new iphone#
In 2024 the last bastion fell โ I finally switched from Android to iPhone.
There were several reasons for this, one (and the main one) being that my old Pixel 4 was on its last legs: it wouldn’t hold a charge and was sluggish. And it’s supposed to be a flagship โ not even five years old! The second (less major) reason โ I had wanted to make this migration a few years earlier (I had my eye on the symbolically numbered model 13), but put it off for a better time, and well, here it is, that “better” time. At least I got to wait for USB-C.
What’s good#
When turned on, the iPhone found a nearby iPad, asked me to enter the PIN from that iPad, and automatically pulled in the WiFi settings and Apple ID. Cool, because this is usually a chicken-and-egg problem โ the account password is in KeePass, but to install KeePass you need the account password. Like a “bring a friend” setup โ I liked it.
What else is good:
- battery lasts more than a day of heavy use
- AirPods integration across all devices โ they switch from tablet to phone to laptop quickly and seamlessly
- Face ID works faster and more reliably than Google’s (though the Google phone is considerably older)
- can play music/podcasts directly to Sonos speakers (the speakers support AirPlay but not Android, so this is more of a speaker limitation than an iPhone achievement)
- bright screen
What’s bad#
- the stock keyboard is garbage, the Google keyboard can’t be customized
- can’t set a male voice in Google Maps
- can’t freely arrange app icons on the home screen
- loading ringtones for calls or alarms is a complete mess
What hasn’t changed#
- Firefox
- Gmail, all Google products (Sheets, voice, Fi)
- Telegram
App migration#
Honored mentions#
- Stocard โ an app for storing loyalty cards (basically just barcodes) โ migrated without a hitch.
- Time Buddy โ a simple but useful app to check what time it is across time zones. Nice that it’s available on both platforms.
- Google Authenticator โ actually learned to sync, unexpectedly!
Disappointment of the year#
A while back (a few years ago) I chose Duo Mobile as my two-factor authentication app, and it had several advantages:
- the code timeout countdown started when you tapped the code, not when you opened the app (convenient โ a little more time)
- allowed editing accounts โ giving them custom names and icons
- migration between devices
Compared to the Google Authenticator of the time, it was so much more convenient and better โ Google’s wouldn’t even let you rename added accounts, let alone offer any kind of sync.
However, when migrating Android -> iOS, it was actually Google Authenticator that handled things perfectly. In the years I hadn’t used it, it had grown a migration feature and even some basic editing, and a couple of my accounts transferred without issues. Duo Mobile, on the other hand, responded to pressing “Connect a new phone” with this lovely message:
Something went wrong
We were unable to generate a qr code for your accountsAnd the only thing that came up when searching for this error was a support reply on the Cisco forum
It appears that if Instant Restore was already performed once, it cannot be performed again.I have no words other than WTF???
Spent an evening logging into every important account โ GitHub, AWS, etc. โ disabling 2FA there and re-enabling it with the new app.
Disappointment of the month#
Notebloc, a great app for scanning documents with your phone camera that I liked so much I actually bought it (though the free version works fine, just with ads) โ does not support syncing data from Android to iOS. I even wrote them an email โ and got a reply saying “we’re working on it and will have it done soon,” but the last update in the App Store was a year ago, so I had to look for an alternative. A shame, really โ it took decent photos, exported to JPG/PDF of your choice, and also served as storage for digital copies of documents (passports, vaccination cards, etc.). Will have to find a replacement.
Replacements#
- Podcast addict -> Overcast
- Keepass mobile -> keePassium
- aCalendar -> Calendars
- Notebloc -> Microsoft OneNote (+ MS Lens)
New apps#
widgetsmith#
alarm#
How to load files for the alarm? Sync via iTunes!
ringtone#
instructions on how to set a ringtone in 18 steps โ and you need Garage Band…