In Part 1, I talked about why I decided to make the switch from iOS to Android. Now let me talk about the experience and whether I have any regrets.
As I said in the first part, I still think iOS is a good operating system. However, for my phone, I now prefer Android, even though the experience hasn’t always been smooth.
Let me talk for a moment about the HTC One M8 (which really needs a better name). So far, it’s a great phone. Battery life has been excellent. I’ve only charged during the day once, and that was because I had one of those 14 hour days. Even then, I don’t think I needed to charge it on the way home. I just felt better about doing it. The phone is fast and responsive, and it’s given me little trouble. I’ve had a few app crashes, but nothing major (except for the Visual Voicemail crash which delayed a few voice mails).
The phone feels solid, and it’s been as responsive as my iPhone. I don’t feel like I gave up anything in build quality by making the switch. The screen is gorgeous and better than the iPhone 4S. Double-tapping the screen to wake it up works well, as long as you’re holding it. (Function doesn’t work while on a table.) I’m getting used to the double-tap so quickly that I’ve started tapping my Nook HD and my iPad. Oops.
My only hardware gripe is the headphone jack on the bottom instead of the top, but that’s becoming a standard phone feature, so I’ll live with it. The screen size is great. I’m using the HTC for ereading much more than I used my iPhone, especially since the case has a cool little integrated kickstand. My phone has become my primary read-while-eating-out device. My husband has to cart around his iPad, poor guy. 😉
I am using the Google Now launcher instead of the HTC launcher, so don’t ask for my impressions of the stock launcher. That leads me to one point you iPhone users need to be aware of: carrier and device bloatware. Apple users don’t have to deal with carrier bloatware, and I’ve always been happy with the pre-installed Apple apps. I don’t like the amount of crap on my HTC, but I finally figured out how to disable most of the apps, and that’s good enough for now. With 32GB of memory, I can afford to keep them around, as long as they aren’t in my way.
As I said in Part 1, widgets, notifications and Google Now were my main reasons for switching. All have worked as I had hoped, although I haven’t used Google Now as much as I’d expected. Widgets are every bit as amazing as I’d thought, and I keep playing around with them. Having a calculator on my lock screen is just too cool for words. FitBit is the one I use the most, but I also like Audible, Feedly and my little 1×1 Yahoo Weather widget. My Starbucks app showing all my stars and running balance is also handy. I’m sure I’m still not using widgets like a pro, so please share your favorite ones because three screens of them just isn’t quite enough for me.
Notifications are more active than I’d thought. I can start and stop my Audible app from the Notification tray. Disabling Do Not Disturb is also done there, and, again, I’m sure there are other features I’m yet to discover.
Other than bloatware and the headphone jack, are there any other downsides to switching from iOS to Android? Well, actually, yes. I hadn’t intended to buy a new car at about the same time I switched phones, but I recently went from a 2005 Nissan XTerra to a 2014 Honda Civic with all the Bluetooth features you modern car owners have learned to love. However, the HTC One M8 is incompatible with the Bluetooth system. Apparently, that’s the case with lots of newer Android phones. However, my husband’s iPhone 5 synced right up. If you love using your phone in the car, you might be better off with Apple.
Was I disappointed with my decision after the Apple announcement yesterday? No. I still like my HTC phone, but I’m pleased that Android and iOS are getting closer in their feature set. I’m looking forward to comparing iOS Notification and widgets on my iPad to the Android versions on my phone. I like having a foot in both worlds, but overall I like Android just a teeny bit better, so it makes sense to have it on my phone since it’s the device I carry with me everywhere.
Anyone else made a switch recently? Feel free to share your impressions. And your favorite widgets!
Whoa, reading this was kind of spooky, almost like I could have written parts of it myself. I made the switch from iOS to android about six months ago. I too had used android on a couple of tablets before switching. My husband also likes the relative simplicity of iOS and has no plans to switch. I also have an ipad. And I also like to get into the customization of android.
I switched because I just couldn’t read on that tiny little screen anymore, and got a galaxy note 3. So I have mixed feelings about the new iPhones. Should I have waited? Maybe. I am pretty happy with the note, but like you, I hate the bloatware. I am also not too happy with the power button on the side of the device, but the new iPhones will have that also.
Sometimes the amount of customization is almost too overwhelming. And I feel like the privacy settings are harder to lock down on android…I miss being able to allow or deny each app’s individual permissions. For example, I don’t want facebook to access my location, but I do want it to be able to access my photos. To my knowledge, there is no way to control location access for individual apps unless the phone is rooted.
But I do love having more memory, and the ability to add additional memory with a micro sd. And the accessibility options allow me to make the font huge if I want to. Some sites are actually easier to read on the note than on the ipad.
So all in all, I’m not sure. I like the phone, but it’s not perfect. But neither is iOS. I may switch back some day. Or maybe not. We’ll see. 🙂
@Jonot, our experiences do sound eerily similar. My M8 has the power button on top, so I didn’t have to adjust to that. Although with the double tap to wake, I rarely use it anyway. I haven’t messed much with the privacy settings yet, so I’ll keep that in mind. I did, however, take a bit too much enjoyment in disabling Facebook. 😉
I’m on the AT&T Next plan, so if I decide later on that I’m not happy, I only have to wait 18 months. So far, though, it doesn’t look like a problem.
I prefer the Go Launcher — it’s the first thing I install on any Android device. By now, if I reboot and the default launcher screen comes up I think: “What’s this all about?”
@Jon, I’ve heard good things about Go Launcher too. I’ll check it out.
My favorite things about Android. The back function, onscreen keys, Nova Launcher, notifications, HD Widgets, SwiftKey keyboard (w/ swipe!) and ability to make my phone look like me.
I also suggest trying different launchers. My recs are Aviate, Themer and Nova Launcher.
I found that Go Launcher had a bit too much bloatware. With Nova, I paid once and was then able to go find themes and other compatible items without being asked to buy stuff all the time. I can switch the look and feel of my launcher in clear, easy to use menus.