Android Nerd Switches to iOS and Cries about It on the Internet

After years of being an Android fanboy, I’ve somehow converted to the cult of Apple. Who would have guessed? This journey, however, is not without its difficulties. In this edition of “Naqib tries to write about tech,” I’ll go over some of the issues that a lifelong Android user may encounter when switching to iOS.

Notification Channels, have you heard of them?

My experience with iOS has been a lot of fun so far. It’s not often that I switch to a platform that is so drastically different from the previous one. I even like how the notifications come in from the bottom! 

Having said that, notifications on iOS devices aren’t doing it for me. The distinct lack of notification channels to organize/mute specific types of notifications rather than having to block the entire app’s notification is an annoyance even at the best of times. Notification channels relieve me from all of the annoying promotional notifications while allowing me to see the important ones. 

Maybe it’s the obsessive weirdo in me, but having the option for granularity is very important, not to mention efficient.

Where is your clipboard on your iPhone?

Virtual keyboards are very important to me as someone who did his first content writing job from his phone for a month. As an avid Gboard enjoyer, I’ve enjoyed the many features it avails for years. 

It was one of the first apps I installed when I migrated to iOS. Only to discover that the iOS version lacks clipboard support. It’s not even on the default keyboard. It would even suffice if I could simply have a clipboard without any of the useful features (like automatically separating links and numbers from long paragraphs.)

Another very minor nitpick I have would be about not being able to adjust my keyboard layout in any way. I need my commas on the main screen, Apple. I should not have to click the symbol button every single time I need to use a comma for crying out loud. Long press for symbols would be nice as well.

I understand that the option of how many milliseconds to count as a long press may be too much to ask for, so just give me my long press symbols!

What is iOS sideloading?

Even most of the Android users I know do not sideload their apps. This is a very specific nerd problem. So I’ll ask the reader: do you think the ability to sideload apps has a reasonable impact on how you use your smartphone?

File sharing is not a fun experience on iOS

Regardless of operating system preference, almost everyone is probably aware of this. iOS file sharing is only effective with Airdrop.

When it comes to reliable file sharing on any other platform, it’s the wild west. Because I am not a monster, I refuse to use ShareIt. Maybe I’ll elaborate on this topic in another article.

Do I hate iOS, then?

You’d probably come to the conclusion that I despise iOS and its quirks. But you’d be mistaken. Apart from a few minor details that only weirdos like me care about, the experience has been fantastic. 

The animations are excellent, the UI is consistent throughout, and so much more. There’s also the fact that every app gets to use the camera to its full potential rather than a mangled version. 

The feature parity between modern smartphones is far greater than it used to be. Despite some limitations, both Android and iOS are quite complete in general. So your preferred operating system is determined by how committed you are to specific product ecosystems. Have a great day, and don’t start a flame war!

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