Living in Appleland

A few months ago I was torn between the new Nexii and Appleland. On paper it appeared that Google won. Then the reviews came out and I chose Apple. In order to fully understand my choice let me get a little bit of history out of the way.

I was a dual OS guy until iOS 7. The transitions gave me a headache. The whole OS was too white and I couldn’t stand the bright colors. So I went in all Android for the first time ever. You see I’ve owned an android and iPhone device since the original iPhone. Then iOS 8 happened. The minor tweaks solved the Major gripes that I had with the OS.

Non Nexus devices are the windows of mobile operating Systems

The note 3 and LG G3 were great devices at first but three months in the OS starts to lag and you’ll have errors all over the place where the only way to fix it is to restart the phone. The LG G3 was my last skinned Android phone and will be the last skinned Android phone that I will ever own. One word of advice that I have is if you’re like me and watch/read countless reviews about a product before you buy it don’t trust tech reviewers. Especially don’t trust after the buzz reviews. Why? Tech reviewers use a device for a week then come back to it which isn’t enough time. Even if they revisit the device three months down the road they haven’t used that device full time for those three months.

Nexus devices are not made for the users it’s made to showcase Android

Nexus devices have been so far plagued with compromises. Since the Galaxy Nexus I’ve owned all Nexus devices. From crappy cameras, speakers to a lack of lte I’ve never been truly happy with any nexus device that I’ve owned.

But Android had the power to not only bend it to your will but you could also change the operating system if you wanted. That power and ability to tinker is what has always drew me to Android. Until now.

I’m getting older. While I’m getting older so are my children. My free time or what little bit of it that I had is disappearing. So between staying up to date with my career or tinkering with a gadget I decided that staying up to date with my career was more important.

I’m going back to school next year which will limit my free time even more. So the lure of the power that came with Android isn’t that appealing to me anymore.

Apple TV, iPhone 6 plus and iPad Air 2

iPhone 6 plus

One thing you’ll hear yearly about Apple products is how this is the best iPhone Apple has ever made. Which is true because Apple iterates their OS and hardware designs they don’t innovate. This seems like a bad thing to techies like me but with the current state of mobile operating systems and how mature they are I’m finding Apples approach works best for me. Think about it. Every other year there is a S model with a slightly newer processor. Unless your loaded with cash there’s no reason to upgrade vs Android where your getting 2k displays on your mobile phone along with hardware almost as powerful as your current laptop. Android is more about the features and specs than the user experience.

The iPhone 6 plus is the best phone I’ve owned hands down. It does what I want it to do. Zero lag or weird behavior. The battery life is amazing. From 5 am to 10:30 pm I put the phone on the charger with. 40 plus %. A typical day consists of being on a crappy connection while watching videos a reading a ton of news on my work breaks and lunch. I receive around a hundred emails a day. When I get home I typically unwind with more news and a ton of YouTube videos. I listen to either music or podcasts during my day along with an hour commute time in my car. The only gripe that I have is that the phone is too slippery. Apple tends to focus on the look of the iPhone vs how well you grip it because everyone just puts a case on it.

iPad Air 2

This thing is thin. It’s like your holding a screen. It’s fast. Gorgeous. And the apps are miles ahead of Android. I’m writing this post on it. The split keyboard function is amazing. I have been typing for about an hour in landscape without any wrist fatigue. I haven’t owned an iPad since the first generation iPad. Personally it was because the iPad was a major investment vs the Android counterparts. I didn’t see the reason why I should buy a large iPad until now.

I love my nexus 7 2013. But after a year and some change I wanted something bigger. I don’t trust Samsung. Every single Note 3 I’ve encountered from myself to co workers is plagued with problems (software & hardware). The only other option for me was the Nexus 9. Until the reviews came out. One common perspective of all the reviews was that the build quality was horrible. This wouldn’t be a problem for a 200 dollar device but at 499 I couldn’t justify the purchase.

The problem with the older iPads was the weight, size and specs. I use my fingers for a living and after a day of writing code I couldn’t last long with the older iPads they were too heavy for me. Like I said earlier I’ve written this whole post on my new iPad. I’ve been on it well over an hour in landscape with zero fatigue. The thinness, specs and features of the iPad Air 2 were finally at a point where I think it’s good enough for a 4 year investment.

Apple TV

I owned an Apple TV and wasn’t too happy with it at the time. It was basically a Netflix streamer. In one year there’s all kinds of apps from Disney to fox and even HBO. Pre my decision to go all Apple I was excited about the nexus player. The play store and game controller was a no brainer. 3 months in and there are still no apps. Google TV had this problem. It appears that Android TV in its current state will too.

I’m extremely happy with Appleland. One thing that’s constant is the features I care about work. While iOS doesn’t give you the freedom that Android does the polish of iOS and features make it a pleasure to use. As I stated in an earlier post Apple is a user focused company while Google is focused on search. All of the features Android has is meant to keep you in Googleverse thus using their search engine.

While your mileage may vary both platforms are so close it hard to determine a definite winner. The state of Android vs Apple is becoming more of a platform lock in than anything else.

Tags

Android Apple Appleland Google