Reservations of switching from iOS to Android - General Questions and Answers

Hi guys,
I’ve been an iOS user for the best part the last 10 years but for the last 4 I’ve decided to stick with my iPhone 6 as I haven’t found any of the newer iPhones worth upgrading to. The new gen of iPhones still doesn’t really appeal to me. Although I wouldn’t say the cost Ian prohibitive I don’t think I can justify £1k for a phone. Also I like my headphone jack!
So comes my journey to explore Android. I have used android and so I’m not unfamiliar but as my phone is my main device (read ‘life’!) I need to ensure everything is set before/if I move.
So enough with the intro. My first steps in the journey and what I haven’t been able to fully wrap my head around is backups.
Currently I don’t use any cloud based backups and would like to stay away from them if possible.
I currently backup my phone to iTunes either manually or over WiFi. This has made my life easier as I have peace of mind when it comes to breaking or losing my phone. I have at the odd time had to restore from my backup and I like knowing everything is restored how it was as left including when I upgrade my phone.
I’m aware my initial change maybe slightly painful but after the big switch I would like to be upgrade/switch phones (and possibly change brands) on a whim and my data switching to be fairly straight forward. For example should my phone get lost, stolen or damaged what are my options to restore to a different phone and take all my app data etc with me.
My googling has given me a few leads such as helium backup, titanium, nandroid backups but I’m unsure if there is a better solution.
I’m thinking about switching to an S9 or P20 pro.
Thanks in advance

Looks like I’m sticking with iOS... ?

Related

wanting to come back but out of the loop

hi peoples.....
well..it's been about a year since I last posted anything in this forum..and I can see it's had a make over too...very nice
well..the time has come for me to think about making the move back to HTC after having several, but making the jump to an iphone last year.
I've always been a massive HTC fan and so far, always been windows. My last phone (the HD2) was great but as HTC's first attempt at a capacitive screen, it was awful to use!!
I'm sure things have come a loooong way since then, but as I've been out of the loop I am a bit lost.
I've been looking at the new HTC Sensation, and although this runs android (of which I have exactly zero experience) I'm liking the specs a lot!!
The iphone has an incredible interface, very easy to use, and the screen is a joy to use. However, I'm getting increasingly frustrated by Apples attempts to lock down the OS (why can't I have the phone behave the way I want it to, not the way Steve Jobs wants it to), and it's inability to do anything unless it somehow has a connection to a server somewhere.
My Windows phone used to store all emails locally and could bring them up in a flash for example...the iphone seems to take an age, and I could tweak just about anything without having to go through a complicated jailbreaking process....or I could move things on the phone with having to use itunes all the time. I'm not going to compare the phones since they each do some things brilliantly, and some things badly...you can't compare oranges and apples..
I seem to be ranting on a bit though...so to the crux of my question...
being out of the loop, I have no idea what phones are what these days, and apart from the sensation, should I be considering anything else? Prefer a windows based phone as that's what I've used to in the past, but why not android?
what do people think?
I may be back to XDA Developers very very soon....

[Q] Nexus (pure Android) vs iOS simplicity

I know for a lot of average phone users, the argument is always, "Apple is so much easier to use!" It's understandable why people claim it's easier with Apple's focus on simplicity, unchanged UI, and locked down user environment on their OS. I've been using the latest jellybean and I'm trying to be as fair as possible giving my opinion for a non-techie/average phone user. I really think that Nexus (pure Android) is now as simplistic as iOS. Yes, there is a file system on android and other additional features, but average phone users mostly only explore home screens and other basic features. Jellybean UI only has the on-screen three navigation buttons with the three dot menu access either located at the top right of bottom right.
Apple only has the home button, but some times the back button is located in different areas of an app or to access shortcuts, you have to click the home button a certain amount of times which can not be very user friendly for people that just want to 'see' the button to access what they want. I've been using my parents' phones (HTC EVO 4G) and I agree gingerbread or other older android versions for that matter are hard to use for an average user. There's too many navigation buttons, phone's touch input is bad, plenty of needed improvements on an unsupported android version, and gingerbread is slow. I believe new comers can adapt very easily to Jellybean; everything is fast, fluid, attractive, and has become much more simplistic for setting up or accessing everyday features on the phone.
What do you guys think? Have you convinced family or friends to convert to the Nexus line of Android?
Ive been trying so hard to convert my gf from her icrap... Geez she had a droid bionic before i knew her but that had old gingerbread and skinned with blur(the worst ui for android) aosp or nexus is way to go
Sent from an Apple killing JellyBean
moparfreak426 said:
Ive been trying so hard to convert my gf from her icrap... Geez she had a droid bionic before i knew her but that had old gingerbread and skinned with blur(the worst ui for android) aosp or nexus is way to go
Sent from an Apple killing JellyBean
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah. I need to sit down with some people who own iPhones and just show them side-by-side everyday tasks on Nexus (aosp). For example, telling them to show you how to attach a photo to a text message and then showing how to do it on Android. It's virtually the same and everything is much nicer on Android.
I'll say up front that I've owned Apple products and would consider doing so again.
iOS is a flaming heap of crap when it comes to the UI. It was what the user-base needed when smartphones where new, but we have so much more functionality now that it's ridiculous not to integrate it.
iOS is that person that still thinks it's the 1980s. Really garish and outdated, but not old enough to be classic and cool - or at least make people smile at how quaint it seems. It's everyone in Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days - those people that had an awesome time in high-school and now can't think of anything else.
I understand wanting to keep things the same for "non-tech" people who don't want to learn a new system every time they get a new phone. This is why they need to integrate small changes and improvements over time and teach people how to use them by explaining in a tutorial/greeting on the phone. I feel that Google does a very good job of that.
3/4 of my parents and step-parents have Android devices - and they have all picked it up pretty quickly.
My mom has a dumbphone on which she doesn't text and probably uses less than five minutes a month and still asks me how to attach files in an e-mail. I helped her pick out, buy, and set-up a TF700. She seems to be doing really well with it - a lot of people I've spoken with feel that an Android tablet is more "tech n00b" friendly than even a traditional computer - it's simple, everything is easy-to-find (and you usually don't need to go mucking around in the file-system), and you can reach out and touch what you want to do which is more natural for many than using the mouse.
She originally was thinking of an iPad, but it honestly wasn't the best choice for her. She needed a good camera (work-related) and the iPads that were in her price-range didn't have very great ones - and having a microSD card slot means that she doesn't have to worry about her video-recording taking up too much internal space even if she forgets to delete them when she's done. And she has the processing power and RAM that what she does isn't skipping and struggling when going back and forth through frames of HD video (something she specifically mentioned being worried about).
I think she would have been fine with an iPad, but she didn't have the budget for a newer one. Android offers options, customisation, and competition. Manufacturers are willing to take chances and try new things that might fail - whereas Apple plays it safe. I give credit to Apple for being the force to really push tablets into the mainstream - I just hope that iOS can get some much-needed innovation.
I believe my friend's "tech impaired" mom got an S3 and is doing fine. Touchwiz might be more bloated than Stock, but it does a pretty good job of being simple and teaching new users how to use it without overwhelming them. I think Samsung has done a great job with the S3 and their push behind it - offering something that appeals to many users and many different needs, allowing everyone to get what they want out of it. To me, that's what Android is all about - options, choices, and finding what's best for yourself.
Pennycake said:
I'll say up front that I've owned Apple products and would consider doing so again.
iOS is a flaming heap of crap when it comes to the UI. It was what the user-base needed when smartphones where new, but we have so much more functionality now that it's ridiculous not to integrate it.
iOS is that person that still thinks it's the 1980s. Really garish and outdated, but not old enough to be classic and cool - or at least make people smile at how quaint it seems. It's everyone in Bruce Springsteen's Glory Days - those people that had an awesome time in high-school and now can't think of anything else.
I understand wanting to keep things the same for "non-tech" people who don't want to learn a new system every time they get a new phone. This is why they need to integrate small changes and improvements over time and teach people how to use them by explaining in a tutorial/greeting on the phone. I feel that Google does a very good job of that.
3/4 of my parents and step-parents have Android devices - and they have all picked it up pretty quickly.
My mom has a dumbphone on which she doesn't text and probably uses less than five minutes a month and still asks me how to attach files in an e-mail. I helped her pick out, buy, and set-up a TF700. She seems to be doing really well with it - a lot of people I've spoken with feel that an Android tablet is more "tech n00b" friendly than even a traditional computer - it's simple, everything is easy-to-find (and you usually don't need to go mucking around in the file-system), and you can reach out and touch what you want to do which is more natural for many than using the mouse.
She originally was thinking of an iPad, but it honestly wasn't the best choice for her. She needed a good camera (work-related) and the iPads that were in her price-range didn't have very great ones - and having a microSD card slot means that she doesn't have to worry about her video-recording taking up too much internal space even if she forgets to delete them when she's done. And she has the processing power and RAM that what she does isn't skipping and struggling when going back and forth through frames of HD video (something she specifically mentioned being worried about).
I think she would have been fine with an iPad, but she didn't have the budget for a newer one. Android offers options, customisation, and competition. Manufacturers are willing to take chances and try new things that might fail - whereas Apple plays it safe. I give credit to Apple for being the force to really push tablets into the mainstream - I just hope that iOS can get some much-needed innovation.
I believe my friend's "tech impaired" mom got an S3 and is doing fine. Touchwiz might be more bloated than Stock, but it does a pretty good job of being simple and teaching new users how to use it without overwhelming them. I think Samsung has done a great job with the S3 and their push behind it - offering something that appeals to many users and many different needs, allowing everyone to get what they want out of it. To me, that's what Android is all about - options, choices, and finding what's best for yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
This post is excellent. Apple does integrate small changes in the software every year, with the same minor upgraded phone that, "Changes it all." Problem is, is their platform is not moving fast enough and every software upgrade is poorly integrated leaving lag for multitasking and the notification bar to name a few. Apple definitely started the revolutionizing of smartphones and tablets into the mainstream, but I feel like they are no longer as innovative or exciting to hear about. Android has many phones across their platform with different themed phones that can deter users to go and choose an iPhone, but like you said it also gives the user many options and customization.
How come you didn't just buy your mom a phone for hd photo/video and rendering? Tablets are kind of awkward to hold for users who want to do that. I know that Apple has more apps optimized for their tablet, but on a budget, they're not the best buy. The best buy right now is the Nexus 7 or 10, but no sd card slot. You think she would need more than 16-32gb and additional cloud storage? Many "tech-impaired" people are still able to use old android phones quite well - more than I would want to. If they could just see what newer android phones offer, they're so much easier to use and it should no longer be said that, "Apple is so much easier to use than Android!" It's simply not true anymore - especially for the Nexus (pure Android) devices I'm talking about.
Google does do a great job of user-interactive tutorials first setting up the phone. I hate to be completely biased; I've had Apple devices in the past and am around them nearly everyday. They don't have that excitement or new features that have been on Android for awhile now. Not to mention how locked down their hardware and software is - slowing down development. I've also heard recently that Apple's new approach for their devices and software, is what they feel is the best for their interest and not the communities interest. That right there completely turns me off of ever owning one of their devices and I'll continue to support Google as they're my favorite company.
Another argument you'll always hear is, "Well Apple just has so many more apps and they work better." Well, they been around longer than Android and recently Android announced they have around 675000 apps now which is nearly identical to the Apple store. Pretty impressive considering how much longer Apple has been out. Also, saying they work better is entirely not true. There's been many tests on apps on both platforms and apps perform better on newer versions of Android. I just bought a Nexus 4 for $300 off-contract featuring a quad-core cpu, 2gb ram, true hd ips+ lcd screen, and the latest purest version of android. Does it get better than that?

[Q] How to make having a smartphone worthwhile?

I held off of getting s smartphone for a long time, because I never could see any decent reason to have one. Finally, considering it would be convenient for playing music on the go, I ended up getting one. I've had one for a year, and it still doesn't feel worthwhile. Granted sometimes it can be nice to use a terrible version of a web-browser without having to have a computer around, but that hardly makes it worthwhile.
When I finally did get one, refusing to get an apple product I went with Android, and haven't been too impressed with it. Can't even change the volume steps, not even custom roms touch that, making it really useless as a music player (and people told me Android is supposed to be customizable). Wanting to make it worthwhile, I asked all my friends what cool apps there are, and consistently got the reply that there really isn't any. I've scoured the Google Play Store and Fdroid countless times with the same result.
I end up with the vast majority of my apps being stuff for my phone like Nova Launcher, Kernel Adiutor, Better Battery Stats, etc, etc. Those help make the phone usable, not worthwhile. I've only found one game ever that I enjoyed playing on a mobile device, which was Quizup (before they ruined it, now there's really nothing). Is there anything entertaining? Is there anything more interesting than a graphic calculator emulator? Is there anything more useful than a flashlight? Or is a smartphone as useless as I had always envisioned it to be? Just a tinker-toy for tech enthusiasts. Is it just a phone with a few interesting but not useful things and garbage battery life in return (despite doing everything in my power to maximize my battery life and put others with the same phone to shame)? I'd prefer the much more massive battery life and better voice quality of my ancient Nokia phone. I don't want to give up on it, but I need help keeping up hope. Even Tasker is sitting around not doing anything particularly useful. At least it can make phone calls unlike a useless Android tablet. Someone please help me make it worthwhile.
Hey, what was that movie with that one guy that was in that other movie with that chick from that TV show?
How far is a league?
Why is a booby trap called a booby trap?
Where the hell am I and how do I get to where I need to go?
Boy, I wish I could hear "Handle With Care" by the Traveling Wilburys right now. I haven't heard that song in ages.
A phone is something you make calls with. A smartphone is the wealth of the world's knowledge at your fingertips.
The problem with that is that a smartphone is a cumbersome device for giving input and getting output. Even with getting as good of a tiny touchscreen keyboard as you can get (which is still bad compared to a real keyboard) and voice input (which is usually even worse in my experience with several Android solutions as well as Apple's), you still have super buggy difficult to navigate watered-down info on a tiny screen that takes more scrolling than the miles of it I've put on my mouse.
I'm never too far from a computer that I've ever had to use or would have liked to use a smartphone to get that information. I've had the world's information at my fingertips, but why would I want to use a smartphone to get it? I've tried using it for convenience, I've tried using it to augment using a computer, but I've quit trying. Maybe it would be useful if I forgot to plan things ahead of time, or forgot to bring a camera or something. But I'm looking for a way for it to be consistently useful, not something that might come in handy one day and cost me hours of charging every day. I'm still not seeing it.

The future of mobile operating systems OR why we can't upgrade Android like any PC OS

I know this discussion has been around for quite some time, and I have read, for example, this and this. But I think that some aspects haven't been discussed yet.
All the arguments mcapozzi gave in the first thread I linked are very true, but, except for the kernel building on the device, which would not necessarily have to be done (there), they are all man-made. And as we all know the system works well for PCs, i.e. I installed Win 10 at the release day on an eight year old machine and everything worked perfectly fine, except for minor issues with the GFX driver, which had been resolved within a few weeks. And, in principle, a modern smart phone is not much different from a PC.
Of course the device manufacturers would be, let's call it reluctant, to agree to something like we have on the PC market. But, wouldn't Google by now have the power to force such a system on the manufacturers? I mean, if they don't play along Google could easily prevent them from using the Play Store and, with a licence change, even future Android versions. Both would probably prevent most companies from selling any more mobile phones.
And in the end I don't think it would be that bad for the manufacturers; obviously they would be selling less phones, but on the plus side they'd:
have greatly reduced software development costs (at least if they do Android upgrades properly right now)
be able to charge more for their phones, as they are actually worth more
sell more higher-end devices, because people would be willing to invest more money, if they knew that they could use their phones for as long as they like (or at least as long as the hardware is powerful enough to run the newest OS and apps)
still be able provide custom UIs as some sort of "app", if they wish
And, apart from that, phones will still wear off (physically) and there will still be hardware innovations that will make people want to by new phones, even if their old ones have the newest OS; and we must not forget the built-in batteries
Looking at this from the Google perspective: it would make the Android ecosystem much more attractive, and after all Google makes it's money with Android phones being used, not sold.
Now, I don't think I have to list the advantages for the users, do I?
So, what do you think this? I'd be glad to hear.
-Julian
P.S. No, I don't think Google is bold enough to actually do something like this, would be cool though.

How far is too far?

So I have just spent the last 24 hours taking my HTC One M8 from Windows 8 Mobile all the way to the current release of Windows 10 Mobile (10.0.15254.582), and I learned a lot of cool things.
https://ibb.co/cF3P0pd
https://ibb.co/x1v4ygc
First: Windows mobile was doomed from the start, lack of developer support is clearly evident across the different releases and I can see why it never took off, this could have been great but even facebook tells me to use the mobile website how am i supposed to get my alerts from my random groups?
Second: This was a pain to do, Regedits out the wazoo, having to take all the knowledge everyone has posted and then applying it, literally just copy and pasted numbers of legitimate Nokia Lumia 950 to make it think it was a legit phone then taking the updates slowly so i dont break the damn thing since windows has an issue everything someone deletes the sys32 folder.
Third: HTC, Yall make a damn good phone if it can go all they way to the latest release and not break a sweat, then someone clearly did something right to allow this phone to last this long. (against its will)
Fourth: Profit? (probably not this took way too long and i am not writing a guide on how to do this)
I mean this device is still a pile of crap but I have discord (limited functions but eh) crunchyroll all sorts of other 3rd party out of necessity apps that cover from Facebook to YouTube, this platform could have been sooooo much more but since nobody developed for it and it died.
So my question is who else has shoved their m8 to the limit of what this OS has before Microsoft kills it?
I cant be the only one to have thought wouldn't it be great if maybe it was more use than a door stop?
Also can someone give me a functioning .apx for Opera Mini, (and possibly a walk-through) Fricking Edge is a POS.
Short story long, this weekend was supposed to be me taking the Android M8 and making it my backup phone by replacing the rom with one from linage i already had looked at and read how to, but the amazon seller I purchased it from sent me a windows version, but i already bought one to play with or turn into a overgrown hotspot since my lte ipad mini (gen 1) is a pile of crap (i have a 2018 ipad that is wifi only and i like my manga on a screen bigger than 5 inches), I am a semi driver and im gone 5 weeks then come home for 1 week, he screwed the pooch and now i have 2 windows phones so i needed a backup phone if my nice Pixel 3 was to get damaged and be NFG, so i went through all this to just get a phone that will work and have some entertainment value and well i think it could be a contender for my backup phone. So now i bought a M8 thats android but it hasnt arrived yet to my only choice was to work with the turd i have and make it shine a bit brighter. Anyway i have my m8 reg modded to allow tethering i have my ipad data only plan working flawlessly on the m8 even the website says its an m8 but isnt making me change plans, a spare sim so i can call in to get my number put on it since the store is a no go in 18 wheels of steel, it works and it works good for something it was never meant to do.
If anyone has questions i probably am the worst person to ask but hey maybe i can help (probably not but eh).

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