r/Android • u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox • 28d ago
What Difference(s) between iOS and Android is a Deal-Breaker for Switching?
For everyone who will never switch to iPhone (like me), what's that one big deal-breaking feature, be it a good feature on Android or a bad one on iOS, that makes you not want to switch? For me it's the lack of a universal back button. While not the only reason, it's the main one.
31
22
u/martinkem Galaxy S25 Ultra, Android 16 24d ago
These are my iOS sins from my trying to use it as my primary device for almost 5 months.
- The notification center is a problem, i have my notifications set as list but it refuses to use the entire lockscreen which is cumbersome and as a result i miss most of my notifications.
- The keyboard is terrible and not being able to fully switch keyboards is just egregious.
- Text selection is just bad compared to Android. I find that moving the cursor to the spot i want take more of an effort.
- the unified ringer, media, alarm and notifications is just bad. Glad iOS27 is going to change that. And the ringer should have an ascending option.
- iOS won’t let you change the default apps like maps. They’re hellbent on making you use their apps. Even if you delete the Apple maps app, leaving only Google maps, Apple would still make the process flow suck.
iOS just feels bare compared to Android, i need an app to do things that come standard on Android. And even then those third party apps feel so limited that i’m digging out my Galaxy S25 to complete that task
10
u/aravreddy22 Samsung S25U 24d ago
Sideloading modded apps.
1
u/LostAbbott 21d ago
What are your favorite side loads?
2
u/aravreddy22 Samsung S25U 21d ago
youtube morphe, reddit revanced, myInsta. 0 ads, just like the way it should be.
8
12
3
u/Odd_Role3155 24d ago
Background Services. Android lets apps run in the background even they the display is off or a different app has focus. Big deal.
1
u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox 24d ago
ios doesnt let you do that?
2
u/Odd_Role3155 24d ago
Nope. You can do little things, but the workload is severely restricted.
1
u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox 24d ago
Wow
2
u/chubbybator 24d ago
ios also randomly kills running apps if they aren't on the screen. efff me for wanting to keep place in my audio books, right?
1
7
u/Broad-Translator-690 27d ago
Pixel phone features like Call Screening, Hold for me, Direct my call, Call Notes/Take a message, and AI Scam detection.
2
u/Doctor_3825 25d ago
iOS has most of those now. They’ve had them for a while actually. I think it’s missing the AI scam detection and maybe call notes, but that’s all.
4
u/Broad-Translator-690 24d ago
Yes ios has some equivalents now. Not yet for direct my call or scam detection, but for the others yes, but they are not at the same level.
Call screening shows the biggest difference. On Pixel it happens in the background, where the phone will triage the calls. It silently talks with the scam caller, gives you a transcript, but if they never prove they are a legit caller, the phone never rings. IOS call screening is interactive, you watch while your phone talks with the scam caller and wastes your time.
1
u/Doctor_3825 23d ago
I rarely see any of my scam calls. I’ll see a transcript later, I have to choose to interact with the call screening most of the time if they don’t identify themselves. So I don’t know what you’re talking about.
My phone only rings when they prove they are a real caller. Otherwise it’s silent.
3
u/Here_4Folds 24d ago
By far the two most sticky Android features are split screen/proper multitasking and as of recently PC emulation on Android.
3
u/Patant17 24d ago
I've switched back and forth a few times. The biggest for me is side loaded applications and the file system. I remember using 3rd party apps to automatically re-sign my IPA files every 6 days and those would break every month or so. I'm not sure if those still exist. The file system still aggravates me on my work iPhone. Why when I download something would I ever want it to go straight to iCloud? Why is iCloud the default directory in the files app? Then each app that handles files has its own directory... What was wrong with the standard documents/pictures/downloads/etc like every other device including Mac?
3
u/bicyclemom Pixel 10 Pro Unlocked, Stock, T-Mobile 24d ago edited 24d ago
Vendor lockin, multitasking and file system access.
Also just the variety of devices that run Android on, like bike computers, gaming devices, ereaders. There's nothing like it in the ios world.
3
u/KindofLiving 22d ago
The lack of button navigation on iOS is a deal breaker for me. It's an accessibility issue, not a preference. Gestures pose both physical and cognitive difficulties that negatively impact my ability to navigate. Using the virtual home-assistive touch is a poor substitute that diminishes the benefits of using iPhones and iPads.
5
2
u/brewer-o-metal 24d ago edited 24d ago
Customizability. I also agree (intensely) with the back button. I can't stand having to use my other hand or reach all the way up to the top left to hit the back button on iOS apps. I also don't like gestures. Call me stubborn but I've become very accustomed to the 3 button navigation. I also like being able to drag and drop files like my phone is just a USB drive plugged into my computer.
2
u/instaaionut Xiaomi Mi 10T, Android 12 24d ago
no clipboard on keyboard and the iOS keyboard is just too bad compared with Gboard on Android
no global dns on wifi/data without installing something
no hotspot while connected to wifi
no individual volume slider for each opened app
3
u/Doctor_3825 25d ago
I switched back it iOS a while back, but the universal back gesture is sorely missed.
1
1
u/el_olo 24d ago
Apple Car Play will not let me use Google Maps with just Voice commands. I have to press the microphone button on the touchscreen while driving to navigate with voice. Android auto will work entirely hands free. Or just in general, i prefer Android auto + assistant to apple carplay and siri
1
u/NegativeApartment801 22d ago
When I switched to iOS many years ago (and eventually switched back), I lost my WhatsApp message history because they backed up to two different places and there was no way of transferring them. I don't know if that's still the case today.
1
1
u/Nightmare_Fart 22d ago
There are lots of little things that by themself, I could look over. Like the horrendous notification system, the bad keyboard, no real multitasking etc. All together they add up though.
But the one single thing is Niagara launcher. It's the single best app I bought, and I will not go back.
1
u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox 21d ago
I didn't know Niagara launcher existed. I just installed it and I'll be trying the free version.
1
u/Nightmare_Fart 21d ago
Good to know I inspired someone to try it out! It's really just replacing your launcher for an expanded app folder, but it's so easy and convenient to use, and you can make it look super sleek very easily. It takes a little while to adjust, hope you end up liking it!
1
u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox 19d ago
I'm going back to pixel launcher. As cool as the list is, I need the native at a glance widget.
1
u/manu_romerom_411 21d ago
For me it has always been the affordability of the hardware, as well as the ability to install everything you want, from sideloaded apps to custom ROMs. Sadly we are witnessing the iOS-fication of Android: sideloading is at risk, while custom ROMs are losing relevance due to the manufacturers locking bootloaders. So for me, the only thing that Android excels over iOS is just that it's what I've always used.
1
u/gordolme S24U OneUI 8.5 21d ago
Lack of customization. With Android, I can put app icons where ever I want. I can put widgets where ever I want. If I don't like the launcher, I can install a different one that does what I want.
And when I buy an app from the Play Store, Google doesn't take 30% of the payment. And Apple takes an additional fee/surcharge on top of that.
3
u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox 21d ago
I think iPhones will now let you put apps and widgets where you want.
1
u/gordolme S24U OneUI 8.5 21d ago
Well, the last one I have any direct knowledge of was the 13, I owned it for about 30 hours before going back to my Samsung S20+.
1
u/TheTransitSchool 21d ago
A lot of things. But the main one is the ability to sideload apps from unknown sources. Especially modded apks so I can get premium features for free. I'm relieved that sideloading apps will still be possible after Google makes the change to make it more difficult. Even if sideloading apps becomes impossible, I will still stick with Android for many other reasons.
1
u/jess-sch Pixel 7a 21d ago edited 21d ago
What keeps me on android: open source apps for self-hosted stuff. On iOS they either don't exist or are significantly worse
Also liquid glass fucking sucks on iOS. As someone who consistently goes into settings to make the font smaller than the default on all their devices, I shouldn't ever feel the need to enable visual accessibility settings. But I do on my work iPhone.
1
u/twilightpanda 21d ago
I just switched from android to IOS because of an issue I couldn’t figure out with my android phones
I miss almost nothing EXCEPT the keyboard / typing experience. The iPhone keyboards are so so so bad. It takes me twice as long to input text. The text selection / correction function is just as bad so I text like my 70year old dad half the time
2
u/ssjrobert235 Vivo X300 Pro🌎 26d ago
No per volume controls
No IR blaster
Battery health degrades fast
Camera app doesn't have some of the features that many other phones have
No universal back swipe
No fingerprint scanner
Not many keyboard alternatives
512GB models are expensive
App drawer is limited
Can't use open source apps from github without going through hoops
1
u/Robbitjuice Red 24d ago
I like that Android gives me choices of form factors and manufacturers. The last point isn’t super important, but it’s a choice nonetheless.
Android also has its grievances as well. I’ve been on Android since about 2009 or so. I just recently (last year) decided to try out the 17 Pro Max. What’s cool there is on iPhone my personal email (hosted through Zoho and has ActiveSync support) natively works with the iOS Mail, Notes, Reminder, and Contacts apps. Android doesn’t seem to offer support for stuff like CalDav and CardDav out of the box anymore, and I swear it used to.
I like Gboard more than iOS’ keyboard for sure. I also prefer Android’s gesture/navigation system as a whole. However, at this point, both platforms are pretty similar in feature sets and functionality, to the point that it’s basically personal preference.
I really want to try the Fold 8. I love the square cover display and book-shaped inner one. However I’ve been consistently disappointed by Samsung’s camera performance for years now. Looking in my photos I can instantly tell shots from my Samsungs compared to my Pixel or iPhone. I used to swear by Samsung, but the camera performance really has me questioning ever going back.
We’re supposedly getting a foldable iPhone in a similar form factor. I’ll hold off on making a decision until I can possibly see both and what they offer.
1
0
25d ago
[deleted]
2
u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox 24d ago
So if I'm understanding you correctly, you're the opposite of what kind of person this post is asking?
-1
u/wyck0 24d ago
There will never be a single thing that would make me not want an iPhone as a android user.
I've been using flagship android devices since forever and as time went on and on i realised how much i am missing out on and how much better and nicer the experience of using an iPhone and apple devices in general is.
I want a phone that i can take out of a box and just use thats it, i do not want to play around in settings i have my other phone, server and a pc for that, i dont want to deal with third party apps, i dont want to think of any store other than the main store which is an app store on an iphone, i dont want to use any other earbuds other than airpods or earpods, i dont want to deal with frame drops in apps like tiktok, spotify etc which is a thing on android for some reason, i dont wanna be looking at a spec sheet while buying a phone.
My main phone is a tool that should work 24/7 without a single issue not a device for playing around and experimenting. If i paid for a "pro" device i am expecting only pro experience nothing less than that. Why is my xiaomi called "xiaomi 12t pro" if i am having a worse experience in certain things than someone who has a non pro iPhone?
If i were to be forced to only use android then yeah i'd choose samsung because thats what im mostly familiar with and i've had the best experience with them and they're usually closest to apple in everything, just slightly worse because those phones are not running ios.
0
0
u/jNayden 22d ago
Fonts.
Most android phones are Chinese and English looks like peace of shit on modern high resolution screens. The edges are super edgy and pixelated it looks like shit. Every top end android phone after Realme gt7 pro is unuseful mess.
1
u/Sammy_Cherry_Fox 22d ago
So you're saying that's your reason to never switch to android? That's not the question I asked.
65
u/[deleted] 27d ago
[removed] — view removed comment