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Comment by rdtsc | Hacker News Reader

I just switched two months ago. Been an Android users since 3.x days.

I switched mostly for privacy reasons as as well. The original idea of why I liked Android: open source / Linux based, I developed apps for it, are not as important as giving too much control and my data to Google at this point.

Been pretty happy with it as a new user. At first it was hard getting used to not having a back button where I expected it but after a few days got used to it.

I like that there is an Apple store I can go to.

The interface is slick and nice, however, I'd have have to say in recent years Android mostly caught up in that regard.

But most of all, I like that Apple's primary business is not selling my info so I am happy to pay a premium to have a bit more privacy.

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> having a back button where I expected it but after a few days got used to it.

Dont forget that iOS has an almost universal left swipe gesture that doesn't require acknowledging the top left-back chevron

It also has an optional swipe down gesture at the very bottom of the screen to cut the screen size in half, useful for hitting the back button if you have to

> It also has an optional swipe down gesture at the very bottom of the screen to cut the screen size in half, useful for hitting the back button if you have to

Double-tap the home button for Reachability on iPhone 8 and older.

I didn't know that. Thank you! It makes it even easier.

> The interface is slick and nice, however, I'd have have to say in recent years Android mostly caught up in that regard.

How would you say are the apps in this regard? Are ios apps more standardized than android's?

Yes and there seems to be more developer time invested in iOS apps than Android apps for smoothness—developers know they make more money from their iOS users even taking into account how many more Android devices there are.

You might miss not being able to set third-party apps as default for certain actions, but I think this is a valid trade-off for maintaining standards and share extensions are almost as good.

There’s an app called Opener that lets you open third party apps in the relevant pages quickly. Not as fluid as Android but still quick. Personally I’ve been very happy with iOS since the switch a year ago. I’d like to point out that the biggest charm of the gestures is that it’s essentially system wide, including third party apps. Swipe to go back and tap to scroll up are just too convenient and natural for me to go back.

Definitely. I used Android for almost 5 years and I use iOS for 2 now.

iOS apps on average are definitely faster, smoother and well-made in terms of visual beauty.

I think they are from a few apps I have. But I also don't use that many apps to start with, others might have a better opinion there.

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