nolamacguy

jdiamond said:

nolamacguy said:

who's "forcing" anybody? sounds like you and Woz need to look that word up. 

Apple removed the choice of wired audio.  The lightning adapter is acceptable, but then you can't charge.  Sure, we can choose to stop using Apple devices instead, but that's asking a lot.  So we are being "forced" to (1) give up on high quality audio, or (2) leave the Apple eco-system.  That sounds like a force to me.  In fact, modern Apple is acting like Microsoft - changing their products in a way that further's their own ambitions instead of actually making life better for users.  Steve Jobs didn't have to think that way - he knew that if you make a good product that people like, it sells well and you make profits.

Your arguement is like saying US laws don't "force" anyone to do anything because in theory you can always leave the US and go somewhere else.  Well, the "force" is saying "if you want to stay in the US, you HAVE to do this."

mac_128 said:

Add to that the fact that Apple and Beat's simple to use W1 chipped headphones still have no definitive release date. Only one $300 pair of Beats Solo 3, are currently available for someone who might want to switch to BT headphones, the only other way to connect to both an iPhone 7 and Mac. And with BT comes its own set of quality and convenience compromises, despite the improvements Apple has made with the W1 connectivity enhancements. At least they can be used with a 3.5mm cable, to connect with a non-BT device when necessary. From my perspective Apple is virtually encouraging customers to continue using their old headphones with the added inconvenience of an adapter, rather than consider other options.

But the total lack of support for higher quality wired Lightning headphones out of the starting gate, makes the whole transition away from 3.5mm frustrating at best. And there's no hint on the horizon of how this facet of digital sound's backward compatibility is going to be handled, which should give a Lightning audio developer, not to mention a customer for the products, pause. How does Apple plan on supporting Lightning audio outside of the iPhone 7, if at all?

jsw said:

cali said:

9  years later fandroids claim "google finally got it right"

It seems obvious to me that the phone on the left has a cleaner interface, which is disappointing as a long-time Apple fan. Yes, they're both rounded rectangles, but what matters is what's on the screen, and Google's screen is cleaner. It really doesn't matter who did what first - both sides have appropriated ideas from the other. What matters is where they are now. I use both OSs daily, and Android wins on usability as an OS just as much as iOS wins with virtually every app. Messages wins. Siri loses. And so on.

jsw said:

Yes, it's my first post here. But... I've used Apple products since the early 80s. I've owned more Macs than I can count and half a dozen iPhones as well as numerous other Apple items. I was a moderator on MacRumors.com for years. I've got fairly decent credentials as an Apple fan.

That all being said, I've been primarily an Android - and mostly Nexus - user for about 4 years. I do also have an iPhone SE because, well, I can't leave that ecosystem behind either (yes, I carry them both, and have a Fire Phone as a GPS in my car), but... I know enough about Android (particularly Google's version of things) to call BS on a lot that's being said here, and enough about Apple/iOS/iPhones to call BS on a lot that's being said to counter it.

Flagship-class phones on both sides are more than fast enough these days, period. I stopped caring about specs long ago, as should you all. As OSs become more complex, phones need to be faster to handle them, but both sides have phones which are incredibly fast for their respective OSs. The Nexus 6P on Nougat is no slower or faster, all things considered, than the SE on iOS 10. Both have 2015-era internals running a late 2016 OS. No issues with either. The iPhone 7 is even faster... but it doesn't much matter. Phones were fast enough years ago. I'm sure the Pixel XL I ordered will kick the butt of my 6P in benchmarks, but I won't notice.

The only important thing any more is that you get a phone with the OS and features you prefer, because any even mid-range (and most low-end) phones will give you what you need on any platform. Parity has been achieved for almost anything that matters to most people. There's no need for a pissing match about why one is better than the other. If you need something one OS or phone has and the other doesn't, then there's your answer. Most of the other things are misinformation spread over the years. Examples: Android, at least on Google/Samsung/other top-tier phones isn't any more subject to malware than iOS. Please don't tell me you think iPhones are immune to zero-days; there's been plenty of proof they aren't. Android phones don't reboot any more than iOS ones. My SE rebooted this weekend, two days after I bought it, for no discernible reason, whereas I can't remember the last time the 6P rebooted spontaneously. iPhones, likewise, aren't more expensive than Android over time because they actually retain resale value. The Walled Garden is a great thing in that it promotes phenomenal interoperability and a terrible thing in that it restricts a lot of great options. 

Anyone who has truly used recent versions of either can't say that either one is perfect, nor that either one is seriously lacking. It's all a matter of preferences any more.

As I said, I'm currently on Android, at least until next year. I've ordered the Pixel XL. There are things I do not like about it - namely the lack of waterproofing (which, oddly, only seems important to iPhone users this year), the lack of stereo speakers (ditto), and the lack of wireless charging (which, I am sure, will only seem important to iPhone users next year). The camera seems excellent; I don't care if it's a little worse or a little better than the iPhone 7 Plus, because it'll be more than good enough for me when I'm not using my DSLR. The other hardware is... fine. Not amazing, not terrible. I'm glad about Daydream because there's finally a reason for the super-high-def screens.

I'll grant that it's slower than the iPhone 7, that it's not waterproof, and that it doesn't have stereo speakers. I'd also guess it's not as well-built.

However... I think the software (Google Assistant, etc.), the unlimited photos and video, the cheaper warranty, and, for me, the included Daydream VR headset make up for the deficiencies. Remember. iOS fan here, too. I dig what Apple wins at: Messages; integration; smoothness; better-looking, earlier-out-the-door, nicer apps; all of that. But... Google's Assistant is going to kick the ass of Siri, because Siri already loses to Google. Apple has no VR option, and the iPhone screens aren't pixel-dense enough to do a good job of it anyway. 24/7 online support will help those who aren't geeks use their phone (granted, mostly because they can't count on half the people around them having the same phone as they do).

And, the stuff I prefer about Android is still there (among other things, the app drawer is enormously nice in my opinion, as is the fact icons don't always have to go top-left to -bottom-right with no way to skip gaps). 

So, yeah, for me it's worth it, because the hardware is more than adequate, and I'm psyched about the software. Doesn't mean I won't go for the iPhone 8. But I don't think this article did a very good job at all of doing anything other than soliciting a comment war. It's simply untrue that most Android users crave removable batteries and SD cards (a vocal minority do, true). It's untrue that Android - on top-tier phones - is any less secure than iOS unless users make it less secure by rooting, etc. It's simply a different choice.

Like I said, I carry an Android phone and an iOS phone every day. I love them both. They both have traits I prefer over the other, and things I really wish were different about them. It's like kids, I guess. I just think, though, it's unfair to paint the Pixel as a failure in the way this article did, because it's simply biased without reason, and it appeals only to those who are ignorant of the other side - and I mean today's other side, not the way it was in 2011 when you used some low-end Android phone for a week and hated it.