Thoughts on moving to iOS from WP

[drunkinekted]

Long story short, I gave up on WP after BUILD and the announcement of Astoria but held off until a few weeks ago when its leak expedited my move to iOS.
To sum up, I am really hoping the rumored Surface Phone uses x86 code without Astoria so I can go back but I just wanted to point out a few drawbacks of the only choice, namely iOS, from someone that has made the jump.
Some of the problems might be related to the fact that I haven't explored iOS to its fullest yet, but having gone through all the obvious settings, I find myself struggling with the following:

Driving mode

There is nothing similar on the iPhone. I try to drive on the safer side and used to have calls dropped and a SMS sent while having incoming texts read by Cortana. Maybe Siri can do that using CarPlay or something, but if you don't like wires, car/phone integration is nothing but the basics.

Multi-language support

If you use 3 or more languages to text, the iPhone is a nightmare. Switching languages is severely more unfriendly since the key to cycle languages in the emoji keyboard is in a different position from the regular keyboards.

It also seems that iOS is a lot less flexible recognizing errors so when I accidentally start type a text in the incorrect language setting, it tries to correct EVERYTHING so the message becomes unintelligible for the intended recipient. On WP, I would just get a lot of squiggly lines in the text but in most cases, I could send the message to the recipient.
To complicate issues a bit more, there is no predictive text for Cyrillic alphabets it seems. So if your 3rd language does not use the Roman alphabet, you are in for a rough ride. I must admit it is helping me a bit to improve my skills but it is still a deficiency.

Apps

This is the part I figured I would be thrilled with but far from it. I was happy to have a banking app again but that is pretty much it.

The Vera app (home automation) for instance is absolutely garbage compared to Grasshopper, a third party app which despite not being as good looking, runs circles around the official Vera app. It takes me so long for it to respond that most of the time I just go and switch the lights off manually. Often my door sensors don?t send notifications and I gave up testing flood sensors and getting even the proper status of climate control when I am out of range of my AP.

The Insteon app is not much better. I am yet to get the cameras to work even once in the iPhone and while it was pretty crappy on WP as well, at least I could just reopen the app and get the feeds.

Not being a fan of sharing information, I only use Twitter to follow some friends and some people that actually have something interesting to say. But on iOS, the app is riddled with ads (disguised as promotions), something not present on the WP version. Alternatives, sure. But it was so much easier and simple on WP.

I probably need to search and test more news apps but I am yet to find anything like Magnify. Most of the news aggregators in iOS have ?curated? content or are too plain or cumbersome.

I have used an iPhone 6 for about 4 days now, so I haven?t had the need to fly or use any convenience that some apps may provide. I have used Apple Pay and while it is great, the US is far far away from the day I don?t need to carry a wallet.

There are other examples if you are invested in the Microsoft ecosystem such as games with XBL integration, Microsoft Band (namely FanBand), etc.

Lack of live tiles

With the exception of the clock, iOS has the most boring UI I have used since Windows 3.1. On WP, a few seconds would give me the weather, upcoming appointments, latest messages in general, favorite pictures, etc., all without more than a double tap on the screen.

Development

Since Windows Mobile 2003, I have been writing apps to suit my specific needs. I never published an app publicly since I absolutely suck as an UI designer and to be honest, I don?t fare that much better as a developer either, but all my computers always had Visual Studio installed (or eMbedded VC++ for that matter).
Since I also own a MacBook for work purposes, I tried Objective C and I honestly think that the team who made it were all into BDSM with a big emphasis on the M.

There are plenty more issues, but they fall under the category of nitpicking which would make this post far longer and pointless.

WP may still need some work but it was getting there even if lacking apps. So if you are thinking about switching to iOS, make sure you will have the things you actually need. There is plenty to like about iOS but IMHO, there seems to be a huge dichotomy between the perceived and obtainable productivity levels when comparing the two platforms.

 

[Laura Knotek]

That is very interesting and gives a different perspective from what we've usually seen.

Hopefully, you'll be able to get a new Windows Phone eventually.

 

[drunkinekted]

That was the main drive for this post. I expected a bit of a learning curve and adaptation but I never expected having to make compromises other than losing the live tiles.

Microsoft has made it very easy to use most of its services in iOS which made the move fairly painless. At the same time, it seems to me at least that some of the WP features are more mature than their iOS counterparts.

This past Sunday alone I was laughed at and inquired about my sobriety and sanity status due to some messages I sent so at least I am entertaining friends and family. However, I am already contemplating moving the SIM back to my 1520 and simply riding it until its proverbial wheels fall off.

I am most definitely surprised.

 

[dakranii]

I use my wife's iPhone at times (specifically to play Clash of Clans) and I really don't like using it. It is boring and bland. It solidifies my stance with Windows Phone.

On the app front, I do miss the ability to pull in any app you hear about. Yes, they're not all necessary, but a few examples: 1) took our kids to Krispy Kreme to see donuts being made and to get a few off the line. There's an app for iOS (maybe Android? Didn't look) that tells you when they're making donuts. Pointless? Yes. But it's there. And it's not on Windows Phone. 2) We have food trucks that park outside my work. Klickle is an app that tells you what food trucks are where and offers coupons. Currently there's a $2 off coupon on Klickle for the food truck that's parked outside my office the last two days. However, as Klickle does not have a Windows Phone app, I can't get the coupon.

Are either a big deal? No. But experiences like this over and over add up. Despite that I'll still stay with Windows Phone as I love the UI way more than any other (my wife has mentioned several times how much quicker my phone does stuff than her iPhone) and that's more important to me than a few apps.

 

[drunkinekted]

There is no doubt that the wide availability of apps is the single biggest advantage iOS has. I continued my stint on it for a while longer enjoying the apps for banks, insurances, educational institutions, not to mention the absolute delight that Safari became with ad blockers. The superb integration with iPad, OSX and Apple TV even made me think about going full Apple.
But ultimately the keyboard language issues, the lack of Cortana/Driving mode, poor performance and stability of home automation apps and the inability to discretely respond to text messages on the Band in meetings led my iPhone 6 back to the drawer. Some very convenient apps and Apple Pay were great, but the core functions of WP8.1 just suit my lifestyle better.
Luckily, my struggle with the new platform became moot with the seemingly demise of Astoria and I am now impatiently waiting for the release of the 950XL. Despite its blandness and lack of hardware buttons, will now be my next phone.

 

[ArtificiallyYours]

I'm glad anyone can at least choose their platform without having to ask the spoiled lazy sixteen year old girl/boy about which phone to purchase.

In all seriousness I agree with this post 100%

 

[casab1anca]

I tried the iPhone 6S for a week and I ended up returning it. I'll admit the hardware is great, the OS is really smooth and fingerprint unlocking is crazy fast, but that's where it ends. I don't really use a lot of apps, and it's just shocking how inferior the base iOS is compared to WP:

- Not-so-great keyboard (even with SwiftKey)
- Calendar invites show up as attachments (is this 1995?)
- Poor conversation support in Mail
- Cannot forward calendar invites
- No notification counts on lock screen / cannot have separate counts for different inboxes
- No contact photos in phone dialer (helps for quick identification)
- No back button (edge swipes are hit or miss and don't work across apps)

 

[xandros9]

Picked up an 32 GB iPhone 5s a couple months ago after a significant shift in my mobile needs made my current 830 insufficient. (well, it was big too)

Here's some things of note since using this phone: (iOS 9.1)

Hardware:
- It's compact. I love the size and design.
- I miss my wireless charging, I didn't really use NFC much.
- I had forgotten how handy the ringer switch is. If I were designing phones, it would be a requirement.
- Still photos just aren't as good as on my 920 and 830, slo-mo video though is a plus. I want my camera button though.
- Touch ID has spoiled me. although sometimes factors can interfere with its operation.
- No touchscreen use through gloves. Hasn't been an issue yet, but its getting cold.

Software:
- I miss my Glance.
- It's speedy. I don't see resuming or loading - at most a splash screen or other image, nowhere near as long. Replying directly to a text notification somehow seems to make the phone choke momentarily though. Everything else is a dream for the most part. (although expectations are slightly checked given its age.
- I haven't found out how to make Siri proactively ask me about text messages like Cortana did and I really miss that. ("You got a text from...") Sure I can ask Siri to read my recent notifications or texts, but it needs input first.
- Windows Phone let you set custom notification sounds for apps - iOS doesn't. I miss that dearly. I'm bored of Snapchat's tri-tone alert.
- A minor side-effect of developmental neglect is less support for ads on Windows I feel. But still its not enough to say WP is ahead in any regard.
- iOS's Contacts app feels inferior to People, although my FB sync doesn't seem to work as its supposed to. Also I can't make/access groups like Outlook.
- I find iOS reliable just like WP 8.1 - very polished too. things work as supposed to, and do what they say in traditional Apple fashion.
- Options galore - it has a lot of depth compared to Windows Phone I feel, in that it has numerous accessibility options, custom vibrations, USB tethering, etc. A thousand cuts (except good) so to speak.

- iTunes - a mixed bag here. iTunes is a bit fat, required to load personal media and sometimes a pain, but it does work. The automatic Recently Added playlist is something I am still salty about MS dumping. The play count is also interesting to look at.
Playlist syncing is painless, one can sync IE bookmarks (which I do) and photos which is nice. And it doesn't seem to eat CPU like Groove somehow does. I think its a net positive, esp. with Wi-Fi syncing.
Having to use it to load specially formatted Ringtones is a huge drag though, a definite loss from WP.

- iOS doesn't let me reach into cloud storage to upload a photo, whereas Windows Phone could reach into Facebook or OneDrive photos with the stock image picker.
iTunes can sync photos locally.

- Apps. I have just about everything I need, and they work well. This is the main factor.
Gained NFCU, Snapchat and Yik Yak, WC Forums, FB Paper, games if I so desire etc.
Bucking the trend, MS's MSN News app sucks compared to WP's. But Office, GroupMe, Skype works well.
I lost an excellent Package Tracker that synced with my computer.
I lost decent manual camera controls. VSCO isn't bad, but nowhere near Lumia level.
I want my Readit back, Alien Blue seems like too... much.
Cortana is something I also miss, but Siri handles the orders just fine. Its the proactiveness that I miss.
But those aren't enough to make me jump back alone.

- Actionable notifications are bae.

- Music - I couldn't stand the stock Music app. No.
I found an excellent replacement in the app store, but still, the fact I find Apple Music inferior to CorePlayer, Groove, maybe even 8.1's Xbox Music from a UX standpoint is interesting.
I use Marvis now, and its the best music play I've touched yet. Although Coreplayer and Groove may be tied.

- The transparency and design is top-notch, but I miss WP's dark theme. If an iOS 9.1 jailbreak happens, I know I'm using Eclipse.
- Edge swipes are nice.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Picked up an 32 GB iPhone 5s a couple months ago after a significant shift in my mobile needs made my current 830 insufficient. (well, it was big too)

Here's some things of note since using this phone: (iOS 9.1)

Hardware:
- It's compact. I love the size and design.
- I miss my wireless charging, I didn't really use NFC much.
- I had forgotten how handy the ringer switch is. If I were designing phones, it would be a requirement.
- Still photos just aren't as good as on my 920 and 830, slo-mo video though is a plus. I want my camera button though.
- Touch ID has spoiled me. although sometimes factors can interfere with its operation.
- No touchscreen use through gloves. Hasn't been an issue yet, but its getting cold.

Software:
- I miss my Glance.
- It's speedy. I don't see resuming or loading - at most a splash screen or other image, nowhere near as long. Replying directly to a text notification somehow seems to make the phone choke momentarily though.
- I haven't found out how to make Siri proactively ask me about text messages like Cortana did and I really miss that. ("You got a text from...") Sure I can ask Siri to read my recent notifications or texts, but it needs input first.
- Windows Phone let you set custom notification sounds for apps - iOS doesn't. I miss that dearly. I'm bored of Snapchat's tri-tone alert.
- A minor side-effect of developmental neglect is less support for ads on Windows I feel.
- iOS's Contacts app feels inferior to People, although my FB sync doesn't seem to work as its supposed to. Also I can't make/access groups like Outlook.
- I find iOS reliable just like WP 8.1 - very polished too. things work as supposed to.
- Options galore - it has a lot of depth compared to Windows Phone I feel, in that it has numerous accessibility options, custom vibrations, USB tethering, etc. A thousand cuts (except good) so to speak.

- iTunes - a mixed bag here. iTunes is a bit fat, required to load personal media and sometimes a pain, but it does work. The automatic Recently Added playlist is something I am still salty about MS dumping. The play count is also interesting to look at.
Playlist syncing is painless, one can sync IE bookmarks (which I do) and photos which is nice. And it doesn't seem to eat CPU like Groove somehow does. I think its a net positive, esp. with Wi-Fi syncing.
Having to use it to load specially formatted Ringtones is a huge drag though, a definite loss from WP.

- iOS doesn't let me reach into cloud storage to upload a photo, whereas Windows Phone could reach into Facebook or OneDrive photos with the stock image picker.

- Apps. I have just about everything I need, and they work well.
Gained NFCU, Snapchat and Yik Yak, WC Forums, FB Paper, games if I so desire etc.
Bucking the trend, MS's MSN News app sucks compared to WP's. But Office, GroupMe, Skype works well.
I lost an excellent Package Tracker that synced with my computer.
I lost decent manual camera controls. VSCO isn't bad, but nowhere near Lumia level.
I want my Readit back, Alien Blue seems like too... much.
Cortana is something I also miss, but Siri handles the orders just fine. Its the proactiveness that I miss.

- Actionable notifications are bae.

- Music - I couldn't stand the stock Music app. No.
I found an excellent replacement in the app store, but still, the fact I find Apple Music inferior to CorePlayer, Groove, maybe even 8.1's Xbox Music from a UX standpoint is interesting.
I use Marvis now, and its the best music play I've touched yet. Although Coreplayer and Groove may be tied.

- The transparency and design is top-notch, but I miss WP's dark theme. If an iOS 9.1 jailbreak happens, I know I'm using Eclipse.
- Edge swipes are nice.

Have you used Apple Pay? If so, how well does it work?

 

[xandros9]

Have you used Apple Pay? If so, how well does it work?

Unfortunately Apple Pay is restricted to newer models with NFC and such.

 

[Laura Knotek]

Unfortunately Apple Pay is restricted to newer models with NFC and such.

I didn't realize the 5S doesn't have NFC.

 

[tgp]

Have you used Apple Pay? If so, how well does it work?

I use Apple Pay. It is very slick. In my opinion, it is very much Apple-esque; take something already in use and make it very user friendly. Have you ever seen the commercial where the shopper fumbles with digging her credit card out of her purse vs. using Apple Pay? It really does work like that!

I've found a couple places where Android Pay works but Apple Pay doesn't, but for the most part it's usable at any place that has NFC readers. It is more convenient to use than Android Pay, but that is more than likely due to the fact that I do not (currently) have an Android device with a fingerprint reader.

I didn't realize the 5S doesn't have NFC.

Apple Pay was announced with the iPhone 6/6+ last year. They are the first iPhone devices to have NFC.

 

[worldspy99]

I didn't realize the 5S doesn't have NFC.

Best tweet on that topic by far...
https://twitter.com/ronamadeo/status/509424207474999297

 

[worldspy99]

I use Apple Pay. It is very slick. In my opinion, it is very much Apple-esque; take something already in use and make it very user friendly. Have you ever seen the commercial where the shopper fumbles with digging her credit card out of her purse vs. using Apple Pay? It really does work like that!

I've found a couple places where Android Pay works but Apple Pay doesn't, but for the most part it's usable at any place that has NFC readers. It is more convenient to use than Android Pay, but that is more than likely due to the fact that I do not (currently) have an Android device with a fingerprint reader.



Apple Pay was announced with the iPhone 6/6+ last year. They are the first iPhone devices to have NFC.

I use Android Pay at Walgreens, Trader Joe's and Starbucks on my Nexus 5. No fingerprint scanner but it works like a charm once the screen is unlocked.

 

[tgp]

I use Android Pay at Walgreens, Trader Joe's and Starbucks on my Nexus 5. No fingerprint scanner but it works like a charm once the screen is unlocked.

Yes it does work well. What I like about the iPhone is that you do not have to turn on anything at all. Simply put your thumb on the fingerprint reader and tap. The screen doesn't even have to be on.

The old Google Wallet app required that you enter your PIN in the app. Android Pay did away with that, but requires the device to be locked via PIN, password, pattern, fingerprint, or at least something more than swiping.

 

[drunkinekted]

The irony of my initial post is just too great for me not to share.
One of the secondary reasons for my then premature divestment on Windows Phones was that I suspected that by allocating resources to the dalvik subsystem, Microsoft would have any Windows 10 Mobile phone ultimately running slow, buggy and unreliable.
As it turns out, it seems W10M (for short) became just that without any external help. On day one, I happily faced a 30-minute line (29 minutes longer than I normally have patience for any retail experience) at the closest Microsoft store to purchase the Lumia 950XL. More than just being happy about being able to keep my homogeneous ecosystem, I was thrilled about the fact that I would no longer need to carry two phones as early reports indicated that the 950XL was a dual sim phone.
Long story short, the love affair suffered its first hit just a few minutes after unboxing due creaking noise in the battery cover. But since then, things only went bad to worse.
Pretty much all of my issues with iOS became also an issue with W10M. The Multilanguage support was the only one that remained true to its form from WP8.1. Granted, swapping between languages changed altogether but it did change for the better and works well.
The rest, well, driving mode is simply unreliable as anything Bluetooth related seems to be. I can?t even be bothered with music while driving anymore because 60% of the time, after the phone connects to the stereo, I have to manually start groove and then pick my music. Several of the apps I relied upon became slower or less reliable. I can?t even reply to SMS?s using my Band2 because 99% of the time it simply fails to connect to the phone. The live tiles became a hit or miss? I am yet to look at one and be certain the notifications are actually new. Coding for it seems to be in the same levels as before, but considering the alternative will require little development from my part, I am letting it go. Besides, even if painful, learning a new subject is always fun.
To make things worse, W10M has revived my long forgotten memories of WM6.5 (and bellow) where the phone was ringing but the UI was stalled making me miss the call altogether. Granted, it happened twice so far, but that is something unacceptable in 2016. Even the camera that I have been making extensive use of since my Samsung Focus is now nothing short of a disgrace. After 5 or 6 shots in sequence, I am stuck with a ?saving? message which obviously prevents me from taking any more pictures. And often the autofocus fails me completely leaving me with utterly useless pictures.
Ultimately, carrying the Lumia 950XL has become the same as carrying an iPhone, an exercise of compromises. To be honest, it is worse now since from my experience, my iPhone 6 is miles ahead of my 950XL in terms of reliability.
For now, I will keep using it simply because I like to travel light and not carrying two phones is a big deal for me. But to be honest, I am one important missed call or one missed Kodak moment away from giving up Windows on my pocket for good. Furthermore, I have a strong suspicion that the 950XL might be the next to last (at best) high end Windows powered phone anyway.
The really sad part is that in this day and age, switching to a different phone platform, might lead me to switch the whole ecosystem altogether. Short of a decent gaming platform, Apple covers it all in a simple, efficient, elegant, trustworthy and most of all, reliable platform. Right now, Microsoft is lacking most of those.

 

[Zoolok]

I couldn't agree more, I was furious with how bad Windows 10 works on mobile, so I switched to Android (you can find the thread I created here, in the same forum). Since Microsoft messed up with Windows 10, now I have to handle all the Android crap coming my way, namely the absolutely obsolete UI, terrible battery life and apps LOADED with ads. For the most part, using Android UI feels like browsing a site from the 00's, with frames and banners and popups.

However, I just reset the Lumia 1520 I still have back to Windows 8.1. I'll see how it feels to use that again.

 

[steven girdham]

Well I find the opposite on my Lumia 9.50xl windows 10 runs very Kwik smooth and no problem's best yet would recommend windows 10 to anyone

 

[drunkinekted]

I couldn't agree more, I was furious with how bad Windows 10 works on mobile, so I switched to Android (you can find the thread I created here, in the same forum). Since Microsoft messed up with Windows 10, now I have to handle all the Android crap coming my way, namely the absolutely obsolete UI, terrible battery life and apps LOADED with ads. For the most part, using Android UI feels like browsing a site from the 00's, with frames and banners and popups.

However, I just reset the Lumia 1520 I still have back to Windows 8.1. I'll see how it feels to use that again.

I would probably have done so as well if it wasn’t for the fact that I shattered the screen of my 1520, if it wasn’t nigh impossible to find an original Nokia replacement screen or if I would not lose all the progress of the games I was playing and some other irretrievable data by simply buying a “new” one.

 

[drunkinekted]

Well I find the opposite on my Lumia 9.50xl windows 10 runs very Kwik smooth and no problem's best yet would recommend windows 10 to anyone

I understand how W10M might work just fine for you and others, but IMHO, I suspect some of the approval is related to the tolerance threshold differences inherent to different individuals.
Let me give an example. There are very few people I know who will say the iPad Air2 UI is slow of choppy in any way. Yet, I keep mine with the screen rotation lock enabled because I hate to see the UI stutter when I change its orientation. I don’t care what Apple says about its performance, what x and y benchmark say, if the framebuffer is too small for its resolution, the UI thread is too heavy or whatever else. For me, the screen rotation animation is slow and thus unacceptable.
Now, even being a Microsoft ****** since forever and a staunch supporter of Windows based phones from my first one (Motorola MPx220) all the way to my Lumia 1520, W10M has pushed me over the line of tolerance. The 950XL has some of the most powerful mobile hardware available and yet, I wouldn’t say so if I did not know the specs. I understand W10M is in constant evolution, but its current state feels closer to a late stage beta than RTM.
Without going into too much detail, since the early 2000s, no hardware or software I have purchased or approved both a work or home has been non-Microsoft if they had a solution available. But ironically, Threshold has pushed me through the threshold.