ITGeek
Active Member
Having gotten to the point of becoming disgusted with all things Google and un-trusting of the Android OS and Google's Play Store, a couple weeks ago started moving over to Apple/iOS.
These will probably be updated, in-place, as time goes on and we get more experience with our new devices.
The Good
I trust iOS. To the point that I've even put a card, my oldest card, from the issuer that first gave me a form of credit, the card I plan to take with me to my grave, which has the same number I was originally issued, in my Apple Wallet. To the point where I trust my digital keyring to iPhone, iPad and iCloud. To the point where the management app for my retirement account will be installed on phone and tablet, as well as our financial institution's app.
I cannot argue with the hardware quality. True, my wife and I have usually gone with the "economical" choices in Android gear, so not an apples-to-oranges comparison, but, still: These devices speak "quality."
The WiFi on both iPads and on my iPhone 6S have worked very well. Solid as a rock.
Wireless performance on the iPhone 6S is solid. So is the GPS.
The cameras are the best we've experienced on any of the mobile devices we've owned.
Oh, how I've longed for voice dialling in my car that worked. My iPhone 6S, Siri and the Jabra Tour speakerphone in my car work flawlessly together. Google Now had been more miss than hit. I hated it. With a passion.
The fingerprint reader on my 6S rocks. (The two iPads' merely "acceptable.")
The battery life on the iPads is terrific. (The iPhone 6S: Merely "acceptable.")
Video and audio quality are terrific.
The provided suite of native apps is superlative.
The Bad
These are mainly just annoyances, though a couple of them are very annoying.
Apple seems to go out of its way to make it difficult to get content on and off your iThings. Tried to hook my iPad up to my Linux box. Got an error message on the Linux machine. Researched it. Bottom line: Apple makes a change to the protocol they use for communicating with tethered devices. The Linux devs fix the problem. Apple makes another change, breaking it again, the Linux devs fix it, ad nauseam. Can't get music into iTunes without a MS-Windows or Apple Mac computer. I've got a bunch of notes in plain text file format. Looks like I'd have to copy them in to the Notes app, one-by-one. (I think I'll just leave 'em in Dropbox.)
Wireless and WiFi connectivity are very good, but, both devices are slow to see networks of both types. The iPhone is slow to transition from the T-Mobile network to roaming, slow to transition back, and slow to find a network from a "no service" state. (Experienced alongside a Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation.) And, by "slow," I mean painfully slow.
If you use a messaging application such as Signal Private Messenger, regular IMs still go to iMessage. Only other SPM users' messages go to SPM. Unhandy.
Lightning cables. I'm sure there must be some advantage to them, but, for the life of me: I've no idea what it is. I do know they're widely-reviled for a short lifespan, regardless of who's you use.
Allegedly there are more apps on Apple's App Store than there are on Google's Play Store. Maybe so, but, I'm not seeing it. Not for the apps I want/use. Some examples: I was not able to find an email app that, to me, worked any better than Apple's own mail app. And, while it's ok, what's up with it only doing push notifications for iCloud and no other servers? How about an option for displaying full headers?
The Ugly
And, boy, are they ever! These are nearly show-stoppers.
Dear Apple: What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is up with Bluetooth and navigation app turn-by-turn instructions? Pair my Jabra bluetooth speakerphone with my iPhone 6S, which works great with phone calls and Siri, and, navigation turn-by-turn instructions don't merely not go to the speakerphone, but disappear entirely! Near as I've been able to tell: This is a long-standing problem. For the love of sweet potatoes: Get it together, Apple!
Getting my own copy of photos... *sigh*. Apple, were it not for the fact I feel you're my last recourse for "smart" mobility devices, this would be enough to send me back screaming to Google and Android. Lacking either an MS-Windows box or an Apple Mac, the only way to download photos is via the iCloud web interface one at a time! Ctrl-Select and Shift-Select don't even work, as they do with 99.999% of all other web interfaces on the entire Internet. Getting my music into your ecosystem is one thing, as would be getting music I purchased out, but, getting my own photos off? What. The. Heck. Apple?!?! (Addendum: Looks like I can get around this with the "Remote File Manager" app, but, still...)
These will probably be updated, in-place, as time goes on and we get more experience with our new devices.
The Good
I trust iOS. To the point that I've even put a card, my oldest card, from the issuer that first gave me a form of credit, the card I plan to take with me to my grave, which has the same number I was originally issued, in my Apple Wallet. To the point where I trust my digital keyring to iPhone, iPad and iCloud. To the point where the management app for my retirement account will be installed on phone and tablet, as well as our financial institution's app.
I cannot argue with the hardware quality. True, my wife and I have usually gone with the "economical" choices in Android gear, so not an apples-to-oranges comparison, but, still: These devices speak "quality."
The WiFi on both iPads and on my iPhone 6S have worked very well. Solid as a rock.
Wireless performance on the iPhone 6S is solid. So is the GPS.
The cameras are the best we've experienced on any of the mobile devices we've owned.
Oh, how I've longed for voice dialling in my car that worked. My iPhone 6S, Siri and the Jabra Tour speakerphone in my car work flawlessly together. Google Now had been more miss than hit. I hated it. With a passion.
The fingerprint reader on my 6S rocks. (The two iPads' merely "acceptable.")
The battery life on the iPads is terrific. (The iPhone 6S: Merely "acceptable.")
Video and audio quality are terrific.
The provided suite of native apps is superlative.
The Bad
These are mainly just annoyances, though a couple of them are very annoying.
Apple seems to go out of its way to make it difficult to get content on and off your iThings. Tried to hook my iPad up to my Linux box. Got an error message on the Linux machine. Researched it. Bottom line: Apple makes a change to the protocol they use for communicating with tethered devices. The Linux devs fix the problem. Apple makes another change, breaking it again, the Linux devs fix it, ad nauseam. Can't get music into iTunes without a MS-Windows or Apple Mac computer. I've got a bunch of notes in plain text file format. Looks like I'd have to copy them in to the Notes app, one-by-one. (I think I'll just leave 'em in Dropbox.)
Wireless and WiFi connectivity are very good, but, both devices are slow to see networks of both types. The iPhone is slow to transition from the T-Mobile network to roaming, slow to transition back, and slow to find a network from a "no service" state. (Experienced alongside a Motorola Moto G 3rd Generation.) And, by "slow," I mean painfully slow.
If you use a messaging application such as Signal Private Messenger, regular IMs still go to iMessage. Only other SPM users' messages go to SPM. Unhandy.
Lightning cables. I'm sure there must be some advantage to them, but, for the life of me: I've no idea what it is. I do know they're widely-reviled for a short lifespan, regardless of who's you use.
Allegedly there are more apps on Apple's App Store than there are on Google's Play Store. Maybe so, but, I'm not seeing it. Not for the apps I want/use. Some examples: I was not able to find an email app that, to me, worked any better than Apple's own mail app. And, while it's ok, what's up with it only doing push notifications for iCloud and no other servers? How about an option for displaying full headers?
The Ugly
And, boy, are they ever! These are nearly show-stoppers.
Dear Apple: What in the Wide, Wide World of Sports is up with Bluetooth and navigation app turn-by-turn instructions? Pair my Jabra bluetooth speakerphone with my iPhone 6S, which works great with phone calls and Siri, and, navigation turn-by-turn instructions don't merely not go to the speakerphone, but disappear entirely! Near as I've been able to tell: This is a long-standing problem. For the love of sweet potatoes: Get it together, Apple!
Getting my own copy of photos... *sigh*. Apple, were it not for the fact I feel you're my last recourse for "smart" mobility devices, this would be enough to send me back screaming to Google and Android. Lacking either an MS-Windows box or an Apple Mac, the only way to download photos is via the iCloud web interface one at a time! Ctrl-Select and Shift-Select don't even work, as they do with 99.999% of all other web interfaces on the entire Internet. Getting my music into your ecosystem is one thing, as would be getting music I purchased out, but, getting my own photos off? What. The. Heck. Apple?!?! (Addendum: Looks like I can get around this with the "Remote File Manager" app, but, still...)
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