Returning to Android

I’ve been a very happy iPhone user since I bought my first one back in 2011, when I replaced an Android phone with which I had neither been happy nor impressed. I have had a number of iPhones, each with more capabilities than the last, and am currently using an iPhone 7, with which I am very happy, and which ties in nicely with my setup at home and on the go, as I use a Mac, an Apple Watch, and Apple Airpods.

It might come as something of a surprise, then, that I am returning to Android. I am not replacing my iPhone; I am far too invested in the Apple ecosystem for that to be something I can easily do. I am, however, adding to it with an Android phone with a SIM card tied to the same account as my iPhone. This implies the question; if I’m not planning on replacing my iPhone, why am I looking to return to Android?

There are a few reasons for this. First of all, being of a technical persuasion, friends and family often come to me for advice on whatever technical issues they may have. While I am often able to help them, lack of knowledge and experience with a given platform does tend to make things harder than they need to be. Second, cross-platform familiarity is something I really should have, and being able to troubleshoot Android devices with some sort of confidence is a good thing.

I have not decided on which device I’ll go for. A combination of decent technical specifications, a vanilla version of Android, and device certification will go into that evaluation, as will the price.