ARTICLE – Isn’t it funny how set in our ways we can become after using a certain platform for several years? I’m talking about computer platforms and more specifically mobile OS platforms. It took me 3 tries over a couple of years to switch from Windows to Mac OS and now that I’ve been using Macs for well over a decade, I can’t imagine switching back to Windows.
For smartphones, I became an iPhone user with the original model and then switched to Android, never looked back, and couldn’t imagine switching back to Apple’s walled garden of creativity squashing boredom. But every time a new iPhone model was released, I’d order one with the goal of really giving it a try only to send it back for a refund within days. My good friend and Gadgeteer writer Dave Rees would heckle me to no end each time this would happen and would egg me on to try again the next year (RIP my friend, I truly miss our chats).
But then it finally happened during the spring of 2020 when most of us were stuck at home during the COVID lockdown. That’s when boredom struck and I ordered an iPhone 12 Pro Max and this time the switch actually stuck!
Now it’s 3 years later (seriously???) and I’m feeling that familiar feeling of smartphone boredom and the realization that I’m completely out of touch when it comes to Android. I made this the topic of a recent Gadgeteer Video Podcast episode.
In this episode, I talk about ordering the new Google Pixel Fold but I couldn’t stand the fact that I’d have to wait until the beginning of August to receive it, so I ordered a Motorola Razr+ too! I was curious about the smaller flip-style phone as I’d never tried one. Well, it came last week and I got a chance to completely switch over to it for a few days…
The Razr+ is a cute smartphone. The folded form factor is definitely easy on the pocket and that outside display is the largest of any mainstream flip phone that I’ve seen so far. But even after using it for just one day, I knew that a flip wasn’t going to be my form factor of choice because I preferred opening the phone to use it unfolded. Using it in the folded state felt constricting to me. I just didn’t like it.
And then there were two other reasons why the Motorola Razr+ got a big thumb’s down from me. I made another video podcast episode about those reasons but long story short, background audio in captured videos has static and the video quality in my fave and most used app Marco Polo is really crummy.
To me, video on the Razr+ looks washed out and the audio static in the background is a big issue. I know this is a technical defect with my specific phone because I had Gadgeteer writer Greg Cleveland try a video on his Razr+ (which he really likes), and it’s not there. Here’s an example video. You can really hear the static at the end.
The Motorola Razr+ will be going back to Motorola for a full refund this week. I did enjoy playing with it and other than the video issues, I liked it. I just didn’t like it enough to make that phone and that form factor my daily driver. We’ll see if the Google Pixel Fold fares better. The order status is now showing it as being delivered by 7/19/23 so that’s an improvement over 8/2/23 or whatever it said before.
I plan to make another video podcast episode about my thoughts on the Pixel Fold so if you want to be alerted to that when it comes out, please be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and turn on alerts.
And if any other iPhone users are jumping ship to Android want to share their thoughts on the transition, please share in the comments below!
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I only use phone when I absolutely need to. If I have my choice, I would like to use the iPad or my laptop. That means boredom is not a problem. In fact, I welcome the familiar feeling, which means I don’t have to fumble when I want to get things done.
I, too have an iPhone 12 Pro Max. I’m holding out for the iPhone 15 Pro Max coming this fall. I’ve belonged to the Apple BORG since ’88. Too late to switch now.
Android feels like Windows to my limited Apple-brainwashed mind.
Totally agree…. Switched to everything Apple in 2006 & never looked back!
Switch to Android? Never in a million years…..!
Come back!
It’s nice here, and we can afford cake!
Cake?! Is it chocolate? If so, I’mm there!
Seriously though, I really like my iPhone but I didn’t upgrade to the 14 series because Apple switched to eSIMs which could make it tough for gadget lovers like me to easily switch between phones. Granted, I have tried an eSIM phone, so I don’t know for sure what the procedure is to switch between phones. There’s a mixture of things that I like on each platform so it’s too early to tell if I will switch back to Android yet. I have to get the Google Pixel Fold and try it first 🙂
They are both great, but the right choice lies in the user not the mobile OS. IOS is perfect for people who want their phone to be an appliance. You turn it on and it works very well in the way that Apple decided it should work. Android is for tinkerers who want to customize the experience to be the way that they work. Neither is wrong. I’m a tinkerer and feel constrained and claustrophobic every time that I use an iPhone, but it suits my wife perfectly.
Brad, I agree. But there are also features that the iPhone does better than Android or that Android doesn’t have like Find My and AirDrop. Both are features that I use daily and will need to find an alternative if my switch to Android sticks.
You mean Nearby Sharre (built-in) and Google Find My Device (from the app store)? As implied, I’ll never use an iPhone until I have access to the file.system, can install custom launchers (the iOS launcher wasn’t great in the first iPhone and is awful now unless it’s the only one you e ever used), specify default apps for all file types, and install new browsers (not just front ends for Safari). Those are the highlights, but the list is much longer. As I stated above, the iPhone is an appliance and is a great one, but it is intentionally limited to the point that, for me, is too compromised to be functional. Take care…
I may be wrong but Nearby Share is for sharing files between two android devices or with Windows. I use Airdrop for sharing images and video from my iPhone to my MacBook for editing. I don’t believe there’s an easy way to wirelessly share files from an Android device to a Mac that’s as easy as AirDrop. Google Find My is not the same as Find My on the iPhone which lets you see your other iPhone friends on a real time map. You can watch them (as a moving blue dot) driving down the highway or coming into your driveway as they do it.
Wow, I didn’t realize that. Seriously, sharing location with others all the time? I don’t think so. And, Airdrop works with Apple products while Nearby Share works with Android and MS . Not surprising. Another example of Apple’s intentional limitations in IOS. I have all my devices, set to either save and load to the cloud by default or sync with the cloud and load/save from the sync folder,, so I’ve never worried about sending files between devices. I do this with Android, Windows, Linux, and MacOS, but I’m not sure you can do this on an iphone, If not it would explain the reliance on manual sharing.
Android only shares with Windows and with Mac, so how is that different than Apple/iOS? :o)
PS – Maybe you should stick with IOS. It appears that you have locked into the Apple infrastructure to the point where you rely on tools rather than solutions. This isn’t meant as a burn. I’ve been reading this site since it’s inception and I respect your technical knowledge. But, it’s an easy trap to fall into and is what Apple relis on when producing beautiful but limited products that only work properly with other Apple products. It’s also why they’ve always embraced a closed architecture. Obviously it works from a business perspective, but it is a disservice to their user community.
Can you explain when you mean by this? Because how is any phone platform useful without its software and features?
By ‘Apple infrastructure’ (I shouldn’t have capitalized the ‘i’), I meant the conscious effort to lock users into the world of Apple. The refusal to work within common APIs or to support any kind of compatibility with other platforms. Once you fully integrate your usage into the Apple universe, it becomes very difficult to switch. As I said, this makes things very profitable for the company and very easy for the users, but they are usually not using the best software available. I love MacOS (UNIX) and use either a Chromebook or my M2 Macbook Air. But, I don’t use any of the Apple productivity apps that came with it. I have zero brand loyalty and will switch to something else as soon as it suits my needs better. This means if an app doesn’t work on all the platforms I use, I don’t use the app. I refuse to lock into a single platform, but I understand the appeal of doing so.
I switched to Android about two years ago and have never looked back! I don’t miss the walled garden!
This is actually a very good discussion. Mush better then the Wim vs mac of the old days. Yes, Mac univers is a wall garden. For me, it work as a protection from the outside. I like the protection that Apple as implemented. And as long as the tool does what I need it is find. I’m not a tinkerer so it work for me. My 5 cent.
Bye the way, thanks for good work on Gadgeteer Julie!
Hey Ray, thank you for your comments! I have been using an Android phone for the last 2 weeks and tomorrow the Google Pixel is supposed to arrive so I’ll be using one for at least another few days or longer. Every day I want to switch back to my iPhone and every day I don’t. 😉 I’ll explain in a follow up post and video podcast soon!