I Ditched My Android for an iPhone 15 for a Week – And Apple Has Some Work To Do
Although I’ve tested iPhones for review—most recently with my iPhone 15 Plus review and iPhone 15 Pro review—outside of reviewing, my personal usage predominantly takes place on Android phones and has done so for years. I like the flexibility and customizability of the platform and the ability to address shortcomings or personalise with third-party apps and tools in a way that simply doesn’t exist on the iPhone. Its interoperability with a wider array of devices / OSes, be it iPhones, iPads, Macs, Windows PCs, or other Android phones and tablets, is unquestionably superior too. Even Android’s file management offers greater control and versatility (don’t @ me).
That said, I’m often curious about what it would be like to live on the other side of this divide more wholeheartedly. Can I fully embrace Apple’s smartphone of the moment or will I miss the Android way of things too much? What barriers might I run into and, conversely, which aspects of the iPhone and iOS experience might I prefer?
Jumping from Google’s latest and greatest Pixel 8 Pro to the most modest member of Apple’s best iPhones of 2023 might seem like a step-down. But as first impressions go, the iPhone 15 looks and feels like a seriously premium piece of kit in its own right.
Sure, it didn’t get the titanium frame of its Pro-branded siblings but next to the Pixel, its frosted glass back and carefully rounded aluminium bodywork look just as premium and, at some angles, better. Tolerances are tight, the contoured front and back glass are a treat to wield, and I made a point of enjoying that physical alert slider, as it’s likely not long for this world now that the Action button has arrived on the Pro models.
It’s also nice that, compared to every previous generation of iPhone out there, I didn’t have to switch out all the cables I already had by my bedside, in my bag, in my car, and on my desk at work. Apple may not have been happy about making the jump to USB-C for the iPhone 15 series but it’s undeniably a win for consumers and probably makes the act of transitioning to the iPhone for on-the-fence Android users that little bit easier.
The first hurdle
The biggest roadblock that has stopped me from going all-in on my iPhone in the past has been WhatsApp, and after much research, it looks like my concerns about the transfer process remain very real. Although it’s easy enough to move your chats and media from one Android phone to another, the conditions for moving to an iPhone—even with Apple’s Move to iOS Google Play Store app—are a little more prescriptive. The move back to Android from an iPhone is trickier still, at least in my situation.
Moving WhatsApp from Android to Android (or iPhone to iPhone) can be done at any point, with both phones in any state (so long as there’s enough storage on the receiving device). Things get more challenging when you want to move across platforms in either direction; in both cases, the receiving phone needs to have not yet been setup.
While I was more than comfortable resetting the iPhone I’d already setup to have a chance at using WhatsApp on iOS, I realised that the move back to Android at the end of the experience would be nigh on impossible, unless I was willing to reset the Pixel I’d been using for months. Doing so would have meant reverifying banking apps, reactivating individual cards in Google Wallet, losing game save states, smart home configurations, automations, and routines, let alone making sure loose files and media were backed up safely and securely. And that was just too much of an inconvenience for only a week’s testing on the iOS side of the fence.
As such, while the iPhone was my daily driver, my WhatsApp usage remained solely an Android affair—something that will only change once the ability to move the chat app’s data between the two operating systems is as easy as it is between two devices running on the same operating system.
Up and running
Before really taking the iPhone out on the road, I also had to put a case on it. I can’t get my head around people who like to use their $800+ smartphones without a case, assuming they care about keeping the thing looking nice. Apple speaks to the durability of the iPhone, and while its IP-certified bodywork may be class-leading and its Ceramic Shield the toughest around, I know that maintaining the fine finish that Apple designers clearly spent a lot of time refining matters to me too, just as it would on any pricey Android phone (including the Pixel).
Taking the case off and using your phone without an outer shell is a luxury I reserve for the home, where the furnishings are soft and the floor is carpeted. In the big wide world, one of the best iPhone 15 cases is a must, in my opinion.
Once I’d made the call about WhatsApp and slung on a case, I set about downloading all the other key apps I knew I’d rely on and / or enjoy: social apps, preferred email clients, banking apps, and streaming services. While the void in availability and quality—as far as popular apps are concerned—is narrower than ever between Android and iOS, there is still a degree of polish to Apple’s apps that Android apps often lack, even if the App Store itself still suffers from a relatively clunky navigation experience.
Along with all the necessaries, I grabbed Genshin Impact too, because despite being the most modest member of the iPhone 15 line, I already knew 2023’s standard model would be up to the task of running the game without issue—something that can’t always be said for every similarly-styled Android rival.
