To The Android And Back

The journey of an iOS resident

So there I was, with the iPhone 4 that I had been using for two years, my trusted side kick. It had served as phone, test device, Mac remote, Remote Desktop client among others. While not the biggest fan of iOS, I had come to appreciate, its simplicity, elegance and reliability. When iOS 7 came along, my iPhone started coughing and I became a little annoyed. It had been showing extreme signs of strain off late. It would die just when I needed it, apps would run like the computer programs of the 70s and the constant squinting to see the screen was getting to me. When I heard iOS 8 wasn’t coming to my phone, I had enough. I decided to take a trip to the Android world and see what the fuss was about.

I went to Best Buy and got myself a Nexus 5. What better phone to start an Android experience with, right? The larger screen felt right, the speed at which I could open and use apps was amazing and the swipe keyboards blew my mind. I had from day 1 decided though that I would “try” out a few phones before deciding on one. Irrespective of how much I fell in love with this phone, it was going back after 2 weeks.

Fast forward two weeks, I eagerly made sure the phone still looked brand new before packing it in the box and took it to Best Buy.

As I let go of probably the best value phone readily available on the market and got back on my iPhone 4, weirdly enough; it felt like home.

It felt comforting to see the familiar design, the simplicity enforced by Apple’s constraints and the philosophical ‘it just worked’.

Android is a good OS, one that is more open to developers, more customizable by users and in some cases more functional than other OSs. I am going to miss a number of elements that Android shone in.

Cross-App Integration

Sending photos or documents via 3rd party apps straight from the OS was a breeze. Sharing data between apps was just as easy. I could receive a photo on Hangouts and then forward it to a specific WhatsApp group right from the Hangouts app!

Freedom from Apps

Yes, there are a billion apps out there but who gives a f***. At most times, I just want to get something done and move on. The phone is only a means to an end, unless you’re a gamer.

Windows Phone did a half-decent job of using Live Tiles to provide quick info and bringing together 3rd party apps in such a way that you didn’t always have to open one to do something. Android has taken this a step further. For one, you have widgets for everything. Second, receiving calls from an app like Viber (which I recommend) was just like a regular phone call; not a quiet push notification that I missed every time. And when I made international calls, it was smart enough to suggest calling via Rebtel (which I also hugely recommend) as it was going to be significantly cheaper than calling through my telecom provider.

In essence, I didn’t always have to be in that specific app to do that specific thing. Yes, apps do make the phone smart, but forcing the user to silos to get them to their destination makes for an inconsiderate user experience.

Customization

What a throw back to my Linux days (how I miss DistroWatch and deviantART)! Android lets you install launchers, icon packs, themes, keyboards, notification systems and then some more. I had the phone looking nothing like the stock Android L I had installed, within minutes. And I had barely touched the tip of the iceberg.

Google Now

It was the feature I was most excited about, before Android. I was constantly opening it to read recommended articles based on my search history, checking world cup scores or searching for something using my voice. But, I didn’t always need to know that I’m 15 mins away from home; while at work or where my car was parked in the office lot or the weather. Overall, I’m a fan of the push and voice based interactions with the phone and see huge potential ahead. OK Google, why hasn’t my Uber arrived yet?

And while there were a few other things I also liked about Android, the whole-hearted love ended here. So here are my grudges,

Look and Feel

Android L has taken a step up with the Material Design language bringing some much needed color and energy to the OS. Being a preview, it didn’t have a lot to showcase, but the idea is there. But that’s where the spark ended.

Android largely turned out to be a dark and morbid place, gaudy and childish in its visual design at times.

There is plenty of need for a facelift.

Usability

No mobile OS is perfect, but just like the visual aspect, the usability on Android was a let down compared to other OSs. Agreed that I was new, but certain things always felt harder to do or confused me enough. There are maybe 5 different locations where a photo might be stored. There’s Images, Downloads, Camera, Google+ Photos, Not Google+ Photos and I don’t know what else. And on the version I used, there was only a Google+ Photos app which made things worse.

I was often frantically searching for a photo on a Google phone. Ironic, don’t you think?

Another example is the Back button; which would sometimes take me to the previous screen but at others, it would drop me on the home screen. Windows Phone had this covered.

Battery Life

It’s debatable whether this is an Android issue, but the new Nexus 5 was barely better than my old iPhone 4 with its decayed battery. Barely. My guess and I’m speculating here is that; Android phones have always stayed ahead of the pack in terms of hardware as a consequence of the resource-hungry nature of the OS which as it turns out is also power-hungry.

A couple of things Google needs to do better right away

Hangouts Audio

Now that Hangouts is the default messaging app, I can message my Google contacts, have video calls over the internet and also send regular SMSs from the same app, but what about an audio call?

It’s a no-brainer, Google. Everyone wants their Gtalk back.

Phone Backup

The first time I restored an iPhone from my iCloud backup, my mind was blown. It restored every single byte that was on the old phone, including Apps, Data, Settings, Photos and even the tabs in Safari! Google needs to step up here. It could be Google Drive or Google+ but I’d want my backup in one place, not Google+ for Photos and Videos and Google Drive for the rest. As someone once said, it should just work.

There are probably a 101 other things that I missed out on, but a two-week foray into the Android world gave a pretty good feel for what it’s like, what works and what doesn’t work for me. In the end, I realized that what I really liked about the Nexus 5 had nothing to do with Android. It was the larger screen, better camera, blazing speed and sharper screen which is a given on most high-end devices today, in stark contrast with my old and jaded iPhone. It wasn’t a fair comparison to begin with, but I still didn’t “fall in love” despite the obvious edge.

And for that; I blame Android. But for now, I will continue to live with my old iPhone (and wait for iPhone 6 perhaps or a reincarnated Nokia Lumia 800). There are lessons for iOS to learn from Android and it’s promising to see Apple opening up in ways that will enhance the experience on their platform and devices. In the meantime, while Google and Apple (and hopefully Microsoft) up the game against each other, it continues to be an exciting time for the rest of us.

For my next journey, this looks like a good idea. Hello again, Windows Phone!☺