I’ve been utilizing an iPhone for the previous 5 years.
The newest of those is the iPhone 16, and alongside it, I’ve been testing numerous Android telephones due to the character of my job.
Each time I used an Android cellphone, I discovered myself wanting to modify, however I by no means did. I stored considering I’d miss the ecosystem.
I exploit a MacBook, which is a unbelievable gadget, and an Apple TV, which is equally good, and the interconnectivity between the iPhone and these gadgets is one thing I genuinely like. Options resembling AirDrop, iPhone mirroring, and tight iCloud integration mattered to me, they usually had been most likely the largest causes I stayed with an iPhone for thus lengthy.
That modified after making an attempt Android flagships just like the OnePlus 15 and the Xiaomi 15T Professional. I noticed that every thing I can get for the same value makes it value giving up a number of the nice-to-have comfort options like AirDrop.
Luke Baker
{Hardware} options like all-day battery life and super-fast charging matter much more, and Android telephones ship on that. Because it turned out, the options are nonetheless one thing you’ll be able to replicate a technique or one other.
So, I took the plunge and switched to the Xiaomi 15T Professional as my major cellphone, forsaking the pull of the Apple ecosystem. I used to be fearing the worst, however actually, the expertise hasn’t been unhealthy in any respect.
Superior {hardware} over software program any day
I’m a agency believer that {hardware} comes earlier than software program. Regardless of how good the software program expertise is, or how seamless the interconnectivity between ecosystem merchandise feels, if the underlying {hardware} is lackluster, the general expertise goes to undergo.
Apple, nevertheless, appears to have centered extra on the latter, not less than with its non-Professional iPhones. The corporate has constructed a tightly managed “walled backyard,” the place the comfort of interoperability between the iPhone, Mac, iPad, Apple Watch, and AirPods creates a high-friction barrier to exit.
To Apple’s credit score, it has made significant enhancements to the non-Professional iPhones with the most recent era. The iPhone 17 brings notable upgrades over the iPhone 16.
Emma Rowley / Foundry
The usual fashions lastly get a 120Hz ProMotion show, a barely bigger 6.3-inch display screen, the sooner A19 chip, improved cameras with 48Mp fundamental and ultra-wide sensors, sooner 40W wired charging, and improved battery life. Apple claims the iPhone 17 lasts about 40 per cent longer per cost than the iPhone 16, which is a major leap on paper.
That stated, the basics nonetheless haven’t modified sufficient. The battery capability sits at round 3,692 mAh, and real-world screen-on time nonetheless struggles to get near seven hours. The iPhone 16 averaged round 5 hours for me, so even with all these upgrades, the iPhone 17 doesn’t come near what most Android flagships supply right this moment.
To place issues into perspective, I frequently get near 11 hours of screen-on time on the Xiaomi 15T Professional. That simply interprets to 2 days of battery life, and generally even three days with lighter utilization. The cellphone packs a 5,500 mAh battery and helps 90W wired charging, which takes it to 100 per cent in roughly half-hour.
Luke Baker
The show is one other space the place the distinction is instantly noticeable. The Xiaomi 15T Professional makes use of a 144Hz panel that may hit as much as 3,200 nits of brightness. Even in comparison with the iPhone 16, and in some instances the iPhone 17, it feels noticeably higher outdoor. In brilliant daylight, I can clearly see what’s on the display screen with out squinting or adjusting angles, which is one thing I nonetheless battle with on the iPhone.
Utilizing an Android cellphone alongside Apple merchandise is not the compromise it was once
So if I’m getting all this {hardware} on a cellphone that prices roughly the identical as the most recent vanilla iPhone, the ecosystem pull alone is not a robust sufficient purpose for me to remain. On prime of that, Android manufacturers, particularly Xiaomi, have began to slowly breach Apple’s walled backyard.
Android to Apple interconnectivity has improved
Utilizing an Android cellphone alongside Apple merchandise is not the compromise it was once. I’ve realized that the concept of getting to decide on one ecosystem and abandon the opposite doesn’t actually maintain up anymore. Apple has labored exhausting to maintain sure options locked to its personal gadgets, however Android manufacturers have managed to breach these partitions again and again.
Some are shifting cautiously, others extra aggressively, and proper now, Xiaomi occurs to be the one pushing hardest on this route. A couple of years in the past, I’d not have imagined MacBooks and Android telephones speaking to one another this properly.
Xiaomi’s Interconnectivity app is on the middle of this shift. I found the app solely not too long ago, and it single-handedly pushed me to ditch the iPhone. The app is on the market to obtain without spending a dime from the App Retailer, and as soon as put in, it acts as a bridge between the Xiaomi 15T Professional and your Mac.
Luke Baker
It brings again many of the comfort options I used frequently between my iPhone and Mac. A very powerful one is AirDrop. The Xiaomi 15T Professional has a characteristic referred to as Xiaomi Share, which, because the identify suggests, permits you to share recordsdata between gadgets. It helps iPhones, Macs, and a variety of Android telephones. The workflow feels acquainted. You choose the share possibility, select the gadget, and the file is shipped at speeds which might be very near Apple’s personal implementation.
A couple of years in the past, I’d not have imagined MacBooks and Android telephones speaking to one another this properly.
As a result of this can be a native connection and never cloud-based, you get sooner file transfers, decrease latency, and higher reliability. You do must maintain the Xiaomi Interconnectivity app open for it to work. When you ship media, it will get saved immediately on the goal gadget with no need guide acceptance. You can even ship recordsdata straight out of your Mac to Xiaomi gadgets with out plugging in cables or counting on third-party instruments.
The characteristic I assumed I’d miss probably the most after ditching the iPhone was mirroring it to my Mac. With iPhone Mirroring, you’ll be able to wirelessly work together together with your iPhone apps and notifications from macOS. It seems Xiaomi gives the identical functionality via its Interconnectivity app.
Anurag Singh / Foundry
It lets me run cellphone apps immediately on my MacBook with correct multitasking assist. These aren’t clunky mirrored classes. The apps behave like common home windows that sit alongside different Mac apps, making the cellphone really feel like an extension of the bigger display screen reasonably than a separate gadget I always want to select up.
Xiaomi has additionally addressed the same old ache factors round safety and usefulness. With cross-device unlocking, you’ll be able to unlock Dwelling display screen+ utilizing Contact ID or Face ID in your iPad. As soon as it’s arrange, there isn’t a repeated authentication dance every time.
Even fundamental connectivity has been smoothed out. I can join my Mac to my Xiaomi cellphone’s hotspot with a single faucet, and if I misplace my cellphone, I can rapidly find it from the Interconnectivity app on my Mac with out digging via settings or counting on third-party instruments.
Switching to Android is less complicated than ever
Switching from an iPhone to Android felt like an even bigger leap in my head than it really was. Sure, you surrender a number of Apple-exclusive comforts, however most of them have workable alternate options now. Some are constructed immediately into Android, whereas others come from software program layers that manufacturers add on prime of the OS.
Switching from an iPhone to Android felt like an even bigger leap in my head than it really was
What shocked me most was how little friction I expertise everyday. My MacBook remains to be my major gadget, and my Apple TV remains to be plugged in – none of that modified. What did change is that my cellphone now lasts longer, prices sooner, and seems like higher worth for the cash I paid.
