Looking Back to Windows Phone After Switched to Samsung Galaxy S6

[bkydcmpr]

I had been a long time Windows Phone user since bought the original Samsung Focus on the launch day. Before that, I had used Windows Mobile for years. My last windows phone was Lumia 1020, I switched to Samsung Galaxy S6 a month back for the sake of Gear VR. I'd like to tell my experience of the change for those considering to do the same.

I love Windows Phone because I love the aesthetic of the original Zune (the software not the player), my passion passed to Metro UI when Windows Phone was announced. I complained many times about lacking apps during the years with Windows Phone, felt Microsoft let me down when I could not upgrade Windows 7.5 phone to 8.1, but it's still my favorite platform.

Wife has an iPhone, daughter has a Galaxy tablet for years, but I had never spent much time on them. I was aware of however both platform had been aesthetically improved since adapted Metro like design.

How do I feel about Android after a month? Many surprises.

- Buggy, totally surprised me. I thought Android was a matured system, but had so many amateur level bugs. For example, the Gallery app grabs all the pictures in the phone, including all of my Album arts in the music folder. I first thought there would be some settings to exclude those folders, no. Searched the answers on the internet, created an empty file called ".nomedia" in the Music folder (through a 3rd party app), yes the pictures are gone, and so is my music collection :-( The solution? Download a 3rd party app. The Contact app? That's a joke, created 7 junk contacts for each of my known contact and many I don't know them at all!

- Laggy, worse than I expected. Galaxy S6 has a much faster processor than Lumia 1020, but I had experienced hiccups here and there often. I think for those Android users thinking it's smooth, they probably have never used other phones.

- App ecosystem, not as good as I thought. Yes, all my banks, insurance, and whatever business I have an account with, there is a big chance they have an app. That's a plus. But other apps? not much better than Windows Phone ecosystem. e.g., I couldn't find a gadget news app as good as the one I used on Windows phone. I was so mad at those crappy apps, so I decided to download Android Studio to write my own. Surprise, surprise, at the 6th iteration, Android Studio still could not run correctly out of box! It complains about missing emulator skin, and fixing it is not trivia, typical Java style (you spent hours even days to make some basic stuff working before touch the real job and call it achievement)!

What does Android do better than Windows Phone? Widgets.

Windows (Phone) has live tiles, it used to be cool and still better than the static icons on other platforms, but lacking Widget makes the UI boring as time being. In my opinion, Microsoft must consider Widgets on all Windows platform. I remember when SBB made a Swiss railway clock tile on Windows 8.0, it could not update itself. That's the best SBB could do with live tile, and that's desperately pity.

 

[dkp23]

Anybody switching to s6 from any phone made the wrong decision. The s6 is not smooth, the battery is completely horrible, and the settings are a mess.

People hate on apple, if you are going to switch, switch to an iphone.

 

[Ma Rio]

I never liked live tiles anyway. They mostly ruin my experience. I like 'dead' fully transparent minimalistic tiles the most.
As for switching to Android, I don't think it's worth it once you get used to WP. Yeah you get the apps, but as you said - so what. I enjoy WP (Windows10Mobile, now) for what it is.

 

[anon(3463402)]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[midnightfrolic]

Thanks for sharing your experience. We use a variety of different eco system in our family and I need to manage it all. UGH..

I'm a fan of live tiles actually over static apps. It's been a more refreshing experience from older Windows Phone, IOS, and Android.

For the member who likes 'dead' static apps, you can shrink the icon size in the START screen and it becomes static, no live updating. Some apps, like Engadget apps has a specific setting in it to disable live tiles.

As much as I like to hate on iDevices, they run well. And here's why. Only Apple makes Apple Products. All of their devices have OS that are specifically tailored to those device. And apple only needs to worry about only a dozen different ones at any given time. Whereas other ecosystems have about 300 or more at any given time. The other thing is that their devices are usually premium top quality everything when they arrive. The difference between iDevices are the internal storage. All new iDevices are the same except more or less storage, with the exception of newer niches devices like iPhone C. There are no 'low-end' anything for Apple devices, nor 'affordable' models. Steve Jobs ran a tight ship. No wonder he's hated and loved at the same time.

That is why you have so many peeps complaining X Poduct runs like crap, and because R&D really sucks for having so many devices per ecosystem.

 

[sumton]

im using android right now i can tell you its customizable piece of junk with apps ... apps crashing, phone freezes, fugly default icons, 14 years old kids UI and apps design, not to mention apps permissions and if you are lucky you might get updates, i can't say anything positive except you got apps for everything but am i happy with it No. in my opinion its either apple or microsoft.

 

[Steve Adams]

im using android right now i can tell you its customizable piece of junk with apps ... apps crashing, phone freezes, fugly default icons, 14 years old kids UI and apps design, not to mention apps permissions and if you are lucky you might get updates, i can't say anything positive except you got apps for everything but am i happy with it No. in my opinion its either apple or microsoft.

If android was developed by a 14 year old, then IOS as developed by a preschool child. They just took the leappad os, and adapted it to attract lemmings. Windows phone is more polished, mature and smooth. With windows 10, within the next year, all your bank apps etc will be on our platform.

 

[colinkiama]

couldn't find a gadget news app as good as the one I used on Windows phone..

When I was using a android I came across the official feedly app (nextgen reader is the feedly client for WP). Enter in all the sites you want to subscribe to and just like that you get articles from those sites.

 

[Bagzton]

Summarizing the original poster: Stick to Windows(phone/mobile) and enjoy peace of mind.

I'm not much of an app guy (how much of these apps do we truly use on a daily?) so when I hear grumblings about the app gap (this word is even becoming annoying) on Windows platform, I'm not really bothered. Then the talk of how smooth these OSes run, it's no secret that even after all these years of playing in the field Android is still laggy, buggy,and what not. I've never used Android to know this because all around me I have family members, friends, colleagues on the platform with the same complain.

As for the live tiles, if I'm presented with two options: Live tiles or widgets? I'd pick live tiles over those static icons on the screen that can't even be resized. Even when I'm drunk lol!

 

[nasellok]

Summarizing the original poster: Stick to Windows(phone/mobile) and enjoy peace of mind.

I'm not much of an app guy (how much of these apps do we truly use on a daily?) so when I hear grumblings about the app gap (this word is even becoming annoying) on Windows platform, I'm not really bothered. Then the talk of how smooth these OSes run, it's no secret that even after all these years of playing in the field Android is still laggy, buggy,and what not. I've never used Android to know this because all around me I have family members, friends, colleagues on the platform with the same complain.

As for the live tiles, if I'm presented with two options: Live tiles or widgets? I'd pick live tiles over those static icons on the screen that can't even be resized. Even when I'm drunk lol!

I'm no android defender, but widgets are definitely re-sizeable, they have been for quite some time now - I do think that MS needs to figure out actionable live tiles. If my music is playing, or mail, or something like that - I should be able to tap and hold, and dive into the app (similar to apples force touch, "pick and pop", or whatever they call it. For all we know, they had it working - that 3d touch thing that was rumored could have been similar, but for some reason they decided that it was a gimmick and wouldn't sell. I do love Samsung's hardware, and I would buy a Note5 in a heartbeat if it were running W10...........but I think we will see pigs flying before that happens. Too many customizations built into Touchwiz, that are probably impossible to implement into W10M - specifically with the stylus, and hover, and the radial menu.

I switched to WP almost 2 years ago (Lumia Icon), and haven't looked back. Are there some apps that I miss - absolutely..........the Fios TV app, my banking apps, etc - but from what I am seeing, our camera apps, video editing, and Lumia Creative Studio, etc, are all better than whats available on Andriod........IMHO, Windows 10's UI is light years beyond anything IOS or Android have - but the age old issue, lack of apps. When the W10 Mobile bridge (Project Astoria) is completed, and developers port their apps over, we will be in a better situation, but until then, I have to supplement some stuff on the web, which isn't a huge deal, just annoying.

My biggest issue is when I'm at a trade show, or museum, or event, and to participate, you have to download an app, and that app is only available on IOS or Android. That needs to change, and hopefully Windows 10's adoption rate will help to get those apps onto Windows 10 Mobile.

 

[sumton]

If android was developed by a 14 year old, then IOS as developed by a preschool child. They just took the leappad os, and adapted it to attract lemmings. Windows phone is more polished, mature and smooth. With windows 10, within the next year, all your bank apps etc will be on our platform.

putting apps aside Microsoft like google if they launch a service and you don't live in USA you are going to wait and wait and wait until its available to you on the other side apple day one worldwide service. even updates once they start rolling updates everyone in this world gets it. there is a lot of advantages for buying ios phone over windows or android phones.

 

[Steve Adams]

putting apps aside Microsoft like google if they launch a service and you don't live in USA you are going to wait and wait and wait until its available to you on the other side apple day one worldwide service. even updates once they start rolling updates everyone in this world gets it. there is a lot of advantages for buying ios phone over windows or android phones.

There are many more disadvantages to buying apple phones than advantages. I have used them all and windows phone by far is the best by a long shot, app availability aside. Windows phone is just more reliable, hardware is better, and your not classified as a ****** using one....unlike apple.

 

[N_LaRUE]

I guess this being a WP user site everyone loves the 'I can't believe Android is this bad' story. I could point out you bought a Samsung...

I have a different story line.

I've been using Android for more than a year now (N7 and Z3). No issues. No complaints. No lag, No apps crashing any more than they crashed on WP. I had resuming screens a plenty on WP and crap apps.

I can understand that it didn't work as you expected but it's like anything. it's what you're used to and what you use your smartphone for. For me Android suits just fine. It does what I need and gives me the options I want where WP did not. I like the widgets as well.

People gush on here how great and smooth WP OS is/was but I had issues with it, lots of issues. So did many others and they still do. Everyone's experience is subjective. I'd like to go back to W10M but at this moment I have no desire to as it doesn't suit me.

I'm still intrigued to see what happens but until there's a better ecosystem and something compelling about W10M I'm staying away from it for a while. I am running W10 on my PC.

 

[MDK22]

It's the old saying ...

NO perfect phone (OS / ecosystem) just perfect for you, your needs / wants / use case.

I have to agree with a lot of the posters, for me the app gap involves the lack of banking apps & the short term apps featuring ... which seem to be only for iOS / Android. The app situation is a chicken / egg thing. They'll build / port apps when the market share grows & the market share will grow when they build / port apps for Win10Mobile (or whatever the current buzzword is).

Other than banking, some apps are restricted, because of the nature / security of the Win10Mobile OS ... though it seems to be opening up a bit.
The killer app I'd be looking for - there was an app on Symbian which detected Where, When & other conditions to adjust your profile.
There are some bits of it in Cortana, but not enuff - lower (or raise) phone volume because you're in a meeting, in your car or just left home. Turn ON (& OFF) WiFi including your phone searching for it, based on location, time of day, etc. There was more & it was an active developing app - incorporate those abilities into Cortana.

All that being said, I personally love the OS with my device of choice, the Lumia 1520.

 

[bkydcmpr]

You made me curious why Samsung is not the best choice for a Android phone and how N7/Z3 managed to make it. At this point, S6/N5 have the arguably fastest processor. Speaking of software, the first thing I did after powered up the phone is to try out different launchers to replace the infamous Touch FL and settled down with Nova Launcher, unfortunately none of the launchers made it any smoother. As I said the only reason for me to pick up the Android is Gear VR so I didn't think about other Android brand. I did feel the relief for the availability of apps, but not impressed by the quality.

 

[Mark Kaplan]

Thank you for sharing! I too was considering jumping ship (shocking I know) and trying a Note 5. Now I am going to wait and get the 950 XL and give this one more chance. I refuse to go to Apple. Been there done that.

 

[N_LaRUE]

You made me curious why Samsung is not the best choice for a Android phone and how N7/Z3 managed to make it. At this point, S6/N5 have the arguably fastest processor. Speaking of software, the first thing I did after powered up the phone is to try out different launchers to replace the infamous Touch FL and settled down with Nova Launcher, unfortunately none of the launchers made it any smoother. As I said the only reason for me to pick up the Android is Gear VR so I didn't think about other Android brand. I did feel the relief for the availability of apps, but not impressed by the quality.

The Nexus 7 runs vanilla Android. The Sony Z3 is virtually vanilla Android. Samsung tends to add a whole load of rubbish on their phones. Where Sony does have some bloat, most can be useful and some can be uninstalled. The small apps on the Sony are great and I use them often.

Some people love Samsung regardless of the faults. One of the benefits of using a Samsung is the support from third parties whereas the only other brand to get that kind of level is Apple.

First thing I would have done with the phone is put stock Android on it personally. Either that or run a restore on it. I've often found that sometimes the installed OS from manufacturers can be corrupt. This is not unique to Samsung or Android phones but also any smartphone.

To me no OS is perfect and they all have their faults. Some just hide them better than others. I also believe that with Android M coming I thinks will get better overall. It's taken time but I think we're heading to a time where Android is going to be more optimized.

Still won't prevent Samsung making it crap though.

 

[sinime]

Windows (Phone) has live tiles, it used to be cool and still better than the static icons on other platforms, but lacking Widget makes the UI boring as time being. In my opinion, Microsoft must consider Widgets on all Windows platform. I remember when SBB made a Swiss railway clock tile on Windows 8.0, it could not update itself. That's the best SBB could do with live tile, and that's desperately pity.

There have been improvements to WP8.1 regarding tile updating.... I wrote a clock app that changes the time, in Klingon, every minute. Yes there are occasions where it doesn't update properly because of the way the tile updates are handled by the system... You can set up updates to happen every minute, but you are not guaranteed that said updates will occur exactly on time... (fingers crossed that I can make I work better on Win 10). Anyhow, MS' system for updating tiles is actually a good thing. It prevents apps from just running free in the background and chewing through your battery all day. If I had to guess, I'd say it is how Android handles apps in the background that leads to the lag-fest it becomes over time... My wife is on an S6 Active and she reboots it every day to get a couple of hours of it running smooth. She is always cussing it out and wishes she had switched to iOS or waited for the 950XL to come out.

Also, keep in mind you will void your warranty if you flash an S6 with a ROM that isn't its stock ROM... At least I've read there is a fuse on the board that has no function but to pop (notify Samsung) if an unsupported non-samsung ROM is flashed on the phone.

 

[N_LaRUE]

Also, keep in mind you will void your warranty if you flash an S6 with a ROM that isn't its stock ROM... At least I've read there is a fuse on the board that has no function but to pop (notify Samsung) if an unsupported non-samsung ROM is flashed on the phone.

Can you provide a link to where you read this? I'd like to see the evidence behind this.

 

[Ten Four]

I was just helping someone sort out some problems with his new S6 and I was surprised by how difficult it was to use. I can't claim a lot of Android experience, but so much was non-intuitive with crappy mystery menus of stuff that could only be figured out by clicking ever deeper and deeper. The UI on WP8.1 is far superior IMHO. Even mainstream apps, like Google maps, had weird quirks making them difficult to use. For example, I was trying to locate a very rural location and when I would get close scrolling across the map it would suddenly pop me back to a previously searched for location. This happened again and again--it seemed to be related to the zoom--too much and it wouldn't let me scroll down the road past a certain point. By the way, using Google search on the phone wouldn't locate the place, but it came up immediately when I used Google search on a laptop. Why is that? Camera seemed really good and very fast.