[somedudethere]

I recently went to replace my HTC 1 M7. First I got a Moto G, but due to cell signal, and general quirks in lollipop I thought I would try a Samsung S5. Ugg. I don't know how people could stand all the non-standard stuff that samsung puts on there. So I decided to settle in with a Nexus 6. It was pretty good. But it just seemed empty. Maybe because I was used to using custom roms on One it just seemed like features were missing. I didn't want to install a custom rom on it because in the past I always just ended up with bugginess and quite frankly a custom roms are a cop out. I paid for something, the people I paid should give me a good experience not random people on the internet. But the app store, even though it gives users a plethora of customizations like lockscreens, locks, etc, they will never bring android up to the level of a unified experience of the iPhone.

So I went and got a 6+. I have to say since it was my first iPhone I was blown away. I was in the camp of "Why do I need to spend $1000 to do what this $200 moto g can do?" I really can't see how android users feel that any android device is as polished as the iphone. I guess its subjective but honestly >90% of people I know in silicon valley have an iphone. If the most tech centered place in the world all use iphones, I think that says something. Its more than just its the trendy cool thing to do. Its honestly a better experience and the professionals can see that. If I, an engineer in silicon valley, can't get android to do what I want when I want it, how can I expect the average user to master it? Maybe its because I have a higher standard for software and user design since I am in the business but everyday I find some subtle way that the iphone manages to impress me, a feeling I never got on android.

[eropple]

For a differing opinion:

I tried an iPhone 6, moving away from a Nexus 5 and then a Moto X. I enjoyed many parts of it--Touch ID is cool, Apple Pay is cool--but I took it back two days later because the operating system expects you to have a thumb the size of Montana to do something as simple as going back a screen in the mail app and I found dealing with applications and getting the phone the way I wanted it (and I'm no iOS newbie, I had an iPhone 4 and have multiple iPads) was at best interminable, at worst impossible. I bought a Sony Xperia Z3 Compact. It's the first cell phone I've loved since the iPhone 4--unsurprising, as it borrows a lot from its design while being pretty unique and pleasant on its own. (The waterproofing is great, hiding the connectors during regular use is nice, having a real focus-stop camera button is brilliant. Also, it's bright orange. My Nexus 5 was bright red. This is kind of my thing.)

As far as your argumentum ad turtleneckum, I wouldn't give ninety percent of the people I know in Silicon Valley the time of day. Their choice of phone doesn't reflect on me or the world at large.

[matwood]

I had an iPhone4 then moved to Nexus for the larger screen. I like Android, but it was never as polished at iOS. The iPhone 6 got me to try it again and I think it's awesome. The big thing I notice is how polished all the iPhone apps are over their Android counterparts.

Most of my iOS complaints were fixed in 8 and phone size was finally remedied.

Admittedly, if Google had released an update Nexus5+ for $350 I likely would have just stayed with Android for the cost alone.

[eropple]

Honestly? Every app I use on Android is really nice and polished. Chrome, GMail, Maps, Twitter, Slack, Facebook Messenger, Hangouts, 1Password, Pocket Casts, Poweramp, and Pandora are all completely satisfying. The worst app I have is OpenMBTA...which fails to get my jimmies rustled because it's a dropdown list and a map overlay.

There are lots of shovelware applications on Android (lots on iOS too, though), but I don't really live on my phone so I think it's just much less of a thing for me.

[baudehlo]

Going back a screen in the mail app is as simple as swiping right. I don't understand why you'd need a huge thumb for that. It doesn't need to reach up to the top of the screen.

[eropple]

The swipe gestures are not standard across all apps (they didn't seem to work in GMail, for example), and when they did I had to hit the left edge of the screen. I do not have monsterhands that can securely grip the phone, reach all the way across, and do that edge swipe. (I can hold securely the Z3c and hit almost any point on the screen with my thumb.) I also don't really like gestures--other than Swype keyboards--when using a phone one-handed, which doesn't help either.

That wasn't the main reason I took it back, though if they had an iPhone 5-sized upgraded iPhone 6 I'd probably have kept it longer. (I probably wouldn't have kept it, there were enough other frustrations that not paying $900 for a phone and being able to get a better phone for my use case for $375 was appealing, but it might have lasted longer than a snowy weekend.)

[acchow]

I'll second your thoughts on the Xperia Z3 compact. I've gone through a variety of iPhones and Android phones, and this is the first phone that blew me away since the iPhone 4.

[vacri]

If the most tech centered place in the world all use iphones

It's a status signaller. It's like the Macbook Pro. From your reasoning, OSX must be the best OS out there given its popularity in SV, yet the grunt work for the vast majority of SV companies is done by linux - the stuff on the servers, making their money. Horses for courses, there is no One True OS.

It's also a massive overgeneralisation to say that the population of SV are essentially experts in phone design and UX. And if you think that the SV engineer is immune to fashion trends by dint of 'being professional', you'd be wrong. Witness the current fad of flat design, for example.

Then there's people like me, who see the 'better experience' as including things outside the phone. Supporting Apple supports their business model which suffocates open source and prevents tinkering. That's a worse experience for me.

[sukilot]

You seem to be insinuating that Linux on a laptop is as good as Linux on a server, but there is no way you actually believe that.

Apple makes the only usable laptop OS these days (now that Windows 7 gave way to iOWondows)

[vacri]

That's something you're projecting onto me - I put in the line "Horses for courses, there is no One True OS" specifically to avoid that.

Edit: I also disagree with the comment that OSX is the only usable laptop OS. Linux does require more maintenance overhead, but it's perfectly usable. At my last workplace there were plenty of people complaining about their OSX laptops, both in terms of various problems, and also that their older machines were slowing to the point of uselessness.

Like I said, horses for courses.

[cozzyd]

What's wrong with Linux on a properly supported laptop? (OS X also sucks on improperly supported laptops... much worse than Linux, in fact). I find GNOME 3, in particular, much more productive on a laptop than OS X.

[acchow]

I have a number of friends who swore by linux but then never looked back once they got macbooks.

Also, Linus Torvalds uses OS X on his macbook air.

[cozzyd]

I don't doubt your anectodes, but the idea that Linus uses OS X on his macbook air is hilarious (according to what he's said, he's a Fedora user, and has retired his MBA in favor of a Pixel).

[vacri]

I work with one person who went linux -> OSX and two that went OSX -> linux. All seem very happy.

It's almost like OSX isn't the One True OS, and that different people have different preferences.

[jmccree]

I went from OSX to Ubuntu a few years back and it's been the most overall enjoyable and productive desktop/laptop OS experience I've had.

[peterashford]

Well, clearly you iPhone users are just better than the rest of us, after all.