Switching from iPhone to Android is easy. What stings is the aftermath.

Last week, when I briefly switched from an iPhone to an Android smartphone, I prepared myself for a world of hurt. I’ve only owned Apple phones since I bought the original iPhone in 2007. And, like many people, I also bought other Apple products that worked well with him, including AirPods, Apple Watch, and iPad.

This kind of loyalty is the basis of the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against Apple, which alleges that the company has exclusive control over the iPhone to the detriment of competitors and that customers are not allowed to buy other phones. It is accused of preventing people from switching to telephones. To test that theory, I decided to break up with my iPhone for a while.

At first, I was surprised at how easy it was to transfer my iPhone data to my Google Android smartphone. Google created an app to help people make the switch, and by simply installing an app on your iPhone, you could copy your contact list, photo albums, and calendar to your Google account. And all the data was displayed on Android.

It’s almost over. After calling his carrier, Verizon, and transferring his phone number to his Android device, my mission was accomplished. I’ve become an Android convert.

At first, I was happy with my choice. I upgraded to a fancy Google Pixel smartphone. But by day 6 I was ready to put it back together.

Added a lot of hassle. Although I can still use most Apple products, I’m starting to miss my Apple Watch, which requires an iPhone to fully function. When it comes to software, I was able to find Android alternatives for all of my favorite apps, except for Notes. Switching phones wasn’t technically difficult, but Apple still had a fascination with me.

How Apple keeps customers loyal to their iPhones and whether its practices harm competition are at the center of the government’s antitrust case against the Cupertino giant.

Apple and the Department of Justice declined to comment.

In its 88-page complaint, the department said many Apple products protect competitive advantages over the iPhone, including iMessage, Apple’s Wallet app, and the Apple Watch. With these perks, how hard would it actually be to part with your iPhone? Here’s what I found.

Lose your iMessages

For the most part, iPhone and Android users can easily communicate through email, phone calls, and apps like Slack, but when it comes to text messages, there remains a sharp divide known as the “green bubble vs. blue bubble.” I am. Disparity.

When iPhone users send texts to other iPhones, their messages will appear in blue and they will receive exclusive benefits, such as birthday confetti animations. But when an iPhone user sends a text message to her Android user, the bubble turns green, many features become unavailable, and the quality of photos and videos decreases.

Before transferring my phone number to my Pixel phone, I used my iPhone to send an iMessage to my blue bubble buddy, warning them that the conversation was about to turn green. “Eh!” my friend replied. But after many joking remarks, no one protested, so I continued to endure.

Next, I had to disconnect my phone number from iMessage on Apple’s website so that text messages could reach my phone without going through Apple’s servers. Unless you do this, you won’t be able to receive texts from other iPhones. Eventually, the conversation was greenlit. I prepared myself for humiliation.

But no one tormented me or excluded me. However, I noticed that many of my friends suddenly stopped texting me photos. Probably because they knew the image wouldn’t look as good.

For years, some of my closest friends have only texted me through Signal, a third-party messaging app with strong privacy protections and many of the same features as iMessage. Keeping with that tradition, Signal is also available for Android.

Apple has announced that later this year it will improve texting between iPhone and Android users by adopting Rich Communication Services, a standard that Google and others integrated into their messaging apps several years ago. Text sent between iPhone and Android will remain green, but images and videos will be of higher quality.

If you lose your Apple Wallet

For iPhones, the go-to app for making mobile payments in stores is Apple Wallet, and for Android users, the equivalent app is Google Wallet. The experience with each wallet app was the same. I loaded up my credit card and Clipper card for Bay Area Rapid Transit services.

The Justice Department’s criticism of Apple Wallet focuses on the fact that Apple only gives its own apps access to the iPhone’s payment chip, preventing competing wallet services from using the chip to make payments. But the way Apple’s Wallet app is designed didn’t influence my switch to Android.

Lost your Apple Watch and other products?

For iPhone owners, the main motivation for purchasing more Apple products is that these products work together seamlessly. For example, Mac laptops use many of the same apps as iPhones for messaging, note-taking, and reminders, and data is synced between devices using his Apple’s iCloud. In theory, the more Apple invests in its ecosystem, and the more Apple restricts its products from working with competing devices, the harder it will be to switch away from the iPhone, the Justice Department said. Masu.

After switching to an Android smartphone, my feelings when using other Apple products ranged from moderate annoyance to deep frustration.

• The iPad worked independently from the iPhone, but you can no longer view text messages on the tablet. I don’t text much on my iPad, so this was minor.

• My AirPods Pro were fine. I immediately connected to my Pixel to play music. But the downside is that AirPods use Adaptive EQ, a technology that adjusts sound quality to the shape of your ear, and it only works in software on your iPhone. So the audio doesn’t sound that good.

• I couldn’t find my AirTags, the little Apple trackers you use to find your wallet or keys, on a map using your Android smartphone. But when the AirTags were in my pocket, my Android phone displayed a warning that an “unknown tracker” was moving around with me. This is a safety feature to combat stalkers.

• Apple Watch requires an iPhone to set up, but fitness tracking works independently. Since I already had the watch set up, I was able to continue using it with my Android phone at the gym. However, I can no longer see detailed training data.

• I encountered other annoyances not specifically mentioned in the lawsuit when trying to find a replacement for Apple’s Notes, which I use regularly on my Mac, iPad, and cell phone for work and personal errands. , my frustration finally reached its peak. I used a replacement and didn’t like it, and combined with the aforementioned issues, it was just too much.

Bottom line: It’s easy to switch, but it’s easy to switch

My experience is not universal. Some people are more concerned than others about how their particular Apple product will change if they switch phones. Education experts say green bubbles are known to invite ridicule and exclusion in schools, and young people will likely be very concerned about the lack of iMessage at school. Parents who use AirTags to track their children may find losing access to AirTags a deal-breaker.

The conclusion of this experiment is that switching to another phone is not technically difficult, but there are many things you may regret.