Apple

I’ve been using 14 Pro for a year and notification system is not getting better :) It’s just so bad compared to Android.

Unless you’re a YouTuber angling for views you don’t need to worry about the back glass. Independent testing by consumer reports has confirmed it’s just fine.

I personally like the notification system. Everything comes in in order and stays in that order. I can remove things if I want, or just ignore them, and they never really feel like they’re all piled up.

You can use any ringtone you want! I wish I recalled how I did it, but it involved me cutting a part of audio out with Audacity, transferring it into iTunes, and converting it to a specific file type. If I can find a how-to, I’ll post it here. I’ve always just had the original ringtone for the last… many years though, because my phone is never off silent mode.

I have Apple Pay with German and Polish cards.

Switching from a Pixel 5 to IPhone 13 Pro was difficult for me as well. iOS just has such an… antiquated feel compared to stock Android on Pixel phones. Every day there’s something I end up missing about my old Pixel but I’m sticking with Apple for now due to a vetted effort to de-Google.

The good news is, with every new iOS update, they steal just a few more features that Android has had for years, so over time iOS does feel more and more like a flavor of Android.

Man I love my pixel 5 because of the form factor. It's like the perfect size. I switched to the pixel 6 and went back to the 5 because it's just so comfortable in my hand and pocket. There's no way I would ever switch to Apple because I like to customize everything and I don't want to be tied to Apple's ecosystem. It feels to restrictive. I have lineage os on my 5 and I used Cyanogen on many prior phones. It gets the job done but lately I've been eyeing the pixel 8 and graphine os. I don't like the larger size and the candy bar cameras but I want a newer cpu/gpu more ram etc.

I started with Motorola Atrix, then Motorola Moto X, Samsung S8, S10, Note 10+, and earlier this year got a used iPhone 13 Mini to give it a fair try.

iOS takes more steps to do things that Android can do. It was disappointing coming from the multitasking beast that the Note series is. I miss being able to do scrolling screenshots system-wide, no matter what app. iOS limits it to a few core apps and makes it a PDF… I miss being able to swipe back from either side of the screen. I miss split screen. I miss Samsung’s sandboxed Secure Folder and vastly superior One Handed Mode. I miss a better keyboard experience.

But those are things I gave up for the convenience of a local Apple Store, faster security updates, and being able to troubleshoot iOS better for my partner who’s always used iPhones.

I went almost all in with the 15 Pro; still using my Galaxy buds because they’re comfy. Continuity is nice, already having a MBP and iPad. And I’m having fun messing around with Shortcuts and reading people’s ideas for the action button. It’s not as powerful as Tasker, but that’s only because Apple limits what we can do. Scrolling with 120 Hz is nicer than 60 Hz, comparing the 13 Mini and 15 Pro side by side.

Anecdotally, there seem to be more apps with (albeit expensive) lifetime purchase options [...] Anecdotally, more apps seem to require subscriptions.

I've worked in mobile apps for nearly 3 years. We charge iOS users more because they consistently pay more.

This does also translate to better quality, since if one app has 80% of the profit coming from iOS, we're going to put more effort into that.

The glass back is a constant source of worry.

I've dropped my work one a few times and it's never cracked. That said, for personal use, I'd get a case

Slightly jealous about Pixel 8’s new camera abilities

Considering every service compresses the crap out of images, don't worry about it

Losing [...] Signal chat histories.

https://support.signal.org/hc/en-us/articles/360007059752-Backup-and-Restore-Messages

Might be too late if you already have lots of chats on the iPhone you don't want to lose, but Signal restore is your friend

I realised I didn’t actually customise my phone much. [...] Notification volume much louder than ring volume but (often) can’t be individually changed? Notification system not as good as it could be. Ancient and irritating limitation on using own ringtones. Let me remove, not just blank, sources in the News app.

I spy a contradiction

I’m a pixel to iPhone convert but when I did when the 12 pro came out and just got the 15 pro.

Maybe I misread but a couple confusing points:

• Isn't the 15 pro titanium back not glass?
• you can customize the Home Screen easily. Moving apps or even removing apps from the Home Screen and only accessible via launcher. Something iPhone didn’t have back in the day.
• the pixel 8 camera might be better than 15 pro but I don’t believe the pixel 5 is better.
• app settings are all alphabetically organized in the settings app. Very easy to find and change app settings.
• my phone always on silent so I haven’t used custom ringtones in years (even when I was on android) but this guide seems to be good https://www.trustedreviews.com/how-to/set-song-as-ringtone-iphone-free-4324630
• never realized the different country cards on Apple wallet. Seems like a niche case issue but i understand if you did it before it being a problem. Thankfully American cards on Apple wallet work when in other countries (at least in Canada)

If I can help at all let me know. I’m the person that everyone was in absolute shock to see me move from android to iPhone lol so I’ve heard it all.

It’s so weird how similar your journey is to mine! I also started with the 3GS and then upgraded to iPhone 4. Ever since then I made the switch to Nexus 4 and have been an Android user since a few weeks ago.

My last Android phone was a Galaxy Fold 4 which I absolutely loved. However knowing that the crease was getting deeper and deeper and that the screen protector started cracking, I didn’t want to baby the phone any longer so I sold it and got the iPhone 15 Pro Max.

To be completely honest, Android and iOS are so close nowadays. The gap used to be way bigger last time I owned an iPhone. The main thing I’ve noticed is that iOS is slightly more polished in animations and the OS is generally more organised, such as how the settings are better categorised compared to Android’s mess of settings.

I do really miss Samsung DEX and am a bit sad how there’s no iOS alternative for when I dock my phone.

Overall both OS’ are excellent, it’s just that with Android you only get a decent experience on high end Samsung Phones or Pixel devices (it’s a shame I think the camera bump is super ugly like you do!)

Will I go back to Android at some point? Maybe. Am I currently enjoying the iPhone? Absolutely!

Google does good photos and image processing. My last Pixel was the 3 and it initially took better pics after 2 years than the latest iPhone that replaced it. After a while I got used to the camera and other iOS settings.

If you want some good videos on with tips on settings and features check YouTube for Brandon Butch. He walks you through everything and covers every iOS update.

The glass back is a constant source of worry

Do you have AppleCare+? Definitely get it - that way the repair cost if you break the glass back will be negligible.

In fact - my latest AppleCare+ repair was completely free, even though it was well out of warranty and I considered it my own dumb fault... Apple's support team disagreed and decided the phone should not have broken under the circumstances.

It's not the first time that's happened either - more than half my AppleCare+ repairs have been completely free. And they haven't been "repairs" either, they usually just give you a brand new device.

For swearing to work immediately and not “take learning time,” make contacts in your phone (lowercase) for all the words you want to use.

I miss Öffi.

I have never used Öffi myself (always had an iPhone), but have you tried ÖPNV Navigator? It seems to provide similar functionality.

Good Öffi alternative: ÖPNV Navigator

One thing that drove me nuts when I was back on iPhone is lack of customization and personal camera backup. I use my own server and it just works better with Android and there are so many more options. I seen to recall having a time with things like network scanners and ssh clients which was annoying. Happier on android.