Benefits and Reasons to Buy an iPhone?

I don't know what you mean by my phone being "5G-capable." Does being capable mean that it has 5G? When I use my phone it adds a line to the email that says:

Sent from my T-Mobile 4G LTE Device

That suggests to me that the phone is 4G.
It is 4G. It's also 3G. It's even 2G.

A Samsung A12 is also a 5G device.

What you're referring to is an email signature that anyone can change or customize.
 
Apple charges a premium for non premium hardware. I don't get the hype of them. Look at the tech specs of an Iphone and compare it to an android phone. Android will always have a better processor, battery, camera and memory and the ability to add an SD card to expand the memory.

The tight integration between iOS and Apple chips makes them so efficient that system specs don't even matter.

Don't get me started on Android fragmentation.
 
The tight integration between iOS and Apple chips makes them so efficient that system specs don't even matter.

Don't get me started on Android fragmentation.

Oh yes, I would love to hear about this imaginary "fragmentation". More Apple marketing.
 
Oh yes, I would love to hear about this imaginary "fragmentation". More Apple marketing.
Not so much “Apple marketing.” It’s a problem Google has been trying to go after. ~54% of Android devices are running Android 9 and 10. Android 11 has been around since September 2020 and has a whopping ~15%, the remaining ~31% are running older out of date versions. Meanwhile iOS 14.4 has been out since January 2021 and is installed on ~65% of iPhones.


Apple charges a premium for non premium hardware. I don't get the hype of them. Look at the tech specs of an Iphone and compare it to an android phone. Android will always have a better processor, battery, camera and memory and the ability to add an SD card to expand the memory.
Not really… on paper yes, some Android devices look better. For instance, battery life… 5,000mah battery in a Galaxy S21 Ultra vs the 3,678mah battery in a 12 Pro Max. 11 hours 25 minutes of run time vs 10 hours 53 minutes, should be able to last more than 32 minutes longer with that massive battery… but if you use that fancy 120hz display on the S21 set to adaptive it lasts 10 hours 7 minutes. In benchmarking, apples cpu is faster than the latest and greatest from Qualcomm. The latest Samsung’s aren’t coming with SD cards for expandable storage. Oh… and the 12 pro Max starts $100 cheaper than the S21 Ultra. Cameras trade blows back and forth, Samsung for instance has way better optical zoom, but Apples photo processing witchcraft is generally better than Samsung’s.

To use a car analogy… on paper a 2,500HP Toyota Supra with a big turbo 2JZ in it seems great. Daily driving one is miserable because it is absolutely gutless under 4,000RPM. Or to use a CPU comparison… AMD’s FX-8350 could just barely keep up with Intel’s Core i7-3770, despite the AMD being clocked faster (4.0ghz vs 3.5ghz) and having twice as many cores (8 cores vs 4 cores). On paper the AMD is better, in practice it’s just barely equal to or beaten by the “weaker” looking Intel.
 
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Been using cell phones since 2001. Every system imaginable.

Last 10 years Android and Apple at the same time. Android personal and Apple work phones. Used to prefer my Android phones over the Apple work phone.

Well, 3 years ago, career change, I stepped into the Apple world with my own XR ... never will go back to Android, since then, added a Mac mini desktop at home, MacBook Air notebook and new iPhone 11 for the wife. Also an old outdated iPad around.
For me its all about Privacy, security and honestly iPhone prices have stayed the same and gone lower compared to many Android high end phones. I no longer see them as expensive. But most of all I love the Apple Ecosystem. Lets face it, its for more discriminating people used to higher end products. There is no denying its a top quality product and on top of it, an American company, now how about that? :eek:)

Most of all, love getting the no good spying google out of my life and being able to control who is able to make a profit off my information.
Incredible what we as Americans allow in the name of free. Well, no more and no denying Apple is at the forefront of the privacy war.

Ok, here is one small ding. I do agree and so does my wife, Apple products do seem a bit unintuitive, it takes a bit of time to adjust to it. Im not sure if its a "ding" or not, just different from the Windows and Android world you are used to. Now that I am used to it, I wouldn't change it for anything, love the fact that they have really taken on the privacy thing.
 
The iPhone SE (gen2) is $399; Probably not too spendy; I'm not paying 1K (no pun intended) for a phone.
Totally agree I went to iPhone last year but got an iPhone 7 no way was I going to get an 11 or 12, but I use it as a phone and for contacts and use no apps for that I have a laptop. My reason for the switch is that I left W10 after the last update screw-up and went to an iMac so it makes it easier to sync between computers.
 
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as someone with both the inarguable benefit of an iphone is the ease of knowing that you wont lose your data. icloud is useless but download itunes on your pc and you can make full backups easily and at whatever size as long as you have the free space. If you break your android phone but weren't able to do a full backup since its not really possible, like how i broke my samsung a week ago in an accident and cant boot into the os as it goes straight to the bootloader and lost a lot of things it can easily be worth it. Other than that i dont care too much for the blue text. if you're data sensitive get an iphone and do constant pc backups. if it breaks who cares you only lost a material thing but still have your sometimes priceless info.
 
Ok, here is one small ding. I do agree and so does my wife, Apple products do seem a bit unintuitive, it takes a bit of time to adjust to it. Im not sure if its a "ding" or not, just different from the Windows and Android world you are used to.
This is absolutely true and I use Apple phones and computers as my primary devices but still have plenty of exposure to Windows and Android. As you say, it may or may not be a "ding" against Apple. In Apple's world, they come up with what they feel is the best / ideal / optimal way to do something and often, it's the only way. With Windows or Android, there can be multiple ways to do "something". As a geek, I don't mind options but if you only live in the Apple world, their way isn't wrong either. You can't miss what you've never had or in other words, if a method to do something is the one you learned and the only way to do it, it's normal and okay to you.
 
one of the main reasons people use an iphone is the ecosystem and i messaging. they lack the customization of an andriod. apple having one op system is good in that its for all the models they make, unlike android which can vary from maker to maker. for this reason apple apps tend to run with less issue than android apps.

younger folks seem to be the strong demographic for apple. my kids use apple , but i use android.
Android is great
 
I just recently purchased my first smartphone. Since it was my first, and because I knew (and still know) little about them, I got a new but inexpensive phone ... a Samsung A12. I bought the Samsung promarily because of name recognition and because I know some people (much more knowledgeable than I) who also have them. For the most part, I'm happy with the phone, but I'm also starting to think about an upgrade.

What are the benefits of an iPhone over an Android phone? Are there any features or technical reasons why my next phone should be an iPhone as opposed to an upgraded Android?

Since (as I understand it) Apple phones are pretty spendy, I'd be looking not at the latest phone but maybe a previous model with the intent of getting comparable quality and features at a lower price. What models would be worth considering? Perhaps a refurbished phone to save a few bucks?

Is there a recommended BITOG-type forum for iPhones that would be useful to join?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be welcome and useful at this point. Thanks!
Replaceable battery is huge plus, and not talked about much. I replaced the battery on this i6 a couple of months ago at 4.5 years. I figure I’ll get a couple of more years out of it. It will probably go obsolete before it breaks.

More subtly, the overall quality and seamlessness of the device is a real plus.

Not sure I’d pay a stupendous premium, but $150 bucks for a comparable model, yeah. ( I’ll refrain from saying “apples to apples”).
 
Replaceable battery is huge plus, and not talked about much.
It used to be a huge deal for me but if I'm not mistaken, do many modern phones have replaceable batteries anymore ? By replaceable, I mean unclip/unsnap the battery cover, pull the battery out, replace ? If it involves suction cups, heat guns, screen and digitizer removal, extreme caution with tiny, hairlike cables with connectors that can break if you breath on them wrong, no, those don't count...
 
It used to be a huge deal for me but if I'm not mistaken, do many modern phones have replaceable batteries anymore ? By replaceable, I mean unclip/unsnap the battery cover, pull the battery out, replace ? If it involves suction cups, heat guns, screen and digitizer removal, extreme caution with tiny, hairlike cables with connectors that can break if you breath on them wrong, no, those don't count...
New phones don’t have easy replaceable batteries anymore.
 
I didn't think they did. I had an HTC M8 (???) and those repair guide websites judged this particular model as really bad for battery replacement, as in don't even attempt it unless you've got a LOT of experience. I had to replace batteries on (2) iPhones recently and took them to the Apple store to have it done. 1) They use real Apple batteries, 2) have the proper tools, the cost was only $49. Sure I could take it to a kiosk in the mall or a cellphone repair shop but what kind of garbage battery will you get ?
 
It used to be a huge deal for me but if I'm not mistaken, do many modern phones have replaceable batteries anymore ? By replaceable, I mean unclip/unsnap the battery cover, pull the battery out, replace ? If it involves suction cups, heat guns, screen and digitizer removal, extreme caution with tiny, hairlike cables with connectors that can break if you breath on them wrong, no, those don't count...
Not really… most of the higher end phones prioritize dust and water resistance, which is much much harder to accomplish if the back cover simply pops off. I’ve accidentally completely submerged my old iPhone before and the worst thing that happened was a warning that popped up saying the charge port is possibly wet and to let it dry before charging it.
 
Yeap, I remember that water-resistance was one factor in why phones have to be sealed so much more
 
I have had iphones since the first one but until the new SE 2020 came out I was ready to drop smart phones altogether, they are just too big.
Not only less expensive the SE 2020 is a great phone and I would not change it for a flagship model costing 3x and more the price if it was for free.
 
I was ready to drop smart phones altogether, they are just too big
I used my wife's iPhone 6+ when she got a new phone. The big screen was great but the body was bigger than I'd like. I want it to fit in my pocket without feeling it there too much. This is the trade-off with smartphones and their (screen) size though. The screen is almost the main point of them and if it's so small, their usability goes down (IMO).

Apple has offered variations of the SE for quite a while, haven't they ? For a period of time, it was literally a hand-me-down device though, using "old" tech but they satisfied that market for people who wanted something smaller. Today's SE is supposed to be quite a good device. Not top of the line hardware, but still very modern.
 
I used my wife's iPhone 6+ when she got a new phone. The big screen was great but the body was bigger than I'd like. I want it to fit in my pocket without feeling it there too much. This is the trade-off with smartphones and their (screen) size though. The screen is almost the main point of them and if it's so small, their usability goes down (IMO).

Apple has offered variations of the SE for quite a while, haven't they ? For a period of time, it was literally a hand-me-down device though, using "old" tech but they satisfied that market for people who wanted something smaller. Today's SE is supposed to be quite a good device. Not top of the line hardware, but still very modern.
When you think about it, do any of us really need top of the line hardware just to do messaging and calling or taking photos? The iphone 6 and up can take 4k videos and photos. 1080p at 60fps.
 
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