ahomlao: Switching to Android. Or not.

Switching to Android. Or not.

Andy Ihnatko, from whom I'm fortunate to float across each week on MacBreak Weekly, has written a series of three articles for TechHive detailing why he decided to switch from an iPhone 4S to a Samsung Galaxy S3.

This isn't the story about how Apple has lost its way and no longer innovates. It hasn't and it still does. This is merely the story of one dude who got a new phone. Nonetheless, my tale presents a picture of the strengths of modern Android.

I have immense respect for Andy. I learn something from him each and every week, and his passion and integrity are enormous inspirations to me. As someone who's followed his work for a long time, it's hard to see how anyone was blindsided by this series either. His appreciation for Android and Android phones has been growing steadily and publicly for a while now. When he writes about his decision to switch, he's not trolling. He's not vamping. He's not doing anything more or less than what he very specifically states -- explaining why, for him, the Samsung Galaxy S3 now better suits his phone needs than the iPhone does.

And he's certainly not alone. Phil Nickinson and the people at Android Central love their Nexus, HTC, LG, Sony, and Samsung phones, Daniel Rubino and the people at Windows Phone Central love their Nokia, HTC, and Samsung phones, and Kevin Michaluk and the people at CrackBerry love their BlackBerrys. We're lucky to live in a time where every major manufacturer is fielding great devices. No matter who you are or what needs you have, there's a good chance you can find a phone that fits you and them.

What's most remarkable about Andy's series, however, is how well defined his arguments are, pro and con, and how in reading them, I can see both how Android fits his needs better, but also how iOS is still far and away the only option for me.

Customization

Where Andy values the flexibility of Android, I see it as a time sink. Maybe I've just grown lazy. I used to spend hours and days tweaking PalmOS and Windows Mobile, trying to get it them as close to perfect as possible, just because I could. But perfect is a moving target and ultimately, an endless task. Now I choose to invest my time elsewhere. Like Watchmen, I've learned the value of the 9-panel grid. Like the boy in the Matrix, I understand what is impossible and so have chosen to bend myself. Even my Nexus 7 and Nexus 4 are as stock as the day they were born.

For people who love to tweak, Android is probably best choice on the market right now. But I'm not looking for a better keyboard. I just want to type. I'm no longer interested in working at my phone, I just want it to work for me. And so, for me, Captain Default, the iPhone comes right out the box with better choices having already been made.

Features

The iPhone, arguably, was never designed with third-party apps in mind. The App Store, third-party multitasking, folders, non-modal notifications, etc. were all bolted on later. To this day, there's no sharing intents or inter-app communications, no way to re-set defaults, no actionable notifications, no persistent internet connections, no changeable icon states, etc. Years later and third-party apps are still clearly, sometimes painfully, second-class citizens. Especially when compared to the power Apple's built-in apps have enjoyed from day one. For Andy, that's annoying enough to be a deal-breaker.

For me, Android's origins as a BlackBerry or Windows Mobile competitor, and the architectural decisions that plague it's current manifestation as a full, touch-screen operatings system, are the deal-breaker. Multiple interface redraws, the inability to gracefully scroll or pan or pinch, the lack of 1-to-1 tracking, while improved, are still intolerable. They're like nails on a chalkboard for me. They're my deal-breaker. I'd rather put up with doing less better than doing more less enjoyably.

Each of us has different things we're willing to put up with because we have different needs. I don't use a fraction of the features on my iPhone anyway, much less the features on my Nexus 4. But the ones I do use, over and over again, day in and day out, I expect to be polished to the point of invisibility. That's what matters to me, and what the iPhone has prioritized since day one.

Apps

The same thing holds true for apps. While Andy rightly points out that all the major apps and major categories of apps are now well served on Android, and that the quantities have evened out, for me the quality still hasn't. To ill-fit and analogy, the big beer brands are all in both stores now, but the iOS micro-brewers are still crafting circles around everyone else in the industry.

Part of that is due to Apple's legacy strengths. iOS enjoys not only a phenomenal set of Objective C frameworks, but am entrenched developers and designers who really, truly care about the craft of making great apps, and mostly only care about making them for iOS.

Of all the apps on my iPhone, I can count on one semi-clenched hand how many are available on other platforms. (Right now, only 1Password, Dropbox, Instagram, and Netflix. and 1Password is so much better on iOS, I'm tempted to only half-count it.) Fantastical, Twitterrific, Tweetbot, Screens, Letterpress, Elements, Drafts, and the list goes on and on. That's not even counting Apple's App Store-only apps, many of which, like GarageBand, have reset expectations for what it means to be a mobile apps. (You can get Google apps on iOS, the reverse isn't true.)

That's slowly changing, of course, with DoubleTwist, Shifty Jelly, Dots and Lines, and others making absolutely gorgeous Android apps. yet where Andy says no iOS app was enough to prevent him from switching. Over a dozen merge, Voltron-like, to make it an absolute show-stopped for me.

Diversity

Andy also points out the value of bigger screens on most Android phones. Personally, I don't think bigger screens are the issue -- I think the choice of screens is the issue. Some people really do prefer smaller phones that fit in their skinny hipster jeans, while others really do prefer phones so big they're almost tablets. Android phones come in almost every size imaginable, in quarter-inch increments. You can get small or large. With the iPhone, you can't. Andy wanted a bigger screen and Apple simply wouldn't sell him one. Samsung would.

I'd be interested in trying an iPhone with a bigger screen, but the 4-inch screen is fine for me. I have an iPad mini, and to me, when it comes to screen size and software class, a small tablet is far, far better than a big phone. I recognize some people prefer not having to lug around two devices, for me it's still well worth it. Just like my tablet can't get replace my Mac, my phone can't yet replace my tablet. Not a Galaxy, not even a Note.

Staying

It's a new year, and there'll be new software, services, and phones from Samsung, Apple, and everyone else. We live in interesting times. I'm still delighted by the iPhone and iOS on a daily basis. When and if that stops being the case, maybe I'll consider switching too. (I used to be all-in on Windows, Xbox, and Windows Mobile, after all.) Maybe the opposite will happen and Andy will switch back. Or to Windows Phone. Or to BlackBerry.

There are no more bad choices, only hard ones.

Give Andy's series a read, and you'll see how he made his.