Hi all. I have an Iphone XS Max. My camera lens is broken so all the photos I take come out looking cracked and I have been unable to get it fixed due to the pandemic. This happened after I got a cracked screen repaired in store. In any event, I’m kinda getting impatient, and I don’t know if I can wait until September for the Iphone 12 to drop (if it’s not delayed). I’m now considering a switch to android, either the Pixel or the Samsung S20 Plus. I hesitate partially b/c I just got a new mac, so I’m wondering if anyone who uses android can offer insight on whether a switch is worth it? Wondering if mighty text is any better than a few years ago for instance or if a switch like this may hamper productivity. Thanks
You must be new here… 
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lol yeah I admit I am. But I’ve been a long time iOS and mac user. Looking forward to benefiting from the wisdom of more seasoned members like you.
Here’s one Android fan’s opinion.
I wasn’t happy with the cameras in my Note 9 and 10. The automatic setting are horrible for any type of movement, and I have 3 kids under 6 so trying to getting a picture that wasn’t blurry was impossible. That plus going to an iPad and MacBook is what brought me back to Apple.
They were great phones but the camera issue was too much for me.
My suggestion if you go android and have kids is to not go Samsung.
Also, the app integration is better between Apple devices. You have more choices of apps that work on Mac, iPad, iPhone than you do with Mac, iPad, and Android. I tried running my Mac with an Android phone and it wasn’t a pleasant experience.
What’s the reason behind wanting to switch? Any Android flagship is going to be behind iPhones. I should know, I switched from Android flagships 3 years ago and I realized an iPhone SE provides better experience.
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To balance things out a little, I’m a happy Android user and have been for many years. I’m also a long time Mac and iPad user, so I think I know what I’m talking about. My current phone is a Samsung S10.
The main reason for me to choose Android over iOS is the flexibility it offfers. I don’t mind Apple’s walled garden on my iPad, since I mainly use it for media consumption and relatively simple productivity (i.e. connecting to servers). But my Android offers flexibility that isn’t (or isn’t fully) offered by iOS. I prefer to run my own applications, and e.g. syncing to anything other than iCloud isn’t as simple on iOS as it is on Android.
I’m not a huge photographer, but in my opinion the quality of the camera on any Android flagship is more than sufficient for normal use.
I know my next phone will be Android again. And my next tablet and computer will be an iPad and Mac. 
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I was able to send in my thoroughly smashed iPhone 11 Pro Max (the big one - I think that’s it) to Apple for repair a few weeks ago - it took maybe 72 hours door-to-door, cost me $29. Local Apple authorized repair shops had a two month wait but Apple itself is back up and running it seems.
I used to have android but wouldn’t go back now. For a start, no iMessage! Have you thought of a new iPhone SE. We have two in our household and they are great. Camera probably better than your XS too.
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How is that? It’s true than many apps only provide iCloud sync as a design choice (Bear, Ulysses…) because it’s baked in the system, but many other do provide other ways of syncing (many ebook and comic readers for instance). Android will ask you to sync your contacts with you Google account, and makes it hard not to do so, in the same way Apple pushes iCloud.
I have always through the ability to install external apps was a superior feature of Android, until I realised I never did it. Same goes with the access to the file system. As many, I would like to see Files.app get much more powerful on iOS, but I sure don’t miss the days of drilling through directories with cryptic filenames on my SD cards in Android.
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I dabble with both Android and iPhone. (iPhone SE 2020 currently my personal phone and a Pixel 3a as my work phone). I’ve gone all in Android before, but I tend to come back to the iPhone, as some of the apps are better, but these are the fairly niche ones, as all the major players are on both stores.
I have a Pixel 3A - the camera on it is amazing. It easily compares with the iPhone XR I had for a fraction of the price. And in general use, I have very little reason to recommend the iPhone over the Android in fairness.
I tend to carry both due to work and personal phones, and if both are on the desk, I tend to pickup the Pixel 3a…
Things I can miss on Android:
- Airplay
- Apple Pay - Google Pay isn’t as good, as I can’t choose my card at checkout as easily
- Airpods - As they don’t play as nice on Android, but they do work
- Live photos for when I actually use it
Things I miss on iPhone
- Changing default apps
- Decent file system access
- Decent NFC use (I can check my tram ticket balance on my Pixel, but not my iPhone as Apple)
- Android’s date slection, as the spinning wheels on the iPhone is awful.
- USB C charging
For example, I have my notes stored on a self-hosted WebDAV server. So far I’ve found only one notebook app on iOS that’s able to sync with WebDAV (Notebooks, which is great). And then only after I sync manually. On my android there is a proper filesystem and I do have an app that periodically syncs a folder to my WebDAV. Don’t know how to do that on iOS/iPadOS. And don’t think it’s possible.
Calendars and Contacts are not a problem on both iOS and Android. So that’s fine.
But I definitely prefer the freedom that Android offers. Especially with automation tools like Tasker. Don’t think Shortcuts comes even close.
I’m not a regular user though and realize I have specific needs that not many people have.
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I am enjoying this thread.
Even though I’m in the Apple ecosystem. I somehow always find a reason to get an Android phone. I don’t have one now but the last phone I had was google pixel 3 and I must say it was good.
I will tell you that Android doesn’t play nice with Apple devices and this the reason I keep coming back to iOS.
It’s not iMessage. It’s the apps (things 3 n fantastical, Castro etc) and how well the iPhone works with my iPad and MacBook.
In saying that, Android feels better, lighter and I feel less trapped (weird thing to say). The Apple wall garden has it’s benefits but no matter the kind, walls never give a sense of freedom.
I teach app development and work on lots of projects so I am always given the latest flagship Android for my work each year. Recently, I’ve been testing a Note 10+ and I have to say it is an awesome phone.
I use an iPhone simply because I use Apple’s iCloud apps extensively, and I rely on Calendars, Reminders and their email for too much to make an Android my daily driver. Samsung’s cloud services are not as good, I find they don’t have the same level of integration and I do not like the user interface of their built in apps. I prefer the interface of iOS in general, but that is just a personal preference, there’s nothing wrong with the Android interface.
On the other hand, Google Assistant is light years ahead of Siri, and it is a much more capable and advanced assistant. The 10+ has a beautiful screen, with less notch, and is more responsive than my iPhone. It is also much more customizable and Android Automate is really powerful.
The NFC abilities are much better than iPhone and it can be used for far more real-world interactivity (from my library to bus stops, which do not work with iPhone). I also love that it is such an open filesystem and is much easier to access and finally I find Android development really good (I really like Android Studio). Plus, my model is 5G - which works great in my area.
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I think you’d probably be fine on Android if you don’t depend on any apps that are iOS only.
Though Google is an advertising and data company that doesn’t seem so interested in data privacy. Again, it’s probably fine. And they aren’t nearly as evil as Facebook, but as someone who works in advertising, it would give me the willies to carry around an advertising phone.
Sad, but true. And, IMO, destined to remain that way as long as Apple keeps to its “on device only” policy. For example, Siri on HomePod is even further behind. But we can summon the Google Assistant with a shortcut or a “Hey Siri, OK Google” command.
I use a lot of Google services, mail, calendar, keep, photos, and drive. But they work beautifully on IOS (and with Apple’s apps) so I have the advantage of, again IMO, the best hardware and a great mix of software from Apple and Google.
I can understand those that choose Android, but I prefer the ability to mix and match.
If I were in your shoes the very first thing that I’d do is to make sure that whichever phone I were to choose, that it would get security updates over its expected lifetime.
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Could you just contact Apple and work out a mail-in for repair or replacement? Seriously, unless you want to screw around with oddball, sketchy apps, why would you switch?
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There are as many “oddball, sketchy apps” on iOS as there are on Android. Same goes for quality apps b.t.w.
Same goes for quality apps b.t.w.
Please point me to real equivalents in power of Drafts, OmniFocus, Scrivener / Ulysses, DEVONthink, Airmail, OmniGraffle.
You do have quality apps on Android, but the ecosystem is absolutely not the same.
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