For ten years I defended my choice to become one Android for countless haters. But finally I traded my beloved Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus for one iPhone 14 Pro. And so far I don’t regret it. (Especially now that I’m no longer teased for having it green text –more on that later.)
It may sound like I’m being overly dramatic, but that trip to the Verizon store marked a major shift for me. I’ve always been proud that I didn’t get caught up in the Apple hype. Despite years of bullying from friends switch to an iPhone, I pushed back, insisting that I enjoyed being different from the crowd. Everyone around me has an iPhone. It felt good to defy the norm. And so for years I stuck with my Samsung Galaxy devices, which I still believe are incredible phones.
But after talking to friends and family about it what I could get with the iPhone that I could never get with my Android, I began to reconsider my position. Yes, I loved my Galaxy S10 Plus and everything it had to offer: a top-notch camera, a customizable interface, and Object Eraser, which removes unwanted people or objects from your photos (Pixel phones have a similar function). But at the end of the day, there was one big thing my Android could never offer: a seamless way to communicate with all my friends on iPhone.
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I’ve been told countless times that I ruin group chats by making all texts “green.” This is because Apple refuses to make iMessage compatible with Android phones, so if you message someone who doesn’t have iOS, you’ll see green text bubbles instead of the default blue ones. Since this felt like a superficial complaint — and it’s 100% Apple’s fault — I brushed it aside.
Until I realized I was missing out on other, bigger benefits of owning an iPhone.
Unless you’re using a third-party app like WhatsApp, there’s no easy way to send high-resolution photos and videos directly between an Android phone and an iPhone. I was fine just using WhatsApp…until I started envying my friends who were instant Air Drop photos and videos after our hangouts. WhatsApp also reduces the quality of videos and uploading videos to Google Drive takes much longer.
It was also frustrating that apps like TikTok reduced my camera quality on Android. Comparing TikTok videos shot on an iPhone — even an older version like the iPhone X — to those shot on my Galaxy S10 Plus is like night and day. On my Galaxy, TikTok distorted the colors and blurred everything in the most unflattering and unrealistic way. On the iPhone, videos are sharp, clear and rendered as they should. For someone who uses TikTok as much as I do, this was important.
These reasons, along with the fact that I already use a MacBook and so would benefit from the Apple ecosystem, led me to change my mind about owning an iPhone. Add in features like the new always-on display on the iPhone 14 Pro models – something I absolutely loved on my Galaxy devices – and fun new elements like Dynamic Island, and suddenly I was sold on the idea of getting over to switch.
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Yes, I had to fight the feeling of being a sellout. But I realized it’s just a phone after all. And no matter what you do, people will have unsolicited opinions about whatever device you use. My Galaxy worked well for me for years. Now I was ready for something new. And so far I don’t regret it.
Watch the video above for more of my thoughts on switching from an Android phone to an iPhone. Also here is mine comparison of the iPhone 14 Pro vs the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.
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