Apple / iOS rant
Having been on Android since day 1, I've had to pick up an iphone for work purposes recently. It's a great, high end one. The hardware is clearly fantastic.
But the software. How do people put up with this? I've been trying to get accustomed to it, but it's so clearly lackluster.
Aside from a plethora of minor issues I've been encountering, what's most unbelievable to me is how clear the lock-in is all over the place.
Things like the story about all browsers having to use the Safari view really seep out, for example I can't change the launcher/home screen to something that doesn't suck (lets me position things around and doesn't have the display density of a toddler's typewriter).
And then it was a chore to even figure out how to disable iMessage (unpopular in Europe) so I'm only sending sms via the .. sms app.
Incompatibilities all over the place. Hotspot sharing doesn't work across my 6T and iPhone, it looks like iOS hotspots are again some kind of proprietary crap. Pictures and videos being in not quite standard formats. AirPods sound quality only being decent in the Apple ecosystem as well; couldn't release an Android app to support whatever Bluetooth enhancements they're doing?
And of course, the Lightning connectors which only exist in the apple ecosystem. I agree they feel better than usb-c even, but, more of those same incompatibilities.
It almost feels like a parallel universe where everything works slightly differently, and doesn't quite have as many freedoms.
I can't deny there's some nice things in there. I actually like Safari's hold-preview for example. I also appreciate the very fine grained permission system and warnings such as "such and such app has been accessing location in the background a lot". And FaceID is really well built. But, whew, i do not know how so many people swear by it.
Some things are just different and that's okay, but some things are shockingly inferior and incompatible Just Because, and that feels super insulting š
Thanks for hearing my rant.
This frustration doesn't make sense to me. iMessage is automatically disabled except when sending a message to someone else who uses iMessage. There are no downsides to using iMessage when chatting with another iOS user. It's 100% transparent.
Only if you know that blue bubble = iMessage and green bubble = textmessage.
That doesn't matter though. It's not like it tries to send iMessages to Android users, and it's not like iOS users have trouble receiving iMessages. There just isn't a conceivable reason to turn off iMessage.
Also iMessage will fall back to sms if you do not have data service available.
Integrating SMS and IMessage into the same application is typically what leads to Iphone users sending content that cant be properly displayed to other users. They should probably be separate applications, so It could make sense wanting to force IMessage to act within one system or the other.
Once you split them, you essentially kill iMessage.
I like iMessage because it gives me a feature rich, encrypted chat platform and getting my parents to use it requires no effort or education from me. Getting them to install and manage something like Signal is essentially a non-starter.
How so? If a user does not have iMessage, you can only send things compatible with sms or mms. It doesnāt let you send any rich content to a user that does not have iMessage.
I wish they would have kept going with the lack of rich features for SMS fallback and not enabled the reactions to messages via SMS. I'm so tired of getting the "Loved (message you just sent)" texts from friends and family with iPhones.
As someone who switched to Apple semi-recently, I have to say that after getting used to everything, you'll be very happy with it. The software is just leagues better on average than Android software is, and things run much more smoothly overall.
That being said, the ban on other browsers is complete and utter crap. It's so bad that I feel the US government really needs to step in and fix this. Why is it a monopoly issue to have one browser on Windows but not on the single most popular cell phone on the planet?
There's also a lot of annoyances that you might be able to live with workarounds, but why on earth should you have to? Why can't I transfer files through bluetooth, the same way I've been able to do with other cellphones for decades? Why is it that the only way I can generically share files directly with computers AirDrop - which is nice if you have a Mac, but complete shit if you have anything else because AirDrop is proprietary and Apple doesn't support it on any other system! If you happen to have a spare lightning-USB cable, you can transfer your files... through iTunes.... Other than that you have to use a third party web service where you will doubtlessly have to upload it to someone else's servers first. Probably iCloud.
But when I'm not doing these things, everything is just amazingly smooth to run. Swapping between apps is so snappy, and things that use the hardware features don't feel weirdly tacked-on like most Android apps are. While some third-party apps aren't so great at using them, Apple's nearly-ubiquitous gestures are a complete game-changers for usability.
I don't get your gripe with iMessage, though. If you message someone with the Messages app, it seamlessly switches between iMessage and SMS. Most of the conversations I have on my phone are with people on Android and they have no issue with any of the SMS messages I send through Messages with iMessage enabled.
Messages is probably the best feature of iOS. I have a Mac and it allows me to synchronize my iMessage/SMS conversations with my computer so I don't have to bother with my phone when someone messages me or I need to contact them. When the next version of iOS comes out, they are also going to have a web version of Facetime available so you can video chat with your non-Apple friends seamlessly.
I mean, itās basically a way to ensure that Googleās monopoly on the desktop doesnāt come to the phone. Frankly, I appreciate it. It forces web developers to test at least one other browser.
Haha! Donāt kid yourself! Airdrop is absolutely awesome when it works, but it only works about 50% of the time on my Mac. God forbid your Mac is on an older revision and the protocol has changed slightly since then. God forbid one device is on Ethernet and the other is on WiFi connected to the same router. God forbid one device is on the 2.4 GHz network and the other is on the 5GHz network of the same router! Then it doesnāt work at all. Itās infuriating.
Other than that, I agree with what youāve said. I also find Messages to be great because it supports both SMS and iMessages.
Haha, I have my own workaround! I use apps that allow me to transfer directly to/from my NAS at home, which I can access remotely. I do this to back up my photos and videos or access random things I need. It's not perfect since all the transfers go over wifi rather than the lightning cable, but it does everything I need without much fuss. Pretty ridiculous that you can't browse the phone like an external hard drive when it's plugged in though.
For the record Android SMS can do that as well now (itās not a custom protocol either, itās just synced sms).
Maybe my gripe with iMessage is irrational yes. I donāt particularly like being opted into this custom chat, transparent as it may be. If I told you on Android google transparently replaced sms with google chat messages if available, wouldnāt you find it weird?
There are a lot of things Apple does that would bother me if Google did them (and they often do). Google's entire business model is built around harvesting your data and using it to advertise to you, whereas Apple's is selling hardware and running an app store. I trust Apple (and yes, definitely less given some recent news), whereas I don't trust Google at all.
If you're texting someone who also has RCS enabled, it... does?
RCS is a standard protocol which is intended to replace sms. It's not exactly the same. IMessage is a closed, proprietary, inauditable system :/
Is there a ban on iOS browsers? I live in Canada and have DuckDuckGo and chrome on my iOS device and used to run Brave mobile on here too.
Yes. Apple technically allows other browsers, but those other browsers are just new decorations on top of Safari. If you come across a website that has a bug that doesn't render properly in Safari, you're SOL.
WebKit, not Safari. And while the renderer is the same, everything else can be different. (Networking, bookmarks, password syncing, and so on.)
A lot of your complaints are complaints I have about Android, but in reverse. I tried to switch two years ago to a Pixel and the paralyzation of settings, launchers, options, browsers, widgets led me to spend so much time fiddling with my phone that I always felt like I was just missing the right set of settings to get the phone to where I wanted it. I don't have nearly the same problem with an iPhone. I'll allow that maybe I'm a dolt who just doesn't know what's good for me. But I vastly prefer the iPhone.
Other people have commented pretty extensively about most things, but here are my thoughts.
IMessage: I also donāt see any reason to disable it since it is transparent, and will fall back to sms if data is not available. However, it is super easy to disable. Go to settings > iMessage. The top option is a toggle to turn iMessage off. How much easier do you want it to be? Until Apple rolls out mind reading technology, I donāt see how they could make it easier.
Hotspot: Apple has a proprietary layer on top of the WiFi standard that allows other Apple devices to connect to hotspots easier, and pass along things like battery level and cell signal. Besides that, it is just the 802.11 standards. You go into settings > personal hotspot, set the password, and turn it on. I use this often from my work iPhone to my work W10 laptop and it works flawlessly. If you are having issues, I would contact Apple support and see if they can help you. They actually have decent support. Also, try other devices to see if it is an issue with your 6T.
Lightning: yep, you are right. Luckily the iPad line is switching to usb c. That leaves only headphones and iPhones. I desperately wish Apple would just switch everything to usb c. Lightning is way better than micro usb or 30 pin though.
Well, I'll give a counterpoint here: accessibility features are so much better on iPhone/Apple devices that Android, Windows, and Linux shouldn't even be considered.
These complaints also seem very specific to you. I've had an iPhone for a decade now and I've never had a problem. It just works, and I love it for that exact reason.
"It just works" is like, the number one reason anyone would choose an Apple product. I'm not a fan of their stubbornness with having their own proprietary solution to everything, and their general attitude of hostility towards alternatives. But I've had an iPhone and an iPad for years, while my computer is a Windows PC... And my phone and iPad just do what I require them to do. Very few hassles.
I'm a generally tech-savvy person who prefers to do most computer-y things on an actual computer. My phone is mostly used for basic communication (calls/sms/snapchat) and browsing maps and the web while on the go. The occasional photo when I don't have my camera at hand. My iPad is my reader for ebooks, which have almost completely replaced physical books for me, as well as for browsing the web or YouTube while in bed. I also have a (Samsung brand) keyboard-cum-protective case attached to it at all times, so it works decently well as a replacement laptop while traveling. But I would never think of writing long documents or editing photos or playing serious games on it.
Make sure you have the "Personal Hotspot" page open in settings (next to having the toggle switch enabled). The hotspot is broadcasted to non-iDevices only when you also have the settings page open.
I assume it's because the device can't be connected to a WiFi hotspot and broadcast one at the same time. Of course between each other iDevices get around this by probably doing some proprietary BLE broadcasts.
I feel similar when I use an Android phone. We always get used to our OS of choice's quirks. When I first moved from Android (Cyanogen back then) to iOS, I was in a state of perpetual frustration.
I recently got a 12 mini. While I really like it, there's no jailbreak available and I'm missing some basics that I became used to -- like custom status bars, custom icons (without using Shortcuts as a hack), and some aesthetic changes like removing large titles, grouping apps, system apps and tweak, settings into separate areas... minor things, but they do make everything more logical.
Anyway, I feel your pain. It won't take long before you're used to the quirks, though. I'm still not used to not having a button for home. Only today did I finally figure out how to consistently bring up the app switcher :)
I feel the same. Got an iPhone ~ last year, and Iām growing too beā¦ ambivalent about it? Some random thoughts:
I really hate the settings āappā on iOS, it really just does not work for me at all.
Iāve never found a real replacement for BubbleUPnP (which is probably on me, I could set up subsonic or plex, but lost motivation when WFH started), but I really did like it
I do mostly like the permissions setup, and generally feel way less sketched out about my data leaking between appsā¦ except that once you denied a permission once, good luck finding and undoing it.
the āFirefox is really just safariā thing is trash. I wish I had known. Good lord do I wish I could install ublock and not switch to another browser
WiFi call & text is nice, but I bet I could get that on a non Moto-G5/6 android (which I had because they were so cheap).
I mostly like or am ambivalent to the phone at this point, but I wish there was an every day driver Linux option in the US (everything Iāve seen seems like it would be a project of a phone, and I need more work in my life like a hole in the head :p)
Yeah so having worked with iOS app devs apparently this is why they have custom in app dialogs to nudge and triple check whether the user will be willing to enable notifications before asking. They canāt put a reason in the request itself and changing a deny is super obscure.
Funny emergent behaviour.
Iām with you on the settings app, too.
I mean itās two taps from the home screen.
Settings > App name
I feel the same. I got a 2020 SE model iPhone last year after my Pixel 1 XL's battery became unusable. There are some pros and some cons. At the moment I'm happy with the phone but don't see iOS as so amazing that I wouldn't consider an Android phone when my SE doesn't do what I need it to anymore.
This year I got an M1 Macbook from work. While I'd prefer Debian for my OS the hardware on the computer is unmatched. If Apple's push for high performance ARM chips leaks out to other manufacturers I'll be glad to get a personal laptop with an ARM processor. But for now Apple makes what is by far the best laptop SOC.
for upnp, try the foobar2000 app. Its ugly as sin, but it will play anything you want including upnp and has some basic DSP.
One nit-the airbods enhanced functionality are due at least in part to hardware, the h1 chip I think call it.
Just as an alternative user experience: I use iOS on an iPad mini as a web browser and for reading books with Kindle, not as a phone, and for that it seems fine.
I use Chrome and many of the Google apps. Sure, itās Chrome on top of a webview, but most websites work the same. The keyboard input took a while to get used to.
Iāve never logged into iCloud since I see no reason to sync things with both Google and Apple, and Iāve never used iMessage because I try to do most communication using my phone.
Iāve also installed a bunch of the google apps to replace some of the awful native ones.
Keyboard is a pain. I installed gboard but it looks like it is still a significantly different layout than Android. Not having period on the main layout gets me, as well as a few other small things like ā¦ no number row for some reason.
Idk, I donāt want to complain about these bits too much, itās just different so I can get used to the differences. And I guess the layout will get me used to tapping double space for period which I should really do on Android too.
The most frustrating thing about the native keyboard is that it keeps making substitutions I don't want, and doesn't take "undo" for an answer. For example, substituting an ellipses character for three periods, which doesn't work everywhere.
Maybe I'll give Gboard a try.
Ha, I noticed and actually really like that substitution. My custom linux keyboard actually has altgr-period for "ā¦", I use ellipses a lotā¦