Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m doing this again.
We did this before on The Big Question and we almost tore the internet is half. Be excellent to each other.
Which do you prefer… Apple or Android?
The reason I’m asking: Google launched its new phone today, the Google Pixel. It’s very much an iPhone competitor. So I’m keen to see precisely what the split is here?
Personally, I’m using an Android phone right now, purely because I’m cheap. I like iPhones a lot. They’re absolutely the best choice for mobile gaming and I’ve actually dropped out of mobile gaming because I’ve been using a terrible Android phone for so long.
What are you all using?
Comments
41 responses to “The Big Question: Apple Or Android”
Windows Phone.
Although at some point I’ll probably have to admit defeat and get an Android phone. I’ve been using Windows Phones since the old Pocket PC days (when neither Android or iPhones existed) but the lack of apps and peripherals is getting tiring. It’s a good operating system but….yeah.
Yeah. Many compare it to a Zune.
Yeah I recently gave up on Windows Phone.
It was a great mobile OS. It was fine when I only used a smartphone for web browsing and email (plus phone calls and messaging), but there’s a few apps I like to use now and they aren’t on windows phone so I could no longer get by with one.
So I switched to Android.
Curious what kind of stuff you feel like you’re missing out on. I’ve never used Windows Phone but live in a similar non-Android/iOS deserted wasteland, and find the only times that the lack of being part of the mainstream bothers me is when certain sites decide “oh hey you’re browsing from a mobile, let’s just redirect you to this page that tells you to download the app that you can’t use instead of letting you access our website!”, and similar kinds of other presumptuous BS. I guess if you want to play games but don’t have/want a 3DS or Vita then it kinda makes sense. But otherwise yeah, it’s always seemed kinda superfluous to me.
Apps that are more useful than just versions of websites 🙂 For example – there’s an app called “iReal Book” that plays backing chords for you so that you can improvise/play music over the top (I’m a jazz musician). The developers have outright stated they will never make it for any kind of Windows version. Every time Lifehacker or Gizmodo do a “check out this app that does something interesting” story, it inevitably doesn’t have a Windows version.
I’m interested in technology like https://www.thetileapp.com/ – but again, not available for Windows. Smartwatches and fitness trackers that work with Windows Phone are difficult to find (I was extremely happy when the Band 2 was available in Australia). The Fitbit works with Windows Phone but after four of them broke in two years, I’m not wasting my money on them any more.
I have a 3DS for mobile gaming, but I’d still like more game options for my phone. I like the look of Pokémon Go, and would have happily played it, but again not available for Windows.
There’s lots of interesting stuff going on using smartphones, but developers aren’t bothering to make any of it available for Windows Phone. It’s a catch 22 – no one buys a Windows Phone because there aren’t any apps for it, and no one develops apps for Windows Phone because no one has one.
I’ve got an iPhone 6, and I’d say I’m a pretty light user of my phone, but the below apps I use almost every day:
Twitter
Facebook
Feedly
Reddit
Google Inbox
Overcast (podcasts)
Spotify
Facebook Messenger
Lastpass
Slack
And I regularly use the Sonos app as well as Google Maps, plus all of the other standard phone stuff, email, calls, SMS, alarm clock, photos and video etc
So if you took away those apps listed, my phone would be fairly useless to me, so I’d be missing out on a lot!
Aren’t half of those just website things anyway though, which you could do through a browser?
I’ve only got a couple of externally obtained apps I use regularly. X-plore, which I use to easily transfer files to my PC via network share so I don’t have to bother with cables, Opera Mini since the whole compression dealie makes internet on an older phone usable compared to the inbuilt browser, Situations which saves me from fiddling with profiles and stuff all the time, and Belle Extra Buttons which make navigating around the phone a little easier. So really, they’re all for minor QOL improvements, without being overly necessary (though maybe Opera might be more on the “necessary” side of things). The rest of what I use would be maps, SMS, calls, alarm, calculator, camera, file explorer, calendar and notes, which were all built-in functions so there’s nothing to miss out there by not having an active app store.
I mean… I know it all comes down to perspective and such, someone in your position couldn’t imagine taking away what has become the norm while someone in mine whose norm seems adequate couldn’t imagine having to add anything (at which point it would then likely be hard to take it away… I know I used to survive without the internet way back when, but I’ll be damned if I could remember how :P).
Windows Phone represent. Lumia 640 as my daily driver.
However, I consider myself in the Apple camp as I have an iPad and iMac. But I obviously use and am entrenched in Microsoft services, and I occasionally hop into W10 via Bootcamp for gaming.
That leaves Android out. There’s nothing wrong with it. I like it. But I just don’t use Android or feel compelled to switch because Apple and Microsoft’s hardware, software and services work absolutely fine for me.
Windows phone was fantastic with 8.1 but I’m finding 10 horrendous. I’ve had freezing when I get notifications. Messaging and phone app crashing. Very disappointing and unfortunately i’ll be changing platforms very soon.
Which Lumia do you use and what build of W10M are you on?
I’m an Android user and I enjoy mobile gaming. Games that incorporate Google Play services are great. Aside from gaming, everything tied to my google/gmail account makes changing phones a breeze. Having all emails/contacts/music/calendar/bookmarks in sync between my phone and 3 desktops is a no brainer for me.
Android all the way. Honestly, I just like customizing my phone to look and work exactly as I like. Also, if I want to put something on it, copy and paste. Google syncing everything between my work laptop, home desktop, phone and tablet too is fantastically useful, I couldn’t ever go away from that.
Lol apple
Rotary desk phone
You know they have an app for that right?
https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/rotary-dialer/id284926166?mt=8
*shoots self*
You’ll need this bluetooth accessory: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/8928/
I just cant go past android. I like being able to have an 8×6, or 9×7 grid of home screen apps, and the majority of my mobile gaming is emulating old GBA games. The killer app for me is something like ES file explorer, because I can manage/ move/ copypaste files on my phones file system, and access network accessible shares from my phone. I have never plugged my phone into my pc, because if I want to update my music on my phone I can easily do that on my home wifi.
Still Symbian.
My man.
I much prefer Android, but whenever anyone asks my answer is the same “If you prefer iOS’s UI, don’t mind it being less flexible, and you don’t mind paying more, then use iPhones”.
Sensible. This debate always breaks down into individual consumers projecting their values onto others and then getting angry / downright pathetic about the choice they didn’t make themselves. Your mindset’s the right one, do your research, pick what you like & need, and fuck what anyone else thinks.
iphone for the sole reason that all my songs, movies and tv shows are downloaded through itunes and some those movies and tv shows have DRM that only works through itunes. Plus my phone stays in my car and acts more as an ipod than a phone ( i dont give out my mobile number and its more ofr emergencey use)
I run both Apple and Android (1 work and 1 personal). Android wins for me because you’re not locked into a particular phone look and design aesthetic. I prefer Android, but at the end of the day, if you’re not rooting etc, they are much of a muchness to be honest. Just up to personal preference, and budget.
Being in construction, I have only 1 question: Does it need to be waterproof? If it’s YES, Android. Otherwise, Apple.
Most trades and office staff around me have Apple until they break it. Not to say Apple’s phones break easy but some phones are better at playing rough than others.
Yeah I don’t get this at all to be honest. I have never had a water issue with any of my smartphones.
A couple of cracked screens? Sure. But they were android phones. And that’s what cases are meant to protect you from. I have made a small crack in my iPhone but that was because the case itself broke when my phone slipped out of my pocket and I didn’t get a new case. So when it happened again the edge slightly cracked. Luckily not on the viewing part though so I don’t really care.
Anyway, if you are taking a phone to a construction site it would seem logical to give it a heavy-duty case so it wouldn’t matter whether the phone was apple or android.
Less and less can Android users lean on the price factor as a selling point, yes the bargain basement phones are way cheaper but the high end phones from all manufacturers are all $1000 plus. The features are arguably the same or similar enough to withstand criticism. Nowadays it’s all down to personal preference and your perceptions
Don’t buy Samsung, and but last years high end at a discount.
Android, purely because of the freedom and customisability it allows. I’ve built a couple of custom apps just for my own use, and didn’t have to buy into a new ecosystem or find a third-party cross-platform framework to do it – the dev tools are cross-platform, and use a language I’m somewhat familiar with.
I think it’s much of a muchness these days to be honest. They are both so similar. I had android phones for 5 years until going back to an iPhone with the 6s last year. Personally I have found that things work a lot better for me with an iPhone then they did with my android phones. There were some small niggling issues with my iPhone but they seem to be fixed with iOS10. In general my iPhone just works a lot better with less problems then my android phones did.
But each to their own and if you are happy to root your phone etc then android would be a better way to go.
Having said that I’m in no rush to get an iPhone 7 and find it ridiculous that they removed the headphone jack. So for the first time in 5 years it looks like I will be keeping my phone for the entire 2 year period. 🙂
Windows Phone. Just bought Lumia 950 this year and will probably stick to it for at least two years. The phone is for actual calling, texts and wifi hotspot. I just love the tile user interface of Windows Phone. I do my mobile gaming on iPad Mini 4 for the iOS perks and bigger screen.
I’ve had a few Windows Phones in my time, really like them, currently on Android though.
The tile interface is awesome, and the apps seem to all work with each other and the colour scheme you pick.
I have noticed a massive improvement in app quality since switching though, and update frequency.
Is Chrome on WP yet? I know it’s a privacy nightmare but I love how my search history / passwords / page history all come up on my computer and my phone now I switched to Android!
Chrome is not on WP and I don’t think it ever will at this rate. WP unfortunately still feels like a prototype even after all this years. Glitches here and there, minor problems, not the polished experience on iOS/Android. Really wish the WP team get their act together.
I’ve had a bit of everything over the years, I’ve so far used;
First phone I can remember owning was a Sony Ericsson K850, grabbed an iPhone 3GS when they first came out, which was my first smartphone (hated iTunes on Windows, subsequently grew tired of the phone) then bought a Samsung Galaxy S2. That died, so I bought a Nokia Lumia 920 outright (loved the red candy shell, hated the OS, ditched it after six months at a massive loss). Then went to a HTC One m7 (still have it sitting on my desk, but I got the “purple camera” issue, and the battery ended up dying in the arse, so it would barely last until lunchtime).
Currently using an iPhone 6 Plus, but I’ve realised I still hate iTunes on Windows, and the lack of flexibility in the iPhone (no expandable storage, can’t just plug into my PC then drag and drop files annoys me)
I was waiting for the Pixel XL, but seeing as they’re exclusive to Telstra, and are pretty damned expensive, I’m waiting for the Australian launch of the Xperia XZ, and depending on the pricing here, may just end up with a Note 7 after the new stock lands and becomes available.
I just recently realised I can push all of my itunes library into google play, I hate itunes on windows too and have a mac mini just connected to my tv and stereo only used for music.
I’m waiting for a price drop on the nexus 6P now that the pixel is out and will get one of those.
Just got a HTC 10, couldn’t be happier with it
Android.
Specifically though, the pure Android experience – I mean what you get on the Nexus devices. Motorola phones are also pretty close to stock Android. Forget Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG and anyone else that puts their own skins on top of Android. Just gimme Android.
I prefer iOS but have a Moto G (2nd gen), because I can’t justify spending more than a few hundred dollars on a phone. I have an iPod Touch though and the software is nicer to use in every way.
Currently Android but I’ve used IOS and WIndows Phone in the past.
I’ve always preferred phones that are a bit unique and allow for customisation so at the moment for me it’s:
Android > Windows Phone > IOS
But I usually base my decisions on the phone features not the OS, so my next phone could be anything really!
Android. Celebrating the fact that the launch of the Pixel means I can get a new 5X even cheaper now \o/ Just about time to retire the nexus4.
Used to be an Apple zombie, but was given the cure which was the Nexus range of phones. Had the Nexus 5, 6, 6P, best phones I’ve ever had, flexible, customisable, open and they sync well with all my google services.