QOTW: Preferred smartphone: Android or iOS?

[TooNice]

If we are talking about the OS, I am pretty neutral nowadays.

I used to prefer the iOS because a few of my must-have apps could either only be found on the iOS, or the best alternative on Android wasn't nearly as good. A platform is only as good as the the apps you need and is available, and when I moved to the S3 from the iPhone 2G, I found myself missing two absolutely crucial app (for me), and the kanji handwriting recognition.

Fast forward today, and while I am not sure how the iOS has evolved, the Android platform finally had all the apps I needed but initially couldn't find on this platform. Kanji writing recognition has gone from none existant, to poor, to almost or about as good the amazing desktop Windows version (the early iOS version was passable, better than the non-existant Android, but fickle compared to Windows).

I do not really enjoy tinkering on my phone, I have tried custom rom once and it didn't work well and never bothered again, so that isn't a selling point of the Android for me.

However, since S3 (note that I am not a serial upgrader, I went from iPhone 2G to Galaxy S3 to Galaxy S7), I have put microSD support as a must have. Even though I do not use a microSD on my S7 (as I have kept my S3 as a backup phone / music player), I like that the microSD slot doubles as another sim card slot. As a frequent traveller, having two phones / three sim cards inside the phone reduces the amount of times I need to swap sim cards, which is greatly appreciated.

And though I have gone Galaxy twice in a row, I am not married to Samsung phones. They just tick more boxes than other phones for my need than others. But that is a hardware issue, rather than an OS one. If the iPhone had the same hardware features of a Galaxy and vice-versa, I might not necessarily have gone for what I did. Though I would probably borrow a friend's iOS device and see if I like what the OS is like today (no idea as I seldom use one).

[azrael-]

Still on my Samsung Galaxy S2, so yeah, Android.

Have to admit that I'm not that dependent on a smart phone as some people, which probably is the reason I'm still on this "ancient" phone.

[Macman]

Android for me.

[bitbucket]

iOS for me. I find Android to be generally more prone to problems than iOS is.

I respect Android for its readiness to be tinkered with and customised but, to be honest, I spend enough of my day tinkering and modifying hardware/software. I just want my smartphone to function as I expect, consistently.

[Rad77]

Android here. The most I'd pay for a phone is £150, so I'm never likely to be buying anything with a Apple logo on it.

Had my Moto G3 for a few years and it has been rock solid and is entirely untinkered with. Used very heavily as my daily satnav, ICE, home automation controller and Netflix streamer (to Chromecast).

For me the big feature of this phone compared to my previous ones was the ability to add a 32GB SD card and have it almost seamlessly integrated into the onboard storage.

My previous android phones did all get custom ROMs in the end, once the manufacturer supplied OS version got too old to be viable. So this one will probably go the same way eventually.

[FromUSA]

I only use iOS....My iPhone X is amazing..I can also text off my phone..move to my iPad..then my computer...so seamless and easy...Apple is da bomb...I would never use Android...with its outdated OS and patches that take forever to come from the carriers...just bad

[rtoddb]

Neither OS does what I want, but my dog in the race died, or was killed by Microsoft.

[Spud1]

Dare I say Windows Mobile 6.1 running HTC Sense? Has been my favourite phone OS + UI combination for a long time, sad we don't have it anymore.
Windows Phone was awful and i'm glad it's gone - maybe MS will replace it with something better at some point if we ever see the elusive surface phone...

For 5 years I was an iOS fan - mostly throughout Android's early years where it was pretty awful - but I swapped over when 4.0 came out and have not looked back. I like the ability to swap manufacturers to the best of the year each time, rather than being stuck with one handset. Given that the top end iPhone this year is that awful X with it's missing fingerprint scanner & that daft cut out bit at the top, i'm glad I made the swap Much happier with the S8+ and I have another £500 sat in my bank account to boot

[shaithis]

Android all the way, always has been but now that I use voice more than screen, there really is absolutely zero competition. Siri I find to be absolutely terrible while google assistant is almost infallible.

[Nightglow]

Android for me, looking forward to Oreo release in the New Year for my Moto G5,superb phone.

[Wh00pS]

Android for me, IOS is way too restrictive, i like to do what i want in the way i want to do it, not what i want the way Apple wants me to do it.
Also IOS notifications are an absolute mess, in fact the whole OS reminds me of my grandaughters fisher price toy phone.

[Phrontis]

Windows. Just bought an HP Elite X3 to replace my 640XL, knowing it will be my last Windows phone. Love the dual SIM setup, except for the loss of my external memory slot. Plus don't like not being able too change the battery. When I finally have to change it will be Android I think. But dual SIM.

[dannyboy75]

I own mobiles with both OS's, and prefer iOS hands down.

[philehidiot]

I wanted to get a windows phone but never got round to it, in some ways it was a good thing.

I've never gone for an iPhone because I've never seen a need for it and well it was usually behind what I had already (had a p900i when the first one came out) when I was updating my phone... now they seem to be back on this glass back lark again and I refuse to buy any phone with glass on both sides, it's just asking for it to get broken.

So I'm currently using an android phone, will likely buy a new one soon but I want stock android and preferably support for alternative firmwares like lineage for when the manufacturer stops supplying updates.

I think Windows Phone was a missed opportunity. I was using PDAs and phones with variants of Windows CE on them for years before they tried to make it popular and the potential was immense. Because it was Windows you could do practically anything so back in the days of the HTC TyTN II I was watching iPlayer on the bus coming home from work on a phone I could edit documents on properly and so on. The interface was slow and crud but you could replace it quite easily and once I did that it, I ended up with a 4D multiple desktop interface with X screens. Worked brilliantly and I haven't found that kind of flexibility since. Windows Phone could have mopped up the true nerds amongst us whilst providing a standard user friendly interface but they cocked it up. I've still got that TyTN II with its giant battery for two reasons 1) I can't bear to part with something so well built and 2) I always sterilise my phones before disposal and my air rifle won't penetrate to the important parts...

I had the P990i which I still have. That was built like a proper tank. The abuse I gave that thing and it just took it.

This glass malarky is just a pain in the arse. I have a super slim phone and it's made of something that'll break when I drop it. So I have to put it in a case to protect it. Which negates the slimness. And the "it's so nice to hold"ness. It's all there because the reviewers will love it and not care about it so they'll give it rave reviews whilst the idiots like me who buy it end up putting it in a case. I'd rather have a thicker phone (face it, how often do you put anything other than your phone in a pocket?) with a bigger battery and the ability to take a knock.

Basically, I want the S8 active in the UK.