Switching to an iPhone

I like new phones. Having never dipped my toes into the iPhone world, I find that it's about time to switch. Here is the thought process behind what's probably the inevitable switch in the next month or two.

I like new phones - The new crop of Galaxy's aren't doing it for me. Motorola's Droid Turbo 2 looks interesting but not enough to move over to it.

Android - I've never actually used stock Android so I really have no idea what it's like. My three previous phones were Samsung (Note Edge, Note 3 and Galaxy S3), and they don't run stock android. TouchWiz is nice, but I've never been in love with it so I don't think I'll miss it. Time will tell what if anything that I will miss.

Other Operating Systems - I'm not beholden to any particular phone's operating system. While my three previous phones were Samsung, I've used several different "operating systems" over the years. That's another reason why switching shouldn't be an issue.

Camera - The cameras in the Samsung phones have disappointed me. They lock up and lag constantly. I want a quicker phone even if the quality takes a slight dip.

iPad/Eco System - I use my iPad Air constantly. Pairing it with an iPhone makes sense and should streamline some things like my overall experience. Maybe. I still use Windows as my laptop's operating system and that will most likely not change.

New iPhone every year - since I enjoy getting new phones the 12 month upgrade makes sense. That's about the time it takes for me to get tired of my current phone. I've had the Note Edge for about 14 months now. I'm ready for something new.

Perceived ease of use - I'm getting tired of fussing with my Samsung phones. From what I've read, iPhones are easy to use, or at least much friendlier than Android. I see it more as a small iPad than anything and I've had a couple of them starting with their 2nd generation model.

So that's about it. I've read reviews and comparisons and it's apparent that the 6s Plus is the way to go. I don't think I would be happy with a small screen since I've been on a Note for so long. But what about the Note's stylus? I never use it. I thought I would, but I don't. Off to Apple I go.

Let me know if you've switched either way. What was good? Bad? Unexpected?

Bryan



February 14 update.

I did in fact get the iPhone 6s Plus last Wednesday so here are the thoughts as of day five.

Battery life: Incredible. While new phones tend to have good battery life out of the gate, the iPhone was nothing short of incredible in my opinion. When I checked it Saturday morning, as I was getting ready to plug it in to run an OS update, it still have 48% battery life. I fully charged it on Wednesday evening. It took two and a half days to hit half life. I most likely had more usage than an average period with my old phone since I was downloading apps and playing with it. My Note Edge would hit half life in a day or just slightly less.

Camera: Faster than any of my previous Samsung phones. No perceptible loss in quality, but then again my typical photos involve my dog or pints of beer for posting on Facebook. A more discriminating photographer may have a wildly different experience.

Fingerprint scanner: Whereas the Samsung sucked to the point of being not useful or usable, the iPhone's fingerprint reader is fantastic and has so far worked every time without flaw.

3d Touch: Once I figured out the pressure needed, I think it's cool. I still hit it sometimes just enough to activate the "remove app wiggle thing", but the percentage is getting better toward the good.

Overall physical comparison: The iPhone is definitely slick so I ordered the most minimal case I could find and I will review that when I get it. The 6s Plus feels much smaller than the Note Edge. The buttons are in fine locations.

The keyboard: Hate the iPhone's due to the lack of the number row. It seems way too obvious that this should be included so one of my first downloads was a keyboard with the number row (I chose Bullkey). However, any time you enter a password, the stock keyboard pops up. This is only an issue because every password I have contains numbers to some degree.

What I miss from the Samsung: A soft back button