How easy is it to switch from iPhone to Android

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duckDecoy

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#280528 21-Dec-2020 10:38

I currently have an iPhone and have only ever had iPhones as my smartphones.

My current iPhone's battery is packing in and the phone seems to be overheating so replacing the battery might just be money down the drain. Its an old model (iPhone 6) so its probably time to upgrade.

The iPhone SE 2020 would fit my needs I am sure, but its $850 and I am seeing quite a few Andriod phones around that are less money with all the capability I need. I don't really need anything fancy, don't care about fancy camera etc etc.

How easy is it to switch eco systems? Both in terms of

Getting my stuff out of my current iPhone and into a new Android phone (prob Samsung or Oppo)
Operating the phone, I assume its quite different layouts and operating methods etc

If I could get just my contacts out that would be OK, although i'd like to get my photos across as well if possible (but its not a biggie). If it is hard to get my contacts swapped that would be a real deal breaker.

Im not overly tech minded so if its a steep learning curve for operating an Android if you're used to the iPhone system that could be a sticking point also.

Any advice from people who have made the switch?

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#2624937 21-Dec-2020 13:08

Moving contacts quite easy. Most android phones come with software or app to transfer data over.
I can only speak for Samsung which asked me to connect iphone to Galaxy via lighting to USB.
In the box there was USB to micro USB adaptor.

Batman

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#2624939 21-Dec-2020 13:12

It takes time but once you get used to it it'll be fine.

Very similar to moving house.

Everything is hard at the start esp moving the furniture across - depending on how much furniture you have and how big they are. Some won't fit in the new house but your new house will also have things are are better than the old house and vice versa.

d3Xt3r

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#2624981 21-Dec-2020 14:32

https://www.android.com/intl/en_nz/switch/ is a good start. Have a read and let us know if you have any questions.

As for the learning curve, the basic modes of operating the phone are the same - you have icons on your homescreen, pressing the home button takes you there, you can swipe away apps to close them (although this is discouraged). Phones with newer Android versions (Android 11) default to gesture-based navigation similar to iOS, although you can still enable the navigation bar with "traditional" buttons if you prefer that.

I don't think you'll have much issues with basic usage but there are obviously some differences and quirks that might take getting used to. Muscle memory can be a pain to get over.

MadEngineer

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#2624994 21-Dec-2020 15:09

riztricted: Moving contacts quite easy. Most android phones come with software or app to transfer data over.
I can only speak for Samsung which asked me to connect iphone to Galaxy via lighting to USB.
In the box there was USB to micro USB adaptor.

If you have to “move” contacts you’re doing it wrong. Contacts should always be saved to an email account be it gmail or exchange or other and they just turn up when you sign into the account on other devices.

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

scuwp

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#2625023 21-Dec-2020 16:12

I did the same nearly 2 years ago and haven't regretted it.

From memory my Samsung came with a set-up option to pull everything over from the iPhone. It tried it's best to match app's but a bit of manual work needed where there was no exact match. It was much easier than I expected, and to be honest not a lot different from a day to day perspective. Once you have a Google account you are pretty much good to go.

I guess it was probably 2 weeks of fiddling with settings and options (non existent on an iPhone) to get it up and running the way I preferred, discovering that virtually everything is controlled through app's, and there is an app for nearly everything! I did go a bit crazy at the start but then dialed it back.

The freedom is a breath of fresh air. Kicking iTunes to the kerb was great, and I am now in control of loading movies, songs etc as I wish.

I only really missed the find my iPhone options and iMessage initially because half of my family are still iPhone fanatics. But there are plenty of ways around that and we have learnt to use other messaging apps or just txt.

I appreciate the seamless eco-system of Apple, but having switched now I would not go back. Cost of handsets alone is better, and Android operating system is now silky smooth and so close to iOS there's really nothing in it anymore.

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

NikT

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#2625024 21-Dec-2020 16:19

Easy to move contacts and photos. As noted above, Samsung devices will tell iDevices "I am a PC, sync with me" and away you go. Plenty of cloud options if device-to-device proves painful.

The biggest annoyance is WhatsApp if you use it. You cannot transfer iOS WhatsApp backups to Android or vice versa. Facebook could solve this easily, have to assume they do not want to for ~whatever reason.

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quickymart

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#2625060 21-Dec-2020 17:58

I found the same thing when I moved from Windows Phone to Android - losing all my Whatsapp messages was a major pain, but it was the only major issue I can recall. I was able to move my SMS's, contacts and photos from one device to the other without too many issues.

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KiwiSurfer

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#2625069 21-Dec-2020 18:24

duckDecoy:

The iPhone SE 2020 would fit my needs I am sure, but its $850 and I am seeing quite a few Andriod phones around that are less money with all the capability I need. I don't really need anything fancy, don't care about fancy camera etc etc.

I wouldn't be too hasty in assuming the <$850 Androids are 'good enough' even for what you think might be basic needs. They are usually not flagship models which means you get limited software updates and a shorter period of security updates. Whereas the $850 iPhone will get several years of updates (especially important given that includes security updates).

I've been bitten before with cheaper Android phones which got stuffed up by a bad update and had to wait weeks/months for a fix for regressions to core features (and sometimes a fix never came). One Android phone I previously had, applied an update that borked the home button (of all things!). Searched online and found others all around the world with the exact same issue. Took the manufacturers and carriers months to push out a fix for it--I ended up just selling the phone after months of suffering only to have the then Telecom push out an update that fixed it. In contrast I've had serious regressions on the iPhone fixed by way of a follow up update in <24hours.

I'm currently on Android due to a certain app I want that will not work on the iPhone. My own iPhone to Android migration was not too bad. Luckily I had already been moving off the Google/Apple ecosystem to independent platforms (e.g. FastMail for mail/contacts sync) so was easy to move across. There are many things to get used to--some small things that easy to get over, and other bigger things that can take time depending on how much of a roadblock it is for you.

TBH if it wasn't for that one app I'd have gone back to the iPhone in a heartbeat. A much more stable platform where everything just works. Well worth any extra cost IMHO.

MadEngineer

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#2625076 21-Dec-2020 18:54

^ Orly? https://www.nokia.com/phones/en_int/security-updates

You're not on Atlantis anymore, Duncan Idaho.

Handle9

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#2625086 21-Dec-2020 19:20

If you use "normal" apps the platforms are quite interchangeable these days. iOS is definitely more polished and consistent as you would expect with one company making the hardware and software but for most users android is fine. As others have said it'll take a couple of weeks to get used to but it takes a couple of weeks to get used to a new android phone as every manufacturer has their own flavour of the os.

The WhatsApp backup thing is a pain and incredibly stupid but if it's really important you can pay for 3rd party software to transfer.

For your budget I'd take a look at the OnePlus Nord, OnePlus are very good at supporting their phones so you'll get 3-4 years of updates and the experience is good.

d3Xt3r

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#2625144 22-Dec-2020 00:02

KiwiSurfer:

I wouldn't be too hasty in assuming the <$850 Androids are 'good enough' even for what you think might be basic needs. They are usually not flagship models which means you get limited software updates and a shorter period of security updates. Whereas the $850 iPhone will get several years of updates (especially important given that includes security updates).

And I wouldn't be too hasty in assuming that all <$850 Androids are bad and do not receive regular updates.

Google's Pixel 3a and 4a for instance are excellent budget choices. Pixel phones receive regular OS upgrades and OS-level security updates for 3 years, and as soon as Google releases them - and that's because these phones are made by Google and you get the updates directly from Google.

Android 11 also makes it so that you may not need to wait for a full OS-level security update to maintain your phone's security - many system components can now be updated directly via the Play Store now, and it doesn't matter which OEM you're with.

Android 11 builds on an existing initiative called Project Mainline, which essentially pushes key security updates through the Play Store—this means you don't need to wait for Samsung, Sony, or whichever company made your phone to get around to rolling out a new version of Android before your handset is secure.

Major Android updates are still going to drop once a year as usual, with new features and options, but Project Mainline means Google can react faster to security threats on Android and make sure any phone with access to its Play Store is patched up as quickly as possible.

Source: https://www.wired.com/story/android-11-privacy-and-security-features/

Introduced with Android 10, Project Mainline is only getting better with each release, decoupling more core system components from the OS and allowing them to be updated quickly and independently from the OEM. So essentially if you buy a new phone now and say it gets updated till Android 13, by v13 the OS will become even more modular than it's current state (~25 modules), allowing you to maintain a reasonably secure system even after mainstream support has ended.

You can read more about Project Mainline here if you're interested.

lxsw20

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#2625167 22-Dec-2020 04:16

The iPhone 6 was brought out in 2014 and lost support a year ago (they did update it for the COVID app last month I understand). I don't believe there are too many Android phones from that era still ticking along with support from manufacturer, or were a year ago either.

If you are planning to stick with your phone for another 5-6 years then I think the SE is a good option to consider from not having to learn a new OS to value for $ over the years of ownership. As above has said, it sounds like Android is trying to get better giving their phones a long life, but time will tell on that and i would guess its still at the discretion of the manufacturer if they bother to release the update?

rogercruse

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#2625278 22-Dec-2020 09:09

Something you might need to consider... do you use any third party software products?

There might not be an Android version or you might have to purchase it again.

Batman

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#2625695 23-Dec-2020 08:11

KiwiSurfer:

duckDecoy:

The iPhone SE 2020 would fit my needs I am sure, but its $850 and I am seeing quite a few Andriod phones around that are less money with all the capability I need. I don't really need anything fancy, don't care about fancy camera etc etc.

I wouldn't be too hasty in assuming the <$850 Androids are 'good enough' even for what you think might be basic needs. They are usually not flagship models which means you get limited software updates and a shorter period of security updates. Whereas the $850 iPhone will get several years of updates (especially important given that includes security updates).

I've been bitten before with cheaper Android phones which got stuffed up by a bad update and had to wait weeks/months for a fix for regressions to core features (and sometimes a fix never came). One Android phone I previously had, applied an update that borked the home button (of all things!). Searched online and found others all around the world with the exact same issue. Took the manufacturers and carriers months to push out a fix for it--I ended up just selling the phone after months of suffering only to have the then Telecom push out an update that fixed it. In contrast I've had serious regressions on the iPhone fixed by way of a follow up update in <24hours.

I'm currently on Android due to a certain app I want that will not work on the iPhone. My own iPhone to Android migration was not too bad. Luckily I had already been moving off the Google/Apple ecosystem to independent platforms (e.g. FastMail for mail/contacts sync) so was easy to move across. There are many things to get used to--some small things that easy to get over, and other bigger things that can take time depending on how much of a roadblock it is for you.

TBH if it wasn't for that one app I'd have gone back to the iPhone in a heartbeat. A much more stable platform where everything just works. Well worth any extra cost IMHO.

I'm gonna solve this conundrum once and for all.

you cannot buy a current year iphone for <850.

if you want to buy a current year iphone, currently it's the iphone 12 mini for $1349

and guess what it only has 64GB storage

you can buy 400 android and throw it away every 12 months and it will still cost less than $1349 after 3 years

lxsw20

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#2625697 23-Dec-2020 08:20

Why do they need a current year iPhone? The SE is perfect for this scenario. Throw away a phone after 1 year? Talk about unsustainable.

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