The US market is such a weird one. Apple owns more than 80% of all teens over there and Android might struggle to expand there in the future. However, outside the US, Android is still prevalent in many markets (and will grow in many third world countries), iMessage isn't that used, and blue/green bubble argument does not exist.
'Murican Android user here. I've never gotten any shit pertaining to iMessage compatibility or this chat bubble color thing. I think what we're hearing about is just a few toxic circles being presented as the norm for everyone here.
I'm convinced that it's purposeful sabotage on Apple's part because if there's one Android user in a group chat iMessage fucks up images/videos/effects for all recipients. So being the lone Android holdout gets you pressured to switch
Europe is a pretty similar situation with WhatsApp, where everyone is kind of forced to use that same platform, just luckily WhatsApp is available on iOS and Android.
Or Facebook Messenger, which I kind of have to use to talk to my relatives and some friends around the world.
Doesn't have the same weird pressure to use one device manufacturer like in the US though, but trying to get someone (let alone everyone) to add you on Telegram or Signal can be a similar struggle, if they don't see a value in the effort required to switch apps just for you.
I'm just pissed that apples dominance has neutered good competitive Android phones in the US. There's only a few higher end Android phones to pick from and none have even a microsd card slot anymore. Let alone a headphone jack or replaceable battery. I have the ability to replace my note 20 ultra battery (current phone and last high end Samsung with a microsd card slot) but Samsung won't sell the batteries and the aftermarket ones are hot garbage. I may have another tear or so before I'm forced to get a new phone just because of that.
As someone who switched from android to iPhone after using android exclusively (only because I’m sick to shit of my devices breaking themselves at about the 2 year mark - and I don’t mean software):
Apple is a fucking nightmare to swap to if you use your device for anything beyond the absolute basics. I’m honestly probably going to swap off it sooner rather than later.
It’s a miserable experience to go from being able to do basically whatever you want… to not even being able to change to a specific ringtone without paying for it or going through some ridiculous process on Mac to convert. (And before some random asshole pipes up -again- and says “there’s tons of ways” without telling me what they are, I’ve looked and found nothing so either tell me the ways or don’t bother replying because no there aren’t, that’s why everyone on iOS has the same set of ringtones.) I mean hell, it’s painful just to move photos to a pc. Like ridiculously painful. Unless you pay for iCloud.
And the whole ecosystem is supposed to “just work”, but it doesn’t. Tons of finicky little problems, like I can’t get “find my” to play sound on my phone the next room over with all the settings enabled, and even the time of day focus on my watch is usually wrong, which is like a super basic function of this crap. But you can’t really troubleshoot because of the lockdown on everything.
Venting aside, it’s simply not worth it to switch from android. It’s a downgrade in every single way except hardware being built to last, and the software getting regular security updates. That’s it. That’s all it has going for it. I thought that might be enough, but it really isn’t.
What do you do to your phones? I've never had an android that only lasted me two years. My current is a nearly 4 year old n20 ultra that's still going strong and I won't give up because it's the last good android phone made with a micro sd card slot.
Nothing outrageous, I baby them and try to buy at least decent quality. They just.. never last.
I am, however, the walking incarnation of Murphy law, so like.. it’s not surprising to me that this happens.. (same as I’m the one with all the apple issues for no reason)
My last phone, the charge port failed about 2 yrs, I used it for 3 (fortunately still had wireless charging so I could have used it longer technically, but wanted to try apple before it was mandatory to give up)
Phone before that, the speakers failed so I couldn’t even take calls, about 2 years. (I don’t listen to stuff, so this wasn’t volume abuse or something causing failure)
Phone before that got bricked during an update but that was a cheap phone that didn’t have recovery because I was broke. Can’t afford to keep replacing shit even used..
Prior, mobo failure. You get the idea.
Only one phone broke because of something I actually did to it, and that was way back when slide out keyboards were still a thing, a Sony Xperia pro. I flashed a newer android version and then tried to revert to an older version (playing with custom roms) and broke the governor chip so the battery would read zero when not on the charger.
And I do fix things when the parts are available, economical, and it’s possible to fix, but that isn’t always the case.
I'm not saying this is OP, but some people are just rough with their stuff and don't realize it. For example, someone I know burned the on-screen keyboard onto their screen because they disabled the screen dimming function. That's not something I considered possible. Other people drop or throw their phones onto desks or lay them face down and scrape them against the surface when picking them up etc.
It all seems fine until eventually one day the phone stops turning on.
Same here. I'm rocking a pixel 7pro because I wanted to upgrade but I have several other pixels in a drawer that still boot up and work fine. They are slow as shit and one of them is so old I don't remember my pattern lock, but I had to use one for work temporarily a few months ago and it did it's job until the replacement phone arrived. I was upgrading the 7 to a pro and giving the 7 to my wife because her phone had died out of nowhere and she needs one for 2fa for work stuff.
On the ringtone front, it's still rediculous but you can use Garageband to create your preferred ringtones. I typically download form zedge and convert them in Garageband. The UI has changed abit but essentially this is the tutorial: https://osxdaily.com/2020/09/11/how-set-song-ringtone-iphone-garageband/
I appreciate the reply, because you took the time, but that was the “needs Mac” option.
I don’t have a Mac, won’t get one, and emulating is frankly too much work for a ringtone. Garage band doesn’t run on windows or Linux afaik, at least not without being a pain.
That’s the problem. On android, zedge can not only download but set ringtones for you even for individual contacts if you like, because it’s amazingly basic. I used it for years.
I used to have the same problem with my Android phones crapping out at the 2 year mark. That was with Motorola and Samsung phones, and an LG got my wife. I know there are lots of people who have had good fortune with those brands of phones, but that wasn't the case for me.
I ended up getting a 1st gen Pixel, and that sucker lasted for over 5 years. I'm now on a Pixel 4a, and about two years in and everything is going well. I'm not sure if it's just Google phones in general, or if the quality of Android phones in general is improving. But either way it's encouraging. In my experience (and the experience of several other people I know), Google makes damn good phones. It's a shame they are a shitty company in other (i.e. ethical) areas.
While I’m super glad it works for you (honest I am, that’s literally the point of tech, to do what you need) I’d never buy a pixel. At least not without the full intent of de-googling it.. and that’s exactly the problem with android right now. Android is largely a spyware platform for Google. Apple is not better, to be clear. Both options suck and we have no real 3rd party alternatives. Which we should have. Instead we have none, globally.
The hardware might be there (and frankly I’ve heard really good things about pixel hardware; lots of people buy them to flash other OS on) but the software is literally designed to spy on you so.. I’m super not into it.
I’m thinking about buying a fairphone and putting idk.. lineage or graphene on it.. been a while since I bought a device for the sole purpose of putting different OS on, but maybe it’s time.
If Linux phones were viable daily drivers I’d be using one of those. Fuck all this proprietary bullshit. But even that is difficult because Linux is many things but “all encompassing “ is not one of them, and never will be.
I tried to switch to iOS when my pixel 3xl died. I gave up after 24hrs and bought a Pixel 6Pro.
Every time I tried to do something on the iPhone, or find a comparable app, it either couldn't be done, or needed an app with an ongoing paid subscription. It was infuriating. Paying one time for an app is one thing. I don't need to be spending 10s of dollars or a month in perpetuity just to use some apps on my phone when I can get the same functionality free, or for a smaller one time payment elsewhere.
My experience is directly the opposite. Bought an iPhone 12 Mini after Pixel 3XL died. Granted, I was already using a Macbook for a long time. Lotta things I’d been trying to get working, using things like KDE Connect instantly became automatic.
I’ve seen people actually get job done on phones, but that’s never been the case to me. To me the phone should ideally be an extension of my desktop. I’d been doing that with Chrome+Pixel for a while. But iPhone unlocked much more of macOS for me
My gf got an iPhone last year to try and experience it. I've thing she uses her phone a lot fit is movie consumption. Iphone doesn't let you transfer files from a pc to it by just plugging in the USB and using the file manager let me tell you. She is pissed.
The way Apple wants you to transfer files is to install iTunes from the Microsoft store. I do not envy the fact that you have to use an app that hasn't changed much since 2014. Or the Finder on macOS.
Yeah it's awful, trying to do anything at all outside using basic apps in iOS is headache inducing.
Just something as simple as getting an SSH key into an SSH app took way too much time to figure out, as you can't just copy the key file over like you can on Android.
i got an iphone in november to try it out and play with lidar etc. I had buyers remorse pretty quickly and now months later have had enough of the rigidity and am returning it for an android phone. I don’t understand the hype to be honest
My guess is that the increased price of phone have led more adults to find a mid-range android coupled with the increased support for OS updates from Google and others.
Honestly, being in the US surrounded by iPhones really pisses me off. To make matters worse, I am in the age range of the teens who love their iPhones. I really, really, really hate the iPhone and the iSheep that somehow use it. I feel like brain surgery is required to become an iSheep that can actually use an iPhone.
Honestly, I also hate Android too. I am going to quit using cell phones entirely because they piss me off.
Also, is there an exhaustive list of every single thing normies do on their phones? Normies as in US Gen Z normies. I already know advertisers figured this out.