Why I Can't Quit the iPhone for the Galaxy S6

[NightLight]

very simple solution. just pick up the samsung, pay for it, and voila! you'll feel so much better.

 

[comp_builder22586]

After reading this article, this is the only thing I can think of: "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will."

Once you buy apple products...

 

[chesteracorgi]

The two areas where the S6 threatens to destroy the i phone (be it the 6, the 6+, the 6S or 6C) is in payments and in VR. Crapple payments will nave 1/10 the market penetration of Samsung's swipe system until the Crapple management sees their mistake and corrects it. And while Crapple has filed some patents for a Crapple VR, there is noting in the development pipeline. So while the Crapple fangirls tout their protected ecosphere they will continue to fall behind in innovation.

 

[Petarded]

Any thing Apple do Google can do Better! Worst article on this site this year so far! Well done auther, go hang your big apple head in shame!

 

[The_Trutherizer]

If only MS could get married to the google, facebook, twitter user account authentication like everybody else and their dog is doing then the world would be a better place.

 

[gggplaya]

So this article was written because you have other Apple products. Okay, fair enough. I have A windows based laptop, and a Samsung S5, my son has an LG, my wife has a windows phone, my daughter has a Sony E3. However, I will be keeping my S5, since I only see improvements aesthetically, and small improvements on features. Fair enough?

Camera OIS is a huge improvement IMO. I also like the fingerprint unlock feature. Other than that, you're right, not much else to consider upgrading. I'm loving my GS6 so far though.

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

TL: DR he doesn't want to switch because he has other Apple things.

I try to avoid being too negative about article like this, but I can't help but question why it was felt this article was necessary. Ecosystem lock-in is the biggest and most well-known reason people don't switch platforms. After people dealing with this for nearly 10 years with smartphones since the first iPhone and first Android, it's not really news.

Fair point. I'm not saying my reasons are news, but since I'm probably not alone I thought my experience was worth sharing. It's something I've been thinking about.

You're not just buying a phone. It's also something that Samsung needs to solve. How do they make their ecosystem more sticky? An app store that sits on the side of Google Play won't cut it.

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

Apple watch isn't even out yet and he's already decided it's going to be some magical holy grail of wearable tech... found that point rather disappointing.

The Apple Watch isn't out yet but I've gone hands on with it and found it to have a lot of potential. Certainly more compelling than other smartwatches I've tested (about a dozen). It's possible that it will take to gen 2 for Apple to work out the kinks based on first reviews though.

 

[Goodspike]

The author, like Samsung, has it backwards. You don't leave one ecosystem to use a phone that is very similar in another ecosystem. You leave one ecosystem to use a phone which has features not available in the other ecosystem. Slightly better doesn't count for making a change like that.

Also not used to seeing clickbait on Tom's. I wouldn't switch from Android to Apple for many of the same reasons mentioned (apps, Google system, etc.).

 

[ammaross]

TL: DR he doesn't want to switch because he has other Apple things.

I try to avoid being too negative about article like this, but I can't help but question why it was felt this article was necessary. Ecosystem lock-in is the biggest and most well-known reason people don't switch platforms. After people dealing with this for nearly 10 years with smartphones since the first iPhone and first Android, it's not really news.

Fair point. I'm not saying my reasons are news, but since I'm probably not alone I thought my experience was worth sharing. It's something I've been thinking about.

You're not just buying a phone. It's also something that Samsung needs to solve. How do they make their ecosystem more sticky? An app store that sits on the side of Google Play won't cut it.

And here in Mark's response you can see his problem: He thinks that Samsung's App Store is the S6's ecosystem and that Samsung needs to make that App Store stick better... *facepalm* That sounds certainly like someone used to the Walled Garden that only has one source of apps. Google Play is Android's (and thus the G6's) ecosystem. Hangouts is Android's "iMessenger." There's analogues for all of your software examples, so either you're ignorant of those alternatives, or have tried them and they don't work well for you (which I'm sure you would have stated if it was the later...).

Once your family all has Apple devices and you have a large investment in Apple purchases (yeah, try porting that iTunes library, iBooks, etc), then and ONLY then is your "I'm locked in" a valid argument. But you brought that upon yourself really.

 

[gallidorn]

Everything I read in this article seems ill informed. If you used google drive, you would have access to all of your files on any platform. Google services offer seamless integration and requires less configuration. Comparing Apple to Samsung is like placing first in the special olympics. Even if you win... you are still retarded!!!

 

[George Mulligan]

The very reason the author gives for his reluctance is the biggest reason I will never own an Apple product. They make everything proprietary. Their goal is to monopolize on their own unique OS by making it so difficult to interact with different equipment/environments (which in my view means it's not an OS). You have to be a disciple to own Apple products- there's no ad hoc relationship. Kind of like the Scientology of the computing world.

 

[Keith Schlotthauer]

His comment about taking notes.....EVERNOTE can be used on the Android which links up to the Web version...it even works on the iOS ecosystem. It seems that the author expects everything to be BAKED into the OS and you shouldn't have to download apps. How useful would Windows be if you had to use "TEXT EDITOR" for all your word processing?. I use 2 programs for texting from my PC, MIGHTY TEXT and MySMS. I prefer MightyText and you can make phonecalls from your desktop with it.

Messaging....if you use Google Hangouts you can chat with iPhone and Android users at the same time. It will show the other person is typing something (like iMessage).

My wife and I use Google Calendar that integrates nicely with my iPad as well as my Android phone. I see her calendar, she sees mine....no issue.

I use DropBox to save my pictures I take....they are instantly sent to the CLOUD for safe storage.

I understand Mark is an APPLE user at heart...and that ISN'T a bad thing at all. He just needs to understand that while the Android ecosystem is wide and fractured at some level, I would say that the Android OS can do about 95% of what iOS can and Apple iOS can only do about 90% of what Android can do (NFC is locked, have to use Itunes for everything...android, plug and go).

My wife uses and loves the Samsung Gear Fit. I am eyeing the Moto 360 as my wearable. I see his biased in the WATCH comments about "truly compelling"?....the higher end Samsung Gear looks great and works better. Of course you can use the iWatch on the Galaxy and you can use the Samsung on an iPhone or any other Android phone that isn't Samsung. You can go the pebble route that works on both, but the features are lackluster compared to the samsung and apple watches.

His article was good and I see his conflict choosing, but like most Apple users, they want to be told how to use their devices and not explore like the Android OS.

I use Nova and LOVE it....couldn't think of my phone without it. If one day I don't want it...there are about 100+ more launchers out there I can choose from...Apple....NOPE

 

[stevenrix]

The reason why I switched from IPhone 4 to Samsung IV was pretty simple: I wanted a bigger screen. That said, not even 1 year later with my Samsung S4 I started experiencing bugs: the simcard was resetting itself, then suddenly I lost the ability to be heard on the phone, I had to fix this issue by going with a Bluetooth solution. This issue was mentioned to ATT, since it was less than 1 year, but as time passed by, this issue became a daily issue and ATT refused to exchange my phone. I would blame myself for that, and then I switched back to Apple. I don't really like Apple, I don't like their laptops, I don't like their mini-mac, but I do love their phone. I just hope that this IPhone will last for a few more years, I don't want to spend top dollars on a technology that I only use a few minutes a day anyway.
It's a personal choice affected by technology. Also I do remember that my IPhone 4 had an antenna issue in my area and ATT did not even care about that, ATT was blaming the IPhone, Apple was blaming ATT. I still live in the same area and it seems like I do not have this issue anymore with the IPhone 5S , so this issue was at Apple's side and has never been acknowledged.
In a nutshell I can't rely in bullet-proof technologies on both sides (Apple and Samsung). Might switch to the new handphone, it's looks like a phone but it's just a hand.

 

[Vlad Rose]

Simple answer to this article, he doesn't want to switch because Apple is what he is used to. It'd be basically the same way for someone trying to switch from Google or Microsoft to Apple.

 

[gggplaya]

His comment about taking notes.....EVERNOTE can be used on the Android which links up to the Web version...it even works on the iOS ecosystem. It seems that the author expects everything to be BAKED into the OS and you shouldn't have to download apps. How useful would Windows be if you had to use "TEXT EDITOR" for all your word processing?. I use 2 programs for texting from my PC, MIGHTY TEXT and MySMS. I prefer MightyText and you can make phonecalls from your desktop with it.

I just use messages.att.net which is fully sync'd and integrated with your phone. It texts from your phone number, so when doing long conversations, it's nice to use your laptop keyboard instead. Also, when attaching pictures i took with my DSLR, i can do it directly from my PC instead of copying it to my phone then sending it.

 

[Mark Spoonauer]

Hard to believe what I just read comes from a tech-site writer. It basically sums up a few unfonded reasons and a pretty bad one (the iWatch - in a world where Motorola has an awesome and classic-looking watch, and even established watch companies are starting their own ecosystem-neutral offerings). The rest of the reasons just reflect the inability of the writer to do a basic app research in Google's environment (never heard of Hangouts, for instance, a better alternative to iMessage that comes with the other Google services, no need to install it even).
Kinda pathetic, for a tech writer. Expected a more objective comparison (which, incidentally, didn't turn out too good for Apple) instead of some op-ed that could have been written by a 5 yo .

Thanks for your comment. It's not just about researching Google apps. It's about what's built in and easily accessible. Part of the reason people like using Apple products is the lack of friction. As for your op-ed comment. Yes, this is one. I thought that was evident from the headline. But we're discussing internally whether to make that more clear.

 

[NotProfit]

I'm done. There's been a lot of bad articles this year and late last year, but this one is just plain terrible. I've held on for so long, ecosystem lock I guess. Well I'll be a bigger person than the writer here, and make the switch to something unfamiliar... because this sucks.

 

[Ghaith Alhami]

the Samsung s6 is good devise but the iphone is still best phone phone out there

 

[Keith Schlotthauer]

Part of the reason people like using Apple products is the lack of friction

What friction is there in the Android world?. Apps will work on most all the latest phones (JB and above). I am glad Google doesn't control what a phone is capable of...you can root it and install custom ROMS and completely change the look and feel of yoru phone. With Apple you are just control and Apple dictates how your homescreen will look and act. Of course there won't be friction.....but there will also be lack of imagination and creativity and especially what APPLE touts as being a creative device.

Your article and points where well taken (from me), but I don't think you are giving the Galaxy a fair shot. It is kinda of like finding the perfect woman for you and then criticizing all the minor flaws in her. You are a APPLE person that is trying to get the ANDROID ecosystem...it would be the same with me going to iPhone/Mac.