Google Nexus 5 Android to iOS9 iPhone 6S – Tony Man’s initial thoughts

Android to iPhone Review

Here are my initial thoughts of owning the iPhone 6S

This year I was watching the WWDC2016 a lot closer than previous years and soaking in all that Apple has to say about the new iOS, as it has been a long time in the making…  I have finally taken the plunge and moved over to iOS with my upgrade to a new shiny iPhone 6S.

I have been a longtime supporter of Google Android and have experienced first-hand, over the seven plus years, how it has fully evolved into a well-designed, beautiful to look at smartphone operating system.  It has been a big part of my current business life, making sure that every notification was duly reported and I was abreast of everything that was coming in and going out of Tony Man towers. It has also added to my personal life making sure that I receive those important calls from the wife saying we need more milk and bread as well as making sure that I get to the shop (to get the bread and milk) in an efficient manner and not get completely lost, thanks to Google Maps.  It has been a very good digital companion especially in the shape of a Google Nexus 5 sporting the unadulterated Google Android operating system.

Tony Man iPhone 6s

So why the change?

Well…  for me it all came down to bang for your buck.  I looked long and hard at the Google’s Nexus current line up and if I was to go for the Nexus 5x, though a little faster and better in most areas, it didn’t seem that much of an upgrade to warrant another two years of the 5x.  Which is a shame as I absolutely loved the Google Nexus 5 – though the battery left a little to be desired.  The Google Nexus 6p would have been the phone for me in terms of spec but its size was a deal breaker for me, ideally, if they could of put the spec of the Google Nexus 6p into the form factor of the 5x then I wouldn’t be writing this post today.  There were other phones on the market that I looked at – HTC10, LG G5 and the like but I am not a big fan of skinned Android setups as I prefer the undiluted experience that Google Android has to offer which was slick, clean and effective.

So for me, it was time to try something different and that was iOS.  As a natural tech geek, I have been following the progression of the iPhone throughout the years.  I have marvelled yearly at the new innovations implemented into the operating system and the upgrades to the hardware.  I have envied its connectivity with the Apple Mac and the iPad and always wondered what it would be like to own.

Well, that day has come and what do I think?

In a nutshell, I have slightly mixed feelings about the iPhone 6S and iOS9.  I like the design of the device, it’s fast in comparison to my Nexus 5, the camera is great and I have experienced no problems so far – other than a few issues with Apple ID but that is another story.

Apple made it a breeze to move all of my information from my Nexus 5 to the new iPhone 6s.  Force touch is a great innovation which I am sure will be developed more over time.  The finger print scanner works really well for unlocking the phone.  Siri works well though I did prefer saying “Ok Google” as opposed to feeling like a bit of a fool saying “Hey Siri”.  The phone gels very well with OSX and I love when you get incoming calls on the iPhone the notification also appears on my Mac.  I also like the overall look and feel of the operating system but saying all of that I do miss certain features of Android.

With Android I liked seeing my notifications at the top of the screen so instantly I knew what was needing my attention.  I miss the back button at the bottom of the screen, which was great for small handed people like me, as on iOS it is at the top left.  I miss the notification light on the Nexus 5 which was colour coded depending on what I was being notified by I also have a gripe with the way iOS handles folders holding multiple apps, it just isn’t as good looking as Android.

The app icons are not as nice as they are on Android as I prefer the icons not having the iOS squared background to them.  Also when using voice commands for say navigation when I mention “Ok Google navigate to XYZ” and Google Maps fires up with what it believed to be the correct answer I only had to wait for a few seconds of saying nothing for the navigation to kick in and get me to my destination.  Siri isn’t as intuitive as that and if you are in a car travelling at speed you really can’t afford to take your attention away from the road to add further human input of where you are going to get the navigation software to direct you to your destination.

My biggest gripe is with its compatibility with the Sony Smartwatch 3 – they just don’t get on.  Even though it does work with Android Wear on the iPhone, it constantly disconnects and the level of notifications  and reply interactions are nowhere near what it was on Android, which is an absolute shame as I loved having my notifications buzz away on my wrist especially if I was in another room, driving or at a meeting.

I am sure that the above is simply down to my not having enough time to experience the joy that I am sure is iOS and with the announcements that have happened at WWDC2016 I am looking forward to learning about the additions to the operating system that will help alleviate my pining for Android and my smartwatch sadness.

Overall I would recommend the iPhone to anyone as it’s a great phone but I do miss Android a little which makes me wonder that if I move back to Android after my two-year contract is up will I be writing about how much I miss iOS?  Let’s see.