Numerous my family and friends swear by iPhones, and I might typically scoff at how a lot they paid contemplating that the tech large lagged behind Google in so many areas – from not having a climate(!) app on the iPad till 2022, to Apple Maps including a characteristic simply this yr that has been on Google Maps for over a decade.
Having examined a variety of telephones previously, I knew that the likes of Samsung, Google and OnePlus supplied higher {hardware} and sometimes extra spectacular options for the worth.
When somebody would begin getting superior about having an iPhone (and that basically is a factor – Apple is a ‘way of life’ in any case), it’d be so tempting to pettily whip out one thing like a Motorola Razr, and say: “positive… however can it do this?!” and dramatically flip it open and wave it of their face like an unbearable, tech-obsessed moron.
And Apple remains to be catching up in some respects – the primary folding iPhone isn’t anticipated till 2026, a full seven years after Samsung made its foldable debut.
The place it does excel is in making the necessities the most effective they are often, primarily on the software program entrance. However that’s one thing I didn’t need to pay an excessive premium to get pleasure from.
Nonetheless, the fact is that in at the moment’s market of value hikes and tariffs, Android telephones at this tier aren’t essentially higher worth, and now my most strong argument towards Apple is starting to waver. Right here’s why testing the iPhone 17 has made me take an enormous slice of humble pie.
I’d positively take into account the iPhone 17 as my new every day driver… and as a long-time Android person, that’s not one thing I assumed I’d ever say
Apple’s easy software program works a deal with
I by no means actually understood what individuals meant by this, however the format of the iPhone’s residence display screen and lock display screen might be essentially the most intuitive and aesthetically pleasing design I’ve used.
That features the Dynamic Island, which admittedly has been mimicked on my OnePlus 12 to some extent, to the handy-dandy grouping system within the App Library that saved me from doing numerous my very own customisation, as I might on Android.
Regardless of some preinstalled bloatware, I’m an enormous fan of Apple’s Journal app specifically, with scheduling instances to log entries, encouragement for writing streaks and straightforward methods so as to add in images, recordings and even Apple Well being information. If in case you have a Pixel 10 telephone, the Pixel Journal app is an efficient different, however there’s no like-for-like alternative on my OnePlus telephone, so suggestions for , free choice are welcome.
Voicemail summaries with Apple Intelligence are additionally sensible. Throughout one significantly busy day in London for a Nintendo occasion (amongst different issues), I missed a physician’s name. Ordinarily, I could have forgotten to telephone up my voicemail inbox whereas frantically downing my iced espresso as I typed up a narrative, however I didn’t must with this software program, which supplied a reasonably correct transcription of what I wanted to know.
It is a good use of AI (and I’m not the largest fan of AI usually), so effectively executed, Apple.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
iPhones are very a lot for individuals who don’t have time to fuss about. That’s apparent within the digital camera controls, that are massively simplified in comparison with what I’ve on my OnePlus.
Whereas this can be seen as a destructive by digital camera fanatics, for individuals (like myself) who’re in a rush and don’t have the will to discover each angle or setting, this strategy will go well with them right down to the bottom.
One minor contact that made me unnecessarily blissful was the Siri voice choices. One in all them has a northern accent that sounds type of like me (British Voice 3, in the event you’re questioning). Contemplating some voice assistants wrestle to grasp my dialect, forcing me to fake to be a southerner (shudders), it’s nice to have one which not solely works, however even shares my inflections and intonation – large up the North.
And the {hardware} is healthier than I anticipated
Over the six years I’ve been a tech journalist, I’ve watched the decline of small smartphones. As somebody who advocates for units that may slot in ladies’s denims pockets, that’s a disgrace – perhaps I must be lobbying vogue designers to make ladies’s garments extra sensible, however I digress.
The iPhone 17 is a goldilocks telephone for me. It’s measurement for watching movies on (with a formidable set of audio system as well), however dinky sufficient that it might probably slip into outfits far more simply than many bulkier telephones lately. And, as a OnePlus person who depends on the alert slider for silencing my telephone rapidly, that motion button is a godsend (it may be customised to do all kinds of different issues in the event you’d favor).
Plus, the beautiful pastel purple mannequin I attempted is so aesthetically pleasing. It is a handsome smartphone, and the curved edges and glass again make it clean and cozy to carry.
I firmly imagine that many customers on the market are most likely overspending by choosing the 17 Professional and Professional Max. This can primarily be for the all-singing/all-dancing digital camera set-ups. Now, in the event you create content material for a residing or are a pictures fanatic, high-quality – I’ll allow you to off.
Nonetheless, in the event you use your smartphone only for social media and day-to-day reminiscence capturing, belief me, the vanilla iPhone 17 digital camera might be ok. Particulars are sharp, crisp and clear, with the choice to use a shade preset to all of your snaps to stress particular undertones.
These with a keener eye could discover that it overcompensates in low gentle, pumping up the colors (significantly of the night time sky) to hyperreal requirements. Nonetheless, for daylight snaps of fairly landscapes and portraits of your family members, fluffy or in any other case, it’ll fulfil your wants.
However switching from Android isn’t a bit of cake
If you happen to’re contemplating transferring over from an Android telephone comparable to a Pixel, Samsung or Xiaomi handset, there are some issues it is best to know.
Firstly, your new iPhone will immediate you to obtain a ‘Transfer to iOS’ app in your outdated machine to port over images, contacts and extra to try to make the transition simpler. The important thing phrase there being ‘strive’. I tried this from my OnePlus 12 over 5 instances, and was repeatedly unsuccessful, regardless of switching out cables and lowering the quantity of knowledge I used to be sending over.
The iPhone 17 is a goldilocks telephone for me
However that wasn’t essentially the most annoying half. Each time the switch failed, the iPhone insisted on doing a manufacturing unit reset, with no solution to give up.
Why, oh why Apple? Is that this revenge for me mocking Apple’s personal superstar Craig Federighi yr after yr?
This made the entire course of lengthy and arduous, as I needed to undergo organising face recognition an obscene variety of instances, earlier than lastly accepting that the most effective factor to do was simply to utterly begin from scratch.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
So, that meant downloading all of the apps I wanted and signing in. I used to be lucky that I might hyperlink my Gmail account, which had my telephone contacts, inboxes and calendar appointments saved – if I didn’t, I’d be in an actual pickle. As this was a short-term mortgage, I didn’t even get round to some extra complicated issues, comparable to switching over banking apps. Good luck, babe, is all I’ll say.
The opposite complicated factor was that I seen textual content messages have been coming by to my outdated telephone. I found that this was as a result of I had RCS messaging turned on – you have to request to disable this characteristic by inputting your quantity on this Google kind.
I solely found this after sleuthing on Reddit, however others making the swap could get caught out.
If you happen to plan to modify long-term, WhatsApp is one other problem you may run into. As I used to be solely utilizing the iPhone 17 for a month, it made sense to set it up as a companion machine and proceed with my OnePlus 12 as the first telephone. This allowed me to seamlessly entry all my chats and notifications on the iPhone – simply be aware that you simply’ll have to attach the first machine to the web at the very least as soon as each two weeks.
Nonetheless, as my colleague Anyron famous when switching to the iPhone 16 Professional final yr, transferring from a Google Drive backup on Android to an iCloud backup on the iPhone can result in some main complications.
The ‘Apple premium’ argument isn’t as robust lately
To completely study how iPhone costs have grow to be extra aggressive, it’s finest to take a look at the closest Android equal, the Google Pixel.
Two years in the past, when the iPhone 15 went head-to-head with the Google Pixel 8, the Pixel undercut the iPhone by £100/$100. For the final two generations, that’s not been the case. The Pixel has crept up in value, whereas the iPhone stayed stage.
Then, there’s cloud storage. As it is a subscription value, many individuals overlook it. Nonetheless, when you’ve got images and movies which are years outdated, it’s possible you’ll very effectively find yourself paying for considered one of these providers.
Whereas upfront, Google provides the higher free deal – 15GB of storage versus Apple’s 5GB, Apple’s pricing plans per 30 days are barely decrease – 99p/99c for iCloud+ , which grants customers entry to 50GB of storage. Google’s plan is £1.59/$1.99 per 30 days, although it does provide twice as a lot storage in return at 100GB.
There are additionally free trials of the upper storage choice plans inside Apple One and Google One.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
However you don’t essentially want to fret about cloud storage plans instantly in case your telephone has sufficient base storage, and the iPhone 17 begins at 256GB versus the Pixel’s 128GB, which is an enormous L for Google.
With these value comparisons I’m solely factoring the bottom iPhone alone, not the Professional variants, nor the brand new Air mannequin or the 16e. I believe significantly within the mid-range area, Apple nonetheless can’t compete. Nonetheless, if I have been confronted with selecting a brand new telephone across the £800/$800 value mark, I’d positively take into account the iPhone 17 as my new every day driver… and as a long-time Android person, that’s not one thing I assumed I’d ever say.
However heed this warning – be ready for at the very least a number of days of faffing round transferring from Google’s ecosystem over to Apple’s. I want that this course of may very well be made simpler, however I don’t see that occuring at it doesn’t profit both firm from a gross sales perspective. ‘Preserve them locked in’ might be what they’re considering.
To sum up, I used to be an Android truther, having examined a plethora of broadly spectacular smartphones operating on Google’s OS (and numerous skins) throughout my time at Tech Advisor. I actually believed that iPhones have been overhyped and overpriced. So, if even I can change my thoughts, perhaps you’ll be able to too.