Relevant details that might make this a headache.
- Most my passwords are saved on the safari password manager and I use the “sign in with apple” on a bunch of websites
- My photo library is currently backed with an icloud subscription
My BIL is a Google engineer and he gave me (an iPhone user) a pixel 8 pro to test drive for feedback. The hardware is pretty darn solid and felt good in my hands and to my eyes. I really liked that it had both a fingerprint sensor and a facial recognition system to unlock. This made contactless payment a lot easier to use than an iPhone in my opinion. In general, the software is not as polished as iOS, but is more customizable and you can side load apps from alternate app stores like f droid, which is great. The killer feature as far as I am concerned is Firefox with uBlock.
I’m a linux, sometimes windows, and android user. I own an iPad, because of the Affinity apps, not available on android.
The browser fuckery, and other restrictions, like no torrenting, for example, that Apple imposes makes me continuously consider selling the iPad. Only Affinity saves the iPad. I could not accept these limitations in my primary communications device. the Android experience may be less polished, but it’s because freedom creates inconsistencies. I’d much rather have the inconsistencies, along with freedom.
Goggle things you can’t do with iPhone.
In my experience, I feel like Apple does a much better job curating and vetting their content, making things a lot more stable. Also, Apple at least tries to care about your security and privacy vs the alternative.
I’ve also given Graphene a (short) try and while the privacy features are nice. I don’t want to spend time fiddling with my phone, and trying to get things working.
Yes, the new iPhones are expensive. But if money is tight, you can still get it subsidized by your phone provider. Worst case scenario, get a slightly older/refurbished iPhone.
Good luck OP!
Edit: I also prefer 1Password, but that is another discussion altogether.
Oh, and you are asking in an Apple community. You aren’t going to get many people giving you reasons to use something else ;)
I’ve switched between android and iOS every couple of years since 2008. My recommendation: just keep using iOS.
The experience is more polished, it’s less difficult to figure out what to buy. You don’t have to worry about Google doing more insane shit, like harvesting and selling all your data, or getting rid of a product you’ve relied on for years. Not to mention my older iPhones work more reliably than my older Android phones do, so even from a support perspective Apple is the better choice.
My only gripe with iOS is that Safari is locked to the OS version you’ve installed, so when you stop receiving phone updates, your browser gets stuck in the past too.
