Switching from iOS to Android - thoughts of someone who just did that.

Forums › Android › Switching from iOS to Android - thoughts of someone who just did that.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4

Mad Scientist
29760 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1661973 1-Nov-2016 12:22

I went to iOS because it's so locked down not many things drain the battery. When I used Samung Galaxy the battery would drain for no reason. Very random. And there's nothing i can do about it. When i went to iphone if i don't touch it, the battery doesn't budge. More bang for buck!

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1661981 1-Nov-2016 12:43

Geektastic:

"With both the iOS and Android apps getting almost equal billing, Apple Music is now a little easier of a sell to the entire family.

In fact, the only glaring omission is Apple's refusal to support Google Cast. That may be a dealbreaker for some Android users who want to stream to speakers with Chromecast."

Sadly not, it seems...!

This is true, but there's a merry workaround - the Google Home app (Formerly Google Cast) allows you to fire all audio from the device to a Google Cast receiver like the Chromecast Audio.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1662029 1-Nov-2016 13:40

Are you sure?

"There are a couple of things the Google Home can’t do—and will likely never be able to do—and that includes playing music from either Apple or Amazon’s streaming music services. It’s unlikely Google Home will ever allow you to order products from Amazon’s online store either."

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1662038 1-Nov-2016 13:58

Geektastic:

Are you sure?

"There are a couple of things the Google Home can’t do—and will likely never be able to do—and that includes playing music from either Apple or Amazon’s streaming music services. It’s unlikely Google Home will ever allow you to order products from Amazon’s online store either."

Quite sure.

Google Cast usually works in a different and fundamentally superior way to AirPlay or Bluetooth streaming. With the latter, the content comes directly from your phone, and playback will cease if the source device moves out of range. With Google Cast, the receiving device (Chromecast or similar) is connected directly to the web via WiFi, and the phone just 'points' the Cast device at the web URL to stream the content. So if you have a Chromecast hooked up to a TV and tell it to play a YouTube video playlist, the phone tells the Chromecast where to go, and the content is streamed from the web instead of the phone. This means that if you move out of range of the TV/stereo/WiFi network, your stream will keep on going independently, unlike Bluetooth and AirPlay, which would cut off. However, it does require that the service or app support Google Cast in order to hand the URL of the content (And any associated DRM handshake) over to the Cast receiver. Plenty do, and cross platform at that, like Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Google Play Music, Google Photos, and Pocket Casts for podcasts.

In addition to the above, you can also use Google Cast to fire local content from the phone directly to the receiving device - this is something you can only do from Android and not from iOS. So, for example, you can display photos and videos which are only on your phone directly on the TV, or play local music on Google Cast devices. You can also mirror the phone's screen on the TV for gaming and so on (Latency will vary depending on device and home network conditions). Crucally, you can mirror the phone's audio in the same way, without also mirroring the screen. This means that any audio coming from your device will play through the connected Google Cast device, and that will absolutely include Apple Music. The downside of this method is that, again, latency will vary by device/network, ringtones and message notifications will also come through, and the content will not play independently from the phone, so leaving the room/moving out of range will cut the stream. Think of it like Bluetooth streaming, just over WiFi instead.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

PaulBags

809 posts

Ultimate Geek
Inactive user

#1662091 1-Nov-2016 15:21

NikT: iOS itself is largely good as long as you don't want to do the things it doesn't do well/at all (Like file management, NFC, or USB OTG)

And that there kills any possibility of me ever buying Apple.

Also, Tasker. I am sick of google removing things though, like the ability to properly automate turning mobile data on/off, or setting/clearing PIN - I'd be happiest with a kitkat fork that only ever brought security updates. Lollipop doesn't leak memory as badly though. I can't go higher on my htc m7 so I don't know how good marshmellow & nougat are.

+1 for Dolphin browser, the stylish plugin is handy.

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1662211 1-Nov-2016 19:32

NikT:
Geektastic:

Are you sure?

"There are a couple of things the Google Home can’t do—and will likely never be able to do—and that includes playing music from either Apple or Amazon’s streaming music services. It’s unlikely Google Home will ever allow you to order products from Amazon’s online store either."

Quite sure.

Google Cast usually works in a different and fundamentally superior way to AirPlay or Bluetooth streaming. With the latter, the content comes directly from your phone, and playback will cease if the source device moves out of range. With Google Cast, the receiving device (Chromecast or similar) is connected directly to the web via WiFi, and the phone just 'points' the Cast device at the web URL to stream the content. So if you have a Chromecast hooked up to a TV and tell it to play a YouTube video playlist, the phone tells the Chromecast where to go, and the content is streamed from the web instead of the phone. This means that if you move out of range of the TV/stereo/WiFi network, your stream will keep on going independently, unlike Bluetooth and AirPlay, which would cut off. However, it does require that the service or app support Google Cast in order to hand the URL of the content (And any associated DRM handshake) over to the Cast receiver. Plenty do, and cross platform at that, like Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Google Play Music, Google Photos, and Pocket Casts for podcasts.

In addition to the above, you can also use Google Cast to fire local content from the phone directly to the receiving device - this is something you can only do from Android and not from iOS. So, for example, you can display photos and videos which are only on your phone directly on the TV, or play local music on Google Cast devices. You can also mirror the phone's screen on the TV for gaming and so on (Latency will vary depending on device and home network conditions). Crucally, you can mirror the phone's audio in the same way, without also mirroring the screen. This means that any audio coming from your device will play through the connected Google Cast device, and that will absolutely include Apple Music. The downside of this method is that, again, latency will vary by device/network, ringtones and message notifications will also come through, and the content will not play independently from the phone, so leaving the room/moving out of range will cut the stream. Think of it like Bluetooth streaming, just over WiFi instead.

Oh ok then. I'm going to get one.. 😁

tdgeek

29743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1662287 1-Nov-2016 20:47

sidders80: @geektastic on the subject of airplay HTC 10 remains the only android phone which has the feature built in. For the rest you are spot on that rooting may be required

Really? How did HTC convince Apple to allow Airplay?

Equinox IT

Cloud spending continues to surge globally, but most organisations haven’t made the changes necessary to maximise the value and cost-efficiency benefits of their cloud investments. Download the whitepaper From Overspend to Advantage now.

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1662288 1-Nov-2016 20:49

tdgeek:

sidders80: @geektastic on the subject of airplay HTC 10 remains the only android phone which has the feature built in. For the rest you are spot on that rooting may be required

Really? How did HTC convince Apple to allow Airplay?

They have a ten-year cross-licensing agreement.

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

PhantomNVD

2619 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1662315 1-Nov-2016 21:29

NikT:
Geektastic:

Are you sure?

"There are a couple of things the Google Home can’t do—and will likely never be able to do—and that includes playing music from either Apple or Amazon’s streaming music services. It’s unlikely Google Home will ever allow you to order products from Amazon’s online store either."

Quite sure.

Google Cast usually works in a different and fundamentally superior way to AirPlay or Bluetooth streaming. With the latter, the content comes directly from your phone, and playback will cease if the source device moves out of range. With Google Cast, the receiving device (Chromecast or similar) is connected directly to the web via WiFi, and the phone just 'points' the Cast device at the web URL to stream the content. So if you have a Chromecast hooked up to a TV and tell it to play a YouTube video playlist, the phone tells the Chromecast where to go, and the content is streamed from the web instead of the phone. This means that if you move out of range of the TV/stereo/WiFi network, your stream will keep on going independently, unlike Bluetooth and AirPlay, which would cut off. However, it does require that the service or app support Google Cast in order to hand the URL of the content (And any associated DRM handshake) over to the Cast receiver. Plenty do, and cross platform at that, like Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Google Play Music, Google Photos, and Pocket Casts for podcasts.

In addition to the above, you can also use Google Cast to fire local content from the phone directly to the receiving device - this is something you can only do from Android and not from iOS. So, for example, you can display photos and videos which are only on your phone directly on the TV, or play local music on Google Cast devices. You can also mirror the phone's screen on the TV for gaming and so on (Latency will vary depending on device and home network conditions). Crucally, you can mirror the phone's audio in the same way, without also mirroring the screen. This means that any audio coming from your device will play through the connected Google Cast device, and that will absolutely include Apple Music. The downside of this method is that, again, latency will vary by device/network, ringtones and message notifications will also come through, and the content will not play independently from the phone, so leaving the room/moving out of range will cut the stream. Think of it like Bluetooth streaming, just over WiFi instead.

Pretty sure this is EXACTLY what airplay does "if the app supports it" as I've had my Apple TV continue working when my phone rebooted to update. Also had issues when my vpn worked for NFlix/Amazon Video on my iPhone but NOT on my Apple TV as it did try to go directly to the site itself, tripping the geoblock in doing so.

PhantomNVD

2619 posts

Uber Geek
Inactive user

#1662316 1-Nov-2016 21:29

NikT:
Geektastic:

Are you sure?

"There are a couple of things the Google Home can’t do—and will likely never be able to do—and that includes playing music from either Apple or Amazon’s streaming music services. It’s unlikely Google Home will ever allow you to order products from Amazon’s online store either."

Quite sure.

Google Cast usually works in a different and fundamentally superior way to AirPlay or Bluetooth streaming. With the latter, the content comes directly from your phone, and playback will cease if the source device moves out of range. With Google Cast, the receiving device (Chromecast or similar) is connected directly to the web via WiFi, and the phone just 'points' the Cast device at the web URL to stream the content. So if you have a Chromecast hooked up to a TV and tell it to play a YouTube video playlist, the phone tells the Chromecast where to go, and the content is streamed from the web instead of the phone. This means that if you move out of range of the TV/stereo/WiFi network, your stream will keep on going independently, unlike Bluetooth and AirPlay, which would cut off. However, it does require that the service or app support Google Cast in order to hand the URL of the content (And any associated DRM handshake) over to the Cast receiver. Plenty do, and cross platform at that, like Netflix, YouTube, Spotify, Google Play Music, Google Photos, and Pocket Casts for podcasts.

In addition to the above, you can also use Google Cast to fire local content from the phone directly to the receiving device - this is something you can only do from Android and not from iOS. So, for example, you can display photos and videos which are only on your phone directly on the TV, or play local music on Google Cast devices. You can also mirror the phone's screen on the TV for gaming and so on (Latency will vary depending on device and home network conditions). Crucally, you can mirror the phone's audio in the same way, without also mirroring the screen. This means that any audio coming from your device will play through the connected Google Cast device, and that will absolutely include Apple Music. The downside of this method is that, again, latency will vary by device/network, ringtones and message notifications will also come through, and the content will not play independently from the phone, so leaving the room/moving out of range will cut the stream. Think of it like Bluetooth streaming, just over WiFi instead.

mdf

3513 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1662317 1-Nov-2016 21:32

Geektastic: Oh ok then. I'm going to get one.. 😁

They're awesome wee devices.

@NikT - any chance they're going to be on sale this weekend? ;)

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1662322 1-Nov-2016 21:45

NikT:

tdgeek:

sidders80: @geektastic on the subject of airplay HTC 10 remains the only android phone which has the feature built in. For the rest you are spot on that rooting may be required

Really? How did HTC convince Apple to allow Airplay?

They have a ten-year cross-licensing agreement.

See, now it amazes me that a company I have virtually never even heard of - and whose phones I have never seen in the flesh in anyone's hand - manages this, when Samsung, Sony etc cannot!

NikT

1710 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

#1662360 1-Nov-2016 22:36

Geektastic:

See, now it amazes me that a company I have virtually never even heard of - and whose phones I have never seen in the flesh in anyone's hand - manages this, when Samsung, Sony etc cannot!

Poor HTC - they arguably invented the smartphone! I've a soft spot for them, they just haven't made a phone that ticked all of my boxes since the HTC One Max.

I understand this particular agreement was rather one-sided to say the least, i.e. HTC pays Apple a boatload of cash for the opportunity to use Apple's patents under strict terms, and Apple pays HTC nothing to do whatever they want with the HTC portfolio. Do have to wonder whether that's partly why the iPhone 6 design has some distinctive elements in common with HTC's One M7, despite the M7 predating the 6. See: Antenna lines.

I can understand why companies such as Samsung and Sony, whose fortunes do not hinge entirely on their mobile portfolios, would be less inclined to open their sizable patent vaults to their biggest competitor in tech. For contrast, Samsung makes clothing and has a large logistics arm, and one of Sony's most profitable divisions is insurance of all things. After eating Ericsson's mobile arm, I'd imagine Sony has quite the array of early mobile patents, possibly only dwarfed by Nokia's and Motorola's (The latter portfolio now owned by Google in a defensive move to prevent Apple suing Android OEMs into the ground). Sony is also on the record as the biggest OEM contributor of code to the Android Open Source Project - I have long suspected the Doze battery saving feature of Android 6.0+ to be based on Sony's brilliant Stamina Mode feature introduced with the first Xperia Z.

To bring things full circle, the beautiful first Xperia smartphone, the X1, was designed by Sony and manufacturered by HTC. World's first 'Retina display', and in 2008 no less!

Product Manager @ PB Tech

Smartphones @ PB Tech | Headphones @ PB Tech

Geektastic

17942 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1662362 1-Nov-2016 22:40

NikT:

Geektastic:

See, now it amazes me that a company I have virtually never even heard of - and whose phones I have never seen in the flesh in anyone's hand - manages this, when Samsung, Sony etc cannot!

Poor HTC - they arguably invented the smartphone! I've a soft spot for them, they just haven't made a phone that ticked all of my boxes since the HTC One Max.

I understand this particular agreement was rather one-sided to say the least, i.e. HTC pays Apple a boatload of cash for the opportunity to use Apple's patents under strict terms, and Apple pays HTC nothing to do whatever they want with the HTC portfolio. Do have to wonder whether that's partly why the iPhone 6 design has some distinctive elements in common with HTC's One M7, despite the M7 predating the 6. See: Antenna lines.

I can understand why companies such as Samsung and Sony, whose fortunes do not hinge entirely on their mobile portfolios, would be less inclined to open their sizable patent vaults to their biggest competitor in tech. For contrast, Samsung makes clothing and has a large logistics arm, and one of Sony's most profitable divisions is insurance of all things. After eating Ericsson's mobile arm, I'd imagine Sony has quite the array of early mobile patents, possibly only dwarfed by Nokia's and Motorola's (The latter portfolio now owned by Google in a defensive move to prevent Apple suing Android OEMs into the ground). Sony is also on the record as the biggest OEM contributor of code to the Android Open Source Project - I have long suspected the Doze battery saving feature of Android 6.0+ to be based on Sony's brilliant Stamina Mode feature introduced with the first Xperia Z.

To bring things full circle, the beautiful first Xperia smartphone, the X1, was designed by Sony and manufacturered by HTC. World's first 'Retina display', and in 2008 no less!

Well I'm blowed. Who knew. Apart from you, obviously..! ;-)

Sony certainly set to with a vengeance when they want to - in less than 5 years they have gone from a marginal player to a serious choice in the professional photography arena, partly by swallowing Konica Minolta to get a head start and partly from being able to deliver cameras that offer 40+ MP in full frame sensors for $5,000 instead of $50,000!

tdgeek

29743 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#1662422 2-Nov-2016 07:52

Geektastic:

Shoyu:

@Geektastic, may I ask your reason for switching over to Android, and was it totally worth it? I was going through a similar thought process myself so your post was a nice read (thanks)!

Except my idea was to go to the Note 7 and that became a dead end. Now it's back to an iPhone 7 Plus or a Pixel XL, but currently leaning towards the iPhone as I prefer a front facing fingerprint sensor (its on a desk too often), stereo speakers, speed and build quality & design. My only reason for wanting to switch is for a better camera, but it's probably not enough of a reason to change considering the downsides...

Well, if I am honest, probably boredom mixed with curiosity.

I've had all iPhones and the 7 really did not excite me. I was dead set on the Note 7 and it really harshed my mellow to see it fail before I could actually get one. I did not want to stump up the cost of the 7 Plus and felt that the only way I would get one was to sign another 2 year contract - which I have no problem with in principle but I would have been really annoyed to get to the end of year one and find that the iPhone 8 was launched and it was the most supreme device on the planet, worthy of Ming The Merciless himself, and yet I was stuck in a contract with a lame old 7 that looks much like a 6 plus which looked the same as a 6...

So I figured if I was going to buy the phone, I wanted a nice one that did not cost an arm and a leg. Grabbing the XZ in Noel Leeming sale for around $870 covered that nicely - flagship build, good Android implementation (so I am told anyway), fabulously good screen (ignore what it says on paper - go look at one!), compact but large ish and so on.

Next year, if the iPhone 8 is the world's finest thing ever, well I might go back. I'm not averse at all if they make the design more attention grabbing and give it some new tricks to boot.

Disclosure: I use Apple, no intention of moving to Android, I'm not trolling

If you had got tired of iOS or had functions that were harder than desired, I get the desire to switch. I;m surprised that just due to the phone itself, you want to switch. Its not like the 6 is ugly, or lacks all the usual functions, or its hardware functions are poor. Like many many flagship phones, its a very good phone. I don't see how the hardware itself can be boring. To me, its about the OS. In my case, integration. Just seems a little odd that your happy to go through a workflow change just because of what is effectively just the case.

1 | 2 | 3 | 4