Why, as an Android user, I still can't use iOS

SeRpEnT said:
These Iphone/Android fanboy pissing contests are starting to bore me.
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How so? I didn't post this to extol how one is better than the other, but merely to explain the frustrations I had with iOS, which to my interest are shared with another user.
 
Maverick Jester said:
No, he is right- you did miss the point he made, which was simply the gripes an iOS user has over Android. Much like the article I posted :)
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It's not a valid point if it's based on an experience not representative of the typical Android experience. And it's ironic that you'd then go and do the exact same thing I did, but with a "but I do want to add" disclaimer. No one is fighting anyone, so I don't get why people are saying that 'points are being missed' and 'he is right'. What's up with the hostile vibes?

SeRpEnT said:
These Iphone/Android fanboy pissing contests are starting to bore me.
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Fanboy contests are indeed boring, but people who post without actually reading a thread are even more so.
 
Bryn26 said:
It's not a valid point if it's based on an experience not representative of the typical Android experience.
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The whole article in the OP is based on experiences not typical of the typical ios user. It's the views of an outsider to the system detailing what they didn't like about it. That can be a very instructive perspective if you aren't so defensive that you take it as an attack and you immediately want to react by rebutting each point.
 
Bryn26 said:
I'm not convinced that I am. You seem to be criticising Android for one of its greatest strengths - allowing you to define your experience. This isn't iPhone where you just have to get used to what Apple gives you.
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+1
 
cerebus said:
The whole article in the OP is based on experiences not typical of the typical ios user. It's the views of an outsider to the system detailing what they didn't like about it. That can be a very instructive perspective if you aren't so defensive that you take it as an attack and you immediately want to react by rebutting each point.
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We're not talking about the OP though. As I said, I have my own criticisms of Android. Nothing suggests that I feel personally vindicated if Android receives some criticism. If I feel that the criticisms being levelled are unreasonable, debating them isn't tantamount to a confrontation.

Jesus you guys are a sensitive bunch. Must you always create a storm in a teacup?
 
Bryn26 said:
We're not talking about the OP though. As I said, I have my own criticisms of Android. Nothing suggests that I feel personally vindicated if Android receives some criticism. If I feel that the criticisms being levelled are unreasonable, debating them isn't tantamount to a confrontation.

Jesus you guys are a sensitive bunch. Must you always create a storm in a teacup?
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I'm talking about the OP. I was making a point about iOS really. I shouldn't have bothered to enumerate my gripes because they were what was seized on rather than what I was saying in the first place.
 
Bryn26 said:
It's not a valid point if it's based on an experience not representative of the typical Android experience. And it's ironic that you'd then go and do the exact same thing I did, but with a "but I do want to add" disclaimer. No one is fighting anyone, so I don't get why people are saying that 'points are being missed' and 'he is right'. What's up with the hostile vibes?
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No hostility (hence the smiley), I just saw it as a sort of devil's advocate type of response. He did clarify that they are pains, but not enough to prevent him from using Android. I find that interesting, because the iOS gripes that bothered me were enough to dissuade me from the platform.

It's easy for us to conceptualise the typical Android experience because it's what we prefer. But coming from iOS, I can understand that there will be pain points in adjusting to the different user flow.

I didn't post my response in an attempt to argue- I thought it may be of use to someone that is used to iOS, to better understand how those aspects work in an attempt to lessen the frustration suffered.
 
Maverick Jester said:
No hostility (hence the smiley), I just saw it as a sort of devil's advocate type of response. He did clarify that they are pains, but not enough to prevent him from using Android. I find that interesting, because the iOS gripes that bothered me were enough to dissuade me from the platform.
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Yeah I'm pretty much just trying to be devil's advocate. A year ago this time I couldn't take the state of Android but I'm finding it quite liveable now.

The back button has also improved in consistency but it's still just duplicating the functionality in an app. In Tapatalk etc, you'll frequently be on a page with 3 back buttons - 2 that duplicate (except that one only duplicates for that screen, and on the next screen if you press it, it takes you to the homescreen or the previous app), and 1 that navigates a thread. It's poor UI design, in my opinion. I think the basic thought of the back button in Android is that it's a workflow between apps, but then it should actually do that and not a) take you between apps and b) also navigate in apps.

But I also think it's a matter of muscle memory. You get used to having your thumb on the bottom to navigate, and then you have to move it to the top, and vice versa. And I still feel like there's an element of potluck in what's going to happen per-app when I press it; whereas if there's an in-app navigation like in iOS, you're always quite clear what its behaviour will be.

And bryn to go back to an earlier point - having message popups is much better than a light-up notification. You can see at a glance if it's worth responding to instead of being forced to open the phone every time something comes in. But they're fixing it for Android L so it's cool. I do have it now enabled on my phone but the implementation isn't really up to scratch, like it's not really possible to action the notification without still opening the whole phone and navigating to it where in iOS you just swipe it to go to the app (except mail which you can archive - but pressing Reply on my phone still doesn't take me to the mail app so it's a bit moot).

And to make another point which just why not - I think there is a kind of Venn diagram of a mobile OS which has usability (accessibility, ease of use) on one side, and configurability (the ability to define your experience) on the other. Both are desirable outcomes and there's a large trade-off on both sides where to gain usability you sacrifice customisation, and vice versa. The flaws of iOS are due mainly to its focus on usability, and the flaws of Android are largely due to its focus on customisation. In some cases however it's not the case, and they simply make stupid design decisions on both sides - like MJ's loathing of iOS's Settings menu.
 
So here is my 2c on this discussion....

I recently got my forst android phone, after using iOS, BBOS6 and WP8.1 in the last few years. I have had the LG G3 for almost 2 weeks now and find that it is one of the most frustrating experiences in mobile for a long time. I am not a person who bothers about customising their device, nor am I a heavy app user, I have no more than 10 apps that I use on a regular basis. I find android to be very inconsistant and disorganised, and too much tinkering is required to make the device actually do what I want it to do.

Certainly, each OS has it's pros and cons. For my specific usage, i find the apps that I do use to be inconsistant and certain apps do not follow the global settings - the previous News24 app used to vibrate even though I had turned off Vibrate in the Global Settingss menu. I also find that, considering the hardware on the phone, things are still very slow and could be alot better than what it is (Games take a long time to load for the hardware).

Each OS has its pros also, iOS with its app quality, WP with its interface (if you live with it for a while you will understand) and android with it's customisability. As Cerebus has alluded to, certain compromises need to be made in order to make each OS into what it is. In the end it really is a subjective decision, and a phone should do what you need it to do for you. For me, android does not do what I need it to do and I am not willing to change my device usage pattern to make it do what I want.
 
I have never had a problem with Android, so certainly no issues in that regard.

My main gripe with Apple was the lack of a card slot, that has been addressed by the 128GB models (at a serious cost, though), so in that respect an iPhone 6 would have done the trick.

In the meantime, however, I have discovered the massive benefits of dual sim phones, so have just ordered the new dual-sim Samsung S5, which also has every other feature that you could dream of. Only 16GB ROM, but I will get a 128GB microSDXC card for it.

I won't buy a non dual-sim phone again.

Don't really want to go OT WRT dual-sim, but for cheap data (eg Afrihost), alternative cheap voice calls, and overseas use the benefits are just enormous.
 
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backstreetboy said:
Blaming android for a News24 app that's poorly designed. Seems legit.
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I previously had one single app that was a dealbreaker for me on Android due to how awfully it was designed compared to iOS and only since it was redesigned I can use Android happily. It's not an OS allegiance war, it's a user experience one. You keep wanting to say this, this this and this isn't Android's fault but it ruins the experience of using it for someone, so what difference does it make?
 
cerebus said:
The back button has also improved in consistency but it's still just duplicating the functionality in an app. In Tapatalk etc, you'll frequently be on a page with 3 back buttons - 2 that duplicate (except that one only duplicates for that screen, and on the next screen if you press it, it takes you to the homescreen or the previous app), and 1 that navigates a thread. It's poor UI design, in my opinion. I think the basic thought of the back button in Android is that it's a workflow between apps, but then it should actually do that and not a) take you between apps and b) also navigate in apps.
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Ah, OK. That makes sense. Hopefully as more app owners embrace the Material UI guidelines, this sort of inconsistency disappears.
 
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backstreetboy said:
Blaming android for a News24 app that's poorly designed. Seems legit.
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This is an android problem, as Google does not enforce their design guidelines on apps. A developer can do whatever they want and Google doesn't seem to care.

UX is everything in this game, it is what keeps people coming back. That is why you have the so called iSheep, they enjoy the user experience of Apple, especially if you buy into the whole ecosystem. This is something that Android sorely lacks. If this is fixed in Android L with the Material design guidelines then I will be more than happy to relook at my opinion, but as it stands, android apps and the OS in general is all over the place.
 
/declares up front

Android phone user here - Xperia T (pretty happy with it, next phone will be a Z3 compact)

My gripe with Android is every bloody implementation is just slightly different enough to be annoying - even within the same brand family

I have Xperia T
BiL 1 - Xperia Z2
SiL - Xperia Z1
Sister - Samsung S4
BiL 2 - Samsung Mini something (don't ask - some people don't listen)

Edit: and I'm not referring to the app level UX which has already been highlighted above, I'm talking about the O/S level UX
 
stixx said:
This is an android problem, as Google does not enforce their design guidelines on apps. A developer can do whatever they want and Google doesn't seem to care.
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Not true, hence why Google have totally recreated their design and UX guidelines. They don't enforce them, yes, but the open nature of the Play Store comes with that caveat. They've been tightening up the guidelines on an incremental basis, and it is continually improving as a whole.

UX is everything in this game, it is what keeps people coming back. That is why you have the so called iSheep, they enjoy the user experience of Apple, especially if you buy into the whole ecosystem. This is something that Android sorely lacks. If this is fixed in Android L with the Material design guidelines then I will be more than happy to relook at my opinion, but as it stands, android apps and the OS in general is all over the place.
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I can't disagree with this at all.
 
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