I’ve switched to the iPhone 6+! The why and how of it.

Ah, here we go. I’m back to the iPhone.

To recap…

I was an initial iPhone guy, even at times a self-proclaimed Apple Fanboy. Then as Android started improving, I become Google-curious. Then a year ago I switched over to Android after I fell in love with the Nexus 5. And for the last year, I was all Android. Sure, toward the end of 2014 I went from the Moto X to the Droid Turbo, but switching back to the iPhone seemed far from reality. So far, in fact, I made a list of the things the new iPhone would need to win me back. And the iPhone missed the mark on most of the items on that list.

But then, last December, we decided at Dragon Army to make our games for iOS first. There are many reasons for this, and we had solid debates on the topic, but given that decision, it made it tough for me to stick with an Android phone. We make a lot of prototypes and not being able to play our games would be a deal breaker for me.

So I switched up and bought the iPhone 6+. I’ve been using the 6+ for about a month and I’m fairly surprised to say I really love it. I thought the bigger phone would be a problem (but thought this was a good time to try it) and I was sure the Apple ecosystem would be annoying. I found neither to be the case.

While there are definitely things I still love about Android, I’m ok with the change and as I said, getting to play our own games is a big deal. Here are my pros and cons (so far) of switching from Android to the iPhone 6+:

Pros of the iPhone 6+

• iOS has this great feature that Location services (GPS) only fire on when you open an app that you’ve given approval to use that service. This saves battery life tremendously.
• The device, as expected, is beautiful. No way to get around it, Apple still makes the best devices.
• The camera on this phone for video and photos is superior to anything I’ve ever used. Far superior to the Nexus 5, Moto X and Droid Turbo.
• Some of the more popular apps are designed for Apple first, which leads to better UI and experiences. That’s a bummer for the Android world and maybe it will change over time, but its nice to have the best version of any app I use (barring Google apps of course).
• The battery life is superb. Some of that is because the device is bigger, but I suspect mostly its because of Apple’s ecosystem and what they do and don’t allow you to do with your phone. While that is annoying for an Android fan, it does make the battery work better (and the phone to crash less). And yes, the battery on the iPhone 6+ performs better than the Droid Turbo, which was supposedly the Turbo’s killer feature.
• I love Touch ID (the ability to unlock the phone and use your password by sensing your fingerprint). It’s incredibly handy and actually better than Android’s ability to unlock itself when you are connected to nearby wifi or bluetooth.
• Apple Pay. I actually haven’t been in a retailer that has Apple Pay in the last month, so I haven’t been able to try this, but I did connect my credit cards to my phone so I get an alert anytime my card is used. I love that feature, but I can’t wait to use Apple Pay in a store as my friends who have done that say its fantastic.

Cons of the iPhone 6+

• Google Now is available through the Google app (which was a pleasant surprise), but its not nearly as good or handy. I love me some Google Now.
• There is no Google Keep native app for iOS. This was a huge bummer at first as I enjoy using Google Keep, but actually it forced me to use Evernote for the short-form, delete-worthy notes that I was using for Keep and I prefer only one note-taking app. So this one worked itself out. Here are my previous thoughts on Evernote vs. Google Keep.
• The lack of true widgets on the homescreen is a bummer. 
• I LOVE haptic feedback when typing. This is where the phone vibrates a little when you push each key. I don’t know why I love it, but man I miss it (and so far haven’t found an iOS keyboard for the iPhone that does it).
• The Droid Turbo had a turbo charger which charged the phone incredibly fast. I miss that.
• Android phones have an ever-present “back button”, allowing you to go back by clicking in the same place on your phone no matter what app you are using. I really hope iOS adds that functionality one day.
• Not being able to put icons where you want on the homescreen is kind of ridiculous. Why iOS hasn’t changed that I’m not sure.

A few notes on the iPhone 6+ being a gigantic phone (which it is)

• At times it bugs me not to be able to reach the top of the phone with one hand, but the 6+ lets you softly tap the button at the bottom twice to pull the top of the screen down, allowing you to reach it. Nice little feature.
• The 6+ let’s you use a zoomed view of your phone where everything is a little bigger. I use that view.
• Watching video and reading things is obviously much better.
• It doesn’t fit as easily in the pocket obviously, and I find I have to take it out of my pocket anytime I sit down for fear of it bending.
• The larger battery life is worth any annoyance that a larger phone brings, in my opinion.

Ok, there you have it. I’ve come full circle. Ready to eat crow on this one (though I’m going to use the fact that I needed to play our Dragon Army games as my initial defense mechanism).

I’m not ashamed to admit I used to make jokes like this :)