../iphones

Why I use iPhones

Had a coworker ask me yesterday why I, the alleged Linux-obsessed nerd, opts specifically for walled-garden iPhones instead of the wide-open Linux-based Android ecosystem. It sounds crazy, right? Why would anyone ever subject themselves to a locked-down experience like that?

Couple reasons.

Phone as appliance

I do not use smartphones as much more than appliances. I don't tinker or mess around with them, I install the apps I need, connect to the various services I like to use, and leave it at that. To give some examples:

Most of this stuff is available on Android, so what's the issue? Can't I just migrate to an Android phone anyway?

iMessage and social inclusion

iMessage is just absolutely crucial for me. If you don't live in the US, it might not be as clear. Here, nobody uses third-party services like WhatsApp for communication. iMessage is pretty much the standard for your average joe. This likely arose from cellular being way more accessible and less expensive in the States compared to the rest of the world. The point is, everyone uses it, and by choosing not to, you are actively inconveniencing yourself a lot of the time. Stubborn friends or coworkers will communicate solely through iMessage group chats, linking videos and images that turn out like shit under normal MMS protocol. It's frustrating, but what can you do.

AirDrop is another example of something that's often times just assumed to exist. At work and in various social settings (college group meetups, summer jobs, family interactions) it's just a given that everyone exchanges photos and interacts using AirDrop. "AirDrop me the photos when you're done." Sure, I could put my foot down and openly exclaim that I'm an Android user and righteously go against the grain here, but this solves pretty much nothing.

User interface and stock offerings

I think the majority of vendor-provided Android skins and launchers are hideous. They don't give the impression of being coherent themes, but feel like slapped-together environments that people have conditioned themselves into accepting. Did you know Samsung ships THREE different software suites with overlapping feature sets on their flagships? Yeah. Enjoy having deeply integrated Microsoft apps alongside your Samsung stuff, alongside your good old Google apps. What do you mean this is an insane choice to make as a massive phone vendor?

On iOS, the stock Apple apps are, worst case scenario, barebones yet functional apps that all follow the tightly enforced design language on the platform. Even if I'm going to get rid of some of them, I never get the impression that they're bloated at the seams.

Stock Android UI

I think Pixels have okay UI. Material Design isn't my favorite, but at least it's pretty consistently enforced. I love when custom ROMs or forks of Android stick to the Android defaults as well. The problem with Pixels specifically for me has been quality control. When I daily drove a Pixel, there were days where the dashboard/control center/top menu UI would just freeze up or crash. There were days where I would get a clean 20fps just swiping around windows and apps. From what I hear, Google has a disproportionately sloppy track record in terms of hardware failure on these devices as well. The idea of slapping something like GrapheneOS on a Pixel sounds enticing, but I want to reiterate that I view my phone as an appliance and not as a PC for tinkering.

Phone-to-computer "ecosystems" and integration is quite annoying

I own multiple Macs and used to daily drive a Hackintosh. I'm fully aware how tightly intertwined you can get iPhones and Macs to be. However, I don't really want that. I almost never have the two interact or really WANT them to. It forces me to be more and more dependent on an ecosystem I can't pull out of easily if I need to work on non-Apple hardware. Additionally, it doesn't really provide any productivity benefits for me. I generally do not feel comfortable checking my iMessage chat on a big laptop screen. What would I do when my loyal blog readers send over feet pics? It's nice to segment out tasks to different devices around the house.

These days, I almost entirely work within a Linux/Mac environment, at work and at home. Linux workstation. Linux laptops. Linux servers, VMs, cloud. Occasionally I'll fire up Windows VMs as well. I don't need (or want) to set up some legally sketchy hack to get iMessage sync working with a Linux desktop. I'm just not interested and it's not a feature I require much anymore.

Apple's really good at this

I've been pretty critical of Apple as of late. I think they have a real tangible issue with focusing hard on certain products and neglecting others. It comes across as, frankly, user hostile. Macs are slowly feeling like a neglected and abandoned platform and the initial hype of Apple silicon has worn off. Apple puts most of their quality control, research, and effort into the iPhone. It's their selling product. It's their main source of revenue. Wouldn't you think that a company which traditionally prides itself on polish, ease of use, and meticulous attention to detail would be a great candidate to ship out a line of smartphones? When you use an iPhone, you're Apple's target audience. You're what everyone throws money at them for. If you're curious, the specific phone I currently own is the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Not the absolute best camera, but is otherwise an excellent phone. I have large hands and expect/require a large battery. I've been using physical SIMs for years at this point and it's nice to be able to migrate so seamlessly still.

The UI on iOS has always been consistently smooth, responsive, and intuitive since I started using it seriously back on iOS 14. It is the most polished and reliable piece of consumer hardware I own and utilize on a daily basis. Apple is evil and far from perfect, but at the end of the day they offer the best tool for the job.

Phone tribalism is so stupid

I really dislike the evangelism coming from people owning one type of metal slab over another. I have my own preferences, and there are some phone vendors I will steer very clear from, but at the end of the day it's really not that deep. These are massive, evil corporations that just want your money. They're not your friend, and they could not care less about you. Don't make your identity the Android shill at work that can't help but tell the dumb sheep around you to set up a rooted custom ROM. And at the same time, don't be an asshole and build your communication platform at work around iMessage or other Apple-exclusive tools. Signal, Telegram, Slack, Discord, Google Chat, there's so many better options that will get the job done. This is common sense, but I consistently need to reiterate it to some people I know personally. Live and let live.

/android/ /ios/ /tech/ /smartphones/