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Between this privacy fight and the form factor of the iPhone Mini, there's a 90% chance my next phone will be an iPhone after more than a decade on Android. I'm

Between this privacy fight and the form factor of the iPhone Mini, there's a 90% chance my next phone will be an iPhone after more than a decade on Android. I'm done with this ad-sponsored trash ecosystem.

reedjosh 6y ago
Not that I blame you if you want a premium experience out of the box, but I've gone to Graphene and am quite happy. https://grapheneos.org/faq https://grapheneos.org/faq Even my SSO works well enough. Some notifications rely on Google Play Services though, but I find I don't really miss those apps anyway.
- eldaisfish 6y ago
  the problem here is that every single one of these alternate OSs requires advanced knowledge. Granted, it's not difficult to flash your phone via a USB cable + web interface but consider that the average smartphone user isn't even interested in removing bloatware like facebook. The advanced knowledge i'm referring to is to first know that GrapheneOS exists, know how to enable OEM unlocking, know how to select the correct factory image and so on. People don't care and cannot be expected to care. Apple, as much as i dislike several of their practices, provide a phone that works when you need it to. AFAIK, the iphone's primary purpose as a phone - has never had an incident where a software bug prevented someone from placing a call.
- SahAssar 6y ago
  Graphene is still based on AOSP, right? I'm still hoping for something like postmarketOS where it does not use a android base.
solarkraft 6y ago
Apple are also assholes to users in places (no own software, no simple customization, absurd seeming prices, extremely limited and proprietary connectivity) ... but they also protect them like nobody else and are unusually reasonable in places, like with their software update policy. It's a reason I keep thinking about replacing my current phone with a used iPhone X, though the 12 mini would be nicer for the screen size.
- dkdbejwi383 6y ago
  > no simple customization What do you mean by this, exactly? Not being funny, just don't understand this as a con. What would you like to customise, and why? How is being unable to do so harmful to users? Genuine questions, because I can't think of much I'd like to customise. Personally, I like not having options because it keeps things simple.
- Zelphyr 6y ago
  Apple isn't perfect, I'll admit that all day long. But, frankly, the "absurd prices" argument just doesn't hold water to me. I paid almost $3000 for the MacBook Pro I'm typing this on--eight years ago. Meanwhile, everyone I know that has had PC's have gone through at least two replacements during that time. A little over $300/year for a computer is a bargain. I pay three times more for Internet access!
  - philliphaydon 6y ago
    I think you will find most people with PCs replace them because they think they need to. My friend just replaced his 12yo asus laptop which he had to keep plugged in to work as the battery no longer held a charge. People with apple products tend to keep better care of the products than the latter too.
    - prepend 6y ago
      > most people with PCs replace them because they think they need to Why is this important. Are you saying that PC users are stupider than Mac users or something? The end result is that PC users go through more hardware than Macs. I consider myself pretty decent with computers and use both. My five year old MacBook Air runs fine, I’ve gone through two PC laptops (that were always bigger) and they don’t tend to survive windows updates. I’ve even churned through yearly chrome books that seem to be made out of paper mache or something. Perhaps people are trainable to do the right thing. But it’s been decades, maybe we think about why this training fails on aggregate. In the meantime, my personal experience of cost/year being cheaper with Mac vs PC stands for me.
Toine 6y ago
Anecdotal, but i just bought the iPhone 12 mini, and i absolutely love it.
xirbeosbwo1234 6y ago
I hate Android, too, but there's no way I'm going to pay iPhone prices. Smartphones don't matter. They exist to tide me over until I can get to a proper computer. Even then I leave mine on airplane mode 90% of the time. And the 'mini' is still huge.
dkdbejwi383 6y ago
I'm worried the iPhone mini will be canned next update cycle. I wish I was in a position to buy one, but I only got an iPhone X in Jan 2020 to replace my dying iPhone SE with great reluctance. It's too soon for me to replace, as it works perfectly and I can't justify the cost or the waste. I just hope there's a mini iPhone in 2 or 3 years when I need to upgrade. I waited a long time for a new small iPhone and eventually got to the point where I had to buy a new phone, because my SE lasted about 15 minutes & I needed to carry around battery packs just to use it.
- sircastor 6y ago
  I got an iPhone 12 mini (my first iPhone since the original) I’m also worried they won’t keep the form factor around. It hasn’t performed well in the market. I like the size, but apparently most people prefer the larger size and battery life.
  - katbyte 6y ago
    Seems like people think it will, and there will be a mini 13: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/15/iphone-13-mini-expected-despite-12-sales/ https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/15/iphone-13-mini-expected...
  - Jtsummers 6y ago
    My hope is that Apple realizes they created the apparent scarce demand by not having the mini format for so long. They need to keep the format over several years so the demand can materialize as people finally upgrade their old 5S and SE devices now that there's a viable iPhone for them. But those same people are clearly patient and are not in a collective rush to go out and buy new phones, it will take several years of availability and their old devices succumbing to age or physical damage.
    - lotsofpulp 6y ago
      Apple released a $400 to $550 iPhone SE in Apr 2020 after years of not having an updated small phone option, so I imagine many who really wanted a smaller phone jumped on that. And then 6 months later they came out with 12 mini, so I wouldn’t expect a size able amount of demand for the 12 mini would have been sucked up by the new SE.
simplerman 6y ago
Yeah because of exactly these two reasons, I switched to iPhone Mini. Love it so far. Now working on removing Google and Facebook dependencies from rest of my life.
cddotdotslash 6y ago
I've been on Android for a decade as well but just got an iPad mini. The one thing I still cannot figure out how to do on iOS is block ads at the system level. Android has lots of apps that act as a VPN that block ads/trackers via DNS. It blocks ads in the browser, but also in apps. I can't find the equivalent on iOS. All my searches lead to ad blockers using Safari's content blocking, but the VPN-style ad blockers appear to violate Apple's terms, and so aren't in the app store. I've also seen recommendations to use Pi hole on my network, which is fine until I leave the house. If anyone has recommendations for system-wide VPN/DNS-based blockers for iOS, please share. That's the last real thing keeping me on Android.
- GeekyBear 6y ago
  You could set your DNS server IP address to one of AdGuard's public DNS servers that are configured to operate like a PiHole without installing anything. https://adguard.com/en/adguard-dns/overview.html https://adguard.com/en/adguard-dns/overview.html DNScloak and an ad blocking hosts file, such as the one here: https://github.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList https://github.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList would be another option.
- lorenzhs 6y ago
  I use https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id691121579 https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id691121579 but the UI is very basic - it doesn't come with any filter lists, you need to point it at a hosts list like https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList/master/Regular%20Hosts.txt https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList/... manually. It's not compatible with other VPNs at the same time and it displays as a VPN in the top bar. Not ideal but
- e_proxus 6y ago
  I use NextDNS [1] and I’m very happy with it so far. It works on the DNS level. So far for our entire home we’ve never gone above the free level once, but I’m happy to pay as soon as we do. [1]: https://nextdns.io/ https://nextdns.io/
specialp 6y ago
I'm moving to Apple after being a long time iPhone hater. With how insidious Google is getting with Android they should be paying me to use my flagship phone, not me paying roughly the same amount of an iPhone. I do everything I can to not feed into the (free*) services with the cost being sucking down more data about me than I know about myself.
sabellito 6y ago
Yeah that's a no from me, mate: https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2020/10/15/apple-to-telegram-delete-posts-exposing-the-belarus-dictatorships-enforcers/?sh=67001a301019 https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2020/10/15/apple-to... And so many others. Apple phone users weren't allowed by Apple to have Spotify as their default music program until recently.
- katbyte 6y ago
  I've never used anything but spotify on my iphones for years and this has never been an issue for me - i wouldn't have known or cared until reading these links.
- dmlittle 6y ago
  This is true, but in practice on an iPhone the "default" music app didn't make a difference for me. I always had Spotify running (not necessarily playing, just the app open in the background) so when I pressed play it always played Spotify rather than Apple Music.
- rthomas6 6y ago
  Then Apple is bad and Android is bad too. So the ethical choice is to buy neither. I'm not being facetious. I'm considering moving to pure AOSP based, Linux based, or just foregoing a smartphone entirely.
rchaud 6y ago
There are ads all over the App Store FYI
e40 6y ago
I moved to iOS for the specific reason of getting the Apple watch because of some heart issues I was having. Did it a year ago. I wasn't thrilled, but I was sick of the Android adware/malware problem (every time I installed an ad-supported app I got malware within a week or two). How do I feel now? I absolutely love this ecosystem. I don't fear OS updates like I used to with Android. I don't fear my device will be stranded without updates. The UI is clean. The 11 is as fast today as when I got it. It seamlessly works the watch and my Bose headphones. BT was always finicky with the Android phones I had. And there's the privacy angle.
- MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
  The m1 is honestly selling me to move back to apple stuff again. Also I'm sick of trash process handling on Android where apps just stop running because some other one is sucking down the ram in the background. I could have every app opened on my iphone even on 1gb with an SE and no issues noticed whatsoever. I really think apple is delivering an upswing they need to after the whole trash 12 in macbooks and butterfly switches.
Wingman4l7 6y ago
...so you want to move to an ecosystem where Apple gets to decide what you can and cannot run on your own device? Having to jailbreak to side-load apps that aren't on an approved storefront is not acceptable.
- coldpie 6y ago
  Sure, I don't have a problem with that. I don't sideload on Android either.

reedjosh 6y ago

Not that I blame you if you want a premium experience out of the box, but I've gone to Graphene and am quite happy. https://grapheneos.org/faq https://grapheneos.org/faq Even my SSO works well enough. Some notifications rely on Google Play Services though, but I find I don't really miss those apps anyway.

eldaisfish 6y ago
the problem here is that every single one of these alternate OSs requires advanced knowledge. Granted, it's not difficult to flash your phone via a USB cable + web interface but consider that the average smartphone user isn't even interested in removing bloatware like facebook. The advanced knowledge i'm referring to is to first know that GrapheneOS exists, know how to enable OEM unlocking, know how to select the correct factory image and so on. People don't care and cannot be expected to care. Apple, as much as i dislike several of their practices, provide a phone that works when you need it to. AFAIK, the iphone's primary purpose as a phone - has never had an incident where a software bug prevented someone from placing a call.
SahAssar 6y ago
Graphene is still based on AOSP, right? I'm still hoping for something like postmarketOS where it does not use a android base.

solarkraft 6y ago

Apple are also assholes to users in places (no own software, no simple customization, absurd seeming prices, extremely limited and proprietary connectivity) ... but they also protect them like nobody else and are unusually reasonable in places, like with their software update policy. It's a reason I keep thinking about replacing my current phone with a used iPhone X, though the 12 mini would be nicer for the screen size.

dkdbejwi383 6y ago
> no simple customization What do you mean by this, exactly? Not being funny, just don't understand this as a con. What would you like to customise, and why? How is being unable to do so harmful to users? Genuine questions, because I can't think of much I'd like to customise. Personally, I like not having options because it keeps things simple.
Zelphyr 6y ago
Apple isn't perfect, I'll admit that all day long. But, frankly, the "absurd prices" argument just doesn't hold water to me. I paid almost $3000 for the MacBook Pro I'm typing this on--eight years ago. Meanwhile, everyone I know that has had PC's have gone through at least two replacements during that time. A little over $300/year for a computer is a bargain. I pay three times more for Internet access!
- philliphaydon 6y ago
  I think you will find most people with PCs replace them because they think they need to. My friend just replaced his 12yo asus laptop which he had to keep plugged in to work as the battery no longer held a charge. People with apple products tend to keep better care of the products than the latter too.
  - prepend 6y ago
    > most people with PCs replace them because they think they need to Why is this important. Are you saying that PC users are stupider than Mac users or something? The end result is that PC users go through more hardware than Macs. I consider myself pretty decent with computers and use both. My five year old MacBook Air runs fine, I’ve gone through two PC laptops (that were always bigger) and they don’t tend to survive windows updates. I’ve even churned through yearly chrome books that seem to be made out of paper mache or something. Perhaps people are trainable to do the right thing. But it’s been decades, maybe we think about why this training fails on aggregate. In the meantime, my personal experience of cost/year being cheaper with Mac vs PC stands for me.

Toine 6y ago

Anecdotal, but i just bought the iPhone 12 mini, and i absolutely love it.

xirbeosbwo1234 6y ago

I hate Android, too, but there's no way I'm going to pay iPhone prices. Smartphones don't matter. They exist to tide me over until I can get to a proper computer. Even then I leave mine on airplane mode 90% of the time. And the 'mini' is still huge.

dkdbejwi383 6y ago

I'm worried the iPhone mini will be canned next update cycle. I wish I was in a position to buy one, but I only got an iPhone X in Jan 2020 to replace my dying iPhone SE with great reluctance. It's too soon for me to replace, as it works perfectly and I can't justify the cost or the waste. I just hope there's a mini iPhone in 2 or 3 years when I need to upgrade. I waited a long time for a new small iPhone and eventually got to the point where I had to buy a new phone, because my SE lasted about 15 minutes & I needed to carry around battery packs just to use it.

sircastor 6y ago
I got an iPhone 12 mini (my first iPhone since the original) I’m also worried they won’t keep the form factor around. It hasn’t performed well in the market. I like the size, but apparently most people prefer the larger size and battery life.
- katbyte 6y ago
  Seems like people think it will, and there will be a mini 13: https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/15/iphone-13-mini-expected-despite-12-sales/ https://www.macrumors.com/2021/02/15/iphone-13-mini-expected...
- Jtsummers 6y ago
  My hope is that Apple realizes they created the apparent scarce demand by not having the mini format for so long. They need to keep the format over several years so the demand can materialize as people finally upgrade their old 5S and SE devices now that there's a viable iPhone for them. But those same people are clearly patient and are not in a collective rush to go out and buy new phones, it will take several years of availability and their old devices succumbing to age or physical damage.
  - lotsofpulp 6y ago
    Apple released a $400 to $550 iPhone SE in Apr 2020 after years of not having an updated small phone option, so I imagine many who really wanted a smaller phone jumped on that. And then 6 months later they came out with 12 mini, so I wouldn’t expect a size able amount of demand for the 12 mini would have been sucked up by the new SE.

simplerman 6y ago

Yeah because of exactly these two reasons, I switched to iPhone Mini. Love it so far. Now working on removing Google and Facebook dependencies from rest of my life.

cddotdotslash 6y ago

I've been on Android for a decade as well but just got an iPad mini. The one thing I still cannot figure out how to do on iOS is block ads at the system level. Android has lots of apps that act as a VPN that block ads/trackers via DNS. It blocks ads in the browser, but also in apps. I can't find the equivalent on iOS. All my searches lead to ad blockers using Safari's content blocking, but the VPN-style ad blockers appear to violate Apple's terms, and so aren't in the app store. I've also seen recommendations to use Pi hole on my network, which is fine until I leave the house. If anyone has recommendations for system-wide VPN/DNS-based blockers for iOS, please share. That's the last real thing keeping me on Android.

GeekyBear 6y ago
You could set your DNS server IP address to one of AdGuard's public DNS servers that are configured to operate like a PiHole without installing anything. https://adguard.com/en/adguard-dns/overview.html https://adguard.com/en/adguard-dns/overview.html DNScloak and an ad blocking hosts file, such as the one here: https://github.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList https://github.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList would be another option.
lorenzhs 6y ago
I use https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id691121579 https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id691121579 but the UI is very basic - it doesn't come with any filter lists, you need to point it at a hosts list like https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList/master/Regular%20Hosts.txt https://raw.githubusercontent.com/BlackJack8/iOSAdblockList/... manually. It's not compatible with other VPNs at the same time and it displays as a VPN in the top bar. Not ideal but
e_proxus 6y ago
I use NextDNS [1] and I’m very happy with it so far. It works on the DNS level. So far for our entire home we’ve never gone above the free level once, but I’m happy to pay as soon as we do. [1]: https://nextdns.io/ https://nextdns.io/

specialp 6y ago

I'm moving to Apple after being a long time iPhone hater. With how insidious Google is getting with Android they should be paying me to use my flagship phone, not me paying roughly the same amount of an iPhone. I do everything I can to not feed into the (free*) services with the cost being sucking down more data about me than I know about myself.

sabellito 6y ago

Yeah that's a no from me, mate: https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.timetoplayfair.com/timeline/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2020/10/15/apple-to-telegram-delete-posts-exposing-the-belarus-dictatorships-enforcers/?sh=67001a301019 https://www.forbes.com/sites/robpegoraro/2020/10/15/apple-to... And so many others. Apple phone users weren't allowed by Apple to have Spotify as their default music program until recently.

katbyte 6y ago
I've never used anything but spotify on my iphones for years and this has never been an issue for me - i wouldn't have known or cared until reading these links.
dmlittle 6y ago
This is true, but in practice on an iPhone the "default" music app didn't make a difference for me. I always had Spotify running (not necessarily playing, just the app open in the background) so when I pressed play it always played Spotify rather than Apple Music.
rthomas6 6y ago
Then Apple is bad and Android is bad too. So the ethical choice is to buy neither. I'm not being facetious. I'm considering moving to pure AOSP based, Linux based, or just foregoing a smartphone entirely.

rchaud 6y ago

There are ads all over the App Store FYI

e40 6y ago

I moved to iOS for the specific reason of getting the Apple watch because of some heart issues I was having. Did it a year ago. I wasn't thrilled, but I was sick of the Android adware/malware problem (every time I installed an ad-supported app I got malware within a week or two). How do I feel now? I absolutely love this ecosystem. I don't fear OS updates like I used to with Android. I don't fear my device will be stranded without updates. The UI is clean. The 11 is as fast today as when I got it. It seamlessly works the watch and my Bose headphones. BT was always finicky with the Android phones I had. And there's the privacy angle.

MeinBlutIstBlau 6y ago
The m1 is honestly selling me to move back to apple stuff again. Also I'm sick of trash process handling on Android where apps just stop running because some other one is sucking down the ram in the background. I could have every app opened on my iphone even on 1gb with an SE and no issues noticed whatsoever. I really think apple is delivering an upswing they need to after the whole trash 12 in macbooks and butterfly switches.

Wingman4l7 6y ago

...so you want to move to an ecosystem where Apple gets to decide what you can and cannot run on your own device? Having to jailbreak to side-load apps that aren't on an approved storefront is not acceptable.

coldpie 6y ago
Sure, I don't have a problem with that. I don't sideload on Android either.