A number of my family and friends swear by iPhones, and I’d usually scoff at how a lot they paid contemplating that the tech large lagged behind Google in so many areas – from not having a climate(!) app on the iPad till 2022, to Apple Maps including a characteristic simply this yr that has been on Google Maps for over a decade.
Having examined a variety of telephones up to now, I knew that the likes of Samsung, Google and OnePlus provided higher {hardware} and infrequently extra spectacular options for the worth.
When somebody would begin getting superior about having an iPhone (and that actually is a factor – Apple is a ‘way of life’ in any case), it’d be so tempting to pettily whip out one thing like a Motorola Razr, and say: “certain… however can it do this?!” and dramatically flip it open and wave it of their face like an unbearable, tech-obsessed moron.
And Apple continues to be catching up in some respects – the primary folding iPhone isn’t anticipated till 2026, a full seven years after Samsung made its foldable debut.
The place it does excel is in making the necessities the very best they are often, primarily on the software program entrance. However that’s one thing I didn’t wish to pay an excessive premium to get pleasure from.
Nevertheless, the truth is that in immediately’s market of worth hikes and tariffs, Android telephones at this tier aren’t essentially higher worth, and now my most stable argument towards Apple is starting to waver. Right here’s why testing the iPhone 17 has made me take a giant slice of humble pie.
I’d positively take into account the iPhone 17 as my new every day driver… and as a long-time Android consumer, that’s not one thing I assumed I’d ever say
Apple’s easy software program works a deal with
I by no means actually understood what folks meant by this, however the structure of the iPhone’s dwelling display screen and lock display screen might be probably the most intuitive and aesthetically pleasing design I’ve used.
That features the Dynamic Island, which admittedly has been mimicked on my OnePlus 12 to some extent, to the handy-dandy grouping system within the App Library that saved me from doing numerous my very own customisation, as I’d on Android.
Regardless of some preinstalled bloatware, I’m a giant fan of Apple’s Journal app particularly, with scheduling occasions to log entries, encouragement for writing streaks and simple methods so as to add in pictures, recordings and even Apple Well being information. When you have a Pixel 10 telephone, the Pixel Journal app is an effective various, however there’s no like-for-like substitute on my OnePlus telephone, so suggestions for a very good, free possibility are welcome.
Voicemail summaries with Apple Intelligence are additionally good. Throughout one significantly busy day in London for a Nintendo occasion (amongst different issues), I missed a health care provider’s name. Ordinarily, I could have forgotten to telephone up my voicemail inbox whereas frantically downing my iced espresso as I typed up a narrative, however I didn’t have to with this software program, which supplied a reasonably correct transcription of what I wanted to know.
This can be a good use of AI (and I’m not the most important fan of AI typically), so effectively achieved, Apple.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
iPhones are very a lot for individuals who don’t have time to fuss about. That’s apparent within the digicam controls, that are massively simplified in comparison with what I’ve on my OnePlus.
Whereas this can be seen as a detrimental by digicam fanatics, for folks (like myself) who’re in a rush and don’t have the will to discover each angle or setting, this strategy will swimsuit them all the way down to the bottom.
One minor contact that made me unnecessarily completely happy was the Siri voice choices. One in every of them has a northern accent that sounds type of like me (British Voice 3, in case you’re questioning). Contemplating some voice assistants wrestle to grasp my dialect, forcing me to faux to be a southerner (shudders), it’s nice to have one which not solely works, however even shares my inflections and intonation – large up the North.
And the {hardware} is best than I anticipated
Over the six years I’ve been a tech journalist, I’ve watched the decline of small smartphones. As somebody who advocates for units that may slot in girls’s denims pockets, that’s a disgrace – perhaps I ought to be lobbying style designers to make girls’s garments extra sensible, however I digress.
The iPhone 17 is a goldilocks telephone for me. It’s a very good measurement for watching movies on (with a powerful set of audio system besides), however dinky sufficient that it will probably slip into outfits way more simply than many bulkier telephones lately. And, as a OnePlus consumer who depends on the alert slider for silencing my telephone rapidly, that motion button is a godsend (it may be customised to do all kinds of different issues in case you’d desire).
Plus, the beautiful pastel purple mannequin I attempted is so aesthetically pleasing. This can be a handsome smartphone, and the curved edges and glass again make it clean and cozy to carry.
I firmly consider that many customers on the market are most likely overspending by choosing the 17 Professional and Professional Max. It will primarily be for the all-singing/all-dancing digicam set-ups. Now, in case you create content material for a residing or are a images fanatic, nice – I’ll allow you to off.
Nevertheless, in case you use your smartphone only for social media and day-to-day reminiscence capturing, belief me, the vanilla iPhone 17 digicam might be ok. Particulars are sharp, crisp and clear, with the choice to use a shade preset to all of your snaps to emphasize particular undertones.
These with a keener eye could discover that it overcompensates in low gentle, pumping up the colors (significantly of the night time sky) to hyperreal requirements. Nonetheless, for daylight snaps of fairly landscapes and portraits of your family members, fluffy or in any other case, it’ll fulfil your wants.
However switching from Android isn’t a chunk of cake
Should you’re contemplating transferring over from an Android telephone corresponding to a Pixel, Samsung or Xiaomi handset, there are some issues you need to know.
Firstly, your new iPhone will immediate you to obtain a ‘Transfer to iOS’ app in your previous machine to port over pictures, contacts and extra to attempt to make the transition simpler. The important thing phrase there being ‘strive’. I tried this from my OnePlus 12 over 5 occasions, and was repeatedly unsuccessful, regardless of switching out cables and lowering the quantity of information I used to be sending over.
The iPhone 17 is a goldilocks telephone for me
However that wasn’t probably the most annoying half. Each time the switch failed, the iPhone insisted on doing a manufacturing facility reset, with no solution to give up.
Why, oh why Apple? Is that this revenge for me mocking Apple’s personal movie star Craig Federighi yr after yr?
This made the entire course of lengthy and arduous, as I needed to undergo establishing face recognition an obscene variety of occasions, earlier than lastly accepting that the very best factor to do was simply to fully begin from scratch.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
So, that meant downloading all of the apps I wanted and signing in. I used to be lucky that I might hyperlink my Gmail account, which had my telephone contacts, inboxes and calendar appointments saved – if I didn’t, I’d be in an actual pickle. As this was a short-term mortgage, I didn’t even get round to some extra complicated issues, corresponding to switching over banking apps. Good luck, babe, is all I’ll say.
The opposite complicated factor was that I observed textual content messages have been coming by means of to my previous telephone. I found that this was as a result of I had RCS messaging turned on – it’s essential to request to disable this characteristic by inputting your quantity on this Google kind.
I solely found this after sleuthing on Reddit, however others making the change could get caught out.
Should you plan to modify long-term, WhatsApp is one other concern you may run into. As I used to be solely utilizing the iPhone 17 for a month, it made sense to set it up as a companion machine and proceed with my OnePlus 12 as the first telephone. This allowed me to seamlessly entry all my chats and notifications on the iPhone – simply notice that you just’ll have to attach the first machine to the web at the least as soon as each two weeks.
Nevertheless, as my colleague Anyron famous when switching to the iPhone 16 Professional final yr, transferring from a Google Drive backup on Android to an iCloud backup on the iPhone can result in some main complications.
The ‘Apple premium’ argument isn’t as robust lately
To totally study how iPhone costs have develop into extra aggressive, it’s greatest to take a look at the closest Android equal, the Google Pixel.
Two years in the past, when the iPhone 15 went head-to-head with the Google Pixel 8, the Pixel undercut the iPhone by £100/$100. For the final two generations, that’s not been the case. The Pixel has crept up in worth, whereas the iPhone stayed stage.
Then, there’s cloud storage. As this can be a subscription value, many individuals overlook it. Nevertheless, in case you have pictures and movies which are years previous, chances are you’ll very effectively find yourself paying for considered one of these companies.
Whereas upfront, Google gives the higher free deal – 15GB of storage versus Apple’s 5GB, Apple’s pricing plans monthly are barely decrease – 99p/99c for iCloud+ , which grants customers entry to 50GB of storage. Google’s plan is £1.59/$1.99 monthly, although it does provide twice as a lot storage in return at 100GB.
There are additionally free trials of the upper storage possibility plans inside Apple One and Google One.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
However you don’t essentially want to fret about cloud storage plans instantly in case your telephone has sufficient base storage, and the iPhone 17 begins at 256GB versus the Pixel’s 128GB, which is a giant L for Google.
With these worth comparisons I’m solely factoring the bottom iPhone alone, not the Professional variants, nor the brand new Air mannequin or the 16e. I believe significantly within the mid-range house, Apple nonetheless can’t compete. Nonetheless, if I have been confronted with selecting a brand new telephone across the £800/$800 worth mark, I’d positively take into account the iPhone 17 as my new every day driver… and as a long-time Android consumer, that’s not one thing I assumed I’d ever say.
However heed this warning – be ready for at the least a number of days of faffing round transferring from Google’s ecosystem over to Apple’s. I want that this course of could possibly be made simpler, however I don’t see that occuring at it doesn’t profit both firm from a gross sales perspective. ‘Preserve them locked in’ might be what they’re considering.
To sum up, I used to be an Android truther, having examined a plethora of extensively spectacular smartphones working on Google’s OS (and numerous skins) throughout my time at Tech Advisor. I really believed that iPhones have been overhyped and overpriced. So, if even I can change my thoughts, perhaps you possibly can too.
