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Ask HN: Why do you choose iPhone over Android?
3 points by ajonit on Dec 15, 2019 | hide | past | favorite | 6 comments
A bit of a context - I have been an iPhone fan for last ~6 years. Just last week, my mom got a $150 Samsung Phone. I helped her with few initial configurations and frankly I was blown away. That phone had every single feature nicely implemented that my $1500 phone has (iPhone X cost in my currency Apr 2018) and more. On top of that you get unlimited call history, auto call recordings, tons of app. Now, I wonder what is the reason people go for iPhone when Android is giving a tough competition at 1/10th price?


Note: My current model is to buy a second hand iPhone - the previous years model for £400 to £500 - and use it until OS support is dropped.

For me:

- No carrier crapware installed - Data backed up automatically and securely to cloud / easy to migrate all data from old phone to new phone - Privacy / Security as a focus. - OS updates for 4+ years - Simple uncluttered interface by default. - Can still get £100 for the handset after I’m done with it. It probably costs me about £100/year at my current rate.

I don’t want widgets etc. I don’t want customisation. I spend my day fighting with software at work and I want something that just does its job.

If an Android manufacturer guaranteed the above, especially the OS upgrades I might move. I did have a note 2 but the whole “you can do anything* as long as you root and void your warranty” thing didn’t click with me. Also the Android apps tended to be lower quality than the iOS equivalent, but that might have changed now.


I chose iOS because its UX is simple and responsive. Apple’s smartphones offer a much friendlier UX for people new to technology.

It’s simplicity was what helped my parents transition to the digital age considering they grew up in dirt-poor rural villages and did not get to use smartphones until their early 60s.

As for me, I got one so I could teach them how to use the OS, but now I’m considering switching to Android because I don’t have a Mac, Android phones have caught up in quality, and I’m getting sick of Apple’s unnecessarily restrictive ecosystem.

Also, I’m kind of salty that they removed the 3.5mm jack.


Android has usability issues that iPhone does not. I have several Android devices and recently switched to iPhone.

iPhone does not have useless prompts like "Phone is fully charged, disconnect charger".

iPhone does not randomly lock up.

iPhone is consistent. Once video playback from a website goes full screen, native iOS controls override custom web player. Some specialized apps implement their own native app controls to override iOS. Native controls are a far superior experience when interacting with the video.

I still prefer VLC on Android for playback, but forcing a site to stream with it is a challenge.

iPhone has its own quirks. For example, you need the Plus or Max version to rotate the home screen to landscape. Notifications in locked mode are always in portrait, which makes them appear sideways in landscape. That is true even on Plus or Max. I switched to a Plus partially because of this.


Because I’ve already spent a fortune on these damn adaptors.


It works well with my Mac. I can open a link I am browsing on the phone with chrome on the Mac. I can copy and paste across devices.

I like the development environment (Xcode) of iOS more than that of the android.


That's a Chrome thing and not an Apple thing. I use Chrome across my Mac and Linux machines, and you might be surprised, my Android phone. I can open tabs from one system on any one of my others. It's definitely not just an iPhone thing, which is what OP is asking for. Google gets the glory on that one.




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