HN Explorer

Was it worth it migrating from the Android ecosystem to the Apple ecosystem?

1 points by guilhermejordan ↗ HN
It seems that my experience in the Android ecosystem only deteriorates over time. I recently bought a Samsung Galaxy Watch and everything is just too messy. I can't add my bank card to Samsung Pay, battery sucks, I have trouble connecting with my Google account, Google Assistant is still not available, blood pressure and ECG is only available with a Samsung phone, etc. I know there are many hacks, but I honestly don't have the patience for it. My phone is a Poco X3 and most things work fine, except third party apps. Everything is some poor port of a web app that rarely works. Settings are also extremely complicated and convoluted. And there is more: in the past years I have been losing more and more of my trust in Google. I see myself getting worried if all my data will simply be lost in the next day and there will be nothing I can do about it. Been wondering if it would be worth it saving up a lot and do a full migration to the Apple ecosystem, with and iPhone, Apple Watch, Macbook and their cloud stuff.

3 comments

[ 0.21 ms ] story [ 20.7 ms ] thread
smk_
I went from the Android to the Apple ecosystem, and would take the same decision if I had to decide from scratch. I believe reducing friction in brain-computer interfaces is a real comparative advantage, and that's much easier with Apple.
cwdegidio
I was very hesitant a few years ago about going all in on the Apple ecosystem. But after about 5 years in it now, I don't regret the decision. As another comment mentioned, the amount of "brain-friction" reduction has been substantial. Sometimes the seamless integration between devices is so smooth that I completely take it for granted. At this point, I have access to every document I need on any device at any time. If I start watching something at my desk, it's easy to pick up watching it in bed on the iPad. Calendaring and sharing docs between my partner and myself is brain dead easy. Their health apps are top notch and have been instrumental in getting my personal health in order and provided me conversation starters with my physician. In addition, as a developer, I appreciate having a BSD based machine without all the headaches that come with the cognitive load of running Linux.
azangru
Apple allows only a single browser engine on their iOS devices, which is Safari's webkit. All other browsers on iOS, despite their names, are forced to use this engine instead of their own browser engines. Since Apple doesn't prioritize web, the development of webkit typically lags behind other browser engines, such as Chrome's Blink, or Firefox's Gecko. Plus, there are important bugs that Apple doesn't hurry to fix. Keep this in mind if you care about web on your mobile device.