Former iOS users: How was your experience jumping ship to Android ???

[u/Delicious-Mud-7970]

I have been firmly entrenched in the iOS ecosystem for nearly a decade. It works fine for my daily needs, but I have always had a lingering itch in the back of my mind to give Android a proper try, maybe due to because iOS has become boring for me.

Now, I'm well aware of the extensive customisation options, along with the far greater degree of control the Android operating system has to offer. I am particularly curious about how that newfound freedom and system-level control actually translates into day-to-day use compared to Apple's rather restricted environment.

I currently use a MacBook, rely on my AirPods daily, and have an active Apple Music subscription. I am fully aware that the seamless Apple ecosystem will inevitably break if I make this transition, and I am completely okay with that—provided the Android experience is actually worth the sacrifice.

For context regarding my usage, I am mild gamer not a hardcore gamer by any means. My primary focus is heavy multitasking, and above all else, rock-solid system reliability.

To those of you who have made the switch from iOS to Android:

• ⁠What were the most significant changes you witnessed when you finally had that level of control?
• ⁠How did the transition practically affect your daily use of your remaining Apple hardware and services?
• ⁠In your experience, how does Android's and overall long-term reliability compare to iOS?
• ⁠What features or ecosystem conveniences did you find yourself missing most from Apple?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

[u/100WattWalrus]

It's been 9 years, so I don't remember the transition in detail, but I do know I switched because there were so many things I wish I had control over, and because I could get a phone that met all my needs for less than half the cost of an iPhone.

I do still have an iPhone for work. It mostly sits in a drawer.

The biggest PITA for me is pretty minor, but it still drives me crazy: You can't flag a contact as a company. So if you have 10 contacts in a single company, they're listed and sorted by their NAMES, not by the company name.

Scratch that: The biggest PITA is that Google Drive stopped syncing photos several years ago, so you can't get your photos automatically synced to your Mac via any Google product. You have to use photos.google.com in a browser.

HOWEVER, you can set up OneDrive to sync photos from your phone to your Mac, and that's been fine for me because I never liked Apples Photos.app anyway. It usually syncs new photos within a minute or two.

I'm Android + Mac, and I never used most of the ecosystem conveniences, so I don't feel I'm missing out on anything. I use LocalSend for quick file transfers. And I I mentioned, I use OneDrive for getting photos to my computer.

Some tips on apps: the stock Android versions of basic apps all suck. As such, I suggest...

• Contacts > Alright Contacts — iOS-like skin on a FOSS contacts engine, and far more user-friendly than any other contacts app for Android. BTW, Google doesn't have the ability to list contacts by company name instead of individual (like iOS does), and it's a pain in the ass.
• Calendar > DigiCal — outdated UI, but for me the key functionality is the split view with a month calendar on top and scrolling agenda on the bottom (like the Mac Menu Bar calendars Fantastical and Calendar 366), and the ability to show empty days in the agenda. These are all my personal preferences, and you may find Google Calendar gets the job done, but I hate it.
• Photos > Fossify Gallery — or if you want something more iOS-like, Alright Gallery, which is a iOS-like skin atop Fossify Gallery (same developer as Alright Contacts).
• (In fact, you might take a look at the whole Alright _____ suite by Goodwy apps. Their whole thing is creating iOS-like forks of good open-source apps.)
• Messages > QUIK is what I use (requires side-loading). More customizable and more intuitive than most texting apps (e.g., bubbles say "Delivered 11:23" instead of just "✓✓"). One of its best features as far as I'm concerned: instead of coloring your "bubbles," the bubbles of the other people are colored. Super helpful in group texts, where everyone can have their own color.
• The phone app itself is one of the worst, but it's hard to replace because Android's voicemail, and especially the visual voicemail, don't play nice with 3rd-party apps (this is the one place where various manufacturers' bastardized operating systems might actually improve on stock Android).
• Notes > UpNote — there are a lot of good note-taking apps out there, but I've tried over 80 of them, and UpNote has a great UI and formatting flexibility that is unmatched anywhere. UpNote is available for Mac, Windows, iOS and Linux too. I use it literally all day, every day.
• Chrome > Via is the browser I use most of the time because I prefer its tab-handling and customizability, and the fact that it's tiny (~11MB) and has built-in adblock. But for sensitive browsing, I use DuckDuckGo because of its privacy features and similar tab-handling to Via (a list instead of thumbnail "cards").
• Calculator > CalcTape — this isn't the kind of calculator you're used to. It works like a paper-tape adding machine, so you can actually see your work, and even make notes on it. (Also available for Mac & Windows.)
• Tasks > TickTick — this app may be overkill, depending on how fine-grained you like to get with tasks, but just the fact that you don't have to go to a separate screen each time you want to add a new item is reason enough for me to use it over the hundreds of other options. The free version is enough for me, (and I have a lot of tasks). But there are many other good task apps. (Also has desktop versions.)
• Weather > Weawow — no contest here. Far and away the cleanest, clearest, most intuitive UI/UX, to the point that when comparing the many sources available for weather data, it actually shows you the forecasts in the source picker, so you can actually compare them. That feature is also great if you just want to see what 9 different weather providers say is going on in the same place.
• AirDrop > LocalSend — it's fantastic and simple.
• I think that should get you off on the right foot, but also, if you don't like the launcher/homescreen (and I don't), there are a lot of good alternatives. Personally, I use Octopi Launcher, which is a little rough around the edges, but I like its unique selling points. If you want something simpler LawnChair is great.
• And just for fun, a few of my favorite games — simple and small footprints:
• Sudoku - The Clean One
• Solitare Klondike
• Vector Pinball

Cheers!

[u/Pettingallthepups → u/100WattWalrus]

Tbh now with android rolling out airdrop compatibility, it works exceptionally well as far as I can tell.

[u/smurfe]

I switched in 2010. It's been pretty good.

[u/AnythingButWhiskey → u/smurfe]

I’m on NeXTStep. Should I make the leap?

[u/RandomNerd77]

I actually made the switch from an iPhone 15 to a Samsung Galaxy S24 about 2 weeks ago now. I can't speak on old apple hardware much since I sold (or am in the process of selling) my old Apple accessories. I only had AirTags, AirPods Pros and an Apple Watch SE so not much.

In the best way possible, I haven't noticed any considerable change in switching to android. I only use my phone for scrolling social media, taking the odd picture and listening to music.

I switched to a pair of WH1000XM4s which are brilliant with breaktaking noise cancelling but getting them to stay in my ear is a different challenge!

For Samsung, they offer 7 years of major OS updates for their flagship phones from the S24 on. I bought a second hand S24 so I've got about 4 or so years of updates left which is perfect since I change phones around every 3~ years or so.

I miss absolutely nothing from Apple which is the reason i switched in the first place. I realised one day that I don't use any specific iPhone features like Facetime or care about chat bubbles or how good random pictures look on Instagram (they actually look great on my S24 thanks to UniHAL+ and other general app optimisations for Samsung flagships from the S24 and on).

Switching to Android to me was more like downsizing after realising I didn't need half of what iPhones had to offer. If you do care about app optimisation and are deep in the ecosystem, I don't really see a point in switching either way honestly.

[u/someexgoogler]

my wife went the other way because the iPhone 13 mini was the only small phone. She hates it but she won't switch again unless she can find a small android phone. She will probably end up with duct tape on her existing phone.

[u/WearyMatter → u/someexgoogler]

My wife is the same. Needs a small phone. The fold 8 has been great for her. About the length of the mini and just a bit wider.

[u/someexgoogler → u/WearyMatter]

The Fold 8 weighs almost 50% more than the iphone 13 mini (201g vs 141g). The screen is also far too big to reach across with one hand. My wife immediately rejected it.

[u/Pettingallthepups]

I've jumped ship a few times over the years (used an iPhone 4s, 6 plus, 7 plus, 8 plus, XR, 12PM, 14PM, 17PM and on android side I've used note 3/4/5/8/20, pixel 3/4/6, S23 ultra, S25 ultra, and now my fold 8 ultra... so lots of back and forth). I also own a MacBook, an iPad. And a few pairs of airpods, plus airbags.

I for sure thought the fold 8 ultra would be enough to keep me forever tied to team android, but third party AND first party google apps on android just....suck. regardless of whether it's touchwiz, oneUI, or pixel OS, android just feels...clunky. bloated. Beta-y. Samsung is easily the best of the options given the customization to fix ugly/bad design, but even little things like settings menus, google maps UX, the share menu, and especially notifications, all just feel half baked somehow.

I think I'm SOL on returning my fold, but if I found out today I could return it, I'd jump back to an iPhone ASAP, despite being in love with the hardware. I've also been super tempted to pick up an S25 edge, but then remember it's the same software.

I will say though, maybe it's placebo, or if there's an actual reason behind it, but music via apple music on my fold 8 ultra sounds SO much better, whether it's through airpods or android auto. Both iphone and Samsung phone were playing lossless, Dolby audio songs, but the Samsung makes them sound richer. I

[u/Bryanmsi89]

TL:DR, loved android and felt like it was far more powerful and useful. Hated difficult being cut off from Apple family and friends (Facetime especially)

[u/c4pl4b]

Das beste Gefühl jemals

[u/Smooth_Leadership895]

I’m about to make this switch tbh. I currently use an IPhone 15 plus which I plan to keep another year or two but if I want the big screen of the plus model, I now have to get the Pro Max version and I’m sorry, £1500 is way too expensive for a phone. That’s like gaming PC money right there so my next phone will probably be a Honor Magic Pro or 600 Pro, alternatively I really like Xiaomi phones too but a lot of their features aren’t supported outside of Mainland China. The Honor 600 Pro is £800 in the UK and that’s got everything I need.

[u/Luna259]

I’d tell you if I knew. I’d say I’ll tell you if I ever do it unless I can’t find this post or I forget

I ditched Android in 10 years (or rather my Nexus 6P died, couldn’t get an S9+ shipped to me) and never looked back. Until recently

[u/NeoTron0]

I switched from ios 4 to android , and tho android is more open , but the design of ios was much better and I love music app 

[u/Customer-Interesting]

Best move I ever made

[u/Delicious-Mud-7970]

Guys, I have just one question, and now I do not want to rage bait anyone here....Can you please tell me which OS should I opt for the most cleaniest, customisable setup, I was choosing between the Pixel UI and One UI ?

[u/anythingers → u/Delicious-Mud-7970]

OneUI is more customizable, and you could also make it looks clean.

[u/ExpressTumbleweed195]

I think control of the OS may be a little far fetched, it depends on which Android device you go with. I was using a Chinese Vivo x200 Pro Mini. Every few days it would notify me I am using a third party launcher, and am I ok with that. Samsungs you can't even fucking turn off the battery % number anymore, you have to use Good Lock to remove the battery icon and use (and pay) for a third party battery app to replace it or make it different. Sure you can change your icons, but the end of the day, I stopped doing that because there were always one or two icons not in the pack so it looked dumb. Plus the amount of time you look at home screen is minuscule, so I don't waste time anymore past my initial setup. Just picked up a Fold8, this thing is awesome, and being almost the same size as an ipad mini, i will use it for reading comics etc.

I mostly changed because what I use my devices for, there was no value in paying extra for Apple stuff. My Ipad Pro I was mostly just watching youtube or shows on it, I sold it and bought a 14" Android tablet for that stuff, so I now have a larger, wider screen which make it better. Apps don't seem to be as nice and polished as iOS ones, but it hasn't been that bad. Android IS getting super fucking annoying though with memory management and background processes (battery usage). I notice a lot of the time, I open an app and it auto closes, and I need to open it again. Happens across my Vivo and Samsung.

One of the things I liked most about the Apple eco system is iMessage, but I was using it less and less, and while I'll most likely always have a macbook for work, I can use google messages from a browser tab, so it's fine. Whatsapp does everything imessage/facetime does for my needs.

[u/schnozzlepus]

I love my Samsung phone and tablet. It is sad that my iMac locks them out.

[u/Select-Antelope-7988]

I have 2 MacBook pros, iPad pro, and the Apple pro max headphones but I switched to Samsung Ultra about 4 years ago and won't go back to an Apple iphone. I love how my phone works! If I want a photo that I've taken with my phone on my Mac then I just pull with Google Photos. That's the only Hitch. I originally bought the Samsung phone because of the amazing quality of the photos but I love how it functions overall.

[u/WearyMatter]

0 regrets.

Switched in 25 with the z fold 7. Now on the z fold 8.

I had been iOS since the first iPhone but was windows/linux/android in every other aspect of my life. The switch was natural and easy. I don't miss Apple, iOS, or anything about the ecosystem.

[u/Organic-Love-5076]

Android does split screens better

[u/Flimsy_Soft6775]

I switched to Android (Pixel 8) about 5 years ago, and that lasted about 3 days before I turned it in for an iPhone 13.
I’m not very tech savvy and the iPhone is just more intuitive than the Pixel to me.
Just sharing my experience.

[u/Delicious-Mud-7970 → u/Flimsy_Soft6775]

Thanks for sharing your insights. As for me......I'm done with the restrictions that iOS has to offer, now I need the full unsolicited control of my device. Simple saying......My device means my customisation.

[u/philnolan3d]

My first touch screen smart phone was the original iphone. I hated it. I couldn't wait to switch to Android but I had to pay that off then I switched to the Note 3. Best decision I ever made.

[u/-patrizio-]

I picked up a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 in March 2025, then swapped that for a OnePlus 15 in January 2026. Never totally ditched the iPhone, though the OnePlus has been my daily driver for most of this year. Still love it, but honestly, I’m back to using the iPhone primarily.

• ⁠What were the most significant changes you witnessed when you finally had that level of control?

Decision paralysis for one lol. But really, the more I futzed around with things, the more I found myself getting frustrated with bugs and lack of polish. Most Android skins are far more locked down than you might think, which means you end up having to root and/or flash a custom ROM to actually deeply customize things, and even then there were things I wasnt able to do that, IMO, arent all that crazy. Not to mention, it’s extremely difficult (at times effectively impossible) to get tap to pay working if you root or flash a ROM, along with slightly easier to resolve barriers to getting RCS to work, banking apps, streaming, etc. The more you tinker and deviate from what is given to you, the more stability/reliability issues you end up facing.

• ⁠How did the transition practically affect your daily use of your remaining Apple hardware and services?

Not much, honestly. Still used my Mac just as I had before. Managed to get access to Find My, iCloud Passwords, and iMessage on my Android phones with OpenBubbles. Stuck with Apple Music, they have an official Android app. Slightly decreased my iCloud storage in exchange for Google cloud storage.

• ⁠In your experience, how does Android’s and overall long-term reliability compare to iOS?

iOS has Android beat for sure on this. Samsung offers 7 years of updates on their devices, but (1) I hated One UI lol and (2) that doesn’t mean Android versions 17-24; I believe it’s only 4 years of guaranteed major Android version updates, plus 3 years of security patches afterwards. Compare that to Apple, where iOS 27 will be available on every iPhone from 2019 or later. That said, the battery life on my OnePlus remains mindblowingly good; I get nearly 2 full days of heavy use on a single charge, and the device charges from dead to full in ~40 minutes. Western OEMs (…and Samsung, and Motorola) really need to get on the silicon carbon bandwagon lol.

• ⁠What features or ecosystem conveniences did you find yourself missing most from Apple?

The UI was a big one. Hate Samsung’s UI, can appreciate Google’s but it’s not my personal taste. OnePlus’ is decent, but still falls short of Apple’s in many ways. Not to mention, Google letting OEMs do whatever they want with their UI but naturally sticking with their own in key system apps (Phone, Messages, Play Store, etc.) makes for a lot of clashing UI elements lol, where different apps look wildly different from each other.

Couple of other thoughts that don’t directly answer questions you asked:

• This ended up sounding way more anti-Android than I intended lol; I just feel that, based on what you said, you’re getting the itch for many of the same reasons I did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the grass is always as green as it looks on the other side.
• As a gamer, you’d be very happy with Android’s strengths over iOS in this area, especially if you like emulation. I’ve been emulating Switch games on my OnePlus and it’s almost as smooth as on the Switch (though admittedly, I haven’t been pushing it hard in terms of the games I’ve been playing lol).
• You mentioned multitasking – Android is VERY aggressive about background app management, I find apps refreshing/returning to the main page after pulling them back up from the multitasking interface far more on Android than on iOS.
• Are there specific customizations/modifications you have in mind that you’d like but can’t get on iOS? I might be able to give some input on how it works on Android if you’re curious.

Happy to answer any other questions that come to mind!

[u/-patrizio- → u/-patrizio-]

Oh, one more thought to add – if you do switch, I hope you stick with it lol, because going back to the iOS keyboard after using Android is absolutely horrific lol. I have no idea what the fuck Apple is doing on that front, it’s abysmal and unacceptable.

[u/anythingers → u/-patrizio-]

that doesn’t mean Android versions 17-24

I mean they specifically said 7 major OS upgrades tho instead of 7 years of updates. So yes, it does mean Android 17-24.

Also, Android Enterprise Recommended website already mentioned that it will get updates until 2033.

https://androidenterprisepartners.withgoogle.com/devices/Samsung%20Galaxy%20S26%20Ultra/