Created on: Fri Oct 07 2022 19:00:00 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time)
I can remember each and every cell phone I've used in the past, and once touchscreen smartphones hit the market with the original iPhone in 2007, my devices have been a smattering of both Android and iOS with a pretty even split. In today's landscape, though, I'm not sure what my next step should be.
As you can probably see from my uses page, I currently use an iPhone 13 Pro but also have a Google Pixel 6. In July of this year (2022), I dropped the Pixel 6 and cracked the top left corner of the screen and have not gotten it fixed. One of the things that is important for me with my phones now is that they are waterproof (IP68 rated), and with the cracked screen (and/or a repaired screen) the waterproofing can't be gauranteed, so I don't think I'll be continuing to use the Pixel 6 in any daily use capacity, although I do want to.
Android is what I know; it's what I love. Android just feels like home. It's open sourced, it's the most popular mobile operating system in the world, and it gets a lot of design & UI updates. The most important fact about Android is that it remains open source and easy for developers to create and release apps that other can use.
Steve Jobs once said that "it's better to be a pirate than join the navy," and I think that going all in on Apple products is similar to joining the navy right now. Everyone uses their products and scoffs (to a near visceral degree) when your text messages aren't blue. A this point, I want to switch to Android just to be different than everyone and go against the grain.
There are a lot of things that Apple & iOS have done recently that make me really not want to continue to use these devices. The primary thing is the damn lightning cable. The (near) entirety of the consumer tech hardware industry has moved on to the new standard; my flashlights now use a USB-C charger. By switching back to Android, I move right into a single cable and single charging brick to charge all of my technology. My e-reader, headphones, earbuds, laptop, battery pack, fitness tracker battery, and mouse would all be able to be charged by one single cable. I don't want to wait another year for Apple to roll out USB-C to their phones (or even the possiblity of taking away the whole port as is).
I also don't like the sharp edges of the 12+ iPhones. Holding for any prolonged amount of time really starts cause some pain in my hand. Honestly, I also prefer the hole punch front facing camera than I do a "dynamic island" or notch. Face ID is terrrible, and doubly so when we live in a world where masks are much more prevalent. I strongly dislike having to completely pick up my phone just to unlock it.
I just think that the design, hackability, affordability, and openness just makes Android a much better platform. It's the next logical step for me.
It's been good Apple, iOS, but I'm back on Android.
I do plan on updating this post with more thoughts as I have them. If you've got thoughts on this same idea, drop me a line at heath@stepph.sh or @hhheath_.