[asoneth]

On my Pixel phone keyboard I have two ways to switch language: Holding the spacebar gives me a list labeled "Change keyboard" with six options whereas clicking the keyboard icon in the lower-right corner gives me a similar list except the title is "Choose input method", the options are in a completely different order, the options have slightly different names ("English (US) QWERTY" vs "English (US) (QWERTY) Gboard"), the list uses radio buttons instead of a checkmark, and includes an option for "Google Voice Typing".

These might seem like minor issues to us, but they can derail non-technical users who may be confused why the list looks different from the last time they switched languages. And this lack of coordination between elements is par for the course for Google design. Not saying there aren't examples of bad design from Apple, but most of their products seem to have someone in a position of authority who pays attention to detail and their issues seem less like oversights than bad decisions.

[darrylb42]

The downside of flexibility. Choose input method is the system list. Holding the space bar is the keyboard's method. I sometimes switch to a non-Google keyboard and the Choose input method way of switching is how I get back. I didn't know about the long press on the spacebar method, learned something new today.

[eythian]

I have a third. I have two languages defined, and because of that I have a little globe to the left of the spacebar. Tapping that switches the default one (as far as I can tell, it biases what word it thinks you're aiming for to that language.)

Somehow I always find it's on the secondary language and I haven't worked out if I'm doing that by accident or it's changing on its own.

[Groxx]

For a small bit of context:

The "hold the space bar" method is entirely your keyboard's feature, not Android. Though it is a relatively common pattern in keyboards on both OSes, in its defense (iOS uses it too).

But I don't think I'd recommend Gboard to someone who needs a simplified experience. Gboard is very complicated.

[asoneth]

> But I don't think I'd recommend Gboard to someone who needs a simplified experience. Gboard is very complicated.

Exactly. I'm not keen to attempt to explain the distinction between an input method and a keyboard language setting to a five-year-old or a reluctant 85-year-old. Nor am I keen to troubleshoot how they managed to get something as basic as a keyboard into a weird state.

Don't get me wrong, I personally appreciate the flexibility, use Android on my personal device, and I help my folks and some of my uncles when they run into an issue on their Android phones that they can't solve after a little searching. But through trial-and-error I've concluded that any family members who reach out to me at the first sign of trouble need to be in the Apple ecosystem.

[Groxx]

Yeah, I broadly agree. Better accessibility tools and better built-in apps mean you can just lock it down tight and it's probably good enough without much more effort... and that's a big deal.

With Android... it depends on the manufacturer. But mostly it's much more complicated and you'll have to find long-term stable apps (good luck![1]) because the OEM probably bundled ad-ridden or obtuse stuff.

1: https://forum.fairphone.com/t/simple-mobile-tools-sold-to-zi...