This Christmas I made the decision to switch from the Android phone I got freshman year to a brand-new iPhone. I figured I was waiting too long to join the world of iMessage group chats and blue bubble messages.

Transferring Data – Just give me an SD card, please.

On Android, the way you transfer data from one phone to another is simple: everything is stored on an SD card so it’s just a matter of taking the card out of one phone and putting it in another. Anything else like pictures and contacts would be automatically transferred over using your Google account. On iPhone, it’s more difficult as you have to use an app to wirelessly transfer all of your files over Bluetooth. I did not like this, because it was unnecessary and worse than the alternative, having to install an entirely different app on Android takes time. And transferring wirelessly is slow, it took about 10 minutes to transfer all my files, while an SD card would have taken less than one.

Transferring Cellular Plans – Just give me an SD card SIM card, please.

The iPhone 14 doesn’t have a SIM card slot; instead, you transfer your data plan using iPhone’s settings app and eSIM. This wouldn’t be an issue, except for the fact that my plan apparently wasn’t compatible with eSIM, which meant a call to Verizon was necessary because I had no other way to transfer my phone. Once again Apple’s attempt to make something digital and “better” just left a sour taste in my mouth.

The Hardware is Excellent

Admittedly, despite my initial problems, I was amazed by the phone’s sheer speed, switching between and using apps was incredibly fast. To put it in perspective, on my own phone I would listen to music on Youtube because that’s where I spent most of my time on my phone, and switching to Spotify would take too long for the app to load. On iPhone, not only is loading the app quickly but switching to it is even quicker, as the gestures are extremely intuitive.

iOS

iOS vs Android is a debate that has been going on for years, and having tried both I can say that my opinion on it is this: Android can do far more things than iOS can do, but what iOS can do, it does better (with some exceptions). For example, on my old phone, I used the swipe-to-type feature for almost every word I typed, it was just quicker and easier. On the iPhone, I still have that option, but I often find myself forgetting to use it because typing manually just feels so good. I will say though, more advanced customization options like sideloading apps are an absolute nightmare.

I’d say the iPhone is a solid 8/10.