Androids not as polished (physically)?

Forums › Android › Androids not as polished (physically)?

rayonline

1611 posts

Uber Geek

# 177163 24-Jul-2015 10:28

I had the original LG Optimus G and now an G3. The G3 has a flexible plastic removable back that you can remove, not sure if that is the standard with a Dual SIM version. Some of the Samsung has a rubbery or plastic back too. My old Optimus G had a harder plastic back with a marble finish.

If one bought a $1,000 Android, on the physical side they don't seem that polished as the iPhones?

Whilst even my Optimus G (1) had 98% of the technical features as the standard iPhone 6 - as did the Nexus 4 but without proper 4G.

I am not in the customization, but I have known some people who also work in IT who simply just use them as what they are.

macuser

2120 posts

Uber Geek

# 1351059 24-Jul-2015 10:37

Well you're comparing apple and oranges a bit.

Apple is a hardware manufacturer, Android is software..

So you should really compare X hardware manufacture to X hardware manufacturer

Take HTC or Huawei, whose flagships have great build quality and fair OK compared to an iPhone in design.

Nokia builds well designed plastic phones (well, used to...)

LG and Samsung prefer cheap feel plastics and coatings....except the latest flagships from these two have improved build quality.

I think Apple probably has the best build quality / "hand feel" if you exclude the 6+ but are closely followed by some manufacturers like HTC.

It's just like Windows laptops...some manufacturers are great...some not so great...some manufacturers premium models give Apple a real run for their money (XPS 13, Lenovo Yoga)

wasabi2k

2091 posts

Uber Geek

# 1351063 24-Jul-2015 10:48

"feel" is immensely subjective.

Android flagships have for a long time been pushing hardware spec (faster, bigger screen, higher resolution) as major selling points. I certainly don't feel that they have been as focused on look and feel as Apple. Android won the spec/performance race a long time ago.

Then there is Apple, who while making technology upgrades every year have never had to sell their phones based on them. They invest a fortune into look and feel, even to the detriment of their phone's operation (see antenna-gate, bending 6+s). If we're honest, Apple could deliver the iPhone 7 being an iPhone 6 with a slightly smoother corner bevel and sell 100 billion units.

It is a very interesting market to study. Your opinion is EXACTLY what Apple aims for - and they have managed to deliver products that make people think that way. For a lot of people smartphone = iPhone, Quality = Apple and Android is this weird other thing geeky people use that is too complicated and weird.

And we haven't even touched on software - where the big vendors (HTC, Samsung etc) seem to be steadfastly refusing to acknowledge that their add-ons to Android are garbage and do a great job confusing people and putting them off Android.

I would be interested if you gave people an Android flagship in an iPhone case (sans Apple logo) whether they would still talk about look and feel being better on an iPhone.

MikeB4

14031 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

# 1351065 24-Jul-2015 10:50

One person supports this post

I am not a great fan of Android (OS) its is just not as "finished" as others. However some of the hardware available is very good and some poor. This is to be expected as they are covering the entire range where as Apple is only targeting the upper end of the market.

Mike
Retired IT Manager.
The views stated in my posts are my personal views and not that of any other organisation.

Using empathy takes no energy and can gain so much. Try it.

wasabi2k

2091 posts

Uber Geek

# 1351067 24-Jul-2015 10:55

One person supports this post

MikeB4: I am not a great fan of Android (OS) its is just not as "finished" as others.

I think this more comes down to the Apple attitude of "do it this way, or tough".

vs the Android attitude of "we have this way by default, otherwise you can change it, or get an app to do it differently".

Your iPhone will behave the same as Joe's iPhone or Mary's iPhone (assuming OS version).

A Samsung Android, HTC Android or stock Android are all vastly different, even before getting to custom launchers.

This makes "polish" very difficult.

MikeB4

14031 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

# 1351090 24-Jul-2015 11:28

wasabi2k:
MikeB4: I am not a great fan of Android (OS) its is just not as "finished" as others.

I think this more comes down to the Apple attitude of "do it this way, or tough".

vs the Android attitude of "we have this way by default, otherwise you can change it, or get an app to do it differently".

Your iPhone will behave the same as Joe's iPhone or Mary's iPhone (assuming OS version).

A Samsung Android, HTC Android or stock Android are all vastly different, even before getting to custom launchers.

This makes "polish" very difficult.

Yep, viva la choice and long may it last.

Mike
Retired IT Manager.
The views stated in my posts are my personal views and not that of any other organisation.

Using empathy takes no energy and can gain so much. Try it.

Wade

2212 posts

Uber Geek

# 1351098 24-Jul-2015 11:35

Go fondle an HTC One, its beautiful, even the S6 whilst not totally my cup of tea it still feels like a premium offering, Nokia & Motorola flagships also have a premium yet robust feel to them, TBH the iphone 6/6+ look about as premium as my $300 Vodafone Smart Ultra

To me getting the weight/feel/solidness combination right, polish is emotional more so than visual, fancy materials can help the visual but can also be a case of lipstick on a pig

afe66

2051 posts

Uber Geek

Lifetime subscriber

# 1351152 24-Jul-2015 13:16

I've had many compliments about the appearance and hand feel of my HTC One (m7), including being asked if it's the new iPhone.

I think the OP should change the title of the thread as it's a hardware question.

You are asking why your LG isn't like the iPhone quality... Well you bought it..

Loving my all metal HTC.

A.

MikeB4

14031 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

Subscriber

# 1351160 24-Jul-2015 13:43

Wade: Go fondle an HTC One, its beautiful, even the S6 whilst not totally my cup of tea it still feels like a premium offering, Nokia & Motorola flagships also have a premium yet robust feel to them, TBH the iphone 6/6+ look about as premium as my $300 Vodafone Smart Ultra

To me getting the weight/feel/solidness combination right, polish is emotional more so than visual, fancy materials can help the visual but can also be a case of lipstick on a pig

The HTC One M8 is a handset with a very high build quality let down by a poor camera. Their UI is okay
And superior to Samsungs

Mike
Retired IT Manager.
The views stated in my posts are my personal views and not that of any other organisation.

Using empathy takes no energy and can gain so much. Try it.

blackjack17

873 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1351218 24-Jul-2015 16:01

I am a teacher and at the school that i am at I would say 90-95% of the girls (girls school) have iphone 5-6 and the number of broken/cracked screens is massive, most also have horrible plastic cases.

My last school (much lower decile rating) most students had android / windows phone and no way near as many cracked screen, most of the android devices also had horrible plastic cases.

I see so many people get the latest slim device and then throw a massive ugly cheap protector on it.

I had a discussion with some of my girls today about samsung vs iphones and they all loved the polish and fluidity that comes with iphones, apps that open without a initial blank (colour) screen that you get, it might only be for a second (s4 and s5). They also love the air drop and air play features.

The cameras on iphones do take really nice pictures.

Anyway iphones are great if you have idevices, but from what i see most people use a very small % of their phones potential.

NikT

1582 posts

Uber Geek

Trusted

# 1352318 27-Jul-2015 09:43

The Sony Xperia Z series, the HTC One M7/M8/M9 series, high-end Lumias like the 930, the Note 4 & the S6 + S6 edge - all have comparable build quality & design to the current batch of iDevices IME. Lots of nice choices in the premium space, and lots more to come before the end of the year. :)

Product Manager @ PB Tech

https://pbtech.co.nz/smartphones

Wade

2212 posts

Uber Geek

# 1352330 27-Jul-2015 09:57

One person supports this post

blackjack17: I am a teacher and at the school that i am at I would say 90-95% of the girls (girls school) have iphone 5-6 and the number of broken/cracked screens is massive, most also have horrible plastic cases.

My last school (much lower decile rating) most students had android / windows phone and no way near as many cracked screen, most of the android devices also had horrible plastic cases.

I see so many people get the latest slim device and then throw a massive ugly cheap protector on it.

I had a discussion with some of my girls today about samsung vs iphones and they all loved the polish and fluidity that comes with iphones, apps that open without a initial blank (colour) screen that you get, it might only be for a second (s4 and s5). They also love the air drop and air play features.

The cameras on iphones do take really nice pictures.

Anyway iphones are great if you have idevices, but from what i see most people use a very small % of their phones potential.

That decile rating could account for the difference in broken screens as in don't care, mummy and daddy will buy me a new one versus this is it, i had better look after it :P

rayonline

1611 posts

Uber Geek

# 1352344 27-Jul-2015 10:15

Perhaps the dual SIM versions have a less metal housing? Cos you need to take the back off to install the two SIMs and the imported versions tend to have external memory card there also. I had a look at the S6 and HTC One at the Voda store over the weekend. Both good builds better than the rubberised S5 - those are single SIM versions. The HTC I didn't like the look at the speaker grill holes look of it.

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
64209 posts

Uber Geek

Administrator

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

# 1352347 27-Jul-2015 10:18

You're comparing Android-based devices with iOS devices. But you call everything Android. Shouldn't you write a post about LG and Samsung devices not of the same high quality as Apple devices, instead of generalising as "Android"?

My technology disclosure | Digital Transformation | Enterprise Content Management | Customer Relationship Management | Data Insights, Business Intelligence and Advanced Analytics

Handsomedan

2162 posts

Uber Geek

Subscriber

# 1352350 27-Jul-2015 10:19

Wade:
blackjack17: I am a teacher and at the school that i am at I would say 90-95% of the girls (girls school) have iphone 5-6 and the number of broken/cracked screens is massive, most also have horrible plastic cases.

My last school (much lower decile rating) most students had android / windows phone and no way near as many cracked screen, most of the android devices also had horrible plastic cases.

I see so many people get the latest slim device and then throw a massive ugly cheap protector on it.

I had a discussion with some of my girls today about samsung vs iphones and they all loved the polish and fluidity that comes with iphones, apps that open without a initial blank (colour) screen that you get, it might only be for a second (s4 and s5). They also love the air drop and air play features.

The cameras on iphones do take really nice pictures.

Anyway iphones are great if you have idevices, but from what i see most people use a very small % of their phones potential.

That decile rating could account for the difference in broken screens as in don't care, mummy and daddy will buy me a new one versus this is it, i had better look after it :P

I was about to say the same thing, but differently.

I think a lower decile school may see kids looking after their lower-cost Droids better as they simply cannot afford to fix or replace in the same way more privileged kids can afford to throw their devices about.

What I have also anecdotally heard is that there is a bit of a culture at some schools whereby it's "fun" or "cool" to see how long you can keep using a phone for with a smashed screen...they're kids...don't expect them to make sense.

I've instilled in my kids a desire to keep everything pristine, but not to the point that they're afraid to use their devices...just treat them with respect because they're not being replaced if they're broken or lost due to negligence.

Back to the subject at hand:

Personally, I can think of lots of Android hardware that i wish were iOS devices. I love the new Galaxy S range and am a fan of the look and feel of the M7 & M8 HTC's.

Not a fan of cheap droids, but they can't be compared to iOS devices that cost $1000 more

Handsome Dan Has Spoken.

blackjack17

873 posts

Ultimate Geek

# 1352376 27-Jul-2015 10:35

Handsomedan:
Wade:
blackjack17: I am a teacher and at the school that i am at I would say 90-95% of the girls (girls school) have iphone 5-6 and the number of broken/cracked screens is massive, most also have horrible plastic cases.

My last school (much lower decile rating) most students had android / windows phone and no way near as many cracked screen, most of the android devices also had horrible plastic cases.

I see so many people get the latest slim device and then throw a massive ugly cheap protector on it.

I had a discussion with some of my girls today about samsung vs iphones and they all loved the polish and fluidity that comes with iphones, apps that open without a initial blank (colour) screen that you get, it might only be for a second (s4 and s5). They also love the air drop and air play features.

The cameras on iphones do take really nice pictures.

Anyway iphones are great if you have idevices, but from what i see most people use a very small % of their phones potential.

That decile rating could account for the difference in broken screens as in don't care, mummy and daddy will buy me a new one versus this is it, i had better look after it :P

I was about to say the same thing, but differently.

I think a lower decile school may see kids looking after their lower-cost Droids better as they simply cannot afford to fix or replace in the same way more privileged kids can afford to throw their devices about.

What I have also anecdotally heard is that there is a bit of a culture at some schools whereby it's "fun" or "cool" to see how long you can keep using a phone for with a smashed screen...they're kids...don't expect them to make sense.

I've instilled in my kids a desire to keep everything pristine, but not to the point that they're afraid to use their devices...just treat them with respect because they're not being replaced if they're broken or lost due to negligence.

Back to the subject at hand:

Personally, I can think of lots of Android hardware that i wish were iOS devices. I love the new Galaxy S range and am a fan of the look and feel of the M7 & M8 HTC's.

Not a fan of cheap droids, but they can't be compared to iOS devices that cost $1000 more

While there is certainly an element of daddy will buy me another one if it breaks, I don't think it is as simple as that. I certainly didn't see the kids at my last school taking better care of their phones (or possessions in general), in fact they were more likely to treat them as disposables (why not if the device is going to be damaged or stolen sooner or later anyway and more often than not had no credit).

iPhones had glass fronts and backs and appeared to have very little tolerance for stress, that being said they tend to remain very useable with very munted screens, so students tend to keep using them after breaking the screen.

Cheaper android (and even expensive ones) have plastic backs and surrounds and seem to survive stress a little better, however when the screen breaks they often become non-functional and need to be replaced.

You can replace a cheap phone 10-15 times before you are spending the same as one iPhone

That is my take on it anyway