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I switched to my first iPhone last year and for me the determining factor was not feeling I had to constantly be on the upgrade path. I've has my iPhone SE (202

I switched to my first iPhone last year and for me the determining factor was not feeling I had to constantly be on the upgrade path. I've has my iPhone SE (2020) and haven't been happier with a phone. A taken care of iPhone can theoretically last 7-8 years since that is how long an iPhone generally gets OS and security updates. Android is getting better on flagship phones, but still not as good. By some none flagship android and your lucky to get 1 year of OS and security updates. My last android was a pixel and so was the one before that and every time I felt like after year 1 with an android, there is a massive performance drop off. I feel like my iPhone SE (2020) runs just as well today as the day it came out of the box. Apple does do some things really well. Android could, and I really want to see them do it, but as of right now, there are some things Android does not do well. Addition: And I think one thing that really hurt the Android ecosystem is when Android phones went through that phase of every phone flagship phone had some sort of gimmick. Where as Apple really just buttoned down and developed a really solid phone. A lot of android phone makers were just focusing on gimmicks like styluses or niche features to set them apart from other Android instead of just really developing a good solid smart phone.

tbrock 4y ago
On android you’d be lucky to get more than a single OS update that added new features or functionality.
- ethbr0 4y ago
  Or just buy a Pixel if you care about that. Why people buy Samsung or other manufacturer phones, and then gripe that the company is as stingy with backwards support and updates as they've always been boggles my mind. Why would anyone ever think this time would be different?
  - scarface74 4y ago
    And then you will get at most three upgrades!
    - ethbr0 4y ago
      At the 6+, it looks like it's at 5 years (or more). https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en
      - eldaisfish 4y ago
        provided your phone doesn't bootloop or otherwise have the hardware fail. Android phones - from google in particular - are notorious for this. Should things fail, you're screwed.
      - tshaddox 4y ago
        What I’m seeing on that page seems to indicate that the Pixel 6 will receive Android version updates for 3 years after its release, and security updates for 5 years.
      - scarface74 4y ago
        That’s security updates only not operating system updates, For reference, Apple just released a security update for the 5s from 2013 this past June. The 6S (2015) ran the latest OS until ios 16 this year.
      - acer589 4y ago
        It looks like the oldest phone with current support is from 2019. The 2017 iPhone is still getting OS updates. And up until September this year, the iPhone from 2015 was still on the current OS. Does any Android phone even get half long of a software update cycle?
        majou 4y ago
        iOS 12.5.6 was released in August to address a security vuln for the 5s, 6, etc. The 5s debuted Sept 2013 as the first 64-bit phone, and the first phone with a Secure Enclave, so I'm kind of hopeful they'll just keep limping it along forever for good will... I own a pair of them and adore them dearly. On the topic of iOS, be sure to check out https://libimobiledevice.org/ https://libimobiledevice.org/, which provides utilities like ifuse that will even get you access to your Photos sqlite database; including all the machine generated tags, aesthetics scores and such.
- grogenaut 4y ago
  I've got a Moto 5G stylus, it was $280 on prime day, $450 normal. It'll get 3-5 more years of os updates. Battery lasts 2-3 days for me. It's so cheap I don't get insurance (would lose money in like 8 months) or care. I broke the screen 4 days in because I'm a dummy, but a replacement was on ebay for $40 shipped next day. I fixed it myself. No Multi-$K tool fixtures. I used an ios for other reasons. They're basically they same just slightly different. But I have an easily adequately powerful phone for 1/4 of an iphone and I don't even care if I break it or lose it, next day shipping replace or walk in purchase in a store. So basically there are GREAT midline phones. I'm not coding on my phone, I m reading slack and email and taking photos.
  - alanfranz 4y ago
    Are you sure you will get 3-5 years of os updates? Is there a “plea” somewhere? And how many majors? Are you sure it will keep working fine after two major updates or it will slow down terribly?
    - grogenaut 4y ago
      Frankly at $280, I don't care. But Moto has said they'll do android 13 at a minimum and they did well on my 2019 power so they've earned my trust I'll get 3-4 years of security updates. And compared to flagship prices I can take 4-5 updates even at every 2 years and still come out ahead. Even more if you include inflation.
  - skinnymuch 4y ago
    You got the phone on sale. Visit deal websites and iPhones will sometimes be on sale for similar prices and will have updates for the same time period. Phones sometimes on sale in that range would be 2020 SE or iPhone 11s
bee_rider 4y ago
> Addition: And I think one thing that really hurt the Android ecosystem is when Android phones went through that phase of every phone flagship phone had some sort of gimmick. Where as Apple really just buttoned down and developed a really solid phone. A lot of android phone makers were just focusing on gimmicks like styluses or niche features to set them apart from other Android instead of just really developing a good solid smart phone. This is how I look at it as well. Because anyone can make an Android phone, Android phone makers had to either race to the bottom or come up with their special gimmick. Those that came up with a gimmick became the phone for people who care about that gimmick. But this ceded the domain of "people who don't particularly care about which phones have which gimmicks," aka most people, to Apple. Pixel managed to break out of this by having their gimmick be "flagship by the people who wrote most of the OS, so, just generally well-implemented," but it took a while to get there.
- fomine3 4y ago
  I don't know. Only a few premium models support stylus. Rather, I think most Android phones are too similar than ecosystem should. Most phones are just big heavy and camera-focused. There are some gimmicks like Galaxy's edge screen but not every phone. Speaking about gimmicks, Dynamic Island. You may just want to say Android phone is crappier than iPhone.
  - bee_rider 4y ago
    People seem to like their Pixels, so I wouldn't want to call them crappy. I dunno what a Dynamic Island is, sounds like a really unpleasant place to take a vacation.
    - aetherson 4y ago
      Dynamic island is Apple's branding of their feature of having a camera cutout and some animations and lights to try to turn it into a UI element. It might uncharitably be called a gimmick. It's on their latest top-end phones.
- nine_k 4y ago
kube-system 4y ago
> when Android phones went through that phase of every phone flagship phone had some sort of gimmick I don’t think they ever grew out of it. https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/phones/galaxy-z/ https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/phones/galaxy-z/ https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-razr-family https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-razr-family
- hoot 4y ago
  I bought a Galaxy fold last week and returned it yesterday. The form factor and larger screen was cool, but holy cow did Android feel like a huge downgrade from iOS. It was just all kinds of little quality of life things in iOS that I instantly missed. I think I needed something like one extra button press to get to the flashlight on Android and that did me in.
  - opan 4y ago
    I don't use vendor ROMs, but on my past several phones with LineageOS, I can hold the power button for a few seconds when the screen is off to enable the torch. I can also double tap power for the camera.
  - fomine3 4y ago
    I have both Galaxy Z Fold3 and iPhone 13 mini. Flashlight on Galaxy is really great. On settings, set double click power button to launch flashlight (perhaps most people use it to quick launch camera). It's really quick even compared to other Android phones I have ever. It's sad that it's not possible on iPhone, because mini is handy so suitable for flashlight.
- fomine3 4y ago
  I argue Fold is a real significant improvement in this decade for who need. There's no other way to have tablet on my pocket. Flip seems to just a gimmick for me.
  - stormbrew 4y ago
    To me having a phone that actually fits in my pocket is a luxury and I have no interest in having "a tablet in my pocket" so I feel exactly the opposite.
usefulcat 4y ago
I switched to my first iphone nearly 3 years ago. I still have the same phone. At the time, I got it mainly because I wanted a waterproof phone. I've never had a phone get damaged by water, but I didn't want to worry about it either. Unlike any previous (Android) phone I've had, it still feels just as fast as it did when it was brand new. To date, the longest I've had any phone is around 3.5 years, and in 2 out of 3 cases it was due to hardware failure. Even if this one were to die tomorrow I'd definitely get another, although I think it's more likely that this one will last at least another couple of years, at which point it will be ~5 years.
krzyk 4y ago
The so called gimmicks is progress, how would you know what sticks if you don't try? And it was one of the best features of android. Apple makes boring product, that makes it easy for app developers to test (recently less so). AFAIR Android has still more de ices. Android is more of a power user device (you can do more, you can root it, think hack as in hacker news). From power user perspective iPhone is like Windows and Android like Linux.
- matheusmoreira 4y ago
  > Android is more of a power user device (you can do more, you can root it, think hack as in hacker news). For now. Remote attestation is becoming mainstream and every app will find a reason to require it. Computing freedom was the whole point of tolerating Android's imperfections. Without that, it's just a poorly kept Google walled garden. My next phone will be an iPhone.
- tsujamin 4y ago
  > From power user perspective iPhone is like Windows and Android like Linux. A widely adopted platform/operating system with every improving security fundamentals versus a kernel with numerous spins each awaiting their day on the desktop: This is apt in a manner the author certainly did not intended..
- magic_hamster 4y ago
  From my user perspective Android is Linux while iOS is more like Microsoft Bob
mywacaday 4y ago
I got the Galaxy Note 10+ over 3 years ago and I can't imagine a a phone without a stylus now. The ability to take a note in a second without opening the phone is worth its weight in gold to me. As soon as somebody makes a foldable with a stylus I'm all in, just wish there was more options than Samsung.
- tcmart14 4y ago
  The Galaxy Note with the stylus is one of the few that have panned out and stood the test of time. When it first came out, it was a bit gimmicky, but now that it has stood the test of time and isn't going anywhere, today it definitely is not a gimmick.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
fbn79 4y ago
I'm of the opinion that Apple iPhone will always be better of Android just because of a better GC process. Compile time ARC for Apple (https://microsoft.github.io/objc-guide/MethodsAndImplementations/AutomaticReferenceCounting.html https://microsoft.github.io/objc-guide/MethodsAndImplementat...) vs 100% runtime ART for Android (https://source.android.com/docs/core/runtime/gc-debug https://source.android.com/docs/core/runtime/gc-debug)
hanche 4y ago
> I switched to my first iPhone last year and for me the determining factor was not feeling I had to constantly be on the upgrade path. I've has my iPhone SE (2020) and haven't been happier with a phone. Indeed. I am on my fourth iPhone, an 11 pro now three years old that I expect to keep for at least another year. More would be nice, but that probably requires a battery change. I had my two previous phones for four years each, no problem. I really don’t understand people who just have to get a new phone ever year or two (or three)!

tbrock 4y ago

On android you’d be lucky to get more than a single OS update that added new features or functionality.

ethbr0 4y ago
Or just buy a Pixel if you care about that. Why people buy Samsung or other manufacturer phones, and then gripe that the company is as stingy with backwards support and updates as they've always been boggles my mind. Why would anyone ever think this time would be different?
- scarface74 4y ago
  And then you will get at most three upgrades!
  - ethbr0 4y ago
    At the 6+, it looks like it's at 5 years (or more). https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en https://support.google.com/pixelphone/answer/4457705?hl=en
    - eldaisfish 4y ago
      provided your phone doesn't bootloop or otherwise have the hardware fail. Android phones - from google in particular - are notorious for this. Should things fail, you're screwed.
    - tshaddox 4y ago
      What I’m seeing on that page seems to indicate that the Pixel 6 will receive Android version updates for 3 years after its release, and security updates for 5 years.
    - scarface74 4y ago
      That’s security updates only not operating system updates, For reference, Apple just released a security update for the 5s from 2013 this past June. The 6S (2015) ran the latest OS until ios 16 this year.
    - acer589 4y ago
      It looks like the oldest phone with current support is from 2019. The 2017 iPhone is still getting OS updates. And up until September this year, the iPhone from 2015 was still on the current OS. Does any Android phone even get half long of a software update cycle?
      - majou 4y ago
        iOS 12.5.6 was released in August to address a security vuln for the 5s, 6, etc. The 5s debuted Sept 2013 as the first 64-bit phone, and the first phone with a Secure Enclave, so I'm kind of hopeful they'll just keep limping it along forever for good will... I own a pair of them and adore them dearly. On the topic of iOS, be sure to check out https://libimobiledevice.org/ https://libimobiledevice.org/, which provides utilities like ifuse that will even get you access to your Photos sqlite database; including all the machine generated tags, aesthetics scores and such.
grogenaut 4y ago
I've got a Moto 5G stylus, it was $280 on prime day, $450 normal. It'll get 3-5 more years of os updates. Battery lasts 2-3 days for me. It's so cheap I don't get insurance (would lose money in like 8 months) or care. I broke the screen 4 days in because I'm a dummy, but a replacement was on ebay for $40 shipped next day. I fixed it myself. No Multi-$K tool fixtures. I used an ios for other reasons. They're basically they same just slightly different. But I have an easily adequately powerful phone for 1/4 of an iphone and I don't even care if I break it or lose it, next day shipping replace or walk in purchase in a store. So basically there are GREAT midline phones. I'm not coding on my phone, I m reading slack and email and taking photos.
- alanfranz 4y ago
  Are you sure you will get 3-5 years of os updates? Is there a “plea” somewhere? And how many majors? Are you sure it will keep working fine after two major updates or it will slow down terribly?
  - grogenaut 4y ago
    Frankly at $280, I don't care. But Moto has said they'll do android 13 at a minimum and they did well on my 2019 power so they've earned my trust I'll get 3-4 years of security updates. And compared to flagship prices I can take 4-5 updates even at every 2 years and still come out ahead. Even more if you include inflation.
- skinnymuch 4y ago
  You got the phone on sale. Visit deal websites and iPhones will sometimes be on sale for similar prices and will have updates for the same time period. Phones sometimes on sale in that range would be 2020 SE or iPhone 11s

bee_rider 4y ago

> Addition: And I think one thing that really hurt the Android ecosystem is when Android phones went through that phase of every phone flagship phone had some sort of gimmick. Where as Apple really just buttoned down and developed a really solid phone. A lot of android phone makers were just focusing on gimmicks like styluses or niche features to set them apart from other Android instead of just really developing a good solid smart phone. This is how I look at it as well. Because anyone can make an Android phone, Android phone makers had to either race to the bottom or come up with their special gimmick. Those that came up with a gimmick became the phone for people who care about that gimmick. But this ceded the domain of "people who don't particularly care about which phones have which gimmicks," aka most people, to Apple. Pixel managed to break out of this by having their gimmick be "flagship by the people who wrote most of the OS, so, just generally well-implemented," but it took a while to get there.

fomine3 4y ago
I don't know. Only a few premium models support stylus. Rather, I think most Android phones are too similar than ecosystem should. Most phones are just big heavy and camera-focused. There are some gimmicks like Galaxy's edge screen but not every phone. Speaking about gimmicks, Dynamic Island. You may just want to say Android phone is crappier than iPhone.
- bee_rider 4y ago
  People seem to like their Pixels, so I wouldn't want to call them crappy. I dunno what a Dynamic Island is, sounds like a really unpleasant place to take a vacation.
  - aetherson 4y ago
    Dynamic island is Apple's branding of their feature of having a camera cutout and some animations and lights to try to turn it into a UI element. It might uncharitably be called a gimmick. It's on their latest top-end phones.
nine_k 4y ago

kube-system 4y ago

> when Android phones went through that phase of every phone flagship phone had some sort of gimmick I don’t think they ever grew out of it. https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/phones/galaxy-z/ https://www.samsung.com/us/mobile/phones/galaxy-z/ https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-razr-family https://www.motorola.com/us/smartphones-razr-family

hoot 4y ago
I bought a Galaxy fold last week and returned it yesterday. The form factor and larger screen was cool, but holy cow did Android feel like a huge downgrade from iOS. It was just all kinds of little quality of life things in iOS that I instantly missed. I think I needed something like one extra button press to get to the flashlight on Android and that did me in.
- opan 4y ago
  I don't use vendor ROMs, but on my past several phones with LineageOS, I can hold the power button for a few seconds when the screen is off to enable the torch. I can also double tap power for the camera.
- fomine3 4y ago
  I have both Galaxy Z Fold3 and iPhone 13 mini. Flashlight on Galaxy is really great. On settings, set double click power button to launch flashlight (perhaps most people use it to quick launch camera). It's really quick even compared to other Android phones I have ever. It's sad that it's not possible on iPhone, because mini is handy so suitable for flashlight.
fomine3 4y ago
I argue Fold is a real significant improvement in this decade for who need. There's no other way to have tablet on my pocket. Flip seems to just a gimmick for me.
- stormbrew 4y ago
  To me having a phone that actually fits in my pocket is a luxury and I have no interest in having "a tablet in my pocket" so I feel exactly the opposite.

usefulcat 4y ago

I switched to my first iphone nearly 3 years ago. I still have the same phone. At the time, I got it mainly because I wanted a waterproof phone. I've never had a phone get damaged by water, but I didn't want to worry about it either. Unlike any previous (Android) phone I've had, it still feels just as fast as it did when it was brand new. To date, the longest I've had any phone is around 3.5 years, and in 2 out of 3 cases it was due to hardware failure. Even if this one were to die tomorrow I'd definitely get another, although I think it's more likely that this one will last at least another couple of years, at which point it will be ~5 years.

krzyk 4y ago

The so called gimmicks is progress, how would you know what sticks if you don't try? And it was one of the best features of android. Apple makes boring product, that makes it easy for app developers to test (recently less so). AFAIR Android has still more de ices. Android is more of a power user device (you can do more, you can root it, think hack as in hacker news). From power user perspective iPhone is like Windows and Android like Linux.

matheusmoreira 4y ago
> Android is more of a power user device (you can do more, you can root it, think hack as in hacker news). For now. Remote attestation is becoming mainstream and every app will find a reason to require it. Computing freedom was the whole point of tolerating Android's imperfections. Without that, it's just a poorly kept Google walled garden. My next phone will be an iPhone.
tsujamin 4y ago
> From power user perspective iPhone is like Windows and Android like Linux. A widely adopted platform/operating system with every improving security fundamentals versus a kernel with numerous spins each awaiting their day on the desktop: This is apt in a manner the author certainly did not intended..
magic_hamster 4y ago
From my user perspective Android is Linux while iOS is more like Microsoft Bob

mywacaday 4y ago

I got the Galaxy Note 10+ over 3 years ago and I can't imagine a a phone without a stylus now. The ability to take a note in a second without opening the phone is worth its weight in gold to me. As soon as somebody makes a foldable with a stylus I'm all in, just wish there was more options than Samsung.

tcmart14 4y ago
The Galaxy Note with the stylus is one of the few that have panned out and stood the test of time. When it first came out, it was a bit gimmicky, but now that it has stood the test of time and isn't going anywhere, today it definitely is not a gimmick.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

fbn79 4y ago

I'm of the opinion that Apple iPhone will always be better of Android just because of a better GC process. Compile time ARC for Apple (https://microsoft.github.io/objc-guide/MethodsAndImplementations/AutomaticReferenceCounting.html https://microsoft.github.io/objc-guide/MethodsAndImplementat...) vs 100% runtime ART for Android (https://source.android.com/docs/core/runtime/gc-debug https://source.android.com/docs/core/runtime/gc-debug)

hanche 4y ago

> I switched to my first iPhone last year and for me the determining factor was not feeling I had to constantly be on the upgrade path. I've has my iPhone SE (2020) and haven't been happier with a phone. Indeed. I am on my fourth iPhone, an 11 pro now three years old that I expect to keep for at least another year. More would be nice, but that probably requires a battery change. I had my two previous phones for four years each, no problem. I really don’t understand people who just have to get a new phone ever year or two (or three)!