X Reasons Not to Buy an iPhone
Apple has done many things right through the years. And if you’ve talked with me about iPhone vs Android you know I’ve usually been the biggest Apple-promoter in any room. But people change and the iPhone, well, hasn’t. Here I’ll cover X (10) reasons why you should move on for your next phone purchase.
1. Design
Little over a year ago I sat at a cinema not suspecting anything. But there it was. This cinema ad with a phone viewing a movie with a girl boxing. At a specific drum beat she boxes away the home-button of the phone. Next up is a drummer hitting away the side bezel. The routine goes on until the phone is almost completely bezel free. The Samsung Infinity Display looked stunning! For me, this was the moment the iPhone suddenly looked old. Then came the iPhone X. It was supposed to be this beautiful all-screen-device. But what’s seen can’t be unseen. Compared to the Samsung S8 the iPhone X looked like something Steve Jobs would have stopped even in the design phase. Not only were the screen not maxing out the space in the width, it included this huge notch at the top… (PS. Look at their advertising which conveniently enough uses a black background around the notch hiding it away — above it’s edited to show the notch though for reference)
Watch the ad: Samsung Breaking-Out ad
2. Innovation
Apple isn’t leading the mobile phone development anymore. Look at the video ad below for examples of that. One of the latest feature Samsung beat Apple on is to use the phone as a desktop computer. All you need is an adapter, mouse, keyboard and screen and you’re up and running. You might say, well, Apple doesn’t lead but when they release a new feature they do a great job. Only problem is, Samsung and many others do a great job too. And often even surpassing Apple. Yes, iCloud, I’m looking at you.
Other innovations Samsung beaten Apple to: Samsung Galaxy — Growing Up
3. Price
In Sweden by 30th of September 2018 an iPhone XS with 64 GB costs 12’489 SEK ($1’405), Samsung S9 with 64 GB costs 6’090 SEK ($685). So basically half the money. If the iPhone would be superior I would get it but I’m arguing its the opposite. I would say it’s twice the price for an inferior phone. The Samsung S9 even comes with a memory card reader making its storage expandable. The day you need more space you can add it, not spending an extra 3’000 SEK upfront to get 192 GB more. 200 GB extra for a Samsung S9 would cost under 400 SEK. Not only is that close to 1/10 of the price, you can reuse your MicroSD card in your next phone/camera too.
4. Unlocking
Ever tried to open an iPhone X(S/R) with part of your face covered by your pillow? Or while sneak-peaking at it from an angle? Face-ID is a great marketing tool but truth be told there are better ways to unlock your phone. Samsung has Face-ID technologies too but also includes a fingerprint reader on the back which I found far superior. While lifting my phone I can activate it just by holding it and the phone unlocks even before my eyes reach it making the otherwise mandatory “selfie look” at the iPhone X unnecessary. Just count how many times you unlock your phone everyday and count the extra seconds it costs you. iPhones doesn’t present your apps directly either but shows you your “lock screen”-unlocked which makes even more seconds tick.
5. Dongle-hell
Apple’s got a lot of complaints for dropping the headphone jack. And they should. When my bluetooth headphones run out of juice, why do they force me to dongle-up? However, adding to the dongle situation is that the new USB-C standard (shipping in the majority of new Android phones) is far superior than Apple’s lightning connector. USB-C can be used for charging, video output and more. And what’s more, even power adaptors for computers can now charge your phone and vice-versa. Give it a year or two mostly all new devices will ship with USB-C too, meaning any camera or keyboard you buy will plug-in right to your phone as well.
6. Payments
If you ask around you might be surpised how many stores support Samsung Pay but not Apple Pay. Every card reader that supports RFID (meaning that you can just hover your card to pay with it) also supports Samsung Pay. Hey, Coop stores does not even support RFID bank cards but put your Samsung Pay phone to it and it works! Very handy for all you guys wanting to leave the wallet home and just take a stroll with your phone. Apple Pay has no way near the same accessibility, especially not if you look at what banks support Apple Pay in Sweden.
7. Multitasking
Ever wanted to see that amount while making the bank transfer? Or see the number while dialing it? Or let the Youtube-video keep on playing while texting. Well with an iPhone you still can’t. They have something they call “Fast App Switching” but’s nothing like Multitasking on an Android phone.
Samsung making a bit of fun of it here: Samsung — Ingenious Multitasking
8. Open plattform
Ever tried to add a custom ringtone on an iPhone, a tone not bought on iTunes? Ever tried to change the default keyboard (without the Apple standard keyboard preloading in the background)? Use Chrome as your standard browser to sync history and bookmarks on all your devices? Well, then you know Apple’s iPhone is locked down. Might not be a surprise, but you might get surprised when you try the freedom on the other side of the fence. We even have apps on the Android side to automate sending SMS/emails at certain times, turn on wifi when leaving the house, dim the screen even further and the list goes on and on.
9. iCloud vs everyone-elses-Cloud
When iCloud was first released I was stunned by its beauty. But it didn’t take long to realize you can’t access it on a mobile device. So, want to read your mail on a friend’s or a company phone? Well, you can’t. But Apple’s cloud problems doesn’t end there. Want to send a SMS through a computer. Works great if its a Mac right!? Nope, it gotta be a Mac where you’ve registered your iCloud account. Meaning creating a new user and setting it up to iCloud and so forth. My point being, Apple’s mentality of locking things down are hurting their cloud solutions. On an Android phone I can open any browser and connect to my phone if it’s on the same network. Or even open my Gmail on any device!
10. Better off alone?
When I was out buying workout clothes I ended up buying a training bag from Under Armour, shoes from Nike and shorts from SOC. The sport clothes industry is diversified. No brand are superior at all categories which is why we choose the products we like the most in each category, not locked into a specific brand. I mean that the same should be true for mobile phones. Today each category of hardware, cloud and software are getting harder and harder to compete in. In an iPhone you get Apples take at all of those, but if you choose an Android phone you can choose the hardware, software, backup, assistants, app launchers etc that suits you.
To conclude…
If you’re happy with your iPhone and want a smooth transition to something “old-new” go ahead get a new one. My only aim is to make everyone aware that things have changed over the recent years. Even if it’s some hassle switching, the experience replacing my iPhone with a Samsung S9 phone was like switching from my old SonyEricsson to my first iPhone 3G back in the day. You may need to move some contacts to your Gmail-account and install the apps you use again, but if you’re up for it’s worth the challenge. Let every one know what you think in the comments below.
