A lot can change in three years. Wars can spark off, recessions can bloom, businesses can rise and fall, generative AI can make ‘art’, and some bloke can buy Twitter and all but ruin it. However, in 36 months, it turns out I’ve not changed much.
Specifically, I’m basing this observation on the fact that I’m still using an iPhone as my main phone. Back in December 2021 I made the swap from Android to iOS, ditching a Google Pixel 6 Pro for an iPhone 13 Pro after years of resisting entering Apple’s walled garden.
But the iPhone 13 Pro brought in (finally) a 120Hz OLED display, packed a trio of excellent cameras, and delivered powerful performance, all in a 6.1-inch package that I felt the best Android phones couldn’t match. And I was kinda smitten.
I adored using the 13 Pro; it really did ‘just work’ for everything I wanted it to do, and when I got my MackBook Air M2, the phone played nice with one of the best laptops I’ve ever used. Heck, I even enjoyed how the stainless steel slowly developed a patina.
Yet, in the back of my head, I had the feeling that I’d return to an Android phone; maybe a new Pixel with its refined smarts and style, or a mighty Galaxy S-series Ultra.
That didn’t happen. And to my surprise I even found myself waxing lyrical about the iPhone 15 Pro Max I’d started using as part of my role heading up TechRadar’s Mobile Computing division. The titanium design made a large phone feel light, and almost and wieldy as its non-Max stable mate.
So when UK carrier Vodafone kindly sent me the iPhone 16 Pro Max, I moved over to it without a moment’s pause.
Living for the ease
Now the iPhone 16 Pro Max is a disappointment of sorts. It launched without a load of Apple Intelligence features, the cameras didn’t offer much of an uptick over what came before, and the new Camera Control button-meets-slider is borderline a gimmick – at least based on my use of it so far.
But I’m still using the iPhone 16 Pro Max, despite a wonderful Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra giving me ‘use me’ eyes from its spot on my desk – although that could just be my imagination and its rear-camera orientation. More recently, my boss, Global Editor-in-Chief Marc McLaren, expressed surprise that a once dyed-in-the-wool Android fan is still using an iPhone.
The reason for this is simply down to sheer convenience. Now that other phones use titanium, and come with a host of smart features, and that Android continues to evolve, it’s hard for me to lean on my preference for the photos the iPhone’s image processing and computational photography kick out, or the performance the A-series chips offer.
However, iOS just has that magic touch; that way of making everything that bit easier thanks to Apple’s ecosystem. My AirPods Pro seamlessly connect to my iPhone, and when a call pops up on my phone I can take it on my MacBook – handy if I’m wearing headphones. AirPlay still feels like connectivity wizardry in the face of temperamental Bluetooth, and tight integration of apps and tools means you can just get things like two-factor authentication done at speed.
A great example of this was when a group of us London-based TechRadarians were looking to escape the historic city of Bath after a grueling Black Friday at Future Publishing’s HQ. Two of my colleagues, who will remain nameless, lacked the foresight to download their digital train tickets before reaching the station. Thanks to the building’s thick walls and the terrible public Wi-Fi, these two reprobates struggled to get internet access, so had to tether to my iPhone, which was basking in 5G signal.
As they were both using iPhones, rather than try and figure out my Wi-Fi hotspot password, I could simply tap a prompt to share access to it with them. It’s a small thing, but it felt like tech magic in the moment. And on a daily basis, iOS and the wider Apple ecosystem enable such feats of convenience.
Sure, there’s no way even the best iPhone is anywhere as interesting to use as an Android flagship, which means I nearly always have an Android phone within reach. But these phones feel like gadgets that one makes a conscious effort to use, whereas my iPhone feels like a tech tool that I just use to do a task and then pop in my pocket; there’s no soul here to speak of, but for getting stuff done with zero fuss I’ll always reach for Cupertino’s smartphones.
I hope this changes, as I used to love bouncing between Android phones; maybe the upcoming Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra, which we expect to see in January, will tempt me back. But for now, in an increasingly chaotic world, I’ll choose convenience over character when it comes to a smartphone.
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