There were some stubborn bad decisions that Steve Jobs stuck to (1 button mouse, windows that don't appear when you cmd-tab to them), but his Apple seemed to have better software. Since him, it really seems to have gone downhill in terms of bugs and UI consistency.

Couldn't agree more. As stupid as it may be, the only reason I haven't moved to Andoid/GrapheneOS is iMessage.

that's the main reason for most iphone users i know and exactly why Apple will stall for as long as possible on RCS compatibility

Yes I’m sure that Apple’s 95% retention rate is based on iMessage based on the sample size of “people you know”.

I didn't claim that. It's just the main reason for not switching according to my friends. The imessage moat in the US is pretty heavily discussed on here.

If HN were a representative sample of what most users wanted from their phones you would think they wanted to spend half the day compiling the Linux kernel on their phone and the other half bemoaning if only they had the “right to repair” they could put their own headphone jack on their phone and get rid of those pesky AirPods

What are you even getting at? I didn't say it was a representative sample, just that it was discussed on here. It's a real thing.

Still salty about their decision to remove the headphone jack and the industrywide adoption forcing me onto that ngl.

Or you could use a $10 adapter or if rumors are to be believed, next year a standard USB C headphone.

The scary thing is it's the least bad option when it comes to overall reliability.

I think it depends on the phone.

The Google Pixel series seems pretty solid for reliability. I have a Pixel 7 Pro and it's been really good so far in terms of software and build quality. I strongly prefer it to my iPhone 13 Pro, which I'm currently selling off.

But iPhone vs Samsung Galaxy? iPhone wins by a mile. I never got used to the custom interface Samsung loaded onto those phones, and hated that it included Samsung-specific apps that just duplicated those already available by default on stock Android.

Pixels had a defect where emergency calls didnt work with MS teams installed. Both platforms wither under the lights

They still have problems with emergency calls.

https://www.androidpolice.com/google-pixel-phones-struggling...

I mainly use my phone for three things:

1. Pleco

2. Wechat

3. Kindle app

Pleco (a dictionary) and Kindle (an ebook reader) work fine offline. Why wouldn't they?

Wechat, of course, can't do anything offline, because it's communication software. It is not even clear what "use wechat offline" would mean.

Android itself obviously works equally well whether you're connected to the Internet or not. What do you mean by becoming "almost a brick"?

Ooo that's a big depends on the situation. Making only phone calls. Sure iPhones are great. Running LOB apps. Lol have fun passing that crap through apples store. Androids way easier for LOB.

Remote MDM? Lol nightmare using apples gear. Warranty services? Also a nightmare. Fleet level warranty support? Ahahhahhaha have fun paying folks like IBM out the kazoo. No thanks.

iPhones are rock solid if you played w Fischer price toys as a kid and only ever plan to be on the public consumer end of the game, making calls and using apps someone else has decided are ok for you. Go up the line to fleet rollout or bulk purchasing/warranty work or running custom line of business apps. Ahahhahhaha have fun w apple I've done the work when I was w/ ibm, I refuse to touch it these days.

What are LOB and MDM?

Line of Business, Mobile Device Management.