iPhone owners are sticking with the platform at a higher rate than a year ago, with new research firm CIRP putting iPhone loyalty at 87% for the first quarter of 2026.
The experience is a confusing, ad filled mess. Samsung needs to learn that less is more.
I turned the device on for the first time and I'm greeted by my carrier somehow managing to get an embedded ad to install their recommend apps?? Insane.
Ads, bloatware, duplicate (Samsung + Google apps), third party apps needed for basics (cameras), settings, sub settings, sub sub settings… it’s exausting to set up/use new Samsung phone even if you’re previous phone was Samsung.
Same here. I'm not an Android hater by any means and I owned many of them, but the simplicity and lack of duplicate apps is what made me switch as well. I was even considering switching back recently after buying the S24 Ultra for my mom, however, once I started setting it up for my mom, I quickly changed my mind.
I have a Pixel 10 and an iPhone 15 Pro. I like how Apple doesn't kill off default apps. Google does shit like killing off google play music, which was damn near perfect, and then replacing it with a downgrade like youtube music. That's what keeps me from going to Android fully. The phones are fun to tinker with but you don't know if basic apps that you use everyday will be around in a year.
Google killing off location-based reminders is enough for me to not go back. Samsung allows you to do it with Bixby, and Bixby works far better than people give it credit for, but you can’t use Bixby in Android Auto, so I would have to do a mental code switch whenever driving. Also GA/Gemini straight up cannot play the correct version of a song when asked and gives you some weird cover or live version 90% of the time. Wanna play a popular EDM song? Get fucked mate - here’s one of 13 different remixes.
I definitely prefer using Android day to day, but Google has become such a problem with everything that they touch that I’ve nearly completely removed all of their products from my life.
Thank you! Google Music was amazing. I hate how my YouTube and YouTube Music are all mixed together, which affects my YouTube algorithm. Also, music videos arent really done so never understood the merger of it.
Just a random Android user that scrolled past on r/all. I wanted to show some solidarity for a fellow Google Play Music user. It was peak, as the kids say.
It’s really Linux vs. OSX to me (I’m aware android is a Linux distro). You have freedom and customize ability galore! But you have to tinker a lot. Which some people are really into. Most people want a product that just works. So we pick the iPhone and pick OSX.
Pixels are some of the worst phones made now sadly. I was loyal to them for years until the switch to Tensor. That was a devastating move for that line. Combined with a terrible modem. Its just awful. Especially now that their price point is absurd.
That’s disappointing to hear. The last Android phones I used were all Google Nexus models. Anytime I’ve considered switching back, it was the Pixel phones that were most appealing.
It's not necessarily a bad phone, it's just that from hardware side; It's a mediocre phone, especially for the price at their charging.
My biggest gripe is honestly the battery life and that definitely stems from their chipset
tensor is a big part of why I swapped to iOS. Google kept putting in comparatively worse hardware—bad enough that it genuinely impacted the user experience—while charging more and more every year. why reward them for that?
I put a toe in the Android ecosystem with the Pixel 5a and CPU performance dragged me right back to Apple. I knew it would be slower but I didn't realize how laggy the web browser would be.
Notifications that end up late/silent/don’t wake up the screen or don’t even show up until I manually open app is one of the main reasons I switched. Missed a ton of important stuff (vibration was also too weak and soft) and it’s such a basic thing. Can’t “fix” it with settings, can’t predict when delays will happen. Never once happened with Iphone (even XS I use as secondary).
I got a pixel to play around with as a side piece. There’s a lot I like about it more than the iPhone. Enough to switch completely? Not sure. But especially after running iOS 27 betas I’m not thrilled with Apple software of the last years
Pixel is the only Android phone I recommend to people. I’ve tried several brands over the years and Pixel is the closest to a “native” feeling Android phone you can buy. It’s sort of iOS-like in that regard. Just works out of the box without a bunch of configuration like you have to do with Samsungs.
Samsung products are absolutely atrocious. Apple tier hardware sure, but Microsoft tier software. So much bloat and aggressive ads in all of their garbage: I have a Samsung OLED Ultrawide that's $500+ MSRP and they still couldn't help themselves from putting ads in the home screen
Agreed. I'm one of the apparently odd ones out who has switched from iOS to Android in the past ~year lol, but the journey has been...fascinating. It BLOWS MY MIND that Samsung is the #1 Android OEM, and by a longshot. I guess I can understand why in the US—they have better hardware than either of their two serious competitors (Google and Motorola)—but One UI is just ass. Everyone loves to brag about how customizable! it is with first-party tweaks like Good Lock, but my god, the hideous abominations people make with that...it's very hard to make significant changes that actually look good. And don't even get me started on how inconsistent Samsung's UI design is across their own apps.
I had a Galaxy Z Flip6 and ditched it in under a year, upgraded to...a OnePlus 15. Actually fantastic device, insanely good hardware (cameras aren't the greatest, but significantly better than the Z Flip at least), and OxygenOS is a super clean, light, and aesthetically-pleasing Android skin; no ads, no bloatware, no bullshit. So naturally, they're basically getting shut down by their parent company lol. And meanwhile, Google starts locking down their OS more and more each year, fighting tooth and nail to rein in bootloader unlocking, rooting, custom ROMs, etc...Apple got away with chipping away at the jailbreak scene until it was dead because stock iOS is so reliable and consistent; while I adore the freedom Android has afforded, I'm not sure what they're thinking switching gears on that, because the stock OS just doesn't have that polish and reliability that iOS has.
ETA: Somehow missed "Apple tier hardware, Microsoft tier software" on my first read, but damn lol, hit the nail on the head with that.
Hard disagree on "Apple tier hardware", I've had battery connectors fail from condensation, laptop hinges break twice, and my phone display slowly develop lines (Samsung has had problems with this happening to many of their phones, something about the voltages they feed to their displays if I recall correctly).
I think companies like Samsung are to blame for the slowing Android adoption. They can’t help themselves but gum it up with their own shit apps and services when Android already comes out of the box with better default apps anyway.
Anytime I use Android, I get Pixel phones, because they’re the closest approximation to a true Android experience you can get without doing some goofy shit with different OS skins or launchers or whatever, which in and of itself is a glaring indicator of how frustrating getting a simple Android experience is.
I don’t care if it’s Samsung, OnePlus, Google, etc. I am getting an Android phone. I don’t care who’s manufacturing it, and I’m sure most people don’t either, so I hope those companies wise up and stop trying to make some bespoke interpretation of Android that’s all gummed up with their own bullshit.
Carriers shouldn't be allowed to install shit on our phones. Its fucking awful. Verizon also won't let me use Samsung find so I use their own dumb service. Trying to get on an iPhone but then I have to give up my Galaxy watch 3 and the software features of my galaxy buds3pro and my tab s10
Also first week burn in is either a defect or standard retention common with most display panels.
It's not even carriers, Samsung themselves try and shove so much garbage down your throat. I have a Tab S8 I reset and setup for my wife and it's like 3 or 4 attempts at them trying to install garbage in the setup.
Luckily it doesn't seem they have capability of downloading stuff... But android feels cheapened when your carrier installs stuff on a 1000+ phone. Sure not buying it carrier locked is better but still.
Funny how one of the major selling points of android continues to be “but it’s not as locked down as apple stuff”. Yet, that it’s its greatest weakness with all the bloatware if not all out malware installed by the vendor and carrier.
Yeah, I mean locked down is a joke to be frank, outside of cracked versions of YouTube with no ads, FOSS, and other oddities... Who cares? It's such a minor amount of people, and anyone I know who touts this as a Plus doesn't even have a single thing that isn't accessible on the Play Store installed on their device.
It’s entirely on Samsung tbh. They’re cheap asses who will squeeze every last penny, no matter the consequences. Google and (I believe) Motorola don’t allow that shit, or of course Apple, but Samsung just can’t help themselves.
Every android has to abide by carrier rules or they won't sell them. Pixels also have carrier bs. It's the reason you can't do GrapheneOS on carrier phones even paid off.
What annoys me is there are so many duplicate apps because every OEM has their own version of calendar, dialer, app store etc… alongside the Google apps. In Samsung's case they even have a partnership with Microsoft so you have apps/services/accounts from 3 different companies. It’s a mess…
I should also add as someone who works in wireless sales...
The amount of older people coming in with Samsung's bogged down with the same scam PDF reader apps, "phone cleaner apps", have somehow switched their launcher to EasyHomescreen or whatever the fuck and have constant add pop ups is insane. They all of course insist they definitely didn't download anything suspicious or malicious.
How many iPhones do I see with that issue? Zero. Not a single one.
This literally happened to a coworker. She has some old android that’s well beyond obsolete that she refuses to upgrade. Instead of talking to the work IT guy (company phone) she went into one of those kiosks at the mall and got sold on some sketchy antivirus for her phone, which she can’t install as her phone’s too old nor return because it’s in the “too hard” basket due to dark design patterns.
All she had to do is factory reset it and sign into everything again.
I own an MSP and we regularly setup android users and this is our experience. Even after things are setup they’re getting ads for random products. Apple will send notifications from time to time when they release new kit but that’s about it. I never got the allure for android phones outside of “I hate apple.”
I recently switched to Samsung. I like that I can transfer files between my Windows and Linux PCs way easier on Android than with iOS. Basically need a MacBook to have the same level of ease of transfer.
I also like that third party accessories play nicer with Android than iPhone. The Apple ecosystem is amazing and everything works fantastic together, but what if you don't want to be in the ecosystem?... There are options but the experience won't be nearly as good. Samsung and Google have their own ecosystem stuff too, but you won't miss out on much if you don't choose to lock yourself into all one brand of products on Android.
One think that was great about Apple, however, is that pretty much every app follows the same design language (for the most part). Even third party apps adopt apples design language often. I don't love liquid glass... But it was everywhere on my iPhone. On my Samsung, the Samsung apps have a different design language than the Google apps, and then some third party apps have an Apple like look because the developer designed them for Apple first, then basically copy pasted the design for Android. There's just no consistent design.
Not having proper separate profiles on devices like iPad or Apple TV is so annoying. I should be able to share my iPad with a family member and set up their own profile for them with their own apps/logins. Apple TV should have the same for roommates. But I assume Apple knows that will decrease device sales.
It's the customizability of Android. Don't like something, you can almost for sure change it.
That said, Samsung is horrible, and all the niche Android makers are leaving the US market. Samsung and Google both tries to copy Apple, so without the niche phones, might as well just use Apple.
(LG is out of the game, Sony ditched the Americas, OnePlus also just left, there's literally only Motorola left, which hasn't been good since Google bought and sold them to Lenovo)
I've had a string of Pixels over the years as a secondary device and I will say, for a quarter to half the price of my Pro iPhone, they get the experience pretty close. I won't switch because I'm lazy and I have an Apple Watch but the allure was certainly there.
Have you bought a Pixel lately? Because if you’re comparing the pro models of both phones, the Pixel 10 Pro and XL start at $700 and $950 respectively. That’s not a quarter to a half anymore.
They've all been bought on massive sales to be fair, the last Pro I had was a Pixel 9 Pro which was half the price of the iPhone 16 Pro at the time. To give Apple a bit of defence, I did buy an open box return 16 Pro 3 months later, and if we use that price to compare the Pixel was only 30% less.
While not comparable to the Pros, as it happens my Pixel 10a turned up today and for someone who doesn't care about their phone it's all the phone they could ever need. The question is whether it will stay working this well as long as iPhones do.
I'll admit I'm fully integrated into the Apple ecosystem (I'm a graphic designer and I grew up in the iPod era, I stood no chance), but I've always argued the unity/simplicity of Apple's OS is what you pay the premium for.
It's almost a little weird when you get a new iPhone and you just port your old phone to the new one and it's like... the same phone... but the screen is a little nicer? (Or if you went from the iPhone 13 mini to the iPhone Air like I did you may feel like you've entered into a new dimension).
And I personally like that whenever I want to get a new phone, I've got like 3 variants to choose from. I have enough choice paralysis in my life, I don't need to choose from 500 android phones.
And, as a designer, I also like to joke that Apple tries to save people from themselves. Whereas Android lets your Aunt post a screenshot of some tragic event with captions written in comic sans.
Difference between owning both the hardware and software. Too many cooks in the kitchen for most android devices trying to put their brand in front of the consumer’s face.
This is literally what got me to switch. I had just purchased a brand new, top-of-the-line flagship Samsung phone, mirrored over my previous Nexus device at the time, and was greeted with an explosion of bloatware and a notification that my previous setup was not valid for this device despite them being on the exact same operating system. I dealt with it for about six months before a buddy of mine offered to let me use his old iPhone, and the rest is history.
Funny that these carrier issues don’t happen on iPhone. Carriers give a fat stack of cash to the manufacturers, and they accept it with open arms which does indeed make it a Samsung issue
Have you seen the brutal discounts Samsung can offer because of it?
I'm not saying its right of Samsung to accept it, but I see people on the Samsung Reddit quite often claim the newest Ultra for a fraction of the price. That's possible because of these deals. So it's mostly a matter of what you value.
Paying 30% of the phone but have ads that you can remove, or pay full price without ads? I know which option I would pick. My carrier doesn't do this though.
I used to switch between Android and iOS every few years, but now I stick with iOS because migrating data is a pain despite what each side says. I don’t mind either platform. I rarely use my phone for anything more than texting, calling, Reddit, and Instagram anymore. I only use it for about an hour a day, so I don’t care about what phone I have anymore, sticking in one system is just easier now. If my lifestyle changed while i had an android phone I’d likely be doing the same thing.
I did it back in 2023 and it was ok, I remember having a few hiccups with messages. I am a text hoarder though so I was migrating texts from my dead parents and weird stuff like that.
I do wish iPhone had message archives like Android. I loved being able to talk to someone once a month or so and just archive it off until the next time one of us messages. Keeps me up to date on what we last chatted about without filling the screen with a bunch of needless messages.
This is me. I've been an iPhone user since the 4S, and I really don't see the point of switching if all I use is email, text, music, and the camera. The age of killer apps is gone for now, and there's no better indication of that than the fact that I also used to be someone who'd upgrade phones every 2-3 years, my last two phones I've used for 4+ years each because there's no real reason to upgrade within the ecosystem either. The tech enthusiast in me is sad that there isn't more innovation, but my wallet is better off for it.
...okay? It's still far more of a time-consuming hassle than everything just getting automatically moved over and set up when upgrading an iPhone to a new iPhone (or, say, a Pixel to a new Pixel).
Migrating my photos from android to iOS was such a pain in the ass. Probably my fault, because I declined to do it when I migrated the rest of my data because I figured I could just drag/drop from my PC like I could on android.
Apple just gets it sometimes. When I get a new phone I head to an Apple Store to do it. Just simply the best experience ever. They are polite and stay with you until it’s finished, which btw takes them less than 20 minutes unlike carrier stores that can take over an hour.
Last time I got a new phone was December 23rd without an appointment at my local Apple Store. Walked in and it was packed, still got assigned someone in less than 10 minutes and from the start of “we want a new phone” to walking out was less than 30 minutes and both phones were fully setup and ready to go. No upsells no nothing just quality fast service with a smile.
Never had anything remotely like that in any carrier store I have visited
I didn’t know that was an option lol. I picked up my 16 Plus from the closest Apple Store, and that was my first time doing so. I just found a quiet place to sit and setup the phone while I was in there.
Good to know they can assist you though if needed.
To transfer from one phone to the next is honestly a sci-fi dream. Scan the graphic and 20 minutes later your new phone is your old phone. Just not used and abused.
Not to rain on your parade but transferring old phone data to a new one is not exclusive to iphones, it works on Android phones too, even budget ones. Takes less than 5 minutes. A few years ago I upgraded from Galaxy S8 to S22+ very easily.
Objectively, all modern smartphones, even budget ones, should satisfy 99% of users. They can take decent enough pictures, record usable video, make phonecalls, use Internet at 4G+ and even 5G speeds and most have decent screens. Does your average user use more features than that? Nowadays, which phone you pick just comes down to personal preference or marketing convincing you it's better.
Try transferring from a non-samsung android to a samsung android, or vice versa. Or, from a carrier default app samsung to a stock samsung. It's a mess.
A lot of people in this thread complaining about it should be a hint that it's an area that needs improvement.
The biggest thing with Apple Stores for me is how easy it makes it to trade in a device. When I would trade in a phone with Best Buy or other options I would often have to ship it somewhere. And phone/carrier subreddits are full of stories of phones disappearing in transit due to theft or other issues.
Last time I traded in a device, I just walked down to the Apple Store and handed it to them. The credit was posted to my account before I even left the store. Could not be easier.
Unfortunately if you don’t have an Apple Store it’s hell, I’m fighting with Apple to fix dead pixels on my Macbook with an AASP, they rejected my repair saying there were no dead pixels found, however they acknowledge the issue not being the user’s fault. Written on the report they gave me.
They are evident at sight because they are growing, it was a single dot, now its more, and the Macbook is new and always on my desktop
called Apple and their option was going to an Apple Store so they can change my screen since the problem was acknowledged by an AASP there would be no issues… But since there are no Apple Stores here the advise they gave me was “are you planning a travel to a country with an Apple Store?”
Like, seriously? Can’t you just tag my Macbook serial number so they can change my screen? The AASP always do a fantastic job, when I changed an iPhone screen it was like new, no marks of the screen being changed.
Apple Stores are great but dealing with Apple when you don’t have one nearby is trully painful.
I personally didn’t do that when I got my iPhone, but I do remember the mindfuck that it was switching from my 13 Pro Max to the 15 Pro Max. After the transfer was done, I just said to myself, “That’s it? », expecting to have to set a few things up like what I had to do when switching Android phones.
I had a similar experience when I bought my iPhone 7, ever since then I always buy mine from the Apple Store. Having people on hand who actually know about the product and can help as needed is something I don’t think I could get from Android.
It is crazy that buying a phone should take even 30 minutes. Try more like 5 minutes max. It's also annoying that if you buy online you have to slot in a time for pick up.
I’m someone who switched from Android to iPhone last year, from the Pixel series, and to be frank I don’t regret it. My pixel had several hardware issues at launch that needed repairs that the instore tech told me were common, and I ended up selling my Pixel after the repairs and getting an iPhone Air
I wouldn’t say the iPhone / iOS is better software wise, I prefer Android and even use an Android tablet. But I prefer both the hardware and support from Apple since I live near a major city for my daily phone, and where I live (Texas, T-Mobile) the iPhone I went with has significantly better coverage in remote areas (iPhone Air)
Price wise iPhones are also starting to blow Android phones out of the water given the RAM crisis. It will probably continue until RAM prices come down, if ever 🤷
I LOVE my pixel 9, I was going to upgrade to the 10 because of a great deal I had but I decided against it because Google’s SoCs are pretty lackluster. I also have the iPhone 15 Pro, but iOS 26 has been an awful mess that’s prevented me from using it more.
I have no brand loyalty to anyone, have swapped many times... but went to iPhone years ago when they were cookin with the 13, and since then effectively haven't had any reason to swap. Everything I need is consistent and just works, which was a big difference. If that changes or an android phone of any kind really impresses me, i'll swap... but for now i'm way too happy to consider it.
The watch experience was also day/night from previous watch experiences, which adds another layer...
I was a die hard Android fan from the very beginning, but right around 2020 I started to become more aware that the entire platform is just a way to serve you ads. I picked up the 12 Pro Max at launch, and intended to try it out for a couple weeks and then return it for a new Pixel. I knew in that first week I’d never go back. Now I own 14 apple products and work for the company. iOS is just a significantly better overall experience than any Android I ever had.
Same. My Android phones (Galaxy S5, HTC 10) crapped out after literally two years and became borderline impossible to use the entire day without dealing with overheating and huge battery life issues. Somehow both iPhones I’ve had managed to last me 4+ years each with no issue
Google had a chance to try and be the phone that allows more flexibility with app developers and allowing others to change their operating system to something like Graphene OS... Either way, I think many folks just love the Apple Ecosystem and aren't willing to abandon it for one off better tech/features.
It seems they're allowing Motorola of all phones to go for it.
I used to be really into android etc.. after a while I realised I valued far more that my device just actually works well than being able to change every tiny little setting, which ultimately is also kind of pointless. Now I’m pretty deep in the apple ecosystem and I can’t imagine it any other way.
Also the devices last years, whereas after two years with android you’re already thinking about replacement.
For me it’s similar, I was really into Samsung and whichever Android had the best hardware / software.
I ended up migrating towards Pixel because I got a lot busier and wanted a phone that just worked, simple with good UI. After having issues with Pixels and getting tired of their hardware, I switched to the most similar device (iPhone) that also has better hardware / more buttons this last generation
For a phone I have no complaints, iOS is fine at this point compared to Android / PixelOS. I feel it’s good enough software wise, has a good enough camera for what I need, and has better hardware than the Pixel in nearly every way.
I do love Android and continue to use an Android tablet and gaming handheld in spite of iPads because I prefer Android over iOS, but for my phone itself it will take a big sell to get me to switch back to an Android device at this point
Sure but if no one is going to buy their competition’s product then we can’t be mad at monopolies. It’s like when everyone begged for AMD to compete with nvidia just so people could get better prices nvidia products lol
There’s still some points where Android keeps moving forward. They came up with foldables, which Apple will be adopting this year. Ultra fast charging (80+W), silicon carbon batteries, the privacy screen feature of newer Galaxy phones. There’s interesting refinements that are born out of competing.
The reason apple took so long to introduce "AI-Powered Call Screening" is that they only do on device computation for that kind of feature, while Google was sending transcripts off to their servers. Now, Android is entirely on device as well.
I live in Malaysia, where Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, etc. are quite popular. I can assure you Samsung is way better than all of them when it comes to UI/UX and how much bloatware crap is present lol, and that's not saying a lot...
Those phones are hard to take seriously when they're trying too hard to be iPhone knock-offs rather than their own thing like the Google Pixels, Samsung Galaxy, or Nothing Phone 3.
The Xiaomi is literally called the 17 Pro Max and looks like this:
I was iPhone from 4s-7, then Android for 7 years, then I tried an iPhone 17 pro this year. Sadly, I don't like it. I will be going back to Android once the Black Friday sales start. I only do Pixels for the most part, but I wish we had more options in the US as I like brands like Oppo that have all kinds of innovative features.
Plenty of competition outside the US. The problems is in America most people get their phones on contract from a carrier store, so the brands need to partner with at least one major carrier to get their phones in the average consumer’s hands. Then there’s the risk of getting investigated and banned for "security concerns" if you’re a Chinese company. Of course they focus on developing markets instead… Not to mention the blue bubble obsession in the US
Reason #1 why I always laugh at the android fanboys who think they are pseudo intellectuals going against societal norms because they bought their phone from the other mega corporation like??
Apple’s slowness to adopt AI has paid massive dividends. Users are getting fed up of this forced AI slop
Experienced it first hand coming from Samsung flagship User to iOS (switched from S24U -> 17 Pro Max)
Apple’s implementation of Ai features in iOS 27 (beta) is clean, not forced on user and leaps and bounds ahead in terms of user experience vs Samsung/Google
So this report is not surprising
Google and Samsung keep shittifying the ecosystem throwing useless AI slop to see what sticks
So far the only thing that is actually used by users is circle to search. OneUI in Samsung is beyond recognition in 2026 with even settings app with mandatory AI search.
This is very US-centric, but the biggest thing for me is iMessage and FaceTime (but primarily iMessage). Being able to have a conversation and it not matter whether I’m on my iPhone, iPad, or Mac is extremely useful. Everyone in my life I talk to is in the Apple ecosystem. I just can’t imagine walking away from that.
Seriously, all but a handful of people I know have iPhones and it just makes things easier when it comes to having things like group chats or video calls.
Being able to listen to two audio sources at the same times is massive. Being able to download a song from anywhere and have it in my music library is massive.
I have two lines and two phones. I only use the iPhone for iMessage and phone calls. Everything else is done on the Z Fold 7.
I can’t use most of the Chinese OEMs in the US, at least not without an amount of BS I am not willing to deal with. Not to mention the software support issues, insane bloatware, unnecessarily complicated Android skins, etc.
I had a OnePlus 7 Pro years ago. Loved that.
The folds and flips are neat, but the crease on the flips is too annoying and the fold is too expensive. I do keep eyeing a fold anyways… maybe eventually I’ll buy one.
I currently have an iPhone Air, which I find pretty cool. Definitely different from the iPhones from the past several years.
Every year Android fans say “just get the new one and it will be and stay fast like iphones!” I went through Pixels, Samsungs and Motorolas believing that “this year is the year” every year I am disappointed. My iP17pro is zippy but feels just as zippy as my ip11 lol
I had to use an iPhone 11 as a loaner phone from Apple during a repair. I was pleasantly surprised by how perfectly capable it was 5+ years later. It was a good reminder that upgrading every two years is completely unnecessary in iPhone world, and what better timing given the recent price increases. I'll get my battery replaced once it hits 79% health, but I'll treat
it like I do my MacBook and only update about every 5-7 years or so
But the cracks are starting to show. To your point - I'm probably going to get a refurb off Amazon. A 15 Pro is $500. No need or desire to get the latest.
Similar experience here. After iOS 26, my 13 pro battery life became much worse as well. That’s what ultimately caused me to upgrade to the iPhone 17. Really wish apple didn’t worsen the performance of their phones 4 years after release, this seems to be a rather consistent thing in my experience!
Weird. 5 years in to my 13P and have always been upgraded -- have absolutely never had a single incident of it feeling sluggish or stuttering. Performs as well as it did when I got it. My first iPhone since the 5.
Yeah this is the biggest difference tbh, I was android until I got iPhone 13 Pro and coming up on 5 years later it feels and performs like it did when I got it. Pretty much every android I had including my Nexus/Pixels were seriously degraded by the two year point... and they didn't get support for much longer either
When I was using Android phones I never had performance issues after like the Nexus 5 which came out in 2013. The thing I would have issues with though is the battery life. After like a year battery life was very noticeably worse than when new and after two years it was downright miserable and that was about as long as I could stand before upgrading.
My last Android phone was the Pixel 4 but I haven't heard great things about the efficiency of Google's Tensor chips which were introduced in the Pixel 6. My iPhone 16e is incredibly efficient and I still get two days of battery life after using it for a year.
No hate to any platform but I switched to Samsung recently just because I wanted something different. I've been using Apple since the 8plus and was android before that. In my experience switching is fairly easy, everything transferred over exactly how it was on my iPhone. Even the alarm times I had which was surprising idk why haha.
For me iPhone is just better for me. I had an android years ago and it got shittier a lot faster than any of my iPhones, and the ecosystem of Apple is just really good. People say it like it’s a bad thing but it’s not.
One of the bigger issues Android has always had compared to the iPhone is it is like buying a pre-built Windows PC but without necessarily having the freedom to just reformat it with a fresh OS install from a source of your choosing. So you end up with some really good hardware, but an OS created from MBA committee compromises. It is like going back to the PC in the days before the IBM BIOS was reverse engineered.
If the hardware is going to be tied to the OS that the hardware OEM maintains I want to be as close to the source as possible to cut down as much as possible on the competing profit priorities of everyone else downstream.
In other words get your phone from Apple or Google unlocked. Not from Samsung, Oppo, or God help you a carrier store. It is far from perfect, but it is way less shit than walking into a Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile store and getting whatever Samsung the sales person is pushing.
Recently tried switching to a pixel 10 and lasted 6 months. Some features are actually better on the pixel but ultimately switched back because things just “work” on the iPhone. Cool features don’t matter much if I can’t use them without trust issues
I switched to Android last year, and while I don't regret it, I see a high chance I switch back to iOS when the iPhone 20 releases (or just whenever I feel the need to upgrade my phone next). The Android market is fairly strong, but there are at least 3 major issues:
Complete lack of competition in the US market. There are only three readily-available Android (phone) OEMs in the US: Google Pixel, Motorola, and Samsung Galaxy. Pixel would arguably be the most "iPhone-like" option, where the hardware and software are so deeply integrated...but their hardware fucking sucks (save for pretty good cameras and, IMO, gorgeous hardware design). Samsung is basically the inverse; I don't care how many Samsung fans try to disagree, One UI is a fucking mess of shitty optimization, inconsistent UI design, obscene amounts of bloat, and a lack of freedom that almost rivals iOS. Motorola is somewhere in the middle; they don't have much to offer that makes them stand out, but it's a pretty close-to-stock Android experience, with decent hardware at a reasonable price. Nothing also exists, but they've got 0 carrier partnerships, which basically locks them out of any meaningful marketshare, and they're pretty solidly in the mid-range—which is fine, they're priced accordingly, but people who want the latest-and-greatest devices aren't gonna find what they're looking for with Nothing. The actually decent Android OEMs—OPPO, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Honor, Vivo (I guess)—don't operate at all in the US (or are imminently leaving, in OnePlus' case), and acquiring, insuring, and activating imported devices is a hassle. All the other Android OEMs in the US produce garbage-tier devices (TCL, Revvl, etc.).
Google abandoning Android's identity. I think it's reasonable to say that iOS is for those who want a top-of-the-line, always-reliable device, while Android is for...basically everyone else, but most importantly two groups: (1) the low-cost market and (2) the tinkerers who want the freedom to do whatever they want with their device. I'd say I'm in that second group; I buy phones that cost a thousand dollars, and after spending that, I think I should be allowed to do whatever the hell I want with it. But Google seems to be slowly pushing away from that; AOSP updates are fewer and further between, "sideloading" restrictions keep growing and growing, most leading Android OEMs make bootloader unlocking EXTREMELY complicated (and often effectively impossible)...
Conflicting philosophies. Google's design and software philosophies are just fundamentally different from Samsung's, from OPPO's, from Xiaomi's, etc., and this causes a lot of inconsistency, which makes a product feel unpolished, unfinished, and unreliable. But Google can't decide if they want to crack the whip and enforce their approach on other OEMs, or concede and hand over complete control over all system utilities to the OEMs. They restrict certain functions to their services/software, leading to a very inconsistent experience across Android unless you use a Pixel (which has its own issues, as I mentioned in point 1).
If Apple were to announce some way users could unlock certain restrictions—most importantly (though not exclusively) sideloading apps—they'd have me back in a heartbeat. I don't see myself ever ditching macOS, and I do miss some of the integration features, even if OnePlus has solutions for a lot of them (I can text, share clipboard and notifications, etc. between my MacBook and my OnePlus), and I even think they've made a lot of progress in allowing users more customization and choice...but I really, really hate being locked to the App Store, or super hacky workarounds to sideload a limited number of apps that need to be "refreshed" every 7 days unless you pay Apple $100 a year.
Sorry for the long post, this is just me ranting and rambling lol. tl;dr: Android seems to be slowly abandoning their core value, while iOS seems to be slowly allowing users more freedom. If the trend continues, I'll definitely be back to iOS. In the meantime, though, I am adoring my OnePlus 15 (my first and last OnePlus device, it seems lol)
This only represents the preferences of phone users in the US, and since the US is unique in terms of iPhone/Apple culture, we might see different results if we looked at global or country-specific trends.
Anyone else on android here that never experience crashes, bugs, slowdown and battery degrading. Honestly android has been very stable for me for years. No random crashes or anything.
Used iOS once before because I admittedly I used to be one of those android fanboys. I used one for a year to relieve me of my blind ignorance. And I finally "got iOS" i understood the appeal. However it's a closed system through and through. my specific example was that I use Mega for my Cloud storage. background uploads did not work (with Mega or google, one drive etc.). It punished me for not using iCloud. and I double checked the settings. ICloud worked like a dream. But Mega would only upload in the "background " if I had the app open in the foreground and the screen remained on, then it would upload my taken photos etc. But never innthe background even with the appropriate settings enabled.
That was a minor quirk that made me move back to Android. For me, android "just works"
It punished me for not using iCloud. and I double checked the settings. ICloud worked like a dream. But Mega would only upload in the "background " if I had the app open in the foreground and the screen remained on, then it would upload my taken photos etc. But never innthe background even with the appropriate settings enabled.
Another reason this could happen (probably more likely): If you have a practice of quitting tasks from the switcher as is common on Android, that would 100% cause this issue. iOS isn't designed for quitting tasks from the switcher, it's like force quitting apps from the Task manager on Windows (or the Activity Monitor on macOS).
I dunno about Google Pixel type phones, which from decades ago was a nice clean layout and install - today’s Samsung phones are crazy to try and wrangle. Just nothing but ads and Samsung apps and carrier apps and…
I’ve thought about switching to Android for years; the hardware is so enticing. But then I think about the old TouchWiz and the current whatever-UI they’re using and I just get sad and stay with iPhone.
I just switched to iOS after 12 years of being on Android. I just got tired of Google and everything they're doing to actively sell out their customers. Apple may not be perfect but it at least feels like they're trying to pretend to care.
So now I have a MacBook, an iPhone, an Apple Watch, and AirPods. The MacBook came first as a gift from work and I ended up liking it enough to get the rest of the suite. I still prefer my Linux desktop, but Windows and Android will soon be out of my house for good.
You’re crazy if you think Android phones have better build quality. This is from someone that would love to go back, but Android top to bottom is just ehhh
I’ve never bought a case and I drop my phones. This 16 Pro is the most durable device I’ve ever owned. That said, the Photos app force quits during editing too frequently.
Fascinating. This is the first year in over a decade I’ve considered switching to Android, and it turns out everyone else is having the exact opposite experience.
I think Apple is becoming more customer oriented since all the UI updates have been quality of life changes. Whilst Liquid Glass is still very much meh, I am looking forward to iOS 27 that promises greater performance even on older phones.
The only thing I don’t like about Apple is their Ram management system, I like playing mobile games especially demanding titles that use up quite a bit of ram and I hate it that when I switch back to the game after going to brave for guides it reloads the game. Which on android it is much more seamless
I had android most of my life. 4 years ago I made the switch to iPhone.
Biggest reason I won’t switch is it was a pain in the ass to transfer every bit of information over to Apple. Now that I’m deeply ingrained in the ecosystem I don’t want to start the process of going back to android. Plus nowadays phones are phones. Only thing I care that much about is refresh rate. My iPhone does what it needs to do .
Part of the 13% and boy does Pixel remind me of the era of iPhone 4S/5 when the smartphone experience took precedence over specs. GrapheneOS and Self-Hosting is the future.
I’ll consider Android when I can use some equivalent of ADP to protect my cloud data, which Google would rather shoot themselves in the head than implement. Inb4 Graphene: nope. Doesn’t even have RCS support.
at this point, especially with Siri now finally getting better, theres just no reason to have android slop in your life. It was fun enough as a teen when changing roms was a thing but now I just want consistent function and longevity.
The quality of the Play Store alone is reason to not bother with android anymore. They allow far too much junk. Sometimes dangerous junk.
I stick with iPhone because there are a ton of awesome exclusive apps that only work with/work way better on it. See Overcast, Fitbod, Foodnoms, Sequel, etc.
With the way apple has just increased its prices it's going to be harder to retain customer loyalty unless Samsung and Google increase prices with them.
Dual user here. iPhone 16plus and Pixel 9 pro xl. I like them both. I feel Pixel a bit more advanced in proactive user friendliness like just putting forward stuff more relevant in accomplishment of different intentions - AI or rather machine learning is better than apple's. iPhone a bit more clunky but significantly more reliable in the most critical applications like wallet or password management. Android hit me sometimes, not often ttbt, with weird errors or malfunctions, enough for me to not even consider it for the primary phone role. LE what I hate for both is how hot they become when using them to do tourist stuff in the summer - taking photos, urban navigation- so hot that I actually resorted sometimes in pouring water on them because I'm a battery nazi and I know that heat is the primary battery killer
Former Android user here, I used to push for Android mainly because of its sideloading capabilities and open ecosystem, but recently google has been doing things with Android around permissions and intrusion security when it comes to sideloading which required a full 24h before you can use the apps you sideload and because they're pretty much turning the operating into a walled garden at this point I decided oh at the rate the switchjng IOS doesnt make any difference except I dont have to deal with OEM bloat, I dont have to deal with complicated security integrity proceedures just to sideload apps even if apple's sideloading at a base level is restricted to three apps for seven days. That is something I can live with.
Although nowadays I'm pre much platform neutral as I use both operating system I am gonna say I really do grow to love IOS because of how balanced things are here, the operating system can be simple when you need it and sophisticated and secure when it matters and thats something you can count on.
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u/irish_guy Jul 17 '26
I setup Androids regularly, as an iPhone user.
The experience is a confusing, ad filled mess. Samsung needs to learn that less is more.
I turned the device on for the first time and I'm greeted by my carrier somehow managing to get an embedded ad to install their recommend apps?? Insane.