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by indianhippie 3657 days ago
I couldn't agree with you more. I'm bored. The thing is I like the simplicity of iPhones and I have been using them for past 7 years as well. Now it got to a point where small incremental features were not doing anything for me. I switched to Nexus 6P recently. It is one hell of a phone. So many features, so much customization! The access to file system (not root) is one thing that I would not be able to live without anymore. Having directories to put files and music in is so simple and similar to using a Mac/PC. I do miss iMessage and FaceTime though. If the rumor about WWDC bringing iMessage to Android is true I don't see a reason to go back to the iPhone.
3 comments

I can't figure out why Apple has neglected their stock keyboard for so long. They finally added autosuggestions but their keyboard still lags far behind third party offerings in speed, feature set, and flexibility. And third party keyboards are still so buggy on iOS as to be almost unusable. About 90% of my use of a smart phone is messaging in some form so this is a big deal.

And iMessage is buggy enough that I long ago switched to WhatsApp and haven't looked back. Apple makes great hardware but their software is increasingly falling behind the competition.

On the other hand, iOS is the only platform which has a default keyboard that lets me use typographically appropriate characters, such as actual smart quotes (“” ’), real ellipsis (…), and the correct hyphens (- – —).

This has been true since at least iOS 5.

> Having directories to put files and music in is so simple

This could be the reason I finally ditch my iPhone. I want to grab a file on my Mac, push it to my phone, and not A) have to use a paid app to do it without iTunes or B) have that file be automatically sent to some stupid place on the phone (audiobooks, ibooks, etc.)

You can, as of iOS 9. Drag the files to iCloud Drive on your Mac (which is a full filesystem), and either access them from an iOS app that can open files directly from iCloud Drive, or enable the iCloud Drive iOS app in the settings and use the share sheet to get the files into the app you want.
That my issue with iOS. With my android it simply maps like a local drive on my pc and I can drop and drag files just as easily as if it was my hdd.

I don't have to use crappy proprietary sofware like itunes or be locked into their ecosystem and pay monthly subscriptions to use icloud.

You don't actually have to use iCloud for what I described. I mentioned iCloud Drive because it's built in to iOS and OS X, but any app can register as a document provider, which allows it to be accessed from document pickers (what I meant when I said "can open files directly from iCloud Drive" - it's not only for iCloud Drive) and to be an icon on share sheets. For example, Dropbox does so. This is an iOS 8 feature, for the record; it's just the iCloud Drive standalone app that was new in iOS 9.

You do have to use iCloud for some other things, such as full system backup, integration with the builtin photos app, etc.

crappy proprietary sofware like itunes

very true

pay monthly subscriptions to use icloud

Kind of true. You get 5 GB for free, which is enough to back up contacts, etc. But you can get 50 GB for $1/mo, which, if you can afford a smartphone, probably won't be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Its not about money, its about options and a closed ecosystem obviously designed to make you dependent on their system. Its just to blatant to be ignored.

With android I have the option to get sd card to backup my pics.

With android I have options to easily map the OS as a hdd on my PC or linux and not be forced to used there crappy software to backup files ,music,videos etc in their proprietor format.

I understand its not only crApple that is pushing for the golden egg cloud monthly subscriptions but atleast with android I still have other easy options to choose from.

They even lock you into their ecosystem as a developer. I have to purchase a mac if I want to develop iOS apps. You can't even legally use virtualization as they force you to buy both their hardware and and software license.

I just don't like their lack of confidence on their products that their marketing efforts is based on locking you into buying their products and services vs you wanting to buy them because of their awesomeness.

Access to the file system is one of the major reasons I have seen people move to Android from iphone and then stay on it. I was always an Android guy but have seen in the last few years many iphone users moving to Android and then staying on it. The people that have stayed with iphone are mostly that just use the iphone for messaging, email and Facebook.