4 ms·

I know a lot of this is anecdotal... My Mom who is 77, has had a few Androids. Always calling her Sons to help fix her phone. She bought cheap phones for a c

I know a lot of this is anecdotal... My Mom who is 77, has had a few Androids. Always calling her Sons to help fix her phone. She bought cheap phones for a couple of hundred dollars, but always limited the Ram, but had plenty of storage. WhatsApp, Skype, Facebook would constantly fill it up and many times you'd have to clear out all the apps, clear the storage on the phone, etc, etc. Then I would have to explain to her that whilst she had a 64GB Sim, none of the Apps could be installed on there, etc, etc. She's not technical enough to understand what Google does on each update. She just wants a working phone. Now before I get replies. My time is mission critical, I can't spend 1 hour debugging a phone and talking to someone who just wants to use a device as non-technical as possible as anything complicated with be forgotten. I made her get an iPhone 6. Installed all her favoriate apps and waited. Never heard from her again. She's 77, calls all over the world, has all her friends on messager and whatsApp, she uses grammerly and surfs the web and even navigates via GPS using google maps. The Phone. Just works. I. Being the technical one in the family. Gets left alone LOL. In the family, 3 of Us have an iPhone. 2, Dad and 1 brother have an Android. All they have is problems, but they are too stubborn to get an iPhone. Oh well...

canuckintime 8y ago
My aunt bought a 'cheap' iPhone (SE, 16GB, $450) and ran out of storage the first month...
- votepaunchy 8y ago
  Exceedingly difficult these days now that movies, music, photos and videos, and even unused apps can be offloaded to iCloud.
- Joeri 8y ago
  My wife once bought an 8 GB iPhone 4, and regretted it pretty much immediately. That was a horrible experience, and I was stunned that apple would sell such a thing. So far I've learned it pans out this way for iOS devices: - 16 GB: the bare minimum for any sort of user. Don't expect to be taking a lot of pictures or use a lot of apps without a lot of storage twiddling. - 32 GB: fine for regular app use, avoid if you want to take a lot of pictures. I find this to be the sweet spot for coffee table iPads. - 64 GB: the baseline for people who take a lot of pictures and videos. Anything less and there's too much storage management involved.
  - spronkey 8y ago
    The number of people who discover this too late is absurd, and the fact that you can't jam a MicroSD in the iPhone, even if only for photo storage, is still incredibly dumb.
  - laken 8y ago
    I had a 16GB iPhone 6 for years, and when I went to upgrade to an iPhone 8 recently, I was upset that the 16GB wasn't an option anymore. I have no need for 64GB of storage (the new minimum on the 8), because my phone is a phone, not a computer.
    - ams6110 8y ago
      Yeah I'm sort of boggling at this. I have a 16GB Android phone that I've used for about 2 years, and it's only half full.
      - wilsonnb 8y ago
        Android itself takes up 9GB on my Pixel 2. 4.7GB is taken up by the apps and whatever they are storing (Chrome takes up the most, with 1GB). I also have 4GB in music. I don't consider myself a heavy storage user but 16GB is a really easy bar to cross.
        laken 8y ago
        I've noticed on my iOS devices that the more storage available, even with the same amount of apps and data, more storage is taken up. I believe it's due to the fact that apps don't clear caches as often if there's plenty of space left.
        wilsonnb 8y ago
        That would make sense. I believe many apps, including Chrome and Firefox, do the same thing with RAM. If it's there, might as well use it.
    - 8y ago
josefresco 8y ago
Sounds like you just needed to buy Mom an Android device with decent storage - and/or maybe a "flagship" device that isn't left hung out to dry. I too have family with shitty Androids. My Mom runs an iPhone 5 that is so far behind she's afraid to update it at this point (holding out for new iPhone) I also have family with flagship Android devices - completely different exp.
- no1youknowz 8y ago
  > and/or maybe a "flagship" device that isn't left hung out to dry. I think you are missing the point there. She's on a fixed income. The iPhone 6 is on contract. When she got it, it was £0 down and £17.99 a month. Compared that to a much higher costs per month for a flagship phone. Not only that, once the 2 years has been up. She'll just get another contract and an iPhone 8. Rinse and repeat and she'll always have a decent iPhone. It doesn't need to be the best one. Also, she isn't a power user. A flagship phone is completely wasted on her.
  - josefresco 8y ago
    The iPhone 6 was a flasgship device when it was launched. I meant find a comparable Android flagship device.
- ams6110 8y ago
  Indeed, unfair to compare a "cheap" Android phone with an iPhone. If you spent the same money on an Android phone, it would work better. I have an Android phone (not a super cheap one, but a modest Moto G, substantially less expensive than an iPhone) and it's trouble-free. Edit: also, don't get the phone from a carrier. It will be loaded with bloatware, a lot of which you can't remove.
smilekzs 8y ago
> She bought cheap phones I think I found the actual problem.
sundvor 8y ago
Not sure what a 64GB _sim_ is? Did you mean a memory card? Or is it some funky US thing I haven't heard about before. Sim cards here have marginal storage at best. But to the point: Glad to hear that her situation improved when going from a $200 to a $800 phone (or whatever those cost), but I wonder what the story had been if she had gone to a $800 Android instead - with e.g. 128GB of internal storage.
wycy 8y ago
> is 77 > Never heard from her again. You might want to check up on her to make sure it's just the phone.
- no1youknowz 8y ago
  LOL, she's fine. I mean't the number of phone related issues. You want to know something else? I hardly ever use my iPhone and she's become a much better user.
eddieroger 8y ago
> My time is mission critical, I can't spend 1 hour debugging a phone and talking to someone who just wants to use a device as non-technical as possible as anything complicated with be forgotten. This is off topic and the stuff of downvotes, but you're not talking about "someone," you're talking about your mother. I value my time as much as the next developer, but I would hope to never be so busy that I can't take an hour to help one of my parents, and I would encourage anyone who feels similarly to consider their priorities if they can't take an hour for a loved one - assuming, of course, that you have a good relationship with your mom.
- no1youknowz 8y ago
  > but you're not talking about "someone," you're talking about your mother. You are exactly right. Of course I help her with other issues whenever I can. But when an issue comes up again and again and again and it becomes a contentious issue because of the "phone". Not only that, when relatives from abroad want to communicate and they can't because of an app that is failing. The whole thing becomes a more serious issue. Something had to change. Now there are no problems. In fact, she does more things with this phone than other before. Like facetime-ing, etc. She says it's just so much easier to use than before.
- ivan_gammel 8y ago
  You are certainly right, but I concur with the author - it's not the time for your mother, it's the valuable time stolen from you and your mother by a device, demanding the regular maintenance.
alasano 8y ago
From your punctuation I presume you're using swiftkey on Android :D Such. Random. Punctuation.
madshiva 8y ago
Wrong comparision, totally biasied. You give them a poor android with 16Go at max, and on the other way give them an iphone with 64Go and yes you can install application on the SD, if you paid for a correct phone. The phone just works apply the same with Android users regarding Iphone users.
openIce 8y ago
It's always funny to read these stories because I also got tired of the cheap android phones that filled up instantly. Bought a 400€ Nokia and everything just works meanwhile all my friends iphones have all kinds of problems with the hardware

canuckintime 8y ago

My aunt bought a 'cheap' iPhone (SE, 16GB, $450) and ran out of storage the first month...

votepaunchy 8y ago
Exceedingly difficult these days now that movies, music, photos and videos, and even unused apps can be offloaded to iCloud.
Joeri 8y ago
My wife once bought an 8 GB iPhone 4, and regretted it pretty much immediately. That was a horrible experience, and I was stunned that apple would sell such a thing. So far I've learned it pans out this way for iOS devices: - 16 GB: the bare minimum for any sort of user. Don't expect to be taking a lot of pictures or use a lot of apps without a lot of storage twiddling. - 32 GB: fine for regular app use, avoid if you want to take a lot of pictures. I find this to be the sweet spot for coffee table iPads. - 64 GB: the baseline for people who take a lot of pictures and videos. Anything less and there's too much storage management involved.
- spronkey 8y ago
  The number of people who discover this too late is absurd, and the fact that you can't jam a MicroSD in the iPhone, even if only for photo storage, is still incredibly dumb.
- laken 8y ago
  I had a 16GB iPhone 6 for years, and when I went to upgrade to an iPhone 8 recently, I was upset that the 16GB wasn't an option anymore. I have no need for 64GB of storage (the new minimum on the 8), because my phone is a phone, not a computer.
  - ams6110 8y ago
    Yeah I'm sort of boggling at this. I have a 16GB Android phone that I've used for about 2 years, and it's only half full.
    - wilsonnb 8y ago
      Android itself takes up 9GB on my Pixel 2. 4.7GB is taken up by the apps and whatever they are storing (Chrome takes up the most, with 1GB). I also have 4GB in music. I don't consider myself a heavy storage user but 16GB is a really easy bar to cross.
      - laken 8y ago
        I've noticed on my iOS devices that the more storage available, even with the same amount of apps and data, more storage is taken up. I believe it's due to the fact that apps don't clear caches as often if there's plenty of space left.
        wilsonnb 8y ago
        That would make sense. I believe many apps, including Chrome and Firefox, do the same thing with RAM. If it's there, might as well use it.
  - 8y ago

josefresco 8y ago

Sounds like you just needed to buy Mom an Android device with decent storage - and/or maybe a "flagship" device that isn't left hung out to dry. I too have family with shitty Androids. My Mom runs an iPhone 5 that is so far behind she's afraid to update it at this point (holding out for new iPhone) I also have family with flagship Android devices - completely different exp.

no1youknowz 8y ago
> and/or maybe a "flagship" device that isn't left hung out to dry. I think you are missing the point there. She's on a fixed income. The iPhone 6 is on contract. When she got it, it was £0 down and £17.99 a month. Compared that to a much higher costs per month for a flagship phone. Not only that, once the 2 years has been up. She'll just get another contract and an iPhone 8. Rinse and repeat and she'll always have a decent iPhone. It doesn't need to be the best one. Also, she isn't a power user. A flagship phone is completely wasted on her.
- josefresco 8y ago
  The iPhone 6 was a flasgship device when it was launched. I meant find a comparable Android flagship device.
ams6110 8y ago
Indeed, unfair to compare a "cheap" Android phone with an iPhone. If you spent the same money on an Android phone, it would work better. I have an Android phone (not a super cheap one, but a modest Moto G, substantially less expensive than an iPhone) and it's trouble-free. Edit: also, don't get the phone from a carrier. It will be loaded with bloatware, a lot of which you can't remove.

smilekzs 8y ago

> She bought cheap phones I think I found the actual problem.

sundvor 8y ago

Not sure what a 64GB _sim_ is? Did you mean a memory card? Or is it some funky US thing I haven't heard about before. Sim cards here have marginal storage at best. But to the point: Glad to hear that her situation improved when going from a $200 to a $800 phone (or whatever those cost), but I wonder what the story had been if she had gone to a $800 Android instead - with e.g. 128GB of internal storage.

wycy 8y ago

> is 77 > Never heard from her again. You might want to check up on her to make sure it's just the phone.

no1youknowz 8y ago
LOL, she's fine. I mean't the number of phone related issues. You want to know something else? I hardly ever use my iPhone and she's become a much better user.

eddieroger 8y ago

> My time is mission critical, I can't spend 1 hour debugging a phone and talking to someone who just wants to use a device as non-technical as possible as anything complicated with be forgotten. This is off topic and the stuff of downvotes, but you're not talking about "someone," you're talking about your mother. I value my time as much as the next developer, but I would hope to never be so busy that I can't take an hour to help one of my parents, and I would encourage anyone who feels similarly to consider their priorities if they can't take an hour for a loved one - assuming, of course, that you have a good relationship with your mom.

no1youknowz 8y ago
> but you're not talking about "someone," you're talking about your mother. You are exactly right. Of course I help her with other issues whenever I can. But when an issue comes up again and again and again and it becomes a contentious issue because of the "phone". Not only that, when relatives from abroad want to communicate and they can't because of an app that is failing. The whole thing becomes a more serious issue. Something had to change. Now there are no problems. In fact, she does more things with this phone than other before. Like facetime-ing, etc. She says it's just so much easier to use than before.
ivan_gammel 8y ago
You are certainly right, but I concur with the author - it's not the time for your mother, it's the valuable time stolen from you and your mother by a device, demanding the regular maintenance.

alasano 8y ago

From your punctuation I presume you're using swiftkey on Android :D Such. Random. Punctuation.

madshiva 8y ago

Wrong comparision, totally biasied. You give them a poor android with 16Go at max, and on the other way give them an iphone with 64Go and yes you can install application on the SD, if you paid for a correct phone. The phone just works apply the same with Android users regarding Iphone users.

openIce 8y ago

It's always funny to read these stories because I also got tired of the cheap android phones that filled up instantly. Bought a 400€ Nokia and everything just works meanwhile all my friends iphones have all kinds of problems with the hardware