Ditching Apple for Android

In My Humble Opinion
1

Over the past decade or so I went from strongly anti-Apple (I considered them to be more marketing and hype than substance), to having almost exclusively Apple devices. First I got an iPod because they were pretty much the standard and I could run iTunes on my PC. Then I got an iPhone because at that time (at least in my opinion) it was pretty much the best smartphone, and I already had iTunes to sync it with, and there were a lot more and better apps on iOS, at least from what I knew or was interested in. Then I got the first iPad for similar reasons, in my opinion it was the best tablet available at the time. Besides the fact that I thought the Apple stuff was the best available, I also liked that it worked together fairly easily. Of course I never thought Apple was perfect, and was all along annoyed by their non-standard cables, necessary adapters, and refusal to have things like removable memory or batteries, but I still considered them to have the overall best product, and one that justified the price premium they have as well.

Well, fast forward to today, and I’m not as impressed by Apple anymore, especially as far as the direction they are heading. I think the competition has narrowed the gap across the board, and probably surpassed them in many areas. If I were starting from scratch, I’m almost certain I’d go the Android/PC route, and at this point pretty much the only thing keeping me on the Apple side is that I already have Apple stuff. I’m kinda looking for an opportunity to make the switch, and I think I may have a window shortly as I’m due for a phone upgrade, and also considering a new tablet. Actually I’m pretty sure I’ll make the change, and mainly looking for advice on transitioning back to Android.

I’m thinking along the lines of getting some variation of a Surface tablet, and quite possibly the Google Pixel phone. I’d hope to obsolete my iPod with the phone, and as of now all I use it for is to play music in my car. If I can do that via my phone instead, I’m all for it.

So I guess my question is pretty much 2 parts. First part is I’m looking for advice about switching from Apple to Android, and am I making the right choice. Is there anything I should consider that I’ve left out?

Second part is why I really started the thread, and I’m looking for a gameplan on transitioning to Android.

My biggest concern is that I have a pretty big iTunes music library, a LOT of which was bought from iTunes. Is there an easy way to convert this to MP3’s or something that can be used with Android devices? I’m fine having to manually do some work, it will actually give me a chance to clean up my music library, but my main concern is losing stuff I bought Apple versions of, like because of DRM or whatever. Is there a way for me to (hopefully permanently) convert iTunes to something more generic? My goal would be to have all my music in a single place that I can add to going forward, hoping to avoid some kind of hybrid between iTunes and something else.

Besides that, I guess any other concerns I may have are pretty minor (unless anyone can remind me of something I’m forgetting). I realize any apps I bought for iOS will likely need to be re-purchased for Android. Migrating my phone book is another thing I actually see as a positive if I have to do it manually, as I can clean up and purge old contacts. Anything I’m missing?

Overall I guess I’m looking for advice on if I should switch or not, and if I do advice on executing the switch. Any input would be appreciated.

2

If the iPod is working fine, I suggest keeping it for the car. The problem with using a phone for music is that the phone always allows phone calls, texts, and other notifications to interrupt the music. Not a problem with a dedicated music player. And it gives you some time to figure out the iTunes problem (sorry, I have now information on that, but I’m sure someone will know how to do it). But keep the iPod. I’m pretty much non-apple, but I like my iPod.

3

I’ll preface this by stating that my preference is for Windows Phone, but I’ve given up on it thanks to Microsoft’s total incompetence at managing the platform. That said, right now I have an iPhone 6S and previously had a Nexus 5, and I don’t see myself ever switching back to Android. Why?

Android simply does not seem to enforce much “discipline” on the platform. My Nexus 5 had a 2300 mAh battery. I would unplug it at about 7 a.m., and when I got home from work it’d have torched it down to 15-20%. At random points during the day I could feel the damn thing warming up in my pocket. Comparatively speaking, the iPhone 6S (1700 mAh battery) will only be down to 80% or so, and the Lumia 735 I had for a bit (2200 mAh) would be down to 85% or so. On the Nexus 5 I would also find the battery torched after little active usage because some app I hadn’t even used that day somehow decided it needed the GPS.

so for the foreseeable future, I’m sticking with Apple on mobile devices. I really like the Surface family (my mom has a SP4 and my sister has a previous version) but they’re still more like notebooks you can use as a tablet. Microsoft’s total mis-handling of the platform means tablet/touch apps are still a wasteland.

4

My old iPod touch still sees a lot of use in my spare bedroom for NetFlix, and I just bought a used $35 iPod Touch to run Pandora at the office. The batteries have long worn out on both, but they’re plugged in all the time, so who cares?

Anyway, phones and music: I made a very similar transition just over a year ago myself, so I have some experience with it. My solution was to use iSyncr and Rocket Player for my music - the first to get my iTunes library to sync with the Android phone (via WiFi) and the second to actually play the music with all my ratings, playlists, lyrics, etc. Most of my iTunes music is DRM-free, but I still have about 200 tracks that I’m going to have to do some manual work to convert and the re-import into iTunes. (Since the other 3000 tracks came over fine, I’ve been able to get by. :slight_smile: )

iSyncr was $5 if memory serves and it only took about fifteen minutes to get going and then works invisibly in the background.

To get my old iCloud contact available, I use Sync for iCloud app. I think it’s free for the features I use. My old iCloud stuff was already legacy even before my iOS to Android transition, though. I’d been using Outlook for the current information.

Overall, the transition has been a real pleasure for me. I have an Android smart phone that does everything my iPhone did at a third of the price. If you know your way around iOS, you’ll learn Android pretty quickly - they’re not really all that different. The biggest OS difference in my opinion is that Android doesn’t try to re-invent itself every year in the name of being trendy. Most of your apps will be available for Android. One thing to consider is that your paid apps will often have to be repurchased. Check with the app vendors to see whether iTunes store purchases and/or in-app purchases can carry over.

5

The audio hardware on the android devices I’ve had (two phones and two tablets) consistently let me down compared to my apple devices. The hardware on my iPads and phones withstood the onslaught of two girls growing up where the hardware on my android and windows devices pretty much crumpled up and died in short order (blown speakers and/or non-functioning jacks). You might not need that level of robustness but those failures are a big turnoff for me.

6

Apple hasn’t sold DRM’d music in about 8 years, so if you’ve bought your music from them since then, you are already in the clear.

But if your music was bought before that, an easy way to get rid of the DRM is to sign up for iTunes Match. For $25, iTunes Match will automatically scan your entire iTunes Library and offer up non-DRM 256 kbps AAC replacement versions for download, so long as iTunes can recognize the song. So if you downloaded a tinny 64 kpbs mp3 from Napster in 2002, and iTunes has that song in it’s catalog, it will be replaced with a newer, better sounding file. As a bonus, your whole library will be available to download from the cloud for a year.

Some caveats- the service doesn’t automatically replace your local library, that stays untouched (hopefully, anyway). If you want the new files saved locally, you’ll have to download them, but you’ve got a year to do it. Also, you’ll want to make sure that the matching process didn’t fuck up, for example replacing your Beatles version of Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds with the Willam Shatner cover version.

It might sound like a pain in the ass, but if you have a large amount of DRM’d iTunes, and/or low quality mp3s, it’s the quickest/easiest way to get your old stuff exchanged for better/cleaner versions.

Can you be more specific about what is about the iOS products that don’t appeal to you or what advantages you see in moving to a Android/Surface hybrid setup? Because the only specifics you give are “non-standard cables, necessary adapters, and refusal to have things like removable memory or batteries.” The Pixel has no removable storage space and no removable battery and the iOS accessory ecosystem is huge and diverse, so I’m not sure what you mean by non-standard cables (there is no industry standard) and necessary adapters. Does your concern come from the removal of the iPhone audio jack?

7

One thing I want to bring up is that if you have iTunes music in the AAC format, Android phones and tablets will play those just fine. You don’t need to convert them to MP3s. You can transfer them directly over, as long as they’re not copy-protected.

8

If you have Google Music (Play), it will upload your iTunes library to the cloud, you can listen to it anywhere with WiFi

9

There are the cables, connectors and so forth for every personal electronic device sold without a bitten apple logo and then there’s Apple stuff. I understand the frustration with having to have a completely different set of connectors and cables and so forth just because Apple.

10

there’s the other thing that the non-Apple side is transitioning from Micro USB to USB-C connections, so there’s going to be orphaned accessories in the Android world too.

11

No worse than the transition from mini to micro, and the fraggin’ thing is finally symmetrical as well. One connector for every small electronic device is easier to update than if you have to include one proprietary (and regularly updated) style as well.

12

And you can re-download it on most any device.

13

For power, the Kindle uses micro-USB, the HP 14-an013nr laptop uses some old school-looking pin connector, the iPhone uses Lightning, the Surface Pro uses a magnetic snap-in and the Pixel uses USB Type-C.

Five of the biggest companies in consumer electronics use five different charger connectors for their top products. But when Mr. Smith breaks his Kindle charger and his wife’s Pixel charger can’t stand in in a pinch, nor can his son’s HP laptop nor his daughter’s Surface Pro, it is clearly his iPhone that is the cause of all his frustration just because Apple. Whatever you say, chief.

14

But it won’t work on any older FairPlay DRM music bought from the iTunes store, will it? Because that’s the issue that seems to be the concern of the OP. If his music is all DRM-free, he’s already in the clear.

15

I had a Samsung Galaxy 5, which I loved. I switched to Apple and now have the 6s, which I love. I switched to Apple mainly because I love the iPad so much, and the phone and tablet play well together.

Both iOS and Android have worked well for me. Apple’s voice recognition and their (Beta) voicemail transcription to text is superior to Android, in my hands.

16

Every device in my house (a considerable number, with three adults and two older teens) uses micro-USB, with one or two mini-USBs left on some larger equipment. Chargers and cables are around by the heaps.

Then there’s Mrs. B.'s iPhone and Macbook Air, which she bought in a fit of pique and can now charge in exactly one location. Serves her right. :slight_smile:

17

My Android Nexus 5X has a usb-c connection, and it is awesome. It’s the rare case where everyone will move to a new standard because it is simply superior. The fact that it’s reversible is the least of it; it’s more rugged, it’s power carrying capacity is far higher, and it can be used as nearly any other connector - DisplayPort, Ethernet, Thunderbolt. And it’s open, so no Apple Tax.

18

So you make your electronics purchasing decisions based in part on what cords you have lying around. I have to admit that is a novel approach.

Yeah, fuck, too bad your wife didn’t get a Surface Pro, HP laptop, or a Pixel because then she wouldn’t have any problems!

19

If you do go back to Android, make sure to get the largest internal SD card you can afford, because beginning with KitKat, Android’s been moving towards limiting the external card to just media. In practical terms this means you need at least 32G. My current and soon to be replaced Samsung S5 has only 16G internally, and when I upgraded to Marshmallow it became nearly unusable. I had to downgrade to Lollipop, and even then I still had to do some further tweaking to be able to move more apps to the external card.