Going iPhone: An Android user faces harsh truths and minor annoyances

Nate Swanner

We so often encourage iOS users to switch over to Android, but we don’t really know what would viscerally compel them to. We’re obviously fans and proponents of Android, but comparing Apple’s to apples, is Android really the better platform? To decide, we got our hands on an iPhone with the idea of looking at both Android and iOS from a different perspective: the iPhone user’s.

I know, you’re already upset and ready to leave nasty comments, but hang on a minute. How can we use an iOS device, right? We’re an Android site! Our goal is to better compare and contrast the Android and iOS experience, which will inherently delve into ecosystem and platform topics. We're approaching it from the opposite and, switching to iOS from Android. In approaching the iPhone objectively, we find a lot of arguments for using it as a daily driver. We also ran into some road blocks that just seem to exist with the platform, and really hamstring it versus Android.

Having had the device only one week, we’ll give a quick oversight this time around, with more articles to come on the subject. Of course the first thing that strikes you is the size of the device, as it’s painfully smaller than even the now-normal 4.7-inch and up Android devices. I use a Nexus 4 or Moto X on a day-to-day basis, and compared to either of those, the iPhone 5C I have is just so freakishly small. The build is sturdy enough, but the screen and overall size are still taking time to adjust to. When I do have to switch back to one of my Android devices for testing an app or the like, the screen looks downright massive. The LG G Flex we recently reviewed really looks more like a tablet when sitting next to an iPhone. Oh, who are we kidding -- it looks like a tablet anyway.

One major thing iOS has going for it is the app ecosystem, where everything is on offer. It really hits home how many interesting, cool apps are on the App Store when migrating between it and the Play Store. That alone makes a very compelling argument for the iPhone, save for one little issue. In the App Store, there are iPad apps, and iPhone apps — sometimes, you just can’t get it both ways. Facebook Paper, for example, is an iPhone only app; there is no iPad app. With Android, you’re not left with that compromise, and that’s just what it is — a compromise.

The camera on the iPhone is easily the best there is, hands down. We’ve been testing it versus the LG G Flex and it’s 13MP shooter, and the iPhone just takes clearer shots, and does so faster. Compared to the Moto X or Nexus 4, there is often no argument to be had. An HTC One gets closer to brilliance than the others, but there is still nothing quite like the camera on an iPhone. For taking photos on the go, the iPhone is easily the winner -- and that's a big deal.

Again, there are a lot of great things about the iPhone, even from an Android users’ perspective. There are also some major and minor annoyances already evident. Over the next few weeks I’ll be using the iPhone exclusively, objectively poking and prodding it for gems of greatness. I’ll also unabashedly shame it when necessary, and can already see where those posts may come from. Stay tuned, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.

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source: androidcommunity