iOS. My move experience

[Asif S]

1) Apple - you pay more. Android - free operating system, the catch is privacy.
2) MS services: yes, MS services are poor, especially. MS should be ashamed that Skype works better on iOS than Windows Phone.
3) windows has good products such as Outlook, Skype. MS has to pay attention to streamline their service. I think the management top down is just poor. Can't understand, why they think they have a future in technology, without a mobile.
4) Tiles - It is feature, which iOS and Android, would live to have. Camera - for anyone who knows 101 of cameras, finds windows camera far more useful than iOS.
5) Sad, MS products work better on iOS.

 

[Mike Ianieri]

Thanks for posting - a good write-up that may come in handy some day.

I love WM Camera Roll - is there a way to default the camera on iOS or Android to automatically back up photos to OneDrive, and specifically choose a folder so they go where my years of WM photos are, or are you forced to adopt iCloud?

If you install OneDrive on Android or iOS you can set it to automatically upload your photos. These will go to the same Camera Roll as Windows Mobile does. I use all 3 OS's so it is nice that all my photos go to the same place. This doesn't override iCloud, just sends them to OneDrive as well.

 

[eddydu]

I hate IOS. I only use it because of the apps that I need. I miss my 1520 and am thinking of getting it back. I truly hope microsoft does something amazing with their new version of windows. It has to happen in order for them to survive.

 

[jbowyer1]

Also pics from OneDrive aren't automatically shown in the photos app

I recently switched from a 950 XL to an iPhone 7, and that's one of my annoyances as well. I have my photos syncing to both iCloud and OneDrive, but I wish I could see my older photos in the Photos app instead of having to switch over to the OneDrive app. Minor annoyance, at least.

Losing the Glance screen is my biggest annoyance so far; turning on the screen to check for missed notifications and email counts feels like such an archaic workflow. I also miss live tiles, though the widget pane suffices as a kludgy alternative.

Pretty much everything in the W10M OS/GUI and core apps (email, messaging, camera, etc.) is better than iOS, but c'est la vie. Apps and web browsing are equally better on iOS over W10M. We can't have it all, I guess.

With the OP for better security and less Google for choosing an iPhone over Android, even though I think the S8/S8+ is the best phone ever hardware-wise.

 

[N8tiveT3ch]

I like my Windows Phone and does what I need it to do. I hate the UI of apple but it works (I have one for work). I tried to like android just a fragmented OS between OEMs is what I hate. If I were to get one it would have to be google pixel and that is it (don't care if it looks boring...I have a 950 so I made peace with that). IDK just like my Nintendo Wii U I am going down with the ship and hopefully it looks as epic as the ending in Terminator 2.

 

[Mr. MacPhisto]

I went a roundabout way to get to iOS. I had only every had a Windows Phone as my daily driver since switching over to smartphones around 2012. First I was on WP7 and then 8, 8.1, and Windows Mobile 10.

So last year I decided to switch and I went with Android. A primary concern was updates to the OS and how frequently the OS came with junkware forced on you by various OEMs. I went with a brand new Nexus 6P with 64GB of storage. I worked well enough and I could customize it. I used MS' Arrow Launcher and tried others. I used all the MS services on it I could. It did not take long for it to get a bit flaky and for the rather large battery to get drained. Lots of rogue apps that could just eat up your CPU, memory, and battery. The need to be looking at what was sitting in memory and having an app to try to shut down stuff was a major pain.

In November I picked up an iPad Pro 9.7. I have long been an Apple critic (though I was a Mac user from 2002-2008 and left for some very specific issues), but the iPad is the best tablet when it comes to just being a tablet. I found I enjoyed how easy it was to use for light tasks. I still used my Windows desktop and my Android phone quite a but, but the iPad was always great for a bit bigger screen with better speakers to do some browsing, reading, etc on and it was always ready to go at a moment's notice.

So in February of this year I decided to exit Android's world and get an iPhone 7 Plus with 128GB of storage. I've been very impressed with the build quality, memory management, battery life, and updates. They've updated the file system while I've had the phone and I've had no issues. No resets. The built in multi-factor authentication works great (as does MS').

Apple has a GREAT app for switching from Android that took care of transferring contacts, text messages, and downloading all my apps in the store pretty seamlessly. The iCloud backup is also very good and worth the $0.99 I decided to pay per month for 50GB (and I still backup all my photos in OneDrive as well as Google Photos).

Like any phone, the battery will drain if you watch video, etc. I did have a day several months in where I streamed music to a BT speaker for about 8 hours and the phone went from 100% to 85%. I checked texts and FB a few times during that period, but I was working and not using it for much other than streaming. On days where I'm busy and it sits in my pocket, it pretty much sips the battery. It's not odd to look at my phone 10 hours after it has been taken off the charger and see it at 90%. Granted, that's a light use day, but the Nexus would be done to 60% or worse on a similar day.

I did use Microsoft's WordFlow keyboard for awhile, but that got discontinued and they are going to put many of its features into Swiftkey, so I switched back to that. It works well.

All the apps I had on Android function more reliably and use less power, CPU, and memory on the iPhone than their Android counterparts. Apps have crashed VERY rarely compared to Android. iOS has never mysteriously rebooted like Android was prone to do (I ran both M and N).

With the iPhone, the phone is pretty much transparent. It just works. It doesn't cause problems. Every app known to man is available. You have every choice imaginable for cases. Applecare+ is excellent if you decide to get it. And Apple supports their phones longer than anyone else. The iPhone 5 only recently stopped receiving updates FOUR YEARS after launch because it was not 64 bit. It's not unreasonable to assume that a new iPhone 7 could be supported for 4-5 years from now. It may not be quite as fast or power efficient, but Apple is likely to supply iOS updates for many years down the road. And if the battery gets less impressive during the first two years and you do have Applecare+, Apple will replace it for free. Outside of that time, they have a FLAT $79 fee to replace the battery with a new one.

So while people may complain about the cost of an iPhone, truth is that Apple supports them better than any other phone OEM. Updates are more reliable than anyone else. Security is better. iOS forces developers to not take shortcuts they can take in Android.

I'm much, much happier with an iPhone than I was with Android. I loved Windows a lot, but the iPhone has so much more to offer. Windows Phone could have achieved something similar without some missteps and if they could have gotten the public onboard, but the iPhone is really the only good choice in smartphones at this point. Android is so hit or miss and is a big pile of frustration quite often.

 

[cmattau90]

I'm making the jump this fall after Apple's new phones roll out. I use MS apps (Outlook, OneDrive, OneNote, Cortana, Groove, Authenticator, News, Bing, Sports) on my iPad so the transition should be smooth.

Cortana and Groove look slicker on Windows 10 Mobile but they still work. And since I have all my music and files stored in OneDrive, I won't lose anything.

I have my pics from the iPad automatically backing up to OneDrive. I push my Contacts from Outlook to iOS so they stay in sync.

I'll miss the ability to have a dark theme which looks so much better than a plain white background. I will also miss the transparent and resizeable tiles - the static spacing and ugly app icons in iOS is pretty dated.

My W10M has stopped notifying me when I have new mail even though my settings haven't changed and are correct. Live tiles are finicky at best.

There are a few apps I need for work that I will have access to in iOS which I am looking forward to. I think the direction MS was taking with W10M was good in that it seemed to have the best ideas for a modern mobile OS but the lack of apps and lack of phones killed any momentum. Poor execution in some areas and poor communication overall did them in.

 

[dgr_874]

I am most likely headed over to iOS this fall after the new stuff comes out. I find it frustrating to no end that i'll still use (and pay for) Microsoft's services even after what they did to W10M.

 

[Eric Hamilton]

You will have to take my Nokia Icon out of my cold dead hands.

 

[realwarder]

Thanks for posting - a good write-up that may come in handy some day.

I love WM Camera Roll - is there a way to default the camera on iOS or Android to automatically back up photos to OneDrive, and specifically choose a folder so they go where my years of WM photos are, or are you forced to adopt iCloud?

I am using OneDrive and it automatically uploads the photos. You have to go into the settings to enable background upload (GPS triggered due to OS limitations). OneDrive shows my photos just like on WM - I can browser through many years of them in a very similar manner. I also added both business and personal accounts and I can browse our O365 SharePoint shares too. All works very well. You can even download files for offline viewing.

 

[JasonH81]

Yeah, I'm gonna hold out. I have a 950XL as my daily driver and i use my 1520 as an assist device. Can't beat that 6inch screen. Hopefully MS comes up with something soon. I really like CShell.

 

[FourTonMantis]

These days is the first anniversary since I moved from using Windows Phone to iOS.
I've been with WP since the WP7 days. I miss the same things - better camera app and tiles, but overall my experience has been very positive.

 

[Lordtree]

As a former iPhone user the going back is not a much wanted prospect. Apps are usually charged for or have limited usability according to how much they monetize your use. If you want extra room you have to pay for icloud and no chance of sd expansion. Battery is not replaceable so it dies slowly as you use it and you are stuck with it. Usually after a year you can start expecting to notice it. On the other hand android is a lot of invasive services with google and more viruses. None of them entice me in the slightlyest. Will keep it for now.

 

[nickx91]

I also don't like the synchronization of iPhone with the iTunes, which is a pain while transferring. Also, I can't send files directly to cross-apps.

 

[davidewart]

My wife has an iPhone SE. And my Lumia 930 still feels like a better device. I share the frustrations with MS and W10M that others have noted, but I'm going to wait to see what MS does next year. I think they're vision of a single OS across multiple devices will prove more effective than multiple OS for multiple devices.

 

[bydandie]

The only real thing that's stopping me move from is getting Cortana to read my SMS. But I've just seen that Siri can do it as well, just not as well - the phone has to be unlocked.

I may try moving across, as the 950 is getting less support

 

[camaroz1985]

I also don't like the synchronization of iPhone with the iTunes, which is a pain while transferring. Also, I can't send files directly to cross-apps.

I didn't like that, but I haven't used iTunes at all with my iPhone. I sync my pictures to Onedrive, my music is on onedrive, and I use Groove to play it. Not only does that get around needing iTunes, but I also don't have to buy the larger storage options. I can easily get by with 32GB.

 

[realwarder]

I also don't like the synchronization of iPhone with the iTunes, which is a pain while transferring. Also, I can't send files directly to cross-apps.

I haven't even installed iTunes and don't need it for 'transferring?'. All my music is in Groove and that installed and ran perfectly, playing my OneDrive music.

 

[nickx91]

OneDrive is a work around for skipping iTunes. But, if you leave OneDrive then you would have to use iTunes. iTunes is required to sync your music library with iPhone. I usually transfers song from my laptop storage to mobile.

 

[jsooney]

I had to get a new phone after I had some problems with my 950XL. I've had an iPhone 7 Plus for about 6 weeks now and I'm really surprised what a piece of trash it is, I expected it to be a lot better. The app store is far better of course, but as far as usability and configurability (if that's a word), it is inferior to WP in many ways. History is full of examples where lesser products won out for commercial reasons rather than technical ones, and I guess this is one more. Shame really.