I’ve used Android. I’ve used iOS. I’ve watched the keynote events, read the reviews, scrolled the forums, and tried the shiny new things.
And after all of it, I’m sticking with Apple.
Not because they’re perfect. Not because I think iOS is flawless. But because when it comes to daily use — actual lived-in, day-to-day use — Apple’s ecosystem just works in ways that Android still can’t match. Especially when it comes to Pixel devices, which promise everything and consistently fail to deliver.
Let me explain.
App Quality on Android Is Still Second-Rate
If you only read tech blogs or watch YouTube reviews, you’d think Android has caught up to iOS in every area. It hasn’t.
Real-world app quality on Android still trails iOS in meaningful ways. Here are just a few examples I personally experienced while using the Pixel 2 (and which are still reported by others using newer Pixels):
- Instagram on Android still doesn’t support 10-bit HDR properly. Reels look washed out. Camera quality is visibly worse than the same app on iOS.
- Banking apps like Monzo, Barclays, or Amex often behave erratically with biometric logins — they either fail to recognize the fingerprint or crash.
- Media editing apps like LumaFusion or Adobe Lightroom have missing features or are just slower on Android.
- Games often release first on iOS and are better optimized. Frame rates are smoother. There’s less input lag. And you’re far less likely to run into performance bugs.
This isn’t just about developers “favoring iOS” — it’s about fragmentation and lack of consistency. iOS gives developers one standard to hit. Android gives them a lottery.
“Clear Cache and Reset Data” Is Not Support
When an iOS app has issues, you might force quit it, reinstall it, or submit feedback via the App Store. Troubleshooting is straightforward.
When an Android app has issues, the standard response is:
“Go to Settings → Apps → Storage → Clear cache → Clear data → Force stop → Reboot → Reinstall.”
Sometimes you’re even told to do a full factory reset — for a single app issue. And this isn't just online forums. Google’s official support often gives the same advice. This isn’t real troubleshooting — it’s a way to avoid fixing the underlying issue.
Resetting app data can mean wiping your login tokens, preferences, and saved content. It’s disruptive and often doesn't solve the problem anyway. It feels like busywork disguised as help.
Google’s Pixel Line: A Pattern of Disappointment
The Pixel 9 Pro is being hyped again as the most stable Pixel ever. The G4 chip is supposed to solve everything. And reviewers say it’s fast and bug-free.
But give it a few weeks of real-world use, and the cracks appear:
- App launches slow down even for Google’s own apps.
- Battery drains unpredictably when idle or doing basic tasks.
- The device overheats while browsing or using the camera.
- Bluetooth audio randomly disconnects or stutters.
- Switching between zoom camera is a stuttering experience
And when these problems occur, Google is often silent. Updates may quietly fix them months later — but rarely with any public acknowledgment. In many cases, users are left wondering if the issue is just happening to them.
Reviewers Don’t Experience the Problems — Because They Don’t Live With the Device
Tech reviewers often test phones for a week or two with clean installs, default apps, and controlled conditions. When they say, “I didn’t experience any bugs,” what they’re really saying is, “Nothing went wrong during my brief time with it.”
But real issues don’t always show up right away. It’s only after a few weeks — after updates, after syncing accounts, after installing dozens of apps — that problems start to appear.
The Pixel experience is often impressive on day one. But it degrades under real usage. And by the time users begin experiencing these problems, the review cycle has already moved on.
If you then watch the videos from over two months later - they don’t actually explain the issues. It’s just a summary video, having this as you’re so-called “daily driver” with your iPhone hot spotting to it is not really true to life.
iOS Isn’t Perfect — But It’s Predictably Stable
Apple’s software is not bug-free, in fact, it’s far from bug free, the newer versions of iOS seem to add more bugs than they remove, iOS has its share of quirks — keyboard glitches, animation stutters, odd Wi-Fi behavior. But those bugs are typically:
- Minor and isolated
- Consistent across devices
- Addressed in regular software updates
You don’t get a cascade of unrelated problems at the same time. When something breaks, it’s generally fixable without resetting the phone or diving into obscure system menus.
In contrast, Android — particularly on Pixel — often suffers from compounded issues that make the experience feel unpredictable and unreliable over time.
The Apple Ecosystem Works — Without Workarounds
Apple’s ecosystem is often criticized for being a walled garden. But it’s a garden that functions properly:
- iMessage and FaceTime work natively and reliably
- AirDrop is seamless and fast
- iCloud Keychain syncs passwords effortlessly
- Handoff lets you move between devices smoothly
- The Apple Watch actually feels like an extension of your phone
- Continuity Camera and Universal Clipboard work with no setup required
With Android, these experiences can be cobbled together using third-party apps and cloud syncing — but it’s patchy, inconsistent, and rarely as fast or reliable. You spend more time configuring and less time benefiting.
Privacy, Longevity, and Trust
I would like to mention that I don’t think privacy is it much concern to me and while Google are very clear with what they do with your data, Apple, tell you they’re all about privacy but behind the scenes the story is very different.
Privacy, is one of the topics people get hung up on and the truth of the matter is if you have a smart phone, expect it not to keep your privacy as a high priority task - using data it collects can offer substantial benefit - if you can take your tinfoil hat off for just one moment.
I will regularly have Google recommend very appropriate items and services that I would never have found myself, for example, going somewhere I’ve never been beforeand simply being able to ask Gemini “Find me a coffee shop I would like” is an incredible feature.
And then there’s update support. Most iPhones get five to six years of major iOS updates. The iPhone 13 Mini, despite being several generations old, will still receive iOS 18 and likely iOS 19. It performs well and doesn’t feel obsolete.
Even flagship Android phones often see only three years of updates — and many models get left behind sooner. Combine that with performance degradation and you’re left with a phone that feels disposable well before it should.
Final Thought: I Want a Phone, Not a Project
This isn’t about brand loyalty. It’s about using something that works and keeps working.
The Pixel line, for all its promise, often feels like an ongoing science experiment — one where the end user is doing the testing. It’s not reliable, it’s not predictable, and it doesn’t inspire trust.
The iPhone doesn’t need to be revolutionary. It just needs to work. And it does.
Unless something fundamental changes on Android — and Google’s approach to support improves drastically — I’ll continue using Apple devices. Bugs and all.
Because in the end, I don’t want to manage my phone. I just want to use it.