Despite the S24 Ultra’s brilliance, here’s why I’m sticking with iPhone

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Abstract

m/v2/resize:fit:800/1*SKdtB5wa6Shk4okYWJw2uQ.jpeg"><figcaption>Image Thao Nguyên — Unsplash.com</figcaption></figure><p id="c46d">Rewind back to January 2023, and I felt different. I had a very buggy iPhone 14 Pro Max that I didn’t get on with. Mine was one of those that was plagued by numerous bugs. Whether it was constant dropped frames, software glitches, and one bug that even resulted in dropped calls requiring a restart.</p> <figure id="427c"> <div> <div> <img class="ratio" src="http://placehold.it/16x9"> <iframe class="" src="https://cdn.embedly.com/widgets/media.html?type=text%2Fhtml&key=a19fcc184b9711e1b4764040d3dc5c07&schema=twitter&url=https%3A//twitter.com/lewisjdoyle/status/1668526788039913472%3Fs%3D46&image=" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" width="500"> </div> </div> </figure></iframe></div></div></figure><p id="6332">So when the S23 Ultra came alone, I was ready for a new device, and was able to embrace that Galaxy as the premium smartphone I needed.</p><div id="c380" class="link-block"> <a href="https://readmedium.com/the-iphone-15-pro-max-has-changed-everything-for-me-9188b18fb90f"> <div> <div> <h2>The iPhone 15 Pro Max has changed everything for me</h2> <div><h3>Edit description</h3></div> <div><p>medium.com</p></div> </div> <div> <div style="background-image: url(https://miro.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:320/1*rFJz0noRTuK77ryCAWCFGw.jpeg)"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div><p id="e913">But it’s not

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the case with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. With 2023’s iPhone, Apple put their smartphone back to the top of the tree. It’s impeccable, and while there are some shortcomings in its OS that I’d gotten used to with Android (better notifications, improved multi-tasking, and little nuggets of info such as ‘time left to charge’), it delivers a polished experience with consistent animations and styling throughout.</p><figure id="9509"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*lodC-H4O50OT3HtP2adGkw.png"><figcaption>iPhones IOS has some cool features. Image: Apple.copm</figcaption></figure><p id="691b">Battery life is truly all day, the camera quality is good enough in every scenario, and whether folk care to admit it or not, apps <i>are</i> just better on IOS. Here’s an example, open a photo on someone’s Facebook post and compare the zoom between iPhone and Galaxy — the Samsung will enlarge the photo to a point, but doesn’t enable you to zoom closer — the iPhone does. I’ve never understood that but it is what it is.</p><p id="c7e6">With this iPhone, I am actually satisfied. I like it, it’s well designed and when I use it, there are no flaws that get in the way of what I’m trying to achieve.</p><p id="eae1">So while Samsung delivered an exceptional phone with a tremendous discount, I concluded that I’d be buying the S24 Ultra for the sake of it, not because I needed a new phone. And while money isn’t really an issue, I reasoned with myself that now isn’t the time.</p><p id="f3c5">Maybe that will change and I’ll pick one up in future, maybe I’ll have a change of heart over night, but for now, I’m going to continue with the 15 Pro Max, which is the iPhone I’d missed throughout 2023.</p></article></body>

Despite the S24 Ultra’s brilliance, here’s why I’m sticking with iPhone

Samsung.com

This week, Samsung held their Unpacked event, in San Jose, California, where it showcased its latest innovations, focussing on the S24 line of smartphones, and taking everyone by surprise with their own ‘one more thing moment, with the announcement of the Galaxy Ring.

But despite this surprise announcement, the focus was very much on their smartphone, which was presented to the world as the ‘AI’ phone.

Samsung, in partnership with Google have packed the device full of AI powered features, such as photo manipulation, Note editing, Circle-to-Search (an OS level Google Lens feature), and a slick translation feature that works in and out of calls.

I personally felt the hyperbole pre-event about the next iteration of smartphone was somewhat overstated, and while we’ve received some great features, there’s nothing actually new about them.

Google Lens has been in place for some time, AI photo manipulation featured on the Pixel 8 range a year before S24’s arrival, and while they’ve improved the capability of translation, it isn’t anything new.

Don’t get me wrong, Samsung’s ‘Ultra’ range is truly at the sharp end of smartphones, with a claim of being the best device in the category, but there’s a reason I cancelled my pre-order and that reason is iPhone.

It’s different this time

Image Thao Nguyên — Unsplash.com

Rewind back to January 2023, and I felt different. I had a very buggy iPhone 14 Pro Max that I didn’t get on with. Mine was one of those that was plagued by numerous bugs. Whether it was constant dropped frames, software glitches, and one bug that even resulted in dropped calls requiring a restart.

So when the S23 Ultra came alone, I was ready for a new device, and was able to embrace that Galaxy as the premium smartphone I needed.

But it’s not the case with the iPhone 15 Pro Max. With 2023’s iPhone, Apple put their smartphone back to the top of the tree. It’s impeccable, and while there are some shortcomings in its OS that I’d gotten used to with Android (better notifications, improved multi-tasking, and little nuggets of info such as ‘time left to charge’), it delivers a polished experience with consistent animations and styling throughout.

iPhones IOS has some cool features. Image: Apple.copm

Battery life is truly all day, the camera quality is good enough in every scenario, and whether folk care to admit it or not, apps are just better on IOS. Here’s an example, open a photo on someone’s Facebook post and compare the zoom between iPhone and Galaxy — the Samsung will enlarge the photo to a point, but doesn’t enable you to zoom closer — the iPhone does. I’ve never understood that but it is what it is.

With this iPhone, I am actually satisfied. I like it, it’s well designed and when I use it, there are no flaws that get in the way of what I’m trying to achieve.

So while Samsung delivered an exceptional phone with a tremendous discount, I concluded that I’d be buying the S24 Ultra for the sake of it, not because I needed a new phone. And while money isn’t really an issue, I reasoned with myself that now isn’t the time.

Maybe that will change and I’ll pick one up in future, maybe I’ll have a change of heart over night, but for now, I’m going to continue with the 15 Pro Max, which is the iPhone I’d missed throughout 2023.