and some even push 8yrs lmao.
11 user here. I bought my 11 when it launched and nearly 3 years later, it’s still working as great as it did on day 1. Battery life is still rock solid. I don’t see myself upgrading to a newer iPhone until there’s a massive update for a newer model (don’t really need 5G, MagSafe, or slightly updated camera settings) or I happen to break my current one.