I mentioned last week that my company is now only supporting iOS for our bring your own device program. Since I use BYOD regularly to stay connected outside the office, I caved and bought my wife a new iPhone 7, then inherited her iPhone 6S.
It’s set up and I am slowly getting organized, but I am still having many moments where I miss Android!
To be fair, it’s been four years since I used an iPhone, and a lot has changed in that time. Well, except for the home screen, which looks basically the same. But under the hood, all the settings are more robust, and even the apps I thought I knew have changed dramatically. My two biggest issues are adjusting to a physical Home button as well as not having a back key. I keep banging the bezel looking for a back key, and yesterday while in landscape mode I kept swiping trying to pull up the virtual home button.
So here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly of my switch so far:
The Good:
- Move to iOS for Android is excellent. I installed it on my Android phone, and when I set up the iPhone, selected the “move from Android” option. The two phones connected, and the iPhone sucked over my text messages (though not MMS), as well as my contacts and calendar. The truly pleasant surprise was that the app also matched my installed apps with their iOS equivalents; almost all of my free apps were automatically matched and installed. In fact, it did such a good job that it even found the ones pre-installed by Verizon and hidden by me. There was something very satisfying about finally uninstalling NFL Mobile for good since that app is a Verizon favorite that they love to shove into their phones.
- I forgot how beautiful Apple’s industrial design can be, especially the vibrancy of the screen.
- It’s going to be significantly easier to find accessories and charging cables now, and I’m already happy to have a LifeProof case (iPhones tend to drown in my house).
The Bad:
- I miss my widgets from Android. I loved having my calendar on one home screen, my Google Keep notes on another, and my most-used apps on the third. It felt clean and easy and it took no time to grab basic information. Yes, it will get easier as I tweak iOS to my liking, but it’s such a pain to start from near-scratch!
- It looks like my preferred RSS app from 4 years ago has some issues with Feedly, so I’m currently using the Feedly app. I don’t love it and will need to find something better ASAP.
- I don’t love how the notification center works; I’m sure this is just because it is different, but it feels clunky compared to Android.
- I need to completely rebuild my stashes of charging cables.
- It took four tries to get the screenshot above because I kept trying the Android way (volume down+power) instead of Home+power.
The Ugly:
- The iPhone I have is pink. I don’t care what Jony Ive claims, that’s not “rose gold”, that’s freaking pink. It is already hidden safely by a case.
- My mother will never stop gloating and teasing me about being back on an iPhone (she’s thrilled because she says the blue bubbles are easier to read)
- I now know why half of my office begged me for help when they rolled out the new BYOD platform … that was not easy!
I still have my old phone, but I am doing everything I can to avoid running back to it for things I don’t have on the iPhone yet. The only way to get more comfortable is with immersion, so stay tuned in a few days to see how my transition is going!