It’s been a great 2-years, but I moved back. Here’s why…

Around 2 years ago I decided to move back to Android, I guess I wanted to experience that excitement of customisation and an ecosystem that not only consists of multiple brands but also plays nice with other ecosystems.

Fast forward two years, and I decided to go back to Apple, this wasn’t a decision I was planning to make, nor was it something I even considered, but let’s just say that the Apple ecosystem can become quite addictive and hard not to use.

The only thing I was expecting was that I was going to get a Mac at some point to replace my ancient PC which was really starting to show its age. Considering the fact that I mainly use my computer for my side hustle and producing content, I thought it was the right thing to do.

After getting my shiny new MacBook Air, I knew that there would be a point where I would not be able to resist and that I would end up buying an iPhone and other Apple tech.

Guess what! It happened!

I decide to replace my beloved Google Pixel 7 Pro with an iPhone 14 Pro Max. Here are 5 reasons why…

1. My contract was due for an upgrade

Unlike many other creators, I don’t tend to buy my tech for the full shelf price as I simply can’t afford it.

That’s why when I saw the iPhone 14 Pro Max on a pretty decent offer with my network provider that matches my minimal usage, I decided to go for it.

I was very tempted to go with the Google Pixel 8 Pro, however, over the last 2 years, I had the Google Pixel 6 Pro and the 7 Pro and as much as I love the Google ecosystem, I wanted to have something different this time around.

When it comes to getting these contracts, I’m no expert, but I know that there are times when it’s better to get a sim-only deal and the phone on finance, so if you are thinking of renewing your contract that could be a good option.

On this occasion, I decided to stay with my current provider. Speaking of which, you’re probably wondering why I didn’t go with the iPhone 15 Pro Max or waited until next year’s models are released. Well, the iPhone 15 Pro Max was considerably more and I’m a believer that you don’t always need the latest and greatest tech.

Speaking about contracts, I think it’s important to understand your monthly usage. On average, I don’t tend to use more than 8GB of data per month, in fact, last month I only used around 3GB! I think the main reason for this is that I don’t have a great signal in my area on any of the providers, so I result in using the WiFi when I’m at home.

When I’m out and about, I have my music downloaded onto my phone through Spotify and I don’t tend to watch many videos or go on social media unless I’m commuting to and from work, but even then, I don’t tend to watch many videos on the train, therefore I don’t use much data.

I think it seriously is worth going through your monthly usage as there will be many people in the same situation as me and it would be a great way of saving money. I mean I can’t count the amount of people I know who have unlimited data plans, but on average only use around 15GB per month!

2. I wanted to improve my productivity

This may sound strange to many people, but after moving to Apple many years ago when I was at university, I was able to improve my productivity by using apps that were only available on Apple devices as well as the way the system functions. You can read more about why I’m more productive on MacOS here.

It turns out that it was not only MacOS that was keeping me more productive and on top of my life, it was also the apps I was using on my iPhone as well as a few other things, some of which I don’t understand myself, but let’s talk about them anyway.

Starting with the fact that on Android, I was always messing around with launchers and customising my overall experience. The funny thing is that even after trying new launchers, playing around with them and customising them, I would always eventually go back to the default launcher that came with the phone.

That alone was a huge waste of time, that I could have better spent somewhere else. I guess one can argue that as long as I was having fun, it wasn’t a waste of time. But I guess, it just didn’t make me feel productive.

Second of all, Apple knows their stuff when it comes to attention to detail and making your life more organised and productive. I mean the entire system is designed to look great and they pay attention to every detail, which kinda plays a trick on you.

I mean with systems such as Windows and Android, there is a great deal of software and apps with completely different interfaces and designs which can make the whole experience overwhelming, and you may not even realise it.

I know that to many people, this is only a small thing, and you may not even care about it, but when you are working on something and you want to achieve maximum productivity that small thing can become a big thing really fast.

That’s why I am a huge fan of the overall software design language that Apple uses. It makes everything look clean and it doesn’t take a lot to learn new apps. But we’ll get to that in the next section.

3. App Quality, Design and Availability

In all seriousness, Android has significantly improved over the last couple of years and so has the quality of apps and their designs.

But I still find apps with an extremely dated and complicated interface. There are apps on the Google Play Store that look like they haven’t been updated in many years! There are also apps with basic features missing, especially when it comes to the WearOS platform.

Obviously, there could be similar apps on the App Store, but they aren’t very common and all of the apps I use daily actually work. Whereas there were many occasions where the Android versions and equivalents, simply didn’t work correctly or had major bugs.

The main thing I love about iOS apps is that they follow a familiar design language, which makes them easy to use and understand. On top of that, these designs are often clean and minimal making the apps pleasant to use and not feel overcomplicated.

In all fairness, the same thing can be said about many of the mainstream Android apps too, but personally, I don’t find them as pleasant compared to their iOS versions. That’s just my opinion.

Another thing I wanted to talk about is app availability, this is something that totally depends on you and the apps you use, but for my needs, I find that there are more apps for productivity on iOS and MacOS compared to other systems.

Productivity is something close to my heart and I simply didn’t find as many interesting apps available on Android as there are on iOS.

Just to give a few examples of these apps, Things 3, which is my all-time favourite To-Do list app, Fantastical, Drafts and Shortcuts. These are examples of apps, that I just couldn’t find a suitable replacement for that worked for me.

I also prefer the design of the widgets on iOS, don’t get me wrong there are some really cool widgets on Android, but I just like how nice and practical some of the widgets are on iOS.

4. The Ecosystem

Over the last couple of years, I tried many ecosystems such as Samsung, Google Pixel and Huawei, but based on my own opinion and needs, I got on best with the Apple ecosystem.

Not only did I feel more productive and on top of things, I also felt that I was enjoying life more using Apple’s tech.

I mean let’s face it, there is a key difference between Apple and other brands and that difference is that neither Apple nor its customers always want or need the latest and greatest tech. That’s one of the reasons why Apple hasn’t yet released a foldable phone.

Apple concentrates on usability and making their products even better and more convenient, whereas brands such as Samsung and Google focus on new things and making their devices more powerful.

I mean, don’t get me wrong, some of these innovations sound fantastic! But I can’t really picture a scenario where I would use Samsung Dex or where a flip phone will benefit my life, and yes, I had a flip phone, but I actually found it a bit annoying after a while.

That’s the main difference between Samsung and Apple in my opinion.

But the ecosystem is just so much more, I mean I love that I can copy text on my iPhone and paste it to my MacBook within seconds. I love the idea of AirDrop and how all devices in the ecosystem just work together without any issues. That’s another thing that makes me more productive.

5. The Overall Experience

I’ve already talked a lot about productivity in this article, but there is so much more to the Apple experience than just productivity.

The overall experience is just so good compared to other systems. I mean behind the scenes, I’ve always been an Android and Windows guy. My first ever smartphone was the Sony Xperia J which was running on Ice Cream Sandwich – I love those names! Who thinks Android should use them again?

I’ve also been raised on Windows, I remember my first computer which I believe was a Compaq running on Windows 95, since then, I’ve used several versions of the desktop and server versions of Windows.

So I think it’s fair to say that I know a thing or two about both Android and Windows and let me tell you something, as much as I love those systems, I feel more comfortable using Apple.

That’s just my own personal opinion.

I feel that the overall experience that Apple has to offer suits me more than the Windows and Android experience that I used for so many years in the past.

It just goes to show that whether you are an Apple person, a Windows person, an Android person, or even a Linux person. It’s always worth trying other systems as you may find that you enjoy using the other system more than you enjoy using what you currently have.

Final Thoughts

When it comes to the whole Android vs Apple vs Windows argument, I tend to stay well clear of it and as someone who has used all of these systems including various Linux distributions, I find that I enjoy using Apple products more than any other brand.

As someone who’s used all of these systems, I can clearly see the advantages of using them, their disadvantages as well as areas for improvement.

As people, we all have different interests, different needs, different lifestyles and different jobs, it’s what makes us interesting.

Just because all your friends have Android phones, doesn’t mean you need to have an Android phone if you prefer using iPhones and vice versa.

Overall, I really enjoyed seeing what Android has to offer after having a long break from it several years ago. However, after having a break from iOS, I felt I needed to go back.

I know that Apple may seem like an expensive company to buy from, but it doesn’t have to be! I mean I don’t own a single device from Apple that I can class as the latest, well maybe apart from my AirTags.

My MacBook Air and iPad Pro are from 2020 and so is my Apple Watch SE. My iPhone 14 Pro Max is from 2022, which I can’t really classify as new either.

To make the prices even more attractive, you don’t even have to buy new! I purchased my 44mm Apple Watch SE for £120 second-hand in CEX and it’s in excellent condition!

To summarise this article, I am extremely happy I switched back!