Switching platforms? | Thinking of leaving?...comment here!

[FredW3]

I have always been a windows phone fan. All the way back to the Samsung Blackjack. And then through windows 7, 7.1, 8, 8.1, and then WM10. Sure, I didn't have the apps, but most of that stuff is available over the Internet. Windows phone 8 was incredible, and so easy to use. My job requires me to be reachable by phone at all times, so when the 1520 started having battery issues, I jumped on the 950. Major disappointment. I would lose my signal and not know about it for hours. Once I noticed it, turning the phone off and back on would get the signal back, but I was not reachable for who knows how long. Got a replacement phone, same issues. Sadly, I had to go back to at&t and cough up $300 to get eligible for an upgrade, and got the S7. WM10 is just not stable yet, and Cortana is crippled (try saying 'play the beatles' under WM10, under 8.1 she would play the music from your library). I hated leaving what is, to me, the best concept for a phone OS, but I needed the stability. I don't know if I want to trust MS enough to go back, if and when the problems are fixed. As it stands, I am locked into the S7 for 2 years anyway.

 

[salazka]

I will be heading to iOS if by October I don't see a serious mobile desktop from the Surface line.

 

[dby2011]

FYI Android Marshmellow adds sdcard support for apps. The sdcard is formatted and merged with the phone's internal memory. I believe Samsung did not enable this feature but the pure versions of Android on the Nexus and Motorola phones allow it.

 

[chmun77]

Games depends on GPU, normal app performances, especially when it comes to waking up from standby and refreshing from the background depends on CPU and RAM, not GPU. Your comparison is dumb by comparing an entry level phone with the lowest amount of RAM and the slowest CPU to two top of the line highend flagships - with the iPhone 6+ still easily dominating in single thread execution performance over other Android flagships (THE most important factor for crunching everyday apps). End of. Also Xiaomi excels at selling highend spec phones for bargain prices (eg selling flagship at other competitions midrange price, midrange spec at rivals entry level price etc), so raising that as somehow "proof" of your argument is doubly dumb.

I have a 950XL which I can run against a high end Xperia Z4 tablet, a Sharp SH-02G phone (it has a SD801 and 3G of RAM) and an iPad Air 2 - they are all my own devices and all set up to access my MS stuff (I live in MS ecosystem - I use Outlook mail, OneDrive etc) - and I can tell you the MS apps runs just as well on my 950XL as the Android and iOS versions. Actually the Sharp runs the slowest because it is bog down by unoptimized OEM bloat after 1 year of usage.

What I find is that the MS apps aren't "better" on the other devices - they are roughly equal - in fact I can say Outlook and Calendar is best on W10M, just like MS promised. It's the third party "essentials" like Twitter and Facebook that blows on W10M and that's what's dragging down the ecosystem and makes it hard to stay or get people to switch.

C'mon. Games do not ONLY depending on GPU. CPU plays and important parts as well. CPU are used for lots of maths calculations in the games. That's why having a better CPU will not bottleneck the GPU so much. Your logic is already flawed from the very beginning and I'm not comparing games between different hardware.

Since you have a 950, try comparing starting apps on a budgeted 640 XL. I can tell you both are performing about the same when comes to apps performances, especially for the MS developed apps. That's why people are saying that Windows phone are supposed to be more efficient when comes to apps, regardless of hardware. Personally, I have compared a 1520 against Note 4 and IP6s+ and I can tell you apps are performing much better on the other platforms. Everything is just much snappier as well.

 

[chmun77]

I used to have this opinion of Android by thinking it was "lagdroid" but my Note 5, especially on 6.01, has been nothing of the short.

Likewise on my Note 4. Been more than a year of usage and it is still blazing fast. I'm going to get the new Xiaomi Note 3 soon which is running only a SD650. A very value for money model. Android has come a long way and since after KitKat, there is no more "lagdroid". For those who think or used a lagging Android before, I think is best for you not to touch Android since you are just not into it anyways.

 

[Nam Long]

I'm currently using L520 running Build 10586 and to be honest , next one will be an Android .
Reason being the Windows 10 Mobile itself where app is unavailable or unsupported , lack of feature and the way Microsoft going with windows mobile ( not a focus in this year ) . Back then i choose this over a Samsung android with 512 RAM because of the simplicity in design , the beauty of UI and because of promised smooth experience . I don't regret the choice but i do wonder could it be better ? I mean what is the point of smoothness or beautiful design if it can't do anything ( lack of app ) . I restrain myself from gaming or using app by using web instead , hoping one day it would be saved , especially with the W10M update promise . But today i realize i was wrong , no more supports for my phone ( not getting 10 ) which left me appless in the new dawn of UWP app , still no app i need . Using preview has it peak as the performance is just not good and Microsoft decide to stop giving update at this point at least for my unsupported device . With the direction the OS is going , there are hope for the app gap problem but i won't risk my money on "promises" . Next time it will be something exists , something being available , not "Soon" . And it will be the Android

 

[pulkit10]

I'm heading that way soon too because Microsoft just can't be bothered with a clear strategy. They try something for a few months then scrap it if it doesn't meet expectations. Way too fragmented a strategy to have in this space and especially when you're starting behind.

I still don't like Android. Say what you will about the "lagdroid" thing and it certainly has come a long way but issues still persist. A family member's Note 5 resets some games automatically and is tragically slow. The whole experience still has that clutter from 5 years ago when Android initially launched. I like Sony's offerings but not sure how much I'll enjoy it a few months down the road.

So it'll probably be the iPhone. Microsoft makes great apps for that platform and Apple does a great job of keeping the user interface consistent. Anyone has any experience here?

 

[Timbre70]

Can someone share their experience and tips for migrating from WP to iPhone? Especially on migration of contacts. I know Apple store has an app for those migrating from Android, how about WP?

 

[Auric Jarrel]

All of the Microsoft apps are excellent and equal to or better than the Windows Phone apps. Outlook for sure is better. Groove, however, on Android at least, is bad. Very archaic with no fast forward or music scrubbing and no updates since September. I've had to move to Google Music/Spotify for now (especially since Spotify works on Amazon Echo.)

That's disappointing about Groove. I think that would be the only thing holding me back from converting. Having access to my entire music collection is huge for me.

 

[FaisalST32]

Had high expectations of BUILD 2016. Was hoping for Windows 10 mobile to get a lot of love. But Microsoft disappointed big time. Virtually no mention of Windows 10 mobile. Since, Microsoft has decided to abandon Windows 10 mobile, it only makes sense that users, like myself, do the same too. Getting an Android soon. Will miss ya!!

 

[libra89]

I'm heading that way soon too because Microsoft just can't be bothered with a clear strategy. They try something for a few months then scrap it if it doesn't meet expectations. Way too fragmented a strategy to have in this space and especially when you're starting behind.

I still don't like Android. Say what you will about the "lagdroid" thing and it certainly has come a long way but issues still persist. A family member's Note 5 resets some games automatically and is tragically slow. The whole experience still has that clutter from 5 years ago when Android initially launched. I like Sony's offerings but not sure how much I'll enjoy it a few months down the road.

So it'll probably be the iPhone. Microsoft makes great apps for that platform and Apple does a great job of keeping the user interface consistent. Anyone has any experience here?

iOS has been great for me. I do agree that they keep the user interface consistent. Even though I am on iOS, I use Outlook for emails, and I backup my photos to OneDrive. Also recently, I learned that even if I use Outlook for my mail and contacts (which you can do by the way), I also have the option to save new contacts to my outlook and it updates very fast.

Can someone share their experience and tips for migrating from WP to iPhone? Especially on migration of contacts. I know Apple store has an app for those migrating from Android, how about WP?

There's an article on iMore right now by our own Richard Devine on how to do it. http://www.imore.com/how-switch-windows-phone-iphone
Unfortunately, I don't know of a way to transfer text messages. However, when you set up, you have the option to choose where to add contacts, like the article shows. It will restore all of your Outlook contacts, every single one!

 

[Kevin Rush]

...
Apple does a great job of keeping the user interface consistent.

Apple phone reminds me of Windows XP. Those icons work. I just don't like those rounded icons. The chiclet style seems outdated to me. I suppose, it's a matter of personal taste. I never understood why some people disliked the Windows Phone tiles. Something new.

Just my opinion.

Best wishes.

 

[Laura Knotek]

FYI Android Marshmellow adds sdcard support for apps. The sdcard is formatted and merged with the phone's internal memory. I believe Samsung did not enable this feature but the pure versions of Android on the Nexus and Motorola phones allow it.

Nexus devices do not have SD card slots.

Moto does support adoptable storage on its current line with Marshmallow.

 

[Cloudscout]

I was hoping today would be the day that Microsoft would announce a big push to get W10 mobile polished up for general use. My 950XL has felt like an alpha-quality device since it was released. Instead, Microsoft has made it appear as if they're backing away from the platform. So I took advantage of the deal that B&H had on the unlocked Xperia Z3 today for $249. It pains me to give up the elegant Live Tile interface but I want stability, battery life and a GROWING app catalog rather than the SHRINKING app catalog on Windows phones. I hope I'm wrong. I'll happily return to the platform if Microsoft starts taking it seriously. They've gone back to the drawing board too many times over the last 5 years, though, Windows Mobile, WP7, WP8 and W10M. They just don't know how to execute a single mobile platform strategy.

 

[RichardAZ]

WP is obviously not Satya's priority. Not that I can argue from a business perspecteive, since this strategy is working, but it really does suck for WP enthusiasts. I really like the interface, but I'm kind of tired of nothing working. Crashes and bugs and inferior apps (or even completely missing like YouTube). I've reached my breaking point, probably going to get some crappy unlocked Android when my 1520 breaks. Sad, the excitement when the 1020 came out. It's all kind of been downhill since then

 

[anon(5671144)]

Groove has been hugely disappointing since it's appearance on W10 and doesn't function anywhere near as nicely as Xbox Music used to & random reboots are common, as are app crashes. Wordflow is very hit and miss and once again functioned much better on 8.1. I also see "Resuming ..." and "Loading ... " way more than I care to.

There is a lot to love with W10 on mobile but I've been not feeling much love for my 950 lately. The device itself just feels outdated seeing everything else on the market these days, especially in terms of thickness and weight. The big factor for me though is battery life. I can't even make it through a work day, like my battery has less than half left by lunch time.

Things don't look to be changing in any hurry either, especially given the comments at Build. With my mobile contract up for renewal I made the call to grab a Galaxy S7 and give it a whirl. I've been on iOS and Android many years ago and while I think iOS is the best as far as apps go, I just hate everything about the OS in general and how non personalised it is.

I really hope MS can get their act together and get the mobile platform back on track but for now I'll be testing out the waters of Android and seeing how that fairs. Also get to play with the new Gear VR which was being offered for free Might jump back if the rumoured Surface Phone shows up later this year.

 

[chmun77]

I'm heading that way soon too because Microsoft just can't be bothered with a clear strategy. They try something for a few months then scrap it if it doesn't meet expectations. Way too fragmented a strategy to have in this space and especially when you're starting behind.

I still don't like Android. Say what you will about the "lagdroid" thing and it certainly has come a long way but issues still persist. A family member's Note 5 resets some games automatically and is tragically slow. The whole experience still has that clutter from 5 years ago when Android initially launched. I like Sony's offerings but not sure how much I'll enjoy it a few months down the road.

So it'll probably be the iPhone. Microsoft makes great apps for that platform and Apple does a great job of keeping the user interface consistent. Anyone has any experience here?

Just curious, when you say "The whole experience still has that clutter from 5 years ago when Android initially launched." what exactly is bothering you? Both iOS and Android are iconic based UI so I guess home screens will not be the issue for you. That being said, if you are into iPhone, why not try Xiaomi Android phones? Its MIUI is very iOS themed and phones like the upcoming Note 3 is quite a value for money model.

 

[jonahtrav]

Can't Microsoft chew gum and walk at the same time? So mobile isn't their main focus right now , but they can't put any energy into it. I finally gave up my 920 to a friend's daughter as she loves taking pictures. I've been using a 640 and a newly gotten s6 active that lasts all day and has all the apps you could want...I really enjoyed using my 920 for three years and was planning on getting a 950 when it came out ,but Microsoft's attitude/strategy with W10 mobile and how it's been in beta form has left me getting an android phone. If the fans start leaving the platform who will be left? I'll keep updating my 640 with W10 and see how it goes...which from what I've been reading on forums like this I am not the only one playing the waiting game.

 

[Guytronic]

Can't Microsoft chew gum and walk at the same time? So mobile isn't their main focus right now , but they can't put any energy into it. I finally gave up my 920 to a friend's daughter as she loves taking pictures. I've been using a 640 and a newly gotten s6 active that lasts all day and has all the apps you could want...I really enjoyed using my 920 for three years and was planning on getting a 950 when it came out ,but Microsoft's attitude/strategy with W10 mobile and how it's been in beta form has left me getting an android phone. If the fans start leaving the platform who will be left? I'll keep updating my 640 with W10 and see how it goes...which from what I've been reading on forums like this I am not the only one playing the waiting game.

Actually a great reply.
Gets to the nuts and bolts in few words.
I dig replies like this one.
Thumbs up for this.

 

[Draganta]

That's disappointing about Groove. I think that would be the only thing holding me back from converting. Having access to my entire music collection is huge for me.

Thank god I only had 2 purchased albums so far in Groove... I tried it on my iPhone, but I can't even sync my music with it, it just gives an error, even with good connection, while Apple Music downloads entire albums without any problems... So strange, all other MS apps are great on iOS, but Groove is garbage. I am glad though I could add the purchased albums from Groove to Apple Music on my pc, that is a big plus for Groove music (I think it's DRM free).