Samsung’s Galaxy S23 has hit the masses and is one of the best Android phones you can get right now, especially the S23 Ultra. However, for those who don’t need all the fancy bells and whistles like the S Pen and 200MP main camera, the regular S23 is also plenty powerful for the average person, especially if you prefer smaller devices.
I have been using the Galaxy S23 for the past few weeks and my experience so far has been wonderful. I know it’s still early in the year, but for me the small size of the S23 is perfect and comfortable. Android also does a lot better than iOS, like individual volume controls and notifications, for example. But I’m still mostly using my iPhone 14 Pro, even though Apple has some major flaws like over-processing images after capturing them.
Here are a few reasons why I’m still using my iPhone 14 Pro, even though I really like the Galaxy S23.
When I joined Digital Trends last year, I had to get out of my comfort zone and learn Android after exclusively using an iPhone for over a decade. One of my favorite things about iOS is the ability to return to the top of the screen in any app, which is incredibly useful after getting lost in infinite scrolling social media.
In fact, I was surprised to find that there is no such feature on Android when I tried to tap the top of the status bar to return to the top of my Instagram or Facebook after scrolling for several minutes. I ended up having to scroll to the beginning, which is pretty tedious.
I know it’s pretty silly, but tapping the top of the screen to get back to the top of the app you’re in is a huge time saver. It also feels so natural and intuitive on iOS that I’m actually surprised it doesn’t exist on Android. Perhaps it is something that Google may consider adding in Android 14.
software elasticity
I’ve been using an iPhone since I got the original as a gift in 2008, so I’ve gone through every version of iOS out there. And one of the things about iOS that I love is the elasticity of the operating system itself.
What I mean by this? Basically the smooth scrolling and “bounce” effect you see with the scrollbar on the side when you get to the end of something. Even Dynamic Island on the iPhone 14 Pro has subtle but whimsical little animations when activated because you swipe out of an app, like Music, especially if your movement leans more in a certain direction.
But when you use Android, the scrolling suddenly stops once it reaches the end; there is no fun “bounce”. Coming from iOS, it’s actually quite jarring. After using iOS for years, it’s the little things like elasticity that make it so much more enjoyable to use overall.
Seamless integration with other Apple devices
My first iPhone was also my first Apple product, but I’ve since switched to a Mac and get an iPad and Apple Watch every two years. Essentially my entire tech life for the past decade has been on an Apple device. I’ve also been in the tech journalism industry for as long, and iPhone’s seamless integration with iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch has made my personal and work life so much easier.
For work, I need to take a lot of screenshots or photos for my articles. Once I make the necessary edits, having the ability to AirDrop my images to my iMac means I can quickly rename them and place them in WordPress. With my Android phones, I have to go through a few extra steps, like going to Google Photos, finding the images I need, and then downloading them; It’s still easy, but not as simple as sending what I need.
I also love being able to use the Universal Clipboard to copy and paste text, images, photos, and even video from one Apple device to another using Handoff, which is something I simply can’t do with an Android phone.
Those are just some of the best examples of how my iPhone seamlessly integrates with all my other Apple devices, to the point where it’s just an essential part of my workflow. Again, I know it’s possible to get the things I need from my Android phone to my Mac, but it’s not that easy. In addition, there are other advantages, such as iCloud and iMessage, that tie everything together.
Facilitating communication with iMessage
Speaking of iMessage, it’s pretty much my go-to way of communicating with all my friends and family, who mostly use iPhones as well. Not only do I have access to iMessage on my iPhone 14 Pro, but I also have it on my iPad and Mac, with all my messages in sync. I also like that iMessage lets me send SMS from my computer, thanks to text message forwarding on my iPhone.
But the main reason I like using my iPhone for iMessage is the fact that I can send full-resolution video clips to other iMessage users. I was never a video person, but that changed once I had my daughter. Now, I take at least one video a day of her cute antics and I love sharing it with my family. And iMessage allows me to send the full resolution video to other people without having to do anything extra or special.
However, I don’t like that every time you send me a video of someone with an Android phone (or vice versa), it ends up super compressed and pixelated. This is because it is sent as an MMS, and all major US providers place an arbitrary limitation on the size of video files sent via MMS. Of course, this could be solved if Apple implemented Rich Communication Services (RCS), but that’s a whole different story.
Still, since most of my family and friends also use an iPhone, having iMessage is the easiest way to communicate with them. I’d still like to see some way around pixelated video clips with non-iPhone users at some point, but until then, I’ll stick with iMessage.
The iPhone has better apps.
If using iOS over the past decade has taught me anything, it’s the fact that you can generally find better apps than on Android. Many of the app developers I’ve followed over the years also develop exclusively for Apple platforms, including the Mac. There’s something about iOS (and Mac) apps that have a certain level of polish and finesse that really you don’t see in many android apps.
For example, I previously used Tapbots’ Tweetbot when I was active on Twitter, and now I use their Mastodon app, Ivory, instead. Before Elon Musk killed Tweetbot, it was the only way I could use Twitter, and I could never find the same kind of app experience on Android for it. The same can be said for Ivory as well: there are plenty of Mastodon apps on Android, but Ivory feels much more refined and intuitive to me.
One of my favorite photo-editing apps on iOS, Darkroom, isn’t available on Android either (there’s a copy on the Play Store, but it’s not quite the same). Even when using cross-platform apps, like 1Password, Facebook/Instagram, etc., the iOS version always seems to work better and is generally more fun to use.
Apple isn’t perfect, but I still like it.
Ever since I started diving into the world of Android devices, I’ve learned that there are definitely areas where Android is superior, and I get it. The notifications really make sense, the volume controls are streamlined, and there are plenty of granular settings to really customize your entire experience.
But Apple’s iOS has so many little software complexities that I still enjoy using it. They may be small, like jump to the top and elasticity, but these things help make the software enjoyable to use. Things like iMessage make my life easier, and the app experiences feel more polished overall. When you use a device all day, those kinds of things do matter.
Editors’ Recommendations
