iPhone - am I falling out of love with mine?

Forums › Apple iOS and devices › iPhone - am I falling out of love with mine?

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#775502 6-Mar-2013 09:56

lxsw20: but simple features in the iOS player like in shuffle mode hit a button to show other songs on the current playing album are very handy.

I use Poweramp and to do this you simply touch the song currently playing and it takes you back to the album or if on random, back to the queue. Maybe it wasnt a feature when you last tried it.

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BlakJak

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#775581 6-Mar-2013 11:53

Handsomedan: In reading these posts, I have to ask...is Apple (with the rumours of building a "cheap" iPhone etc) slowly becoming the Nokia of the new age?

Think about it...in the Feature-phone days, you had Sony Ericsson and others lining up to take the crown and they simply didn't quite do it...for some reason Nokia had an almost religious following and a massive fanbase - apps were made for the OS, games and browsers and accessories were all designed specifically for Nokia devices.

Flash forward to today - iDevice-spcific hardware/software and accessories. An almost religious following...sound familiar?

P.S. I was one of those Nokia-loving disciples once.

I was a big Nokia fan; they were solid, reliable and simple (and yet featured). Their UI was consistent.

It could be argued that Apple has the same core features.
However I think people are being turned off by their closed ecosystem and their totalitarian approach to the entire environment.

The people in this thread citing their reasons for leaning more toward Android that Apple as an evolutionary position, are loving the freedoms that Android provides and that Apple doesn't.

The missing piece from my perspective is the options for centralised management and control; for enterprise environments where you want remote-toast-a-device, lockdown functionality and centralised policy etc, Apple has better tools for this. (It was pointed out to me recently that one of the key drivers for the Police rolling out iDevices rather than the cheaper-per-unit Androids that would deliver similar functionality, will be the centralised command-and-control of the devices).

I for one don't know exactly why so many hardware vendors jumped on the Apple bandwagon and started making car stereo, clock radio and other type proprietary interfaces, but I have seen Android equivalent of same on the shelves[1] and I see it as only a matter of time before this becomes more universal.

And my SGS3 is everything I need in a Smartphone. My daughter has a Samgsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and is more than happy with it. I am not paying Apple's premium, and I'm more free to make my own choices with my own devices.

I'm not surprised some Apple users are finally starting to see the light. For some it's the realisation they're missing out. For some it'll simply be a change, and if Apple's new developments provide 'simply a change' then they'll retain some of their users. I don't see them making the 'freedom' changes that others are seeking, though.

[1] the example i've seen has a USB port that can rotate, and uses Bluetooth for Audio Sync. Unlike Apple's which can drive both power and audio through the interface. I suppose this was the simplest way to come up with a 'standard' approach that would suit devices from multiple manufacturers - one reason that a mono-vendor approach does make life easier.

No signature to see here, move along...

Jaxson

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#775587 6-Mar-2013 12:16

Ironically it would appear that windows phone, which is Nokia again is it not? will probably be the next big thing. It's obviously more integrated back into the Windows computing environment and it has all the benefits of the same company producing hardware and software.

dickytim

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#775610 6-Mar-2013 12:31

Blakjack, I think you'll find that there are 3 factors around audio appliances being made for apple, and it is more around the ipod than iphone, however the iphone being the next evolution of the ipod leant itself to the same sort of intergration.

More recently a lot of devices simply have USB plugs so you can use android or ios so more and more people will have the option of either as a music device. I can't comment on how well the android devices would integrate but it would appear that Apple are going to loose that advantage, especially with going to Lightning.

gehenna

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#775660 6-Mar-2013 13:39

I haven't been following the conversation thread so far (will read through when I get home from work) but to respond to the OP....

I'm certainly bored with iOS itself. The UI is bland, no two ways about it. It's not interactive or engaging.

Even with my jailbroken iPhone 4S it's basically the same. I have a really nice theme, I have good access to system abilities via NCSettings, I have pretty transitions between pages....etc etc. But for all the hackery it's still a static display that doesn't engage me.

But that's just the iOS home screen. I'm still REALLY engaged by iOS apps. I love them. The ones I use regularly are so well designed and so nice to look at and use, that I just don't want to not use them anymore.

So I am stuck between the proverbials. Quite often lately I have found myself saying (a lot) that I really like the Windows Phone UI, and if I could have my iOS apps with the Windows Phone home screen, I'd be super happy with that. So much so that I even explored the variety of jailbroken Windows Phone themes. But they're all very unpolished and in the end it's not a solution.

I hope that with Scott Forstall's departure, for whatever reason, and the shakeup of the teams at Apple, they start to innovate again and get beyond that static home screen. It's really long in the tooth now - I mean the only real addition since the first iPhone OS is folders. It's not good enough really.

surfisup1000

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#775725 6-Mar-2013 15:30

I use lastpass for password management .

Why can I not use lastpass on my iphone to automatically log me into a website? Apple have banned safari plug-ins.

It is a real annoyance for me.

But, I have a lot invested in apple , 2 iphones, 2 ipads, macbook retina pro, 2 apple TV's.

Not going to change overnight.

I'm betting that apple are listening to the dissent. Now, they will either be too afraid to upset their current business model, or they'll radically shake things up.

I'm guessing they'll be too afraid. This is how companies atrophy, clinging to the glory days while the world moves on.

tdgeek

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#775789 6-Mar-2013 17:17

surfisup1000: I use lastpass for password management .

Why can I not use lastpass on my iphone to automatically log me into a website? Apple have banned safari plug-ins.

It is a real annoyance for me.

But, I have a lot invested in apple , 2 iphones, 2 ipads, macbook retina pro, 2 apple TV's.

Not going to change overnight.

I'm betting that apple are listening to the dissent. Now, they will either be too afraid to upset their current business model, or they'll radically shake things up.

I'm guessing they'll be too afraid. This is how companies atrophy, clinging to the glory days while the world moves on.

Lets see what happens. I dont have too many lack of freedom issues myself, but while the lockdown thing is IMO based on Steve Jobs. Apple wouldnt make any real changes soon after that, but I feel that its time to get back up to date. Why do I have file access to the camera roll but I cannot access my photos that I imported to my iPad from my camera? Thats one "replace the laptop on a trip" fail. Rumours are a cheaper phone and a bigger phone. I reckon there will be freeing up of the silly restrictions such as yours before long. Maybe the iOS7 will be the next big thing? More to the point, delivering an iOS that makes jailbreaking redundant.

NZtechfreak

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#775805 6-Mar-2013 17:54

I can't really see Apple producing a cheaper iPhone, that isn't really in their DNA and doesn't fit with their brand image. I think they'll just make the older iPhones the second tier, much like they have done with the iPad2.

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Wade

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#775806 6-Mar-2013 17:57

Have been watching this thread with interest, wife is getting very bored with her 4s, she won't go back to Android so logically windows phone 8 will be the next move I dare say.

I am interested to see the number of iPhone users who have migrated to S3, but I do wonder how many will also tire of the finnicky nature of AOS and the elusive upgrade path. I envisage a few will eventually swing to windows phone as I have found it offers middle ground somewhere between the two incumbents giving a good compromise.

hairy1

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#775808 6-Mar-2013 18:00

This is an interesting thread. No Apple here so won't enter the debate but it is interesting that a lot of the users here like the Android phone / ipad tablet which means that iOS is better suited to the tablet size.

What is going to be the overriding issue for users in the future is getting locked into an ecosystem and being "stuck" whether it is iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Maybe the moral of the story is not to buy too many apps!

Cheers, Matt.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

hairy1

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#775810 6-Mar-2013 18:02

Wade: Have been watching this thread with interest, wife is getting very bored with her 4s, she won't go back to Android so logically windows phone 8 will be the next move I dare say.

I am interested to see the number of iPhone users who have migrated to S3, but I do wonder how many will also tire of the finnicky nature of AOS and the elusive upgrade path. I envisage a few will eventually swing to windows phone as I have found it offers middle ground somewhere between the two incumbents giving a good compromise.

I would argue that Windows Phone has a poorer upgrade record than Android...

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tdgeek

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#775811 6-Mar-2013 18:11

hairy1: This is an interesting thread. No Apple here so won't enter the debate but it is interesting that a lot of the users here like the Android phone / ipad tablet which means that iOS is better suited to the tablet size.

What is going to be the overriding issue for users in the future is getting locked into an ecosystem and being "stuck" whether it is iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Maybe the moral of the story is not to buy too many apps!

Cheers, Matt.

I agree. What I take from this thread is there are users who tend focus on the quality of the apps. Others enjoy the homescreen as part of the UI. Hence Android phone to enjoy and iPad tablet as the best means to just consume.

Although if we can afford a top smartphone and decided to change platforms, we can afford to buy the pay apps we have. They are generally cheap as chips.

I think we are lucky to have three good choices, and our personal tickboxes will make the choice.

ajobbins

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#775812 6-Mar-2013 18:19

hairy1: This is an interesting thread. No Apple here so won't enter the debate but it is interesting that a lot of the users here like the Android phone / ipad tablet which means that iOS is better suited to the tablet size.

What is going to be the overriding issue for users in the future is getting locked into an ecosystem and being "stuck" whether it is iOS, Android or Windows Phone. Maybe the moral of the story is not to buy too many apps!

Cheers, Matt.

I love my iPad, and my Galaxy S3 which replaced my iPhone 4. I made a point of keeping away from 'iCloud' which makes it nice and easy to move platforms. Files in dropbox, contacts in gmail etc.

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Batman

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#775815 6-Mar-2013 18:26

hmm windows phone ... never thought it was any good ... which is the best windows phone at this stage (or cheapest good one on trademe for me to try?)

NZtechfreak

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#775826 6-Mar-2013 19:04

ajobbins: I made a point of keeping away from 'iCloud' which makes it nice and easy to move platforms. Files in dropbox, contacts in gmail etc.

I'm also careful to try and stick to services that are OS-agnostic. I think only the most well informed consumers have that kind of awareness though.

Regarding user lock-in and Apple with that in mind: it represents the best and worst of them really. In my eyes 'good' lock-in is achieved by offering consumers excellent experiences, and no doubt Apple has done that in a lot of ways. The 'bad' lock-in is achieved by pushing onto consumers solutions that are bad for them: proprietary ports and connections, essentially mandatory services like iTunes and so forth. Apple has also done that in spades too, and it is one of the things I particularly take issue with.

In the Android realm its interesting to look at how the manufacturers try to differentiate their devices, and how they try to lock users in within the confines of an OS that allows you to virtually change anything you like, and with (by and large) standard connection types. I've increasingly tended to look at Android as kind of a modular OS, built around a core of self-selected and manufacturer-agnostic apps that I install from device to device, which in my case makes Android device differentiation a very hardware-focused exercise. That's part of the reason Samsungs have been my handsets of choice for so long now, since they have had the most capable devices from a hardware perspective, but also the ones with a constellation of things that matter very much to my personal use (storage expansion, replaceable batteries, better battery life than most peers, the best Android cameras etc).

Samsung very nearly had me completely locked-in by being the only manufacturer to give me USB audio last year, but fortunately HTC and Sony are both now supporting this in their devices (and the app USB Audio Recorder makes it possible in most other Androids, although in a less convenient fashion). That was nearly an odd turn of events, since the reason I invested in USB audio gear was to abstract sound quality from whatever DAC and DAC implementation the manufacturer had thrown in a device, so that I couldn't be locked into deciding heavily on the basis of a phones respective sound quality (being a paramount consideration for me). As it stands though it is mission accomplished, most (and perhaps all) Android manufacturers are supporting USB audio now, so that ceases to be a differentiator for me (and the native sound quality of devices with it).

Avoiding lock-in due to very important features was also part of what saw me get my Pureview 808 as a secondary device, and also the Seagate GoFlex Satellite (and now Wireless Plus), thus letting me largely ignore the camera prowess of respective handsets, and also whether they have storage expansion.

Anyways, that ended up being much longer than I'd intended. Basically I wanted to really emphasise the avoidance of lock-in by users as an important thing to do.

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