What Happens When an Android User Moves to iOS

Mihir Fadnavis makes an attempt to end the war between iOS and Android.

Android Vs iOS a never ending debate of the two operating systems that the world is now based on. Both the camps have their own set of loyal fans.

Being a hardcore Android user for over half a decade now, I was convinced that Android is a much superior platform. In 2010 the price of an iPhone was ridiculous compared to an Android phone, and I knew the former didn’t offer any extra features, and that it wasn’t customizable either.

I’ve owned an HTC Wildfire, an HTC Incredible S, a Galaxy S2, a Nexus 4, and a Moto E, and test-drove a ton of flagship Androids. Now the flagship Android phones cost almost the same as an iPhone. iOS has absorbed some Android-ey features to make iPhones slightly more customizable, and they’re also available in bigger sizes.

So with the gap between both camps closing slowly, I jumped ship from Android to an iPhone 6 Plus. Two months on, I now have a clearer picture of the real differences between both camps. This is my attempt to end the war.

The iPhone’s Body is a Wonderland

The iPhone 6 Plus is huge, but beautiful. There’s always been a huge fuss about how Android phones are plasticky compared to iPhones, and it is very much true. There’s no phone on the planet that’s as good looking as the iPhone. Even the revamped metal and glass backed Samsung Galaxy S6 and HTC One M9 look not-so-dandy in comparison.

The lines, the detailing, and the feel of the iPhone is unmatched. The texture of the glass and the way the edges curve is pure tech soft porn. When you hold the iPhone, it truly does feel like you’re holding an expensive piece of jewellery. Coming from Android, this was a jump from Economy to Business Class.

iOS Looks Pretentious

But the moment I picked the iPhone up and turned it on, I felt like it was staring back at my face and it wasn’t happy. There’s something standoffish about iOS 8.3 at the basic visual level.

The icons are rounded squares, and the folders are transparent rounded squares, and there’s nothing more. No widgets, no Google Now home page. It’s a far cry from the customizable circular icon young hipster look of Android.

The Wallpaper Tyranny

The first thing I tried to do is look for the App Drawer. Turns out, there isn’t any. All the apps that you download are saved right on the home screens. Fair enough, but there’s a huge problem — the home screen wallpaper is blocked out by the mess of the icons.

It’s frustrating beyond belief to have a big, gorgeous 5.5 inch 1080p screen on the phone and not be able to see the wallpaper. The only solution is to either place all the home screen apps in a folder to see the wallpaper, or shift the apps to another home screen on the side.

Gridlocked Icons

I reorganized my home screen like I did on my Android. I was used to having the most used apps like Gmail, Chrome, Whatsapp, Notes, and the phone dialer at the base dock. Turns out, I can only place four icons at the dock. Fair enough, I thought, I’ll place the fifth icon on the row on top of the dock. Amazingly, iOS does not allow that.

It rearranges apps on its own. New apps are placed in a grid on the top of the screen, rather than wherever I want to. So if you drag an app to the bottom, it flies back up to the top. Truly bizarre.

So if you don’t want a row of icons at the top of the screen (naturally, because that looks stupid), you have to put them in a folder that again automatically places itself at the top left. And every time you want to access those apps, you click on the folder and then click on the icons.

If you’re on the iPhone 6 Plus, you need to do this with the other hand, because unless you’re Andre the Giant, your thumb cannot reach the folder at the top left of the screen. It was cringe worthy and at this point I missed using Nova launcher on Android and the ability to do whatever I want with my home screen.

There are also some apps which are of absolutely no use, so they were placed in an appropriately named folder.

Basic is Actually Good

The thing with the above complaints is, you get used to maneuvering around them. They no longer become setbacks, but a natural order of things. The more I used the iPhone, the more I realized how gimmicky Android is.

I do not need some of the gooey features of Android, like an app drawer, or Google Now which gives me useless info and drains battery, or weather widgets — I can just look through the window to see what the weather is like.

Every Android phone has its own lock screen animation — when I used Android it seemed cool, but the utter lack of fancy animations on iOS 8.3 made me realize getting basic work done faster is more fun.

You swipe right to unlock and dive into the app of your choice, and replying to notifications is easy because you can access them from the lock screen itself. I realized I did not need the hipster look on my phone — I need a phone that I can use professionally and the iPhone is built like a workhorse.

You need to do some office work? There’s no time for silly colours and animations, let’s get straight to work, type out documents and send those emails. That’s what the iPhone is about — simplifying things, and not having features for the sake of features.

Compared to Android, it’s easier on the eyes, and except for a few occasions which I shall cover in the future installments, it’s also easier on the brain.

Read the Part 2 of Android Vs iOS here.