iPhones

[Vapin' Joe]

This is a genuine question, not a knock at iPhone users.

What do they actually do that my budget TCL 605, £7.50 a month from Tesco can't do? Most of my friends have iPhones but none of them can actually explain what I am missing out on.

I'm happy with my phone and have no wish to upgrade, just curious.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

Different people will find different aspects of iPhones an advantage to varying degrees.

e.g. If a Mac user then they integrate far better than Android devices into the Apple system. But reasons and importance of reasons will be different for different people ... hence some people prefer iPhones, others prefer different models of Android based devices.

 

[midlife]

I guess it depends on the phone ecosystem that you have signed up to. I have had an iPhone since a 3 BITD and have gotten used to how it works.

Others in the family are on android and gravitated to a Pixel, mainly because the camera was so much better

 

[Webbo2]

I have an iPhone because Mrs W used to get the spare iPhones from work.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

This is a genuine question, not a knock at iPhone users.

What do they actually do that my budget TCL 605, £7.50 a month from Tesco can't do? Most of my friends have iPhones but none of them can actually explain what I am missing out on.

I'm happy with my phone and have no wish to upgrade, just curious.

Same experience here more or less.

The kids all have iPhones as do the grandkids.

Apart from a better camera (which they use to take crap 'snaps') their 4 figure phones do nothing (at least for them) that our £190 (£120 in an Amazon sale) Samsung phones do.

Slight aside, we have been inundated with advertising on various platforms for a Galaxy S26 on which we can save over £900 apiece - utterly astonishing.

 

[wiggydiggy]

Apple fined €25M in France for misleading consumers about slowed-down iPhones

Apple bricked older phones to force you to upgrade.

 

[steverob]

I guess it depends on the phone ecosystem that you have signed up to. I have had an iPhone since a 3 BITD and have gotten used to how it works.

This.

I had an iPod Touch back in the day, so when it came time to getting a "smartphone" it just seemed logical to go for an iPhone as I was already used to how it worked and had all my music and photos already synced into the infrastructure.

I did try an Android phone that I got given by whatever network I was on at the time and just didn't get on with it - seemed totally unintuitive and took me so much longer to do things than on an iPhone, so I gave it back after a week. But then I have a colleague at work who says exactly the same about the iPhone he has to use for work, compared to his personal Android phone that he loves.

But then I'm also not the sort of person who changes their phone to the latest one every year, instead I've tried to make mine last as long as they possibly can. I've recently switched to a 16e, which will only be my fourth ever iPhone (6s, 11, SE 3rd) and all were bought SIM free rather than paying on top of a monthly contract.

 

[Electric_Andy]

I've used a modern iphone and was very impresed with the speed, functinoality and camera. But it was no better than most androids or Pixels. What I couldn't stand when I owned an iphone 1 was being tied into itunes for everything. I like to copy/drag and drop as I please, just like any other file. So i guess it's just what you get used to, and I've always had android as I feel you get more for your money, or at least there are many many more cheaper options

 

[Profpointy]

I rather resent Apple as a ruthless somewhat dodgy and overcharging corporation. Now that said, unlike their PCs etc the phones are quite good, and by buying older, but not that old retreaded models I can get a decent phone for say two hundred quid, and get a sim only contract for tenner a month. I'm OK with that but may well go Android next time. As for buying one for a grand or for a £60 per month contract -jog on !

Hate their PCs with a passion as nothing quite works properly, lack of a # key gets me cross just for a start. Was issued with one for a year or two and was glad to get back to a proper PC. My small company employers valued the lack of maintenance coats and hassle but with the subscription version of MS office that became moot, and at least all the apps worked properly

 

[dicko]

I have owned three iPhones they are far superior to the Android phones I have found. I usually keep them for ten years then get another they work perfectly and the systems never play up also the graphics are far better than any Samsung phones which I used to own. I first bought an iPhone to accompany us to New Zealand to visit my brother the phone I bought was the cheapest SE model, it worked perfectly in NZ and it warned us (my son called to warn from UK) about the 2016 Tsunami we managed to get to high ground, at 2am, as the Police entered the camp site to get everyone evacuated from the sea camp site.

 

[BoldonLad]

I am a convert (slave?) to the Apple ecosystem, it works seamlessly, I love it, I have iPhone, iPad, and MacBook-pro.

My wife has an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy something or other). She only uses it to make phone calls. If anything else is needed (eg Instal an App etc) then I have to do it.

I am sure that given a week or so, I could adapt to an Android phone, and, I there are probably dozens of things my iPhone can do, of which I am blissfully unaware.

I would struggle to go back to a Windows Laptop. So, I stay with the Apple ecosystem, and my iPhone.

When comparing the price of smartphones, unless you are happy with a low cost model (say, upto £350) then the price of the upmarket stuff is broadly similar.

To me, the discussion over smartphones expensive/inecepensive, is rather like discussing why don't you buy and entry level car, instead of a flash car, it is only going to get you from A to B, and, you will probably never use many of the accessories, the answer is, because you can, and, you want to let your mates see that you can, even if you dont mention it is on PCP. 😂

I always buy the hand set (ie actual phone) and have SIM only contract for calls, etc

 

[Dan Lotus]

I've never understood the obsession with them, and the price is a whole other disscussion.

I only moved to a smart phone around 2009, and android are superb, and if you pick the right make, also incredible value.
eg I saw an advert for some Samsung phone the other day, looked it up, and it was £1279
I have an Honor 90 (£300) from 2024, I normally keep my phones for around 5 years, but in this instance my daughter is in need of a better handset, so I've bought a new case, new screen protector, and will hand it down to her.
I've just bought an Honor 400 Pro (~£380), and the specs are, to my mind, really high.

The other thing about apple that I could never get my head around, is itunes - so you pay x amount of money over the years to buy tracks on itunes, what happens when/if you want to move to another platform?
Unless I am mistaken, you can't - well you can, but you lose everything you have paid for.
That for me, is an immediate no.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Apple fined €25M in France for misleading consumers about slowed-down iPhones

Apple bricked older phones to force you to upgrade.

But a new battery is no more than £45 fitted. If your battery is end of life just pop down a phone shop and get a new one fitted.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

I've never understood the obsession with them, and the price is a whole other disscussion.

I have bought a 4 year old iPhone recently for £150. Half the price you paid for your two year old phone. Has latest version of iOS. This is a bit like the discussion on prices of new cars. Just buy one a few years old, and you will save a ton and get all the benefits.

 

[cyberknight]

I am a convert (slave?) to the Apple ecosystem, it works seamlessly, I love it, I have iPhone, iPad, and MacBook-pro.

My wife has an Android phone (Samsung Galaxy something or other). She only uses it to make phone calls. If anything else is needed (eg Instal an App etc) then I have to do it.

I am sure that given a week or so, I could adapt to an Android phone, and, I there are probably dozens of things my iPhone can do, of which I am blissfully unaware.

I would struggle to go back to a Windows Laptop. So, I stay with the Apple ecosystem, and my iPhone.

When comparing the price of smartphones, unless you are happy with a low cost model (say, upto £350) then the price of the upmarket stuff is broadly similar.

To me, the discussion over smartphones expensive/inecepensive, is rather like discussing why don't you buy and entry level car, instead of a flash car, it is only going to get you from A to B, and, you will probably never use many of the accessories, the answer is, because you can, and, you want to let your mates see that you can, even if you dont mention it is on PCP. 😂

I always buy the hand set (ie actual phone) and have SIM only contract for calls, etc

I would call £350 an expensive phone ! my last one was about £100 and i thought that was a lot