Always had apple mobile devices. Got a 6 now. Time for a much needed change (Upgrade).
I've only done a bit of research so plz DON'T crucify me over my opinions or ignorance.
So far I'm thinking OnePlus 3.
Do you all on the forums have any suggestions or advice for when I make the switch? Won't be for a few months, thanks Verizon, but I want to make sure that I have everything squared away for it.
Get a phone that you can root. I made the mistake of getting an s7 edge, I can't root it without making my phone almost useless. Rooting your phone and unlocking the bootloader let's you do whatever you want with it. You can even put special Linux distros on it if you unlock the bootloader.
Nexus 5X or 6P IMHO, but I haven't looked too much into the OnePlus 3.
What apps do you use? Anything you need an alternative to?
One Plus 3 is probably about best in class, much better than the One Plus 2 or X overall I'd imagine given how quickly it came out
The only transition I need to make is from Apple Music, which could be easily, and perhaps with superiority, accomplished by Spotify.
My girlfriend and I FaceTime daily. Is there an alternative? I know Skype would do that, but any others?
EDIT: Oh, and iTunes' Podcasts app. any alternative for that? I love having my podcasts in the same place
Google Play Music may also be worth considering if you care for YouTube. I have the family plan, it works out nice. Also, sharing app purchases with your family group is a thing on the Play Store.
Google hangouts, plus or minus Google Voice. Also works nicely with Chrome via extension.
Podcasts.. possibly Soundcloud? That seems to be one of the prevalent platforms at the moment. Maybe check if your creators also post there.
I've seen them on sale quite a bit lately, too. I don't have any desire to give mine up.
The latest version of Android (Marshmallow) now supports micro SD (UHS-1 type) for installing apps, the phone will basically treat it as part of the internal storage. So I would recommend getting a UHS-1 type memory.
I just made the swap from apple to android. I know that apple does a lot wrong, but they also do a lot right and in my opinion they beat android hands down in a few areas. First is text. Androids text F****** suck. They split the text up into random text and do all kind of crazy shit with them. True you can download another app to handle the text but then you lose being able to receive photos or videos within the text like apple does. Also, depending on what text app you use you have to invite the other people to join that app. Its just garbage. Also Android sucks at wifi calling. My apple phones just worked on wifi, android doesn't all the time, it may just be my phone or what ever but to me, its a hit and miss with android. Then the worst part of Android is their sound level, oh my lord its so quiet compared to apple. Everything from playing music files to talking on the phone, and its not just the headphones its the volume produced by the phone. When compared to an apple phone, having my Samsung s7 on full volume is like having my apple 6s on half volume. Then there is the headphones. I have yet to find a set of headphones that will control the volume and answer / hangup phone calls like apples does.
But, other than the few things that I have mentioned, Android beats apple hands down. For me I swapped to android because I was tired of the Apple walled garden with their music. I listen to a lot of lossless music and apple will not play it, android does. You can get music apps that beat apple hands down. Audio book apps that are some of the best available, you can get apps that will let you read almost any format of downloadable book which you can't do with apple.
The short of it. Am I happy with my swap from apple to android...... Yes and no. Will I stay with android? I don't know. It depends on the new release features of the next apple phone. I love being able to do the things that I can with my phone, but I miss the simple text and wifi calling - which just work on apple. I guess if android can get the volume on par with apple then I will stay, but as for right now, when my contract is up I am going back to apple and buying a music player.
So I have the OP3 and my wife has the Nexus 6p. Both phones are really great, playing with both phones is a great experiance. You would be splitting hairs choosing between the two. A few highlights fro each:
Nexus 6p:
1. Slightly Better camera and if video is important the OP3 has an issue with image stabilization in 1080p mode
2. Software updates. for the next year you will get it straight from the giant.
3. screen is better. Colors look more natural but still plenty vibrant.
4. Can be used with any carrier.
5. easier to find accesories.
OP3:
1. Faster with room to grow (that 6gb of ram though)
2. Fingerprint sensor top notch and available to you on the front of the device
3. Hardware buttons, oh how I miss you hardware buttonsr
4. Stock customizations are nice such as dark mode, can use software buttons if you want, long press and double tap hardware buttons assignable actions.
5. Notification hardware button.
6. Cheap
7. Feels slightly better in my hand
Battery life between the two are really solid (coming from a LG G4) Right now we get 5-6 hrs screen on time. Both can be rooted, Nexus is king when it comes to software, I dont have any issues with OP3 software but my wifes phone gets updates every month. Although the OP3 is faster Its hardly noticable. I do believe the 6bg of ram will come in handy in the future. I do cobstantly creep into the 3gb ram used (lots of apps open) The fingerprint sensor on the OP3 is FAST!!! and convienent being on the front. With my phone sittung on the desk I can unlock and lock my phone with one finger. Notification slider is a tip of the hat to apple and wish more devices had it. I use it more often that I thought I would. Shipping times for the OP3 can be a little disheartening as some people get them a mo th after ordering. I was fortunate to have it shipped out to me within two days and arrived 4 days after I ordered. Customer service for One plus seems useless at best and would not look forward to dealing with them if i had a problem, these days that seems like most compaies anyway.
I would weight what is important for you in a phone and choose that one. They are More simular than different but sometimes its tge little things that makes or breaks the experiance.
I have a ton more infor. ation so if you have any other questions please let me know!
Thank you @gigabit for a great great reply. I just did a bit of watching and reading, and for me the OnePlus 3 beats out the 6P. The cleaner OS, RAM, button and gesture customization, and size and shape win it for me. 1080p at 5.5 inches is just fine. Again, thanks for a great comparison!
These :D You are either Nexus or Against us ;)
I have been with the Standard Nexus 6 Chainfire ROOT / PureNexus ROM / ElementalX Kernel - and could not be any more happy.
I prefer the fingerprint reader on the back, just sits perfect where my index finger naturally sits. Either way though, I would find it extremely inconvenient to go back to not having one. It works very well, especially with LastPass.
How is the OP3 speaker? One thing I wouldn't personally want to give up is front-facing speakers.
You and your wife have nice taste in phones. :)
Yeah Ill tell you that when I got the OP3 I considered sending it back and trading it for a 6P but after a week of using it I was convinced the OP3 was for me. Also dont read too much into the One Plus forums about issues on the OP3. I have no such issues. It feels like custom rom fast and OEM stable. No Wifi issues, No LTE issues, Only real issue is the image stabilization recording in 1080P mode doesnt work.
Speaker is not bad but its nothing close to the Nexus 6p or the Moto X Pure (mother in laws phone) The front firing are a huge step up but I am not disatified with the OP3 speaker. The OP3 speakers is better than my LG G4 I had, Sounds more balanced.
Thanks we all love tech. she wanted to wait for the next Nexus but as soon as she found out it was from HTC she choose to go with the current offering.
I can vouch for the Moto X Pure as well, bought my dad one. Not sure what the track record on updates has been like, but I appreciate the near-vanilla approach.
I have a OP3, and it's great. Except for one thing.
It will only work on AT&T and T-mobile networks. And I've had issues getting 4g Lte with AT&T. Stuck on HSPA+ right now because AT&T sucks at officially supporting phones they don't sell themselves (bastards). I'm about to switch to T-mobile and see if their service is better.
I just switched to T mobile from Verizon and so far I don't notice any service difference between the two. I live in socal which is pretty densely populated. At my office I get slightly better signal than i did with Verizon. Speeds are comparable to. At my house I would pull 50Mbps down from Verizon and from T mobile i get the same.