Switching to iOS from Android
Last week I decided that, with so many changes happening in my life right now, why not add another? I’ve been using Google products since I got into business five years ago. My Gmail account in nearly filled to capacity and I’m sure I’ll be paying for more space soon.
Naturally, as a bought-in Google user, I’ve also been an Android user and fan for the past two years; or since Android became a serious alternative to the iPhone. And I’ve loved almost every minute of my Android experience. Almost.
However, there are enough quirks within Android, and enough poorly conceived UX paradigms, and enough poorly designed apps, and not nearly enough good apps that a low hum of dissatisfaction has been buzzing in my brain since I picked up my first Android phone. It was a Nexus One. My second Android phone was the Nexus S. Both devices are arguably the best the platform had to offer.
So when Google announced the Galaxy Nexus on Verizon, I watched one review video after another in hopes that the next generation of pure-Android phones would be compelling enough to keep me around. Verdict: it wasn’t.
It’s too big. Its advancements are minor. The updated OS is incremental at best and bordering on gimmicky. (Facial recognition to unlock your phone? Seriously? Is this Minority Report or a simple smartphone?) The dark theme of the UI is depressing and does not imbue a sense of technological advancement. It’s just dark.
All the while, iOS is staying clean, wooing developers who create amazing apps, and integrating with every sexy piece of computing hardware they make. When I bought and hooked up my iPhone, iPad, and Mac mini, everything synced that I needed to sync. All the buttons have generally the same type of interaction. And even though the iPad does feel like a big iPhone, which makes for an initially disappointing experience, the familiarity between the two becomes more comforting than I expected.
Now I’m enjoying the warm embrace of the ghost of Steve Jobs in the form of fast UI touch responses and vertical integration.
