jsw

jungmark said:

jsw said:

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.

This is a joke post, right? Google blatantly copied the iPhone...again. 

No, it's not a joke post. Google clearly copied the external look of the iPhone as well as the pricing of the iPhone. But the home screen isn't a copy - it's much cleaner. You could, if you wanted, have absolutely no icons there, whereas with iOS you must have every app somewhere on a home screen. In Android, it's a trivial matter to move icons around, use multiple copies of the same on in different folders if you so choose, etc. In iOS, there's only one icon per app, all apps must be shown, and moving them is a tedious process of going into "I'm a gonna move icons now" mode and then out of it. I prefer a clean desktop in real life. I prefer a clean home screen on my phone. It's a preference, that's all, but one iOS doesn't allow.

I use them both. I don't particularly feel the need to go on about what I prefer about iOS because no one here would dispute that. But, if you're going to bash Android, it's better to know what you're bashing and why, lest you otherwise just seem to be bashing it simply because it's not what you prefer.

tmay said:

Be careful extrapolating the scale of Apple's efforts in any technology; most of its efforts are kept under wraps until the technology is fully baked, and as Apple's efforts in Maps has demonstrated, Apple has the ability to run the long race and win.

I absolutely agree with most of what you said, but I disagree that Apple has won the Maps war. I think far more people use Google's version than Apple's, except specifically on iOS. I'm not saying Apple won't win the Maps war; I'm just saying they're still behind.

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.

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.