Former iOS users of r/Android: What was your experience jumping ship from iOS to Android?

I have been firmly entrenched in the iOS ecosystem for nearly a decade. It works fine for my daily needs, but I have always had a lingering itch in the back of my mind to give Android a proper try, maybe due to because iOS has become boring for me.

Now, I'm well aware of the extensive customisation options, along with the far greater degree of control the Android operating system has to offer. I am particularly curious about how that newfound freedom and system-level control actually translates into day-to-day use compared to Apple's rather restricted environment.

I currently use a MacBook, rely on my AirPods daily, and have an active Apple Music subscription. I am fully aware that the seamless Apple ecosystem will inevitably break if I make this transition, and I am completely okay with that—provided the Android experience is actually worth the sacrifice.

For context regarding my usage, I am mild gamer not a hardcore gamer by any means. My primary focus is heavy multitasking, and above all else, rock-solid system reliability.

To those of you who have made the switch from iOS to Android:

What were the most significant changes you witnessed when you finally had that level of control?
How did the transition practically affect your daily use of your remaining Apple hardware and services?
In your experience, how does Android's and overall long-term reliability compare to iOS?
What features or ecosystem conveniences did you find yourself missing most from Apple?

I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.

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One of Google Keep's biggest annoyances could soon be fixed [to-do lists inside regular notes]
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Lava Virat V1 Pro 5G launches with 120Hz screen, 6,000 mAh battery, low price
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Luanti (open source voxel game platform) removed from Google Play due to DMCA takedown from Microsoft, represented by Tracer.AI
https://blog.luanti.org/2026/08/27/luanti-dmca-tracer-ai/

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Samsung Announces One UI 9 Beta Feature Update for Galaxy S26 Series
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Every major Android phone's update window on one timeline — from launch to the last security patch
https://techpill.de/how-long-does-my-android-phone-get-updates/

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Lava Bold N4 Lite debuts with 6.56-inch screen, 5,000mAh battery
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Omdia: Foldable smartphone shipments will double to 36 million units by 2028
https://omdia.tech.informa.com/pr/2026/aug/foldable-smartphone-shipments-will-double-to-36-million-units-by-2028

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GrapheneOS: We're unable to complete the port [of GrapheneOS to the Pixel 11 series] due to lack of support for ARM hardware memory tagging in software, firmware and near certainly hardware. It appears Google cut an important security feature to save money.
https://grapheneos.social/@GrapheneOS/117179231167297908

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China's CXMT to supply memory chip for Xiaomi's upcoming folding phone [LPDDR6]
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Pixel 11 Pro XL in Germany: I paid nearly €1,600 and most of the features I bought it for aren't available

I recently bought a Pixel 11 Pro XL in Germany for nearly €1,600, and I'm honestly getting pretty frustrated with how many of the headline Pixel features are either unavailable here or simply don't appear on my phone.

A huge reason I chose Pixel over Samsung/iPhone was Google's software and AI features. But I'm currently missing things like:

* Magic Cue / Proactive Assistance
* Automatic Call Screen / AI answering calls for me
* Call Notes / AI call summaries
* Hold for Me
* Direct My Call
* Live Translate during phone calls, including German ↔ English
* Some of the more advanced Call Assist / AI calling features

That's the part I find ridiculous. I'm not complaining that some random experimental feature isn't available. These AI and calling features are a major part of how Google markets Pixel and were genuinely one of the main reasons I bought the phone.

The hardware is clearly capable of running them, yet depending on where you live, a €1,600 Pixel can have significantly fewer features than the exact same phone somewhere else.

**For other Pixel 11 / 11 Pro / 11 Pro XL owners:**

1. Has anyone successfully unlocked region-restricted Pixel features by changing system region/language, SIM, Google account region, VPN, etc.?
2. Is the UK currently the closest thing to getting the complete Pixel feature set or US? (I live in Germany)

I'd especially love to hear from people in **Germany/EU vs UK** because Google's feature availability is becoming absurdly difficult to understand.

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Android phones, gesture or navigation bar, which is better, do you use, and why?

I just switched to the Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra from an iPhone 16PM and I just found out you can switch your navigation bar with the 3 buttons, Task, Home and Back to a gesture based control very similar to IOS . I just can't decided which one is better I like the buttons because it's easy but the gesture feels more normalized.

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The Galaxy Z Fold 8 Is Selling So Well That Samsung Is Raiding Parts From Other Products
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Compact premium smartphone: A megapixel monster with a huge battery — Oppo Reno 16 Pro review
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Pixel 11's Tensor G6 and Pixel 10's Tensor G5 still fall behind in performance per watt, testing shows
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Bigme B6 Pro launches with 6-inch color E Ink display, 4G, 8GB RAM and 256GB storage
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Open-source VoLTE/VoWiFi implementation for LineageOS on Samsung devices targeting both Exynos and Qualcomm Snapdragon models
https://github.com/krazey/ims

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Motorola Edge 70 Max review
https://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_edge_70_max-review-2991.php

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I've finally found a good alternative to MTP for transfering files between my phone and my PC!

Hi everyone!

I've had an android phone for a couple of months now, absolutely love the freedom it gives me. Without a doubt, buying this phone is the best upgrade I've experienced ever since buying my first phone.

I've always thought that transferring files between your computer and your phone should be as easy as plugging the phone into the computer. The default way to do that seemed to be MTP, but it's incredibly slow and clunky, as has been noted on many other posts.

I've tried adbfs and some of its forks. While the experience was better, I still found it was slow, and I had trouble accessing any large file.

I was then really surprised to discover madbfs. It looks like a complete rewrite of adbfs, now fast enough so that the files feel like they're stored locally. I've used for a couple of months to manage the files on my phone, and I've found it works amazingly.

Sadly, it's only available on Linux, as it relies on libfuse, and it's only a CLI application. Which means it does take a little bit of technical know-how, but the tradeoff is completely worth it IMO. You could probably get it to work on Windows or macOS using something like WinFSP or MacFUSE.

Hope this helps someone!

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Pixel 11 Pro XL vs iPhone 17 Pro Max / Samsung S26 Ultra / Xiaomi / OnePlus - BATTERY DRAIN TEST!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksGhKA_LFLs

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13 years after release, the Google Nexus 5 receives experimental VoLTE and VoWiFi support via aftermarket development
https://xdaforums.com/posts/90706603

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