Asklemmy

Why should I downgrade?

Apple's stuff is:

• Locked down hard, meaning you get completely vendor-locked-in, and you can't install alternative OS (there is none I think) or even apps from different sources without voiding warranty or using unsupported, unreliable hacks like jailbreaks for specific models.
• Privacy-invading. Sure, not as bad as proprietary Android distros, but still far from privacy-respecting
• Account-bound. Everything is tied to your Apple account. To even set up or use the product you need an account.
• As proprietary and closed source as it gets
• Ridiculously overpriced, so very low value for the money
• The company is known for its anti-competitive and monopolistic, even mafia-style behavior (e.g. when insisting on their 30% cut for all apps, insisting that apps use the in-app-purchasing system and not allowing "subscriptions from outside of Apple's ecosystem", stuff like that. If app developers don't comply with ridiculous rules, they get their apps taken down, and since the AppStore is the only source for apps, this means they have 100% control and can kill any app which they don't like or which they perceive as competition for Apple's own apps.

Use GrapheneOS. It's a secure, fully privacy-respecting open source distro of Android (based on the open source Android) without any Google services/apps by default, but with full Android app compatibility.

He asks, in a FOSS community.

What's stopping you from switching to iPhone?

My lack of desire to switch to iPhone.

I dislike being locked in to an ecosystem, no matter how pretty it is.

I don't like paying more for less, and I am devoutly opposed to the Apple design aesthetic.

Expensive and impossible to customise effectively, making it much poorer value than Android. Not that Android is perfect. The instant some form of non-proprietary Linux (like Debian w/phosh, PostmarketOS, etc.) becomes viable as a daily driver, Android is out as well.

• inability to unlock bootloader and run custom rom

• not having enough money to buy iPhone

• why is this post getting downvoted?

Sideloading apps, tons more choices (price range, design, manufacturer, specs), 'more' control, used to Android environment

I don't want to switch to something that costs more and that I like less?

to preface what might sound like slander, I really would love to get my hands on apple hardware. It is engineered rather well and the geek in me can appreciate that. However, getting access to your own hardware is an issue.

While I have some concerns about their objective features, to my shame, the greatest problem is with the brand and their practices.

I think the root cause of all my issues stems from their morals and aggressive/elitist business practice - specifically their quest to squeeze money out of users and hide behind the lie of "we are doing this for the user's benefit".

I have no issue paying money for features I want or entities I'd like to support. In fact, I'm more inclined to financially support those who I believe in.

And apple loves to gatekeep features and keep them exclusive to apple. They effectively benefit from hard work of others who contribute to open standards and services, but at the same time do not share their own. Greedy.

Fuck Apple

I won't buy Apple hardware as long as they keep being absolute dicks in the tech and app world. It's a shame really, because they build awesome devices, but I would feel bad everytime I use them.

Also they are much more restricted in many aspects (e.g. sideloading!), so it would be a downgrade for me.

It's Fisher Price, it does not let me do poweruser things.

I don't like the walled garden that constutes the Apple way of doing things. I like to side load apps.

custom roms, launchers, sideloading, rooting

Nothing except the fact that I have absolutely no desire to use an iPhone or, indeed, any Apple products at all.

Why would I want an inferior device?

I have an iPhone for work. The UI is unintuitive, unresponsive and restrictive. It's like a child's toy version of my s23. The fingerprint reader is useless, the screens color range is dull and the build quality is plastic trash. Plus my phones camera array beats the iPhone array to hell and back.

The iPhone is the phone for old people, children or the infirm. Why would I limit myself?

Being forced into the apple ecosystem. If I could use iphones with other products not specifically designed to work with apple (i.e. android auto instead of apple carplay) then I would maybe consider it.

Not saying that apple car play or android auto is better or worse, just that it would be nice to have the option to choose which one especially if other family members have androids.

Apple really doesn't offer me anything I want to do above and beyond what Android offers that makes the cost of transition worth it. I've been on Android for 13 years, I'm very used to it, know all the tricks. I like the level of control Android gives, I've loaded custom roms in the past and I side load apps now. I've also never had a (modern) Apple product and never had the need to set up any Apple accounts, so it'd be a pain starting completely fresh.

When I purchase somethung, I prefer to own it instead of just renting it. Lol.

Lmao why the fuck would I do that? You say it like it's the thing to do

I want the ability to sideload, Apple is very much a walled garden.

I enjoy having the ability to use custom roms.

I've been generally happy with all the android phones I've used in the past and see no reason to change that.

Custom ROMs, Sideloading, File Structure, F-droid and open source apps, customization, privacy/security features.

For me it's the price first, the interface second. I find anything Apple very counterintuitive to use.

In saying that- I'm reading all these amazing answers here and realising how much I've taken for granted. I didn't know "side loading" was a thing though I've done it many times. If I'm understanding things right- you can't install whatever you want on an iPhone???? Crazy. I definitely wouldn't want a phone like that.

Also, someone mentioned accessing the phone via a usb cable. Another thing I took for granted! Hey! I even have portable USBC storage drives I can plug and transfer files to/from my phone and to my computer if I wish.

control.

Freedom.

I don't like iOS. I have one as my work phone and I dislike it.

I dislike that I can't sideload apps (yes there's testflight but it sucks). A huge portion of apps I use are from F-Droid or GitHub. I dislike how iOS handles the home screen and app placements. I absolutely HATE iOS notifications, they're atrocious compared to how they're handled on Android.

I like Android, I like my Galaxy Fold, a lot would have to change for me to ever consider an iPhone.

I did swap for a couple of years and then switched back. Some aspects were great but iOS is just too restrictive.

First of all, the cost. An iPhone does nothing more than an Android but costs significantly more.

Second, Android is a more open platform. I can rip apart the OS and look at its guts. I can alter it or replace it altogether. I can make my hardware do exactly what I need it to do, the way I want it done.

Lastly, I can fix the hardware if it breaks and do not need to buy an entirely new phone.

1. My first smartphone and every one after has been android.

2. I like being able to download APK files and installing them without having to jailbreak or root my device. I don't live in Europe, so I don't get the option for the iphone that allows you to side load apps whenever the feature comes there (if it hasn't already) and I don't trust them not to make it block that feature the second you are not connected to a European cell service/signal.

3. I cannot say with certainty that I'd be able to find anything like F-Droid on ios, let alone my favorite apps from there (like OpenStreetMap or Aegis). Also, the whole jailbreak thing is off-putting when I could just root an android much more easily.

4. I am already set up in the android ecosystem currently (until something a lot better like a decent Linux based mobile OS comes) and don't wanna switch and have to buy any apps just to get a similar experience on android.

5. I also don't like how whenever the EU forces apple (and other companies) to switch to USB-C charging ports (if they already haven't yet), I couldn't make use of it because, again, I ain't in the EU. I also do not feel like ordering a phone from another continent and having it shipped over, especially if there's no guarantees the features I want even work on American telecommunications infrastructure.

Nothing. I just do not want to and don't see any positives in me switching.

iPhones being iphones

Why would I?

Price and closed ecosystem. (closed for users and devs)

I picked up a cheap ipad just to experiment with and find what all the fuss was about. My first thought was that tgos feels like a nerfed/kiddie version of a real device. Everything is walled off so you can't change anything that had a chance of borking it up.

I mean, proper Nix systems you could theoretically run 'sudo rm -rf /' and at most it might ask if you're really sure, and then duitifully comply...

There's a lot of features on a pixel that I'd miss out on in an iphone.

However, the biggest is the back gesture.

I love the back gesture, I just swipe from the side to go back a page instead of reaching allll the way to the top left to go back.

I can also actually develop on this without paying $2,000 for a Mac.

I prefer the openness of android as well.

I have absolutely desire to lock myself into a flowered prison and pay extremely high price for it in both freedom and money. Apple just is too totalitarian and limited for me to consider anything from them.

I don't like how restrictive the apple ecosystem is. I have an ipad because the android equivalents just weren't doing the job, but use android and linux for my daily drivers. I feel like the adblockers aren't effective, and I can't sideload apps.

Privacy and security through custom ROMs like CalyxOS and GrapheneOS, which are the number one reason why I use Android. However, the average person doesn't necessarily care about their digital privacy or security.

As for reasons to use Android that the average person may care about, there is a greater variety of device options to choose from when it comes to Android. Many different companies produce Android devices, including eco-friendly options like the FairPhone!

In addition, another advantage of using Android is the ability to side-load apps. I can easily install and use apps that are not available on the Google Play store, such as Thunder, my Lemmy client, which I use daily. Moreover, even if an app is not available in my region on the Play store, I can still use it by side-loading.

Another feature I appreciate is the direct access to internal storage through a USB cable, eliminating the need for any additional software. For managing my apps, Shelter is a must-have for me. It allows me to separate my personal apps from my work apps without creating a completely separate device profile, and I can easily disable the work apps whenever needed so I don't receive notifications.

You can even use iMessage on Android via apps like BlueBubbles or AirMessage. Even FaceTime works on Android, natively so long as an iPhone user sends you a link first.

My 5 years old android phone still working perfectly. And then, when it finally isn't enough I'll just take an alternative ROM/linux phone hoping for it to have better quality/price ratio in the future rather than Apple because that company is bullshit and Google is bullshit too.

Back gesture / design

Whatsapp portability. Last time I checked Whatsapp data couldn't be moved to Android. I have a decade of chat history id like to preserve.

Integration with Google Photos. I am not switching to icloud or any other. Google Photos is just way too good. I can even search photos with text!

Notification system. I'm not entirely happy with how android does it, but apple does it worse.

Charging port. All my cables are USB C that charge both my phone and iPad. I'm not thrilled about getting 3 more chargers and cables.

App prices. Android has great KeePass clients for cheap / free. I use strongbox on my iPad which is like $30 a year