Pros & Cons of iPhone / iOS

<div><strong>What I like about iPhone (though all these features also exist in Android):</strong></div> <div> </div> <div>- Build feels solid and ergonomic</div> <div>- Camera hardware is good (but not as good as the Samsung Galaxy Ultra series, and comparable to flagship OnePlus, Oppo and Xiaomi phones which cost a lot less)<br /> - Great stereo speakers<br /> - Action button is a nice addition to iPhone 15 series</div> <div>- 80% limit charging<br /> - Back tap (also available on premium Android phones)<br /> - Accessibility settings grouped together (though this sometimes makes it difficult to find some settings)<br /> - Spotlight is decent</div> <div>- Automatic app updates</div> <div>- No need malware scanning (though this comes built-in in many Android phones)<br /> - Sometimes, the iOS version of a few apps suits my preference (but generally I prefer the Android version)<br /> - Apple Maps is less accurate and informative than Google Maps, but at least has an intuitive display for 360° street view<br /> - Apple Arcade is fun (though not as many choices as Google Play Pass)<br /> - Apple Music has hi-res audio (but the app is also available and works really well on Android)</div> <div>- Good integration with Macbook<br /> - My Apple account could still remember my old devices and some of their app info, even from 10+ years ago</div> <div>- Phone still has reception even in areas with poor network service<br /> - More options for phone cases and other accessories in retail shops<br /> - High trade-in value<br /> - Many years of software support, and good service support (once Apple called me personally to resolve a small issue)<br /> - Probably suitable for senior citizens and less tech-savvy people</div> <div> </div> <div><br /> <strong>What I dislike about iPhone:</strong></div> <div> </div> <div>Accessories and repair<br /> - Exorbitantly expensive repairs, with only Apple-approved parts being compatible<br /> - Apple Care is not worth it due to the depreciating value of the phone over time, makes more sense to pay for a one-time screen repair<br /> - Screen is notoriously fragile and prone to cracking</div> <div> </div> <div>Apps and Apple App Store<br /> - Generally for the iOS versions of apps, there are less settings I can customize compared to Android<br /> - A lot of the good apps for photography, videography and utlities are paid. These features usually come in Android for free.<br /> - App store has no wishlist function<br /> - Google Play Pass has a greater selection of games</div> <div> </div> <div>Battery and charging<br /> - Extremely slow <30W charging, 2-3x slower than a midrange Android phone<br /> - No reverse wireless charging</div> <div> </div> <div>Camera<br /> - No built-in manual or pro camera controls<br /> - Zoom is good but Samsung S Ultra series is more powerful</div> <div> </div> <div>Controls, customization, home screen and app library<br /> - No file manager<br /> - Limited customizations for iPhone in general (compared with say, the excellent Samsung Good Lock)<br /> - Can’t select US English as my phone language if I’m living in a UK English country<br /> - Can’t customize UI skin, and the native wallpapers are limited and boring<br /> - Can’t change icon size or exact location on home screen<br /> - Widgets are non-informative/useless and very limited in selection, basically they're just enlarged home screen icons<br /> - No nested super folders<br /> - When I group apps together in the same folder on home screen, it gives me a generic nonsensical folder name like “Productivity”<br /> - Moving apps around the home screen displaces the folders from the grid, very difficult to arrange<br /> - The app library is an alphabetical list instead of an icon grid grouped by alphabetical order or color, which is very inefficient to scroll through<br /> - The app library is displayed as “intelligent” categories that make no personal sense to me, but there’s no way I can customize it<br /> - No icons on the status bar showing my network/5G details or speed or whether my VPN is connected, I have to swipe down control centre to see this info<br /> - Status bar has no notification icons<br /> - Control centre has limited options for settings to be included, can’t accommodate several pages of settings<br /> - No quick button in control center for me to connect or disconnect my VPN<br /> - No convenient way to optimize performance settings or clean up old files and cache</div> <div> </div> <div>UI and gestures<br /> - Can’t easily swipe away notifications in notification centre with one gesture<br /> - No universal back button or gesture<br /> - No quick reply to messaging app notifications within the notification itself<br /> - Useless and obstructive Dynamic Island, pinhole or under-screen cameras are standard in Android phones<br /> - Search function in settings not as precise as in Android<br /> - No multiple windows, split screen or multitasking functions in general</div> <div> </div> <div>Keyboard, typing and text editing<br /> - Native keyboard is less functional, and I keep having to toggle for basic punctuation and numbers<br /> - No automatic clipboard<br /> - Typing cursor is more difficult to control when editing text<br /> - Can’t change the intensity/feel of the haptics<br /> - Inconsistent haptics/sound when I use a 3rd party keyboard<br /> - Autocorrect often forces changes that I don't want</div> <div> </div> <div>Sound and music<br /> - No individual app volume control<br /> - No system-level equalizer that applies to all apps<br /> - No other Bluetooth codecs supported besides AAC, no LDAC (the most common wireless standard for high fidelity audio developed by Sony)<br /> - Cannot detect or power some OTG hardware like my portable USB DAC (because iOS sets a limit on power output which cannot be disabled)<br /> - Few compatible DAC/amp<br /> - No equivalent for UAPP like in Android</div> <div> </div> <div>Privacy and security<br /> - FaceID is slow and troublesome<br /> - No fingerprint scanner<br /> - Unable to individually lock single apps with fingerprint/passcode/face ID<br /> - No effective built-in call screening, so I still get a lot of spam calls<br /> - Can’t hide apps in a secret home screen or hide the apps from app library<br /> - No built-in function for app cloning or creating a locked second partition in your phone<br /> - No built-in VPN</div> <div> </div> <div>AI and assistant features<br /> - Siri is not as good or accurate as Google Assistant<br /> - Limited AI features in general</div> <div> </div> <div>Other features<br /> - No decent consolidated news app/page like Google News<br /> - Built-in calculator has no history function, and doesn't display multiple lines or even any brackets or operations<br /> - Apple Pay is far less advanced than Google Pay. It only adds cards from smaller range of banks, and can’t be linked to our national mobile payment system. Also we have more vouchers and promotions associated with Google Pay than Apple Pay.<br /> - When I play a preview of a Youtube video in Google search results (Safari), it still plays ads even though I paid for YouTube premium<br /> - No floating chat bubbles (removed for Messenger)<br /> - Generally slower download speed when compared to my midrange Android<br /> - Calendar doesn’t show color-coded events in month view (unlike Google Calendar), just shows a single dot which tells me nothing<br /> - Safari is effectively the only browser option (I use Aloha but it's just another implementation of Safari)<br /> - Poorer thermals (though this may be an iPhone 15 issue)<br /> - Wi-fi adapter is less sensitive/stable than my Android<br /> - Built-in Translate app has limited languages (unlike Google Translate)<br /> - No good consolidate news app for my country (unlike Google News)</div> <div><br /> <strong>Features I don't care about:</strong></div> <div><br /> - iMessage. Now that RCS is coming to iPhone, it doesn't really matter.<br /> - FaceTime<br /> - Apple Watch, Airpods, iPad, etc.<br /> - MagSafe (a lot of MagSafe accessories can also be used with premium Android phones)</div> <div> </div>