When this year I seriously thought about transition from iOS to Android, I realized for the first time that nothing really stops me. Even the old “why?” argument, which my laziness led, stopped working. Despite the fact that I have tried to switch to the Google platform before, each time the idea died down before any drastic measures were taken. Because why? For what? Yes, there are a lot of smartphones on Android with top-end cameras, more decent battery life and an atypical design that has long surpassed that of the iPhone. But something always stopped me. But now these arguments seem to be in the past.
The most updated smartphones
What stopped me from switching to Android before? Well, first of all, of course, support. For smartphones based on Google’s OS, it has always been the norm to update either for a year or two, or not to update at all. And it was as if there was no one to blame for this. With Google, bribes are smooth, because it is not responsible for any device other than Pixel, but from the manufacturer itself – because it was supposedly Google that released such heavy updates that the hardware of your last year (and even more so the year before last) smartphone simply did not pull it.
But over the past few years, the situation has changed quite a lot. Manufacturers began to understand that stable support for branded devices is in their interests. Therefore, starting with monthly security updateswhich some began to release even earlier than Google itself, they gradually came to speed up the release of new versions of Android, and then completely increase the update period, if not all, then at least most of their smartphones.
As a result, all this resulted in the fact that most of the devices on the market today are updated for 4 or even 5 years – just like iPhones:
- Google Pixel
- Xiaomi
- Oppo
- Vivo
- One Plus
- Nothing
- Samsung
And these are not some dummy updates that simply change the build number, as happened before, but deeply developed versions of the OS that really complement the smartphone both visually and functionally. I’m not talking about the fact that Android, as an operating system, is basically designed in such a way that it can be updated through Google applications.
After all, Google Play, and Chrome, and Gmail, and Google Photos, and all other services of the search giant receive updates regardless of the main platform. This Apple needs to release new iOS version, to teach the iPhone to recognize text in pictures, but Google does not need to. She can release such innovations at least every week.
Applications for Android
I always thought that iOS apps developers are doing better than Android. Well, because on iPhones, regardless of generation, they worked in a completely different way, without causing any problems. An excellent example of this is SberBusiness. I remember well how I used it on Android and at some point lost the mechanism to sign sending invoices with biometrics.
If earlier this could be done by simply placing a finger on the fingerprint scanner, then for no reason, this possibility disappeared. It was 2021, so there was no talk of a shutdown by Apple or Google. Moreover, everything worked perfectly on iOS.
At first, it didn’t even occur to me to look for solutions, but then I decided to google and realized that I was not the only one. Google Play found a huge amount of negative feedback from users who scolded Sber for the loss of the mechanism for signing invoices with biometrics.
As a result, of course, I figured it out: I had to delete the application cache, and everything worked as it should. But then I was very embarrassed, and I even published an article in which I stated that applications for androidunlike iOS, are not written for humans.
However, today I am ready to change my mind. Yes, Android apps often require clearing the cache for stable operation. Not that this happens very often, but from time to time such a need does arise. This is not very convenient. But – let’s be honest – it’s better than nothing at all. Moreover, on the iPhone, the cache also has to be cleared, and here it is much more difficult than on Android.
But on iOS, that same SberBusiness has not been available for almost a year now. Apple removed it, following the US sanctions, and Sber did not even fuss and did not release SBOL for Business, while on Android you can still download it without any problems. But this is not the only application that iOS does not have in principle.
There – Mir Pay. I remember scolding contactless payment services on Android for the fact that they, except perhaps for Samsung Pay, cannot be called up on the lock screen and select a card immediately before paying. But now when Apple Pay does not work in Russiathis inconvenience seems such a trifle that you don’t even remember about it, but you rejoice at the very opportunity to attach your smartphone to the terminal and pay for the purchase without having to get a bank card.
Why Android is better than iPhone
In general, if earlier it was the iPhone that was, as they say, a smartphone for people, then as Android devices developed, it lost this title. How did it happen? Actually not fast. It’s just that the systematic improvement of competitors’ devices, which experimented with useless technologies, eventually led to the fact that they were able to make their products better so that almost everyone began to admire them.
- Open NFCwhich Apple considers evil, allows you to conveniently add cards to applications by simply placing them on the back of your smartphone;
- Wide camera settings allow you to set the parameters for yourself or shoot on the machine without sacrificing the quality of the final photos;
- The absence of restrictions on customizing the desktop and the entire operating system as a whole is not a whim for those who are mad with fat, but a way to make yourself a truly convenient device;
- fast chargingwhich in most cases exceeds what Apple offers, allows you not to spend long hours at the outlet, but to recharge your smartphone in 10-15 minutes to a sufficient 50% or even more;
- Installing applications from any source is not a deliberate display of disrespect for your users, but trust and confirmation of their right to decide what to use.
What will happen to iPhones
Android smartphone market can be compared with a marginal classmate who smoked in the school toilet, skipped classes and talked with teachers, suddenly took up his mind, gave up bad habits and completely changed his lifestyle. It got to the point that praises in his address began to sound even more often than in the address of the excellent student, who was always the favorite of the whole school. And why praise him if he continues to act on the knurled? And here is an event.
It is especially funny against this background that now a former excellent student in the face of Apple is trying to play a marginal classmate. He gradually realized that the role of a good boy was no longer in demand, and in order to attract attention to himself, he begins to act according to the patterns of his opponent. Here we see how Apple gradually began to open NFC in the iPhone, then it gave users the opportunity to customize the interface, and soon it will completely remove restrictions on downloading software from unknown sources.
But this will not lead to any significant changes. The learned helplessness that iPhone owners suffer from will simply prevent most of them from using alternative sources of software and payment systems. I wouldn’t even be surprised if many Russians don’t dare install Mir Pay on iPhones, when it appears, simply because Apple said at the time that it might not be safe. Now they are completely ready to repeat this mantra endlessly, without thinking about whether what was said was true.
