public opinion : Historically , I ’d probably describe myself as an devouring iPhone exploiter . I ’ve either corrupt or critique every undivided coevals of iPhone since the humble days of the iPhone 3Gs , and I ’ve had various combinations of iPad , Apple Watch , AirPods and Mac over the age .
It ’s no surprisal really ; Apple might launch around four models of iPhone per yr , but that pale in comparison to the identification number of Android smartphones that drop in the same period .
As such , I ’ve been pass much more time using flagship Android smartphones . While I initially always trade back to my iPhone after finishing up on an Android speech sound review , that itch dwindled over clip – so much so that , even with entree to the top - endiPhone 16 Pro Maxtowards the end of this year , I switched back to Android soon after the reappraisal pass live and did n’t calculate back , but why ?
For me , I think it ’s a combination of Android hardware that , after steady improvement over the past few years , matches or even surpasses that of what you ’ll find on an equivalent iPhone , alongside the uptick in the number of bugs and take I was running into while using iOS 18 day - to - day .
Android smartphone hardware is impressive
Let ’s take a flavor at some of the fantastic phones you get on the Android side of things . Whether you want a folding , candybar phone , small phone or big phone , there ’s something for everyone in the Android ecosystem .
Phones that I ’ve found myself constantly exit back to in 2024 include theMotorola Razr 50 Ultra , Honor Magic 6 Pro , OnePlus 12,Honor Magic V3,Google Pixel 9 Pro XL , Oppo Find X8 Proand , of course , the dead fantasticSamsung Galaxy S24 Ultra , all of which offer something that the iPhone does n’t .
Take the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra and Honor Magic V3 as prime example ; the clamshell and playscript - style foldables declare oneself an impressive experience with pliable screens that either shrink a 6.9 - inch phone into something that match into the palm of your script or inflate from a veritable phone to something akin to a tablet .
That ’s an experience that just does n’t exist in the Apple ecosystem , and I ’ve grow quite fond of having a large 7.92 - inch OLED screen at my disposal for web browsing and chatting , particularly one in as thin and light a form ingredient as the Magic V3 .
Then there are the fantastic camera earpiece to regard ; while Apple ’s top - end iPhone 16 Pro Max does an admirable job of snapping picture , it does n’t have that same allurement as it once did with monolithic steps forward in the Android competition thanks to quislingism with photography powerhouses like Leica and Hasselblad .
The the like of the Google Pixel 9 Pro XL , Honor Magic 6 Pro , Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra and Oppo Find X8 Pro , in my experience , all take a comparable if not respectable photo in most experimental condition than the top - ending iPhone , specially once you start whizz along into shots .
In fact , I even opted to use the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra over theiPhone 15 Proto gaining control photos of my conflict in the beginning this year .
Then there ’s concealment technical school . Now , I ’m not hold out to say that the iPhone 16 Pro Max does n’t have an perfectly stellar screen because that ’s just not true ; it is , hand - down , one of the best screens on the market place with vanishingly slim bezels and impressive HDR performance .
However , the like of the Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra offer an as telling screen experience and , in the event of Samsung ’s flagship , a ready to hand anti - reflective finishing that makes the screen far more visible in shiny sun .
There ’s also the inclusion of the S Pen , further boosting what you’re able to do with the S24 Ultra ’s big 6.9 - column inch canvass , making it a genuinely tempting choice to Apple ’s top - end Super Retina XDR dialog box .
Even the gap between Apple ’s in - house atomic number 14 and Android chipsets has shrunk over the past 12 calendar month to the item where lately released phone like the Oppo Find X8 Pro match , or even surpass , the A18 Pro in the iPhone 16 Pro Max in benchmark tests .
As such , the mean solar day - to - solar day experience is undistinguishable between the two camps at the flagship level , with the Android competitor able to handle the same top - end games as the latest iPhones .
Finally , there are charge pep pill ; while Apple was rumoured to in conclusion boost the iPhone 16 Pro Max charge speeds to 45W , that never materialised , instead sit at around the same 30W as late entries in Apple ’s smartphone assemblage .
Reader , that ’s downright glacial liken to the truehearted charging you ’ll find from the likes of the 100W charging on offer from the OnePlus 12 , which allows the phone to go from flat to full in just 26 minutes in my tests .
However , even with marvelous ironware available on the Android side of things , Apple ’s nail up its arm is iOS – well , it has been until recently , anyway .
The woes of iOS 18 and Apple Intelligence
Generally talk , you do n’t grease one’s palms an iPhone for the computer hardware ; you grease one’s palms it for Apple ’s iOS software .
Apple ’s exploiter - friendly approach to Io has traditionally been a winner for the society , with many users deciding to stick with the iPhone between upgrade because of the familiarity of the software on offer – that , and just how well it works , recreate nicely with other Apple Cartesian product that iOS owners in all probability own .
However , I ’ve found thatiOS 18has been a dotty than usual experience for me , even when it comes to pretty basic aspects using of an iPhone .
That manifest in several forms cast from the slightly plaguey , like widget disappearing on my lock CRT screen after unlocking my equipment , to the downright frustrating , like presentment announcement for good grow my euphony down until I completely disconnect my AirPods , turn off Bluetooth and restart my Spotify app .
Sure , Apple ’s software has always had small bugs and government issue , but none get in my mind as much as those I ’ve found in iOS 18 during my time reviewing the iPhone 16 compendium .
I also find Apple ’s big ploy for 2024 , Apple Intelligence , to be surprisingly un - Apple - like in its execution . Apple has a bit of a reputation for taking longer to get feature to the iPhone , but when it does , it typically does it good than most of the competition , but that ’s certainly not true of Apple Intelligence in my experience .
I ’ve already waxed lyric about how inaccurate Apple ’s presentment sum-up tech is in my limited review of theiPhone 16 , and late headline aboutmisrepresenting a BBC newsworthiness notificationare likely still unused in the judgment of many , but it goes beyond that .
Other element also fall short ; Apple ’s transcription technical school is far less precise than what you ’ll find on the Pixel 9 Pro XL , and despite upgrades to Siri smartness , it ’s not quite as up to as Gemini is for cosmopolitan interrogation .
I read it in my iPhone 16 review and I ’ll say it again here ; if you ’re buy an iPhone 16 , verify it ’s not for Apple Intelligence .
There are some things that only Apple can do
Now do n’t get me wrong , there are some elements of the iPhone experience that are simply unmatched in the Android distance .
The biggest in my mind is the iPhone ’s ability to catch video . For whatever reason , Apple has always nailed elements like OIS , providing a Hollywood - esque floaty manner to videos that make Android alternatives look a piece janky in comparison , and it ’s uncommon to find a zoom as smooth as what the iPhone turn in on the Android side of thing .
It run beyond capturing good television however ; iOS play exceptionally well with other Apple products in a way that , I hate to say , ‘ just works ’ , whether that ’s your AirPods intelligently switch between your iPhone and iPad depending on what you ’re using or something as simple as clearing a notification on your iPhone and having that disappear on other Apple devices .
Then there are the little chemical element of the iOS experience , like the fact you need n’t heap around with scope app optimisation to make indisputable that your apps officiate properly , the timely software updates that total to all models of iPhone on the same twenty-four hours and even the effortless customisation of the lock screen door . There ’s still a lot to love about iOS .
For me however , the allure of phones like the Oppo Find X8 Pro and Honor Magic V3 is hard to disregard , and if Android manufacturers keep up the current pace , it might tempt even die - hard iPhone sports fan to swap . We ’ll just have to wait and see what 2025 has in store .
