Buying a new phone advice - android or iPhone?

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howdystranger

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#239431 17-Jul-2018 14:05

Hi all,

I've got a kinda crap Android phone and I'm looking to upgrade in the next couple of months. Budget is about $1000.

I'm torn at the moment between a OnePlus 6 and waiting for one of the new iPhones. I don't want a massive phone - OnePlus 6 a stretch - and want a good camera.

I'm used to androids but I don't like Google's tentacles being in everything, and the sometimes lacklustre update support (although looks like OnePlus has made a good commitment on that front).

In terms of iPhones, I like the idea of long term support (~5 years) and a good quality camera, but I'm less sure about some of the more locked down aspects of the software... like not being able to open up links in the browser of your choice. I like the security reputation of Apple products too.

Anyone have any advice? I'd be interested to hear from anyone who switched from Android to iOS.

At the moment I'm planning to wait until the new iPhones come out and then decide.. but very tempted to just buy a OnePlus 6 now.

Many thanks

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#2057752 17-Jul-2018 14:23

Nokia make some decent Android phones, and have committed to providing regular updates. Android vendors are on average pretty bad at updates - it doesn't increase revenue so why should they?

eracode

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#2057781 17-Jul-2018 14:43

I switched from Android to iPhone when the X came out late last year - after swearing forever that I would never do that. Like you, I was wary of the Apple ‘walled garden’.

I have had an iPad for a very long time then early last year I switched from WinTel PC/laptop to a MacBook Pro. Once I had those two, it was a fairly easy step to the iPhone.

What I like about all this is the auto syncing of Photos (I now use the IPhone as my main/only camera), Contacts, iMessages, Mail, Safari bookmarks etc. All three devices are pretty much identically set up. I guess you can do this within the Google ecosystem but Apple’s seems so simple. Another e,g. - when my iPhone rings, (if I’m at home) I can take the call on the phone, the iPad or the MBP depending on what I’m using at the time.

Although I like the iPhone, TBH I’m not 100% sold. Often think that in an ideal world I would like to to have all the iOS software on the beautiful hardware and form factor of something like a Galaxy Note 9 (when it arrives).

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

howdystranger

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#2057792 17-Jul-2018 14:46

eracode: I switched from Android to iPhone when the X came out late last year - after swearing forever that I would never do that. Like you, I was wary of the Apple ‘walled garden’.

I have had an iPad for a very long time then early last year I switched from WinTel PC/laptop to a MacBook Pro. Once I had those two, it was a fairly easy step to the iPhone.

What I like about all this is the auto syncing of Photos (I now use the IPhone as my main/only camera), Contacts, iMessages, Mail, Safari bookmarks etc. All three devices are pretty much identically set up. I guess you can do this within the Google ecosystem but Apple’s seems so simple. Another e,g. - when my iPhone rings, (if I’m at home) I can take the call on the phone, the iPad or the MBP depending on what I’m using at the time.

Although I like the iPhone, TBH I’m not 100% sold. Often think that in an ideal world I would like to to have all the iOS software on the beautiful hardware and form factor of something like a Galaxy Note 9 (when it arrives).

Thanks. Yes I've heard that Apple provides a very good multi-device experience. I've got a new-ish Windows laptop and an android tablet so not likely to buy other apple devices in the future... I'm probably more tied into Google at the moment - which I imagine offers very good products on iOS

scuwp

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#2057801 17-Jul-2018 15:04

The 'issues' you describe with the iPhone are not really problems. You just need to adapt the way you use the device. I use Chrome as the main browser on all my Apple devices no problems whatsoever.

"Locked down" can be a good thing if you are interested in security, updates, and consistency of UI and performance. Not so much if you like fiddling and customising.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

eracode

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#2057803 17-Jul-2018 15:13

@scuwp I’d be genuinely interested to hear any advantages that you feel Chrome has over Safari on your Apple gear.

I adopted Safari without much thought once I got the MBP and now use it on all three devices. Prior to that I was using Dolphin browser because it synced across my Android phone and my iPad.

Sometimes I just sit and think. Other times I just sit.

scuwp

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#2057814 17-Jul-2018 15:28

eracode: @scuwp I’d be genuinely interested to hear any advantages that you feel Chrome has over Safari on your Apple gear.

I adopted Safari without much thought once I got the MBP and now use it on all three devices. Prior to that I was using Dolphin browser because it synced across my Android phone and my iPad.

@eracode

Just personal preference. I use Chrome on work and home PC's and generally find it does a better job of rendering web content, and it syncs all my settings and bookmarks across all devices that I sign into. It integrates well with Facebook Google Maps, and Gmail.

Found safari glitchy and occasionally has issues rendering web pages and playing embedded content. Wifey insists on using safari and I despair when she complains that she can't do something like read a whole web page or play an embedded video, when it works fine when brought up on Chrome. I know it's not strictly the fault of the browser, I have just found Chrome generally does a better job of most things, so that's now what I use.

Lazy is such an ugly word, I prefer to call it selective participation

CYaBro

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#2057820 17-Jul-2018 15:32

I use Firefox on my Windows, Mac and iPhone, and everything stays in sync with that.

On a lot of apps now you can also select the default browser to use for links. EG: I use Outlook for emails and have set that to open links in Firefox rather than Safari.

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#2058141 18-Jul-2018 09:35

I've run both systems.

I agree that the best would be choosing your hardware and a version running the OS you want on it, but I do not suppose they will ever allow us to do that.

Modern Android is as good as iOS in almost all daily use ways I find. It irritates me a bit that Google are prepared to allow the handset makers to be as slack as they like with regard to updates - I would prefer it if Google enforced the same sort of discipline with regards to software updates, security etc that Apple does. I gather that if you have a Google phone, this does happen, but of course they aren't sold as a mainstream handset in NZ.

I love my Note 8 but now that I have an iPad as well as my iMac, I am considering the iPhone again when the X is updated. You can get various apps that sync calendars and contacts and you can use something like Newton for your email on all the devices but to be honest, Apple makes life very easy if you are in their world. I do not use Photos for any of my images and do not really use the camera on my phone for anything serious so that side does not bother me much. Indeed, I would not complain if Apple removed the cameras from their phones.

Handsomedan

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#2058155 18-Jul-2018 09:55

I think for a $1000 budget you are going to get a lot more bang for you buck from a Droid.

I'm well entrenched in the iOS world and for me there is no alternative, but if I was starting fresh, I'd likely go Droid as you can get some beautiful hardware far far cheaper than you can pick up an iPhone.

My $2000+ iPhone X is not THAT much better than a $1000 unit that runs Android, if you look and buy judiciously...plus you'll never get a massive discount on an Apple device - but you will on a top end Android, if you look hard enough.

As mentioned earlier - the range of Nokias that have recently been released are very good value for money and have been made with a view to get the latest updates earlier than anyone else and to be as vanilla as possible, while stil being powerful and useful.

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reven

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#2058189 18-Jul-2018 10:04

I think its pretty hard to justify the price of an iPhone when theres some really cheap very good android phones out there. Xiaomi phones are good, can be bought for about $300.

Last year my wife bought this phone. Its a very good phone, runs on our networks, and it landed for about NZD$250. Its very similar to my samsung note 5 in terms of performance.

Its running android one, so gets fast updates from google.

I dont see how an iphone (or samsung/whatever) is 4-5x better than that phone, and justifies the 4-5x price increase.

Only thing I wish it had was wireless charging.

MikeAqua

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#2058264 18-Jul-2018 10:58

when my iPhone rings, (if I’m at home) I can take the call on the phone, the iPad or the MBP depending on what I’m using at the time.

Pfft .. when my work land-line rings, I can see the call and choose to pick up on my android phone - anywhere I have a good data connection.

Or .... calls to my phone can be picked up on my gear watch

Mike

howdystranger

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#2058704 19-Jul-2018 10:52

Thanks all. Went for the OnePlus 6 in the end (via Supero) - hopefully I won't live to regret it!

gehenna

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#2058708 19-Jul-2018 10:55

eracode: @scuwp I’d be genuinely interested to hear any advantages that you feel Chrome has over Safari on your Apple gear.

Chrome will play 4K YouTube content on my Mac whereas Safari won't.

I have an iPhone X and a Samsung Galaxy S9+. The S9 came later. I had to install around 15 customisations just to make the interface work how I wanted it to - swiping back in menus and apps, general usability tweaks. iPhone worked out of the box. Now that I've got the customisations working it's nice to use the S9 but since I'm leaving my current job next week i'll be giving it back and I have found myself using my X much more over the last few weeks anyway.

Android P sounds like it will be a lot better for modern displays and usability expectations.

howdystranger

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#2058711 19-Jul-2018 10:58

gehenna:

eracode: @scuwp I’d be genuinely interested to hear any advantages that you feel Chrome has over Safari on your Apple gear.

Chrome will play 4K YouTube content on my Mac whereas Safari won't.

I worry things like this aren't because of other browsers lack of capability but rather because Google can choose to restrict features to Chrome only. That's partly why I use Firefox to increase the level of competition

gehenna

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#2058712 19-Jul-2018 10:59

howdystranger:
I worry things like this aren't because of other browsers lack of capability but rather because Google can choose to restrict features to Chrome only. That's partly why I use Firefox to increase the level of competition

In this case it's a browser deficiency with Safari's support of the codecs I think.

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