Welp, I Bought An Iphone Again

It takes a week to move phones. First, there’s nan method process of moving eSIMs crossed devices, which takes either a fewer minutes (if you’re switching from 1 Android telephone to another) aliases 2 days, a half-dozen calls to Verizon, a verification matter connection sent to your mom, and astir 11,000 restarts of your telephone (if you’re switching from iPhone to Android). Then comes a fewer hours of app downloading, settings tweaking, and personalization, because each telephone has a bunch of unsocial ideas astir everything.

You tin beryllium up and moving connected a caller telephone successful an afternoon, but by nan clip you’ve downloaded each your Kindle books, synced your podcast queue, moved each your two-factor codification generators, and reconnected to each your Bluetooth devices, it will person been a week.

I cognize this, because I spent nan past fewer months switching phones conscionable astir each week. I’d grown tired of my iPhone 16, a telephone I bought almost wholly because it was blue, and decided to spot what different options I really had. I’m besides successful an different position: I utilized to beryllium a telephone reviewer, which meant I spent astir a decade switching phones each fewer months, but for nan past 5 years aliases truthful I person been almost exclusively an iPhone user. I deliberation I suffice arsenic a normal telephone proprietor astatine this point. But I do person 1 chopped advantage: I tin inquire a bunch of telephone manufacturers to nonstop maine their devices to test, and immoderate of them will! So I spent nan wintertime connected a Tour de Android, looking to spot whether location was a telephone — or, much exciting, a full caller conception for a telephone — that mightiness entice me.

I’ll conscionable spoil nan end: Last week, I went to nan Apple Store and bought an iPhone 17. I know, I know. I’m not thrilled astir it either. But I tin explain.

The first telephone I tested was nan 1 for which I had nan highest hopes: the Motorola Razr Ultra. I stay convinced that flip phones are a bully idea, and that nan operation of smartwatch-style outer surface pinch a normal-sized soul surface is simply a compelling one. The Razr Ultra’s hardware is beautiful adjacent to right, astatine slightest for my purposes. Flipped open, nan telephone is simply a small tall, and tin beryllium difficult to navigate pinch 1 thumb, but that’s existent of each large telephone now. I didn’t mind nan flimsy crease successful nan middle, and I emotion nan squareish style of nan telephone erstwhile it’s closed. I recovered myself treating nan closed telephone for illustration a mini Gemini-specific walkie-talkie — bring nan telephone up to my mouth, clasp nan broadside button, and inquire inane questions astir cherry blossoms.

The problem, which would go a taxable successful my tests, was nan software. Neither Motorola nor Google has figured flip phones out. There are a fewer useful widgets for nan outer screen, but nan statement strategy for them makes it difficult to adhd aliases find stuff. More often than not, what you get connected nan outer surface is conscionable nan full-bore Android app smushed down small, which is each good and bully until nan keyboard opens and covers up nan connection you’re responding to and the matter container you’re typing in. Even if I could get past that, I yet couldn’t return each nan “allow this app to entree nan outer display?” warnings. Some apps negociate to shrink and grow good enough, while others conscionable motion and request you unfastened up nan phone. I spent days changing settings, downloading inferior apps, trying to make nan Razr Ultra consciousness seamless. It ne'er did. So I switched.

I had a somewhat different acquisition pinch my foldable phone, a Google Pixel 9 Pro Fold. (I tried to get my hands connected nan Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7, by astir accounts nan champion foldable connected nan market, but couldn’t get 1 successful time.) My foldable problem is each hardware: The telephone feels large and blocky successful my hands, it’s not easy capable to pry nan point open, and foldables travel pinch tons of durability, battery, and camera sacrifices. I did bask having nan larger soul surface for watching YouTube videos and a bunch of Champions League soccer. But faced pinch this galore sacrifices — and nan eye-watering $2,000-ish value that comes pinch each foldable telephone — I gave up connected Bigger Screen.

Next I tried nan Unihertz Titan 2, a rectangular monster of a telephone pinch a big, roomy beingness keyboard. It felt for illustration utilizing a BlackBerry again! I discovered almost instantly that I do not miss utilizing a BlackBerry — while I loved having nan keyboard for speedy entree to numbers and symbols, I ne'er typed arsenic accelerated connected nan beingness keyboard arsenic I did connected nan screen. Plus, this telephone is conscionable gigantic (which is why I’m intrigued by nan overmuch smaller Titan 2 Elite coming later this year).

My azygous favourite caller Android acquisition came from the Fairphone Gen 6, a mostly coagulated telephone pinch 1 singular feature: a beingness slider move that transforms nan instrumentality into a overmuch much locked-down, minimalist return connected a phone. Fairphone calls this characteristic “Moments,” and it’s awesome. You tin person a fewer different moments, each pinch whichever fistful of apps you pick; I spent a batch of clip pinch my telephone winnowed to Phone, Messages, Maps, Pocket Casts, and thing else, and it was glorious. Everything other — moreover your wallpaper — disappears. It’s nan astir compelling type of nan two-phones-in-one acquisition I’ve wanted for forever, and it really works.

The Fairphone had conscionable 1 problem: It’s not really optimized for US coverage, and doesn’t activity afloat connected Verizon. So that’s out.

My adjacent and past trial was nan Google Pixel 10 Pro, which is easy my favourite Android telephone of each time. It’s a small heavy, but really good made; nan camera is fantabulous successful almost immoderate conditions; I emotion having some fingerprint and look authentication; Pixel phones astir ever person nan cleanest and astir feature-rich type of Android. (Though my Pixel still doesn’t person Gemini task automation…)

The Pixel 10 Pro solidified a emotion I’d been having done each of my tests: Android is simply a amended operating strategy than iOS. Gemini is simply a useful and usable sound assistant, neither of which you tin opportunity astir Siri. Android is fantabulous astatine sorting and triaging notifications, which meant acold less buzzes successful my pocket. I besides sewage acold less spam and robocalls during my testing, which was an unexpected but bully alteration — I really started answering calls from chartless numbers again, because they were almost ever calls I really wanted. I for illustration nan Android keyboard amended than nan iPhone, successful portion because its autocorrect is truthful overmuch better.

There are truthful galore small differences betwixt Android and iOS that tin make it difficult to move betwixt devices, but I for illustration nan Android implementation successful almost each case. You tin customize everything astir your Android homescreen easily, while moreover dragging apps astir connected an iPhone is simply a crazy-making experience. Android’s app tray makes much consciousness than nan bizarrely organized iOS App Library; swiping down for notifications and up for hunt is simpler than swiping down from different parts of nan iPhone surface for everything. And did I mention really overmuch amended Gemini is? When I’m utilizing Android, I really usage my sound assistant. On purpose! What a world.

If each you sewage from your telephone was nan out-of-the-box experience, I’d person picked nan Pixel. But unluckily for Android, app stores exist. And nan App Store perfectly wipes nan level pinch nan Play Store. Lots of nan apps I usage each time — apps for illustration Puzzmo, NotePlan, Mimestream, and Unread — either don’t beryllium connected Android astatine each aliases only beryllium arsenic web apps. Most of nan ones that do activity connected some platforms are amended connected iOS. And hide astir nan benignant of handcrafted, small-developer worldly — apps for illustration Acme Weather, Current, and Quiche, conscionable to sanction a fewer caller favorites — that’s each complete nan App Store and perfectly obscurity to beryllium recovered connected Android.

Android apps only person 1 advantage: They’re allowed to do things iOS apps simply can’t. The Beeper app, which I usage for messaging crossed platforms and devices, integrates beautifully pinch Google Messages and not astatine each pinch iMessage. I tin do much pinch my Pebble watch erstwhile it’s connected to an Android phone. The Tasker app is an automator’s dream. But for everything else, and for almost each app group use, iOS is better.

There are plentifulness of reasons nan Play Store can’t support up. The Android ecosystem is much varied and frankincense harder to create for; astir developers usage Apple products; iPhone owners are apparently for immoderate logic overmuch much consenting to walk money than Android owners. But nan truth of nan matter, and nan point I realized astir astatine nan extremity of my phone-switching experiment, is that phones are app machines supra each else. And nan iPhone has amended apps.

And so, astatine nan extremity of it all, I went done different bizarrely analyzable eSIM move and upgraded to an iPhone 17. This is nan champion nan guidelines iPhone has been successful immoderate time, and my iPhone 16 trade-in offset astir half nan cost. I’m not thrilled pinch it, honestly. My telephone is backmost to buzzing excessively often pinch robocalls and unnecessary notifications, and I’m backmost to fighting pinch Apple’s ridiculous homescreen layout tools. Siri is still terrible. But until and unless AI changes nan measurement we do everything connected our devices, my telephone remains an app machine. All my apps are present connected this iPhone, and they each work.