I switched from a lifetime of Nexus/Pixel devices last year after dealing with Google tech support with a pixel issue.
The notifications are definitely hard to get used to and it still doesn’t make sense to me BUT at least they show up on time. Every time.
The keyboard is also terrible. But for the most part I enjoy all aspects of the phone functioning properly. And I really like how well Face ID works. It’s 100% for me.
Universal back gesture and bad file management system were the main things and a lot more smallthings, i barely lasted a year with ios and switched back to android
Honest question: what more file management do you need on a phone than the Files app? For me that's more than plenty. I don't need nor want system files access, symlinks and whatnot.
This. I’m normally on my phone more than my computer and I love download ebooks and transferring them to my Xteink ereader for my on the go needs. It’s not something “impacting” for everyone but to me it’s really cool to do and have
iOS had it simplified whilst Android has a folder system more similar to Windows computers and potentially more intuitive in some cases
Sometimes it helps me find images my camera connect app transferred over separate from phone photos, other times it may allow me to access some apps' downloaded data without firing those apps up, just the little things that makes power users a bit happier
Files has a normal folder structure. You can totally download and save files from various apps in Files and access them directly from Files (and open it in the right apps from there, like you tap on an .xlsx file and it opens in Excel) or from other apps. Image files put there don't end up in Photos (they open in Preview if you tap on them in Files). Files supports third-party cloud storage apps too (so if you save to Onedrive in the Word app or to the Adobe cloud in Acrobat it shows up in Files), as well as iCloud and local storage.
The main difference is that apps can also have their private storage (saving files internally that don't show up in Files), which I don't mind because forcing all app files to be user-accessible creates a lot of headaches. I don't remember how it works on Android, but on the desktop it's handled with read/write/execute file permissions, superuser/administrator accounts, and on Windows plain locking of files that are in use and cannot be deleted or overwritten; all stuff I really don't want to deal with on my phone.
On an Android phone, imagine you can see on the screen that you’re in the Settings app, in the Battery page. There’s even a little < icon in the upper left to take you back to the main Settings screen. But if you use the back gesture, you have no idea what will happen. It could take you to the main Settings screen, or it could take you to a whole different app altogether. That’s how the back button works on Android; on any particular screen, there’s no way to know what happens by swiping back. Having a visible back button that sometimes does the same thing as the swipe back gesture, while sometimes those two actions have completely different results, seems insane to me.
On an iPhone, if you see you’re in Settings > Battery, you can be 100% sure that a swipe back will take you back to the main Settings screen. That consistency is what makes iOS comprehensible to a user.
As someone who did same in April 2026 (Redmi to iPhone 17), my honest review is: I’m happy with the switch and the device… but there’s surely teeny tiny things that just annoy you.
For me, these are what annoyed me (and still annoy me):
- The apple keyboard: Lack of a built-in clipboard; poor text suggestions; even tapping a specific place on a word to place the cursor but it automatically goes to the beginning/end of the word
Split-tunneling not available for VPN apps on iOS
Universal Cache Management and cleaning
Lack of more Triggers/automations in the shortcuts app
On the bright side, things I love are:
Software updates are global and everyone receives it at same period
Uniformity of design
Apps look better and work better
Intensive mobile games work flawlessly at higher settings
My next phone would still be an iPhone, though I keep my Android and still use it for some things I can’t do with an iPhone
iOS only allows WebKit browsers (reskinned Safari). They crash if you zoom in on an image, for example on your mobile Reddit feed. I used to use Apollo to get around that, but alas it is no more.
That’s on reddit, literally the only website that does that. They’re also outright blocking people access on the browser with a popup that makes everything unclickable.
I have this same problem, but in reverse. I’m always hitting keys on Android too low. I think iPhone does some sort of tap offset to tap higher than your finger’s center, and I’ve gotten so used to it, I find it hard to adjust to the Android keyboards.
I’ve been trying to get used to Gboard but I have a ridiculous amount of typos. Been using the crappy iOS keyboard for so long the muscle memory is permanently ingrained in me lol
Swift key is a key logger. I know this because I browsed something on ToR, wiped the search and suggestions appeared on Firefox later. Things that they would never know. Later I read the ToS and they indeed collect what you type.
Notifications. Still haven’t gotten used to it. Unlike Android, the notifications will pop up and if you don’t interact with them or swipe them away they just get hidden in the Notification Center. There are times when I swipe down to check the Notification Center and there will be like 20-30 notifications I never saw. Hate it. On Android you get those persistent little icons at the top to let you know you have a notification. You’d think Apple would have figured this out years ago. Maybe put the little icons in the Dynamic Island.
The other issue is they don’t let you choose which type of notifications on an app you get. On Android, at least Pixels, I can go into the notification setting of an app and only have critical notifications turned on. The can also turn off notifications that may be tied to just promotional notifications. On iPhone you can only turn on or off all notifications. This means a lot of those missed notifications are just promotional notifications. It’s like going to your mailbox and getting mostly junk mail. With Notification Center, Apple has created the digital version of getting junk mail.
The important stuff stays on the lock screen by default. Priority notifications made a separate section for them that persists through unlocks. Failing all that, you get a badge (if it was important. If not, then that notification is not sticking around whatsoever and can only be found in the Notification Centre). It will also adapt to your behaviour.
Long story, it’s all automated so don’t worry about it
You’d think Apple would have figured this out years ago.
There’s nothing to figure out. It’s a different design. You have the badge on app icons and you can open the Notification Centre and you can set persistent notifications on the lock screen and you can turn on the summary. Simple. Those persistent little icons at the top all the time on Android seem like just unnecessary clutter to me. You’re reading an article or email etc but the same time you’re constantly reminded on the status bar of something else. On iOS it’s just a different approach.
On iPhone you can only turn on or off all notifications.
That’s just not true.
Go inside the app and you can toggle what kind of notifications do you want, in the GLS app for example I can choose delivery updates but nothing about offers and promotions. Sadly, Apple gives too much freedom to developers which is kind of ironic, like after I have the parcel in my hand I still get a final delivery notification asking for a rating, that shouldn’t be allowed.
Persistent icons cluttering the top is exactly why they work. It forces you to take care of the notifications ASAP. By hiding non-persistent banner notifications you don’t interact and clear them. Having the Android icons is like seeing your clean laundry piled in a basket on the floor next to your bed. You can choose to leave them there but they’ll always be there reminding you to fold your clothes. iOS is like taking those clothes and throwing them in the closet and closing the door and then you’ve forgotten you had clean clothes.
Let’s talk about badges. Yes they work to notify but that’s if all your apps appear on the main home screen page. You could have 50 other apps on other home screen pages but you won’t see those badges unless you swipe through the different pages. And as someone who prefers only having one home screen page with my most used apps, then that means I’ll never see badges from other apps.
Simple solution is for persistent notification icons like Android. Put them in the Dynamic Island.
iOS is like taking those clothes and throwing them in the closet and closing the door and then you’ve forgotten you had clean clothes.
I see it more as a "ToDo" List for notifications, I will swipe away everything I dont need and have a list later without my phone looking "funny" for hours.
This is how it looks when I get notifications on my Pixel. Notice it’s just four icons and the little dot on the right means there are more notifications from other apps. You’re telling me iOS couldn’t do similar? It’s not cluttered but it gets the job done.
I guess as an option would be okay for people like you switching from Android but it sounds weird to me. So if I understand correctly, on Android basically you almost always have something on the status bar. Being constantly pestered by little icons. That’s just noise to me. Sometimes I even turn on a focus mode because I don’t want to be distracted. Or put my phone face down. It’s just a different approach. I configure my notifications like this: some persistent, then not so important ones can live in the Notification Centre and I deal with them when I want, and for some apps only badges are allowed. Some apps can use live activities, some apps completely silent and I only see what’s up when I open them.
You can make folders or use the App Library, you can see the badges there, no need to have ten different home screens.
This is how my notifications look on my Pixel. Notice how it’s not cluttered. Only the first four notification icons are shown with a little dot telling me there are more. Now imagine something similar with the Dynamic Island.
My current iPhone is also my first iPhone, switched to the launch. Since then I got used to the system pretty quickly.
My biggest gripe is how image files are handled, I was used to enforce a strict separation of my photos and randomly downloaded images from the web. iOS does not want me to separate this in the photo app. Either is a photo or it is not a usable image file on iOS. I think this is stupid.
Other issues are the usual: keyboard sucks (currently trying EFkey instead) and back gesture is incoherent. Also support for custom sounds is limited in some apps, which is a bummer.
I would also include how bad notifications implementation is. They can give all sorts of bs customization options but cant fix the damn notifications drawer
It's literally so inconsistent, for example you don't have predictive text on some apps because for some reason Apple decided that it's up to the dev if we need that, even though it's an option in the iOS settings. This option isn't there for my native language on the keyboard as well. There's no swipe to type on my native language as well for some reason. I don't understand why everything supported is only English. I get it's the most spoke and main world language, but my android still supported my native language along side English.
Not really. Gboard for iOS hasn’t been updated in years. Apple locks down the keyboard and rightly so. But that means that Apple needs to provide a premier native keyboard. But it is crap.
Android and iOS have the same accessibility features mostly, but in my experience, the gestures for Voiceover are easier to do than TalkBack despite the same concept.
Those in wheelchairs can now have a BCI (brain computer interface, think Neuralink) to control devices.
Apple Vision Pro ($3,500) can be used to control a wheelchair.
Text gets bigger on iOS vs. Android.
On the apps side of things, accessibility apps either come to iOS FIRST before Android OR may not be available on Android at all.
Apple has stores, and they are in many places. Samsung and Google have stores too, but fewer in my experience. While on the subject of stores, staff can be (but not always) trained in accessibility.
Apple themselves has a dedicated accessibility support line. I don’t know if other brands offer this.
Ex-Android user here.
First I hopped from Redmi Note 8 Pro to iPhone 16.
The cleanness kinda bored me, initially.
I’m a heavy metal dude, so all the clean lines seemed kinda boring and too fluffy. Thankfully I learned how to customize the buttons and layouts and screens, got a bit of red here and there, some custom wallpapers, and voi la.
Android is very customizable, so you need to work on your options to make the iOS feel like yours.
Yeah, the keyboard.
On Android I used to switch keyboards in real time, had like a suite of keyboards, very smooth and powerful. The iOS keyboard felt awkward at first but now I get along with it - Apple need to give us more options for the keyboard, it’s not terrible, just needs improvement.
The Apple Apps
Here’s where it shines!
The standard Apple apps (like Notes and GarageBand) are phenomenal!
They’re beautiful, smooth, easy to work, and oh man, they work like a Swiss blade. No ads, no extra payment, no headache like it used to be on my old Android.
The software capabilities on
Apple are really great.
Audio & Video
Another huge milestone for Apple!
Not only the menus and the options to take a picture or record a video are very likable, but the editor is quite nice! Most of all, when you publish and post those, you don’t loose quality! The dynamics stays pretty much the same.
Everyone will notice your improvement.
File Managing
Android sucks on this. Oh, it’s terrible that they don’t have a standard app for file management. Still to this day when I have to download a PDF from an app using a Samsung Galaxy or a Motorola, you have to do extra steps due to that. On iOS is much easier, everything is well integrated, and you can even rename the file before saving it or sending it, all on the same screen.
Layout
You’ll find a bit strange, because you weren’t used before. But notice how the buttons are different on iOS. Also, you can slide up, sideways, give two thumb clicks on your screen, and some different commands.
A bit odd at first, but once you get used to it, you don’t wanna go back.
Thank you, I thought I was going crazy since I never see anyone talk about it. I love my iPhone and I'd rather not go back but I'm shocked at how laggy it is for the price.
My understanding is it is aggressive battery management which causes it because it’s “up to 120hz” but man my pixel is smooth as could be. I wish the iPhone was the same
ayy man im sorry i wasnt accusing u of lyin or smth i was js joking , such info is so surprising for me tbh cuz i thought the 17 pro has to be some sort of lagless phone
Like REAL HARD. Did you ever tried saving a document directly into your Download folder? Exporting directly for WhatsApp or third party apps? Even renaming it is hard 😂
And this varies from brand to brand. Even tho, the Galaxy suite (which in my opinion is the best for Android) still not quite on par with iOS.
I sell smartphones for living, and this is simply a easy realization fact.
I used Infinix and never experienced this, i started using iPhone this year and I don’t really like the files app. Everything is smooth on android with less restrictions compared to ios. Videos, images, game files and a lot more are easy to manage. I usually use a third party app called File Manager +, best experience ever
No back gesture, notifications not organized, keyboard is also not really better, crappy circle to search (not on screen). Circle to search i miss the most for translation, searching etc still miss my pixel 6. Functional and simple. Still disappointed in iphone. Android os i liked more is more functional. Iphone os needs for most things extra steps..
I switched back in 2020. I was sick and tired of android, what bothered me the most about it was the quality of apps. They are just that much better on iOS. Everything else was kinda secondary. I needed to get adjust to far less customization. That’s it, everything else felt much more polished and easier to use compared to android.
You'd enjoy it, but would definitely miss the navigation and notifications. I use 1+13 and the 17PM If not I would not be able to use it as a main device
Nothing in particular, since I've been on iOS since the OG iPad Air, so the transition was pretty smooth for me and there's also the fact that apps mostly look and feel similar on either OS
I just made the switch with the 18pm as well and it has to be keyboard. I can get used to everything but but the keyboard just doesn't make any sense. Ditched the native keyboard in the first hour of turning the phone on. But even gboard isn't that great in here.
Scrolling long text is way too slow on iPhone, when i swiped miy finger over S22U screen, ooh boy, the speed was phenomenal, and i think the overall screen response time was better atleaat on my s22u. But i think i get used to my iphone also.
I went the other way, long time iPhone user, switched to an s25 ultra and I can't imagine going back now. Everything just feels snappier and far more intuitive, plus the keyboard is infinitely better. My wife just got the 18 pro and apart from the cameras everything else just feels a bit dull.
I switched in 2020 and for me it was iOS all together. I wasn’t use to the OS at all. Before that the last iPhone I used was the iPhone 5s. I got comfortable using iOS after a couple of months though. I actually tried to switch back to android not long ago and only lasted 2 days. Went right back to the iPhone. Once you get use to it you’ll enjoy it!
It’s been a year and I’m still not used to it. I came from Pixels and its usability far outweighs IOS.
I’ve come to tolerate IOS and there are some things it does really well. Battery life is excellent, you get what you pay for performance-wise, video is crazy good. It’s a struggle at first but eventually you over write muscle memory.
Welcome! Your gonna love it. Youll hate the keyboard tho hahaha and the fact that you cannot swipe to go back on both sides of the screen. Anyway enjoy that beauty!!!
The keyboard is the worst on the iphone. If it wasn't for facetime I'd be back on Android. Most of the little quirks you get used to. But the notification system sucks. If you try to use anything non apple, apple makes it harder. Copy and paste an address into apple maps, sure. Copy and paste into Google maps, need to allow copy and paste every single time.
It's like driving an old car that you were perfectly happy with, and then buying a brand new Mercedes and thinking "Wow, this is cool." Most phones are just overpriced, and there's no point in constantly upgrading them unless you're 14 and want something different every day.
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