Considering releasing my Apple devices into the void (again, or, the yearly TheoM thread)

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TheoM

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#273347 18-Aug-2020 01:13

Alright, we've been through this once already, so let's go through it again!

The lineup in 2020:

- iPhone 11 Pro

- iPad Pro (2018)

- Series 5 Apple Watch (Cellular)

- AirPods

- MacBook Pro

- AMD Hac™ Pro

---

The devices I plan on keeping:

- The MacBook Pro - it's very useful for development

- The AMD Hac™ Pro - for obvious reasons

- The AirPods

---

This seems to be a yearly occurrence for me, and I'm not sure what to do. I have quite a few Apple devices as of now, but the note lineup is tempting me greatly. To be clear, the Apple ecosystem is great, I like the walled garden approach, but there's just something about what one can't have. As they say, the grass is always greener on the other side.

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There are a lot of creature comforts in iOS/iPadOS/macOS that I'm wanting to find out about. The big ones I want to know about for the other side are in no particular order:

- Universal Clipboard

- Universal Messaging (iMessage in the cloud)

- Apple Pay

- FaceID

---

With that said, I'm looking for honest opinions of the Android ecosystem. What do you like, what don't you like?

As I've said above, I'd be missing a few comforts, but how many are acceptable to lose, I'm not sure (@michaelmurfy chimed in last time this happened, and I don't think I lasted particularly long on Android).

Deciding is hard

~ T

Hi! I'm TheoM, but you know that already. I run Linux mirrors in NZ together with 2degrees. Like a mirror added? PM me!

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ShinyChrome

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#2543390 18-Aug-2020 08:45

Huh, funnily enough I'm thinking of doing the opposite; a life-long Android user thinking of giving Apple a try.

I don't know if it is just the illusion of dealing with one company (and that company is not an advertising company), but between two companies (Google and Samsung) that I know are working hard to harvest every scrap of my data vs. what Apple MAY or MAY NOT be doing under the veil, Apple is looking better by the day.

I have kinda gotten to the point where I would much rather pay good money for a product that is dependable and feature-rich, and that's where Apple seems to be the class-leader. It would also be nice to have a phone that doesn't plummet in value 1 year down the track and I can keep long-term. It feels like in the Android world, you either have to keep up with the pace of releases, or accept being left behind.

While innovation might happen faster in the Android world, (multiple cameras, high refresh rate displays etc) at least when Apple does it, it's solid. Samsung is desperately trying to ape Apple's model, but it's a bit hit-and-miss. I have an S20+, and while that fared better than the S20 Ultra (which was a master class in overselling specs), I have been disappointed in how for spending no-compromises money, you still have to make a few compromises; the HRR mode only works at FHD+ resolution instead of the panel's native QHD+, the processor isn't exactly class-leading, even in the Android world... Android is great for choice, but every choice seems to involve more compromises.

What is catching your eye about the Note lineup?

TheoM

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#2543543 18-Aug-2020 11:26

ShinyChrome:

Huh, funnily enough I'm thinking of doing the opposite; a life-long Android user thinking of giving Apple a try.

I don't know if it is just the illusion of dealing with one company (and that company is not an advertising company), but between two companies (Google and Samsung) that I know are working hard to harvest every scrap of my data vs. what Apple MAY or MAY NOT be doing under the veil, Apple is looking better by the day.

I have kinda gotten to the point where I would much rather pay good money for a product that is dependable and feature-rich, and that's where Apple seems to be the class-leader. It would also be nice to have a phone that doesn't plummet in value 1 year down the track and I can keep long-term. It feels like in the Android world, you either have to keep up with the pace of releases, or accept being left behind.

While innovation might happen faster in the Android world, (multiple cameras, high refresh rate displays etc) at least when Apple does it, it's solid. Samsung is desperately trying to ape Apple's model, but it's a bit hit-and-miss. I have an S20+, and while that fared better than the S20 Ultra (which was a master class in overselling specs), I have been disappointed in how for spending no-compromises money, you still have to make a few compromises; the HRR mode only works at FHD+ resolution instead of the panel's native QHD+, the processor isn't exactly class-leading, even in the Android world... Android is great for choice, but every choice seems to involve more compromises.

What is catching your eye about the Note lineup?

Mostly the S-Pen. Now I think about it, it may not be worth it. Still on the ledge though

Hi! I'm TheoM, but you know that already. I run Linux mirrors in NZ together with 2degrees. Like a mirror added? PM me!

https://theom.co.nz | https://theom.nz | https://mirrorlist.mirrors.theom.nz | Providing Free Mirrors Since Ages Ago™

michaelmurfy

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#2543606 18-Aug-2020 12:13

You'll be back... iOS is just a rock-solid platform and I couldn't even think about going back to Android for my phone after experiencing reliable updates, more polished apps etc.

I have iPhone, Apple Watch and Apple TV and a work MacBook (which is getting less use now). I've found Windows 10 to be incredibly good especially since there is the Windows Subsystem for Linux - I would otherwise normally run Linux on my PC / Laptop.

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ShinyChrome

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#2543881 18-Aug-2020 18:22

TheoM:

Mostly the S-Pen. Now I think about it, it may not be worth it. Still on the ledge though

I guess that is one thing Apple doesn't seem to do. Certainly worth flirting with. As polished as Samsung is in the Android world though, it definitely is no Apple, for better or worse.

As a former Note owner though, I found that people tend to fall into two camps with it: the S-pen is truly mightier than the S-word, or my personal choice, convince yourself it's worth paying extra because you will get so much usage out of it, force yourself to use it for a couple of months, then grow to quietly loath its size and burden...

I would spend a good bit of time handling this, and then even just any modern Android phone, to see if you can gel with it. At the least, I would wait until things have cooled down post-launch to see reviews etc... these phones drop in price like a rock in the first 6-9 months as well. By then, there might be more info floating around about the iPhone 12 too.

Handle9

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#2544636 19-Aug-2020 17:14

Moving phones is no big deal really. Most major services are multi platform and if you pick the right Android phone you will be very happy for most real world use cases. Whatsapp is more useful than iMessage as you can communicate with the world, not just iPhones.

We're moving back towards iPhones after a few years on Android. The full integration is attractive and Android phones are as stupidly expensive as iPhones now.

I hop backwards and forwards between MacOs and Windows daily. I prefer MacOs (on VMs and hackintoshs) as a daily driver but to be honest they are generally fairly similar in functionality. I'm currently typing this on a Windows VM.

If you want a tablet do not change from iPad. Android tablets are a hot mess, especially the lack of proper tablet apps. Samsung are the only ones trying anymore. Just don't bother, the experience sucks.

Similarly non-Apple smart watches are fine for fitness tracking and notifications but really aren't comparable. I have a Huawei Watch GT which I really like (especially for the battery life) but it's not really a comparable device.

It's certainly possible to mix and match, just you won't have the seamless experience you do now.

geekiegeek

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#2544701 19-Aug-2020 19:38

I made the switch to Andriod a couple of years back and the lack of OS updates, double up of apps (Samsung and Google) plus the sorry state of both Android tablets and watches had me crawling back to Apple and doubling down by changing my PC to Mac.

If you want an ecosystem where everything works together seamlessly, its Apple all the way. If you want a hodge-podge of devices that kind of work together, go Android. I personally think a lot of the Apple haters out there have just never tried the full experience so don't actually know what they are missing.

And when I say all in, I mean - iPad Pro 12", iPad Mini, iPhone 11 Pro, Apple Watch, 2x Apple TVs, 3x Homepods a Hackintosh desktop and a Macbook Pro for work, Airpods Pro, Beats Studio and Powerbeats Pro. One Apple ID rules them all and everything follows my Apple ID - just think of the "magic" of adding Airpods to your phone and they are instantly set up on every other device and all you did was open the case next to your phone. Brilliant!