I am currently an IOS user, however, as the title suggests, I wish to switch to android. This is because I would prefer to use free software and not be locked into the apple ecosystem. That being said I am already locked into apple and would like to know how anyone else here has managed the switch.
I for one know I will face problems regarding group chats with friends and family on IOS, I will lose out on iCloud+ features, I will have to buy a replacement for my HomePod, I will need to replace apple home, etc.
How did anyone else here who has made such a switch replace or solve these issues?
Apple’s Messages app is a total dumpster fire. Literally every other chat platform out there has figured it out. Snapchat, Telegram, FB Messenger, WhatsApp, Line, etc., all work just fine across platforms. Only Apple wants it to suck for their users whenever a non-Apple device enters the conversation. I can’t understand why people willingly subject themselves to that misery and still somehow feel smug about their iOS echo chamber. Pathetic.
Probably because most people have iOS devices, atleast in the US. In my group of friends and acquaintances of say 30-40 people I am the only one with an Android phone.
I also work in IT services for small businesses (setting up email, etc.) and rarely come across Android phones. iPhones are everywhere.
So if everyone has iOS in the group chat it’s not really an issue.
Android market share in North America is around ~45%. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/north-america
Globally, Android is ~70%. https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/worldwide
There are regional bubbles for each of course.
What are the chances that the decision to make it suck was deliberate? This is apple we’re talking about here, after all.
it’s deliberate. Tim Cook and team have essentially said “yeah we know it sucks but we’re keeping it this way for business reasons”. Can’t find a quote but just look at how they treat literally anything non-Apple.
I believe his exact words were “you don’t like it? Buy your grandma an iPhone.”
pretty sure Snapchat is still not very cross platform, can’t use it on pc
Who is bringing a PC into a discussion about mobile cross platform apps? Many apps have the option, but I don’t think anyone primarily thinks of anything but being able to work across iOS and Android.
Plus it seems once it works outside of Apple’s fortress, it can find a way to work on a non mobile device. It’s kind of in the DNA.
apps like discord and telegram would desktop clients, making them more cross platform if that makes sense
You kinda of can use it on PC though?
how
They’ve been pushing using a browser to access your conversations for quite a while now. Are you just not looking at the screen when you open it, or what?
didn’t know that actually
You can use it on pc though.
I didn’t know, since when?
iMessage is the biggest hurdle. I recommend that you ask your friends and family to switch to another messaging app to talk to you to avoid the green bubble frustration. (begrudgingly recommend Signal, though Sup. by the guy who made PixelFed looks interesting and can help grow the Fediverse)
It’s not going to be easy though.
What’s wrong with a green bubble? Just curious.
IPhone users have a good reason to not like green bubbles in their group chats, because then their group chat loses functionalities like emojis and the ability to send large images. Or so I’ve heard.
Apple is obviously unwilling to solve that because the lock-in benefits them.
by default iPhone messages for things like images and videos have terrible quality.
i had to mess with the network settings in brother’s phone for him to even get standard MMS because depending on your carrier it needs to be configured manually.I have no experience with this myself, but I heard somewhere that apples protocol for handling messages do not conform to standards and deliberately mishandles media in messages, making images etc lower resolution. I might be wrong though.
Sorta. It’s not that they don’t conform to standards.
It’s that they don’t adopt new standards.
The newest iPhone still handles SMS and MMS the same way the iPhone 3G did back in 2008.
It’s like if Ford refused to add CD players to their cars and insisted you use their proprietary “Ford Media Disk”
And if you don’t like that, fine! It still has a tape player!
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Most of my friends & family use telegram. I’ve always liked it.
Telegram is entirely unencrypted by default, so you shouldn’t use it for anything you wouldn’t say out in public.
If you want to switch specifically for free software, make sure that the phone you’re buying is bootloader-unlockable. The Pixel phones (not from a carrier, but unlocked) are good options.
If not, you will simply be locked into Google’s ecosystem (along with whatever OEM, such as Samsung’s), which isn’t much better than Apple’s.
As for ROMs, I’d recommend either GrapheneOS or DivestOS. Both are free of all Google services by default, and are as FOSS as Android allows for in the modern age.
To deregister iMessage, visit this site: https://selfsolve.apple.com/deregister-imessage/
In the future, I’d look into Linux phones, but as of right now, they are not usable for daily driving IMO. You can also test Linux mobile on most modern Android phones using Halium with a distro like Droidian.
Also check out privacyguides.org for alternatives to proprietary apps/services.
Well, first I would like to adress the elephant in the room. Samsung/Google Pixel is not in it’s entirety Android. There are lots of other brands out there, each and every one of them offers different things to different people who ask for different features.
About what you’re asking for, can’t actually help with group chats (the US has a culturally attachment to iMessage, which is locked down to iOS), but for iCloud well, you can have your stuff in google drive, or on a offline drive (most of modern android have otg capabilities), or even selfhosted if that’s your kind of thing.
Seriously, give it a try and see for yourself how mature now is the OS and ofc see if you’re staying ;)
if you’re going for the privacy flash a custom rom onto a pixel (or fairphone 4 and later if you decided on calyx) there’s copperhead os too if you want to piss of daniel micay I don’t recommend liniage on a pixel or the fairphone 4 liniage also needs some degoogleing+ aosp keyboard is garbage from what I’ve heard
Out of curiousity what is it about the pixel (hardware?) That made you suggest it specifically if you’re going to flash the OS anyway
because pixel was a developer focused device
it allows unlocking and re-locking bootloader with your own custom keys and still retains warranty
most android OEM like Samsung, oneplus provided support in the past, but are now locked down for some reason
I haven’t made the switch but if you have a Mac I remember there used to be a way to get iMessage working, maybe look into that.
Yes, iMessage works seamlessly on Mac, even with me never having had an iPhone.
I switched a month ago from iPhoneX to Galaxy A34. I used the bare minimum features on iOS so it wasn’t hard for me. Data transfer from iOS to Android was easy; during setup, I was offered to transfer data from iPhone. I connected my iPhone to Android with cable, in less than half an hour my contacts, photos, videos and some settings including wallpaper was transferred. Keep in mind that data transfer may not work if you buy a brand other than Samsung or Google or a phone with Android 11 or lower. Also you cannot transfer data from any app excluding Whatsapp. Android will attempt to find and install your apps to your new device but you will have to relogin etc.
If you use iMessage for group chats, (I sincerely hope you don’t) you will get pointed at by others, try to switch others to a messaging app like Telegram if you can. Even better if you do this before jumping ship. Also deactivate iMessage or you may not receive messages at all on Android, this is a technical issue. guide link
I personally hate iCloud so I disable it even if I am signed in to App Store. The reason is that it syncs my photos and other stuff, suddenly runs out of space and nags me for upgrade. To pull out my photos from iCloud, go to icloud.com on a PC, download everything (photos, documents, whatever) and switch iCloud off. Smart home stuff, no idea.
That’s very encouraging to hear, however unlike you I don’t use the bare minimum features. I use a lot of cloud features, and use iMessage group chats frequently. I have been able to find replacements for the vast majority of those thanks to the great people here, however as you said since I use iMessage group chats frequently, I will get pointed at. I have already tried to switch friends to telegram and they have declined, so that may be a blocker.
Do your friends use Discord?
No, they use iMessage which is a large issue. I effectively need to keep iMessage working.
There are self-hosted apps like AirMessage which can relay iMessage to your Android from a Mac. (or macOS running in a virtual machine if you have the time for that) There is also Beeper which doesn’t require a Mac but it will put you in a waiting list if you sign up now.
Huh, after reading your post and some comments I am just glad iMessage never picked up in my country lol.
I moved from my iPhone to an Android phone without a hassle because most of my third party apps were multiplatform and here nobody uses SMS (it is even weird to mention it in 2023 lol) sadly the alternative ain’t better, here everybody uses WhatsApp, at least I talk with my closest friends with Telegram.
Don’t use telegram for personal stuff, it’s not encrypted and therefore less private than whatsapp.
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If you’ve purchased any videos via iTunes, be sure to link it to Movies Anywhere so you can watch them on your Android. Most movies are supported except those from Paramount, last I checked.
The thing about the android side is that you’re pretty much locked into the Pixel and Google Fi if you want to avoid manufacturer bloatware or cell carrier bloatware. I did Metro PCS for a solid decade to provide service, but at the end, I was paying for unlimited and if I wasn’t on WiFi, the service over cellular was complete fucking garbage.
Google at least provides decent rates and their service is good when I need it Yes, all of the eggs are in the same basket, but at the same time, maybe it’s not a bad thing with the frequency of beaches these days. The Pixel? Best phone I’ve ever had (I only buy the “a” versions because I’m a cheap ass). It’s fast and has great battery life.
Good luck!
