AppleToAndroidSwitch

This repository helps people who want to switch from Apple to Android, including reasonable answers to nearly any question that can come their way.

Q&A's

1. "How will we text? You’ll turn our group chats green!" A: I can install BlueBubbles. No, you guys don't have to switch to a new app since only iMessages shows the Green Bubble. BlueBubbles is an app for Android that works through iMessage. Apple has also been sued over the Green Bubbles, agreeing to support Android's messaging systems when

2. "What about reactions to messages? Will you just get ‘Liked’ texts?" A: BlueBubbles fixes that, but you can also use alternatives such as Signal, Telegram or Discord

3. "No more FaceTime—how will we video call? Do I have to download another app?" A: Sadly, yes. But there are options: Google Meet, Signal, Telegram and Discord are among many others with video call.

4. "Will you still get my iMessages if you’re on Android?" A: BlueBubbles allows me to get iMessages just like iPhone.

5. "What if you miss family announcements in our shared iMessage thread?" A: BlueBubbles lets me see the iMessage thread flawlessly.

6. "How will we find your phone if you lose it? You won’t be on Find My iPhone!" A: Android has "Find my Device" built in.

7. "What about AirDrop? How will you send us photos quickly?" A: LocalSend works as an alternative for AirDrop, working on iPhone, Android and more. Samsung phones also offer Quick Share as an alternative.

8. "Your Apple Watch won’t work with Android—are you okay losing that?" A: Apple Watches have the same features that many other smart watches do. Samsung, Google and Pebble all offer smartwatches that work with Android.

9. "Will your AirPods even work properly without an iPhone?" A: Yes, AirPods work if they connect to an Android on Bluetooth.

10. "We share calendars and reminders through iCloud—how will you stay in sync?" A: Proton Calendar can sync for reminders, working on both Android and iPhone

11. "We pay for Apple Music—will you still use it, or switch to Spotify?" A: Apple Music works on Android. If need be, I can even install something like Namida to download music from Youtube.

12. "What about our shared iCloud storage? Are you just going to abandon it?" A: I can backup my Android to a Mac, or use another app such as Syncthing

13. "Do they have [specific iOS app] on Android? What if it’s not the same?" A: They most likely do, and it is the same.

14. "How will you access our family photo albums in iCloud?" A: A Mac home server will allow me to view everything iCloud.

15. "Will you still be able to use Apple Pay? What’s the Android version like?" A: No. I can just spend the remainder and then use Google Wallet, Samsung Wallet, and I can use my banking app for other stuff. If I wanted to, some crypto apps let me pay too.

16. "Android gets viruses, right? Are you sure it’s safe?" A: Apple gets viruses too. Many people aren't interested in checking out exploits, and Apple wants not to freak Apple users out.

17. "iPhones get updates for years—will your Android phone even stay updated?" A: An Android phone can and will stay updated for longer than an iPhone will sustainably and quickly update. Laws in Europe have been passed that phones must provide updates for at least 5 years after the phone has been released, and similar laws are being looked at in other places like California.

18. "What if your Android phone gets hacked? Apple is more secure!" A: Androids get hacked since the source code is publicly available, meaning everyone can view the source code for the Operating System. Apple's is closed-source, meaning attackers can have a backdoor nobody else knows about yet. Only God and Apple know how secure Apple's OSes really are. Android being open source can also be considered a bonus, as security researchers can view the source code and find security vulnerabilities early on before attackers.

19. "All your friends have iPhones—won’t you feel left out with green bubbles?" A: I won't have Green Bubbles as a problem while using BlueBubbles. If your friends care so much about the color of your bubbles, then you and your friends can install Signal, Telegram or Discord.

20. "What if your group chats break because you’re on Android?" A: They won't, if I'm worried about it I can use BlueBubbles

21. "People might think you’re the ‘Android User’ now… are you okay with that?" A: Yes.

22. "Your iPhone is perfectly fine—why waste money on a new phone?" A: Apple devices slow every major update, creating incentive to buy a new Apple device. Their operating system is also closed-source, meaning we have no clue what's going on behind the scenes.

23. "What if you hate Android? Will you just buy another iPhone later?" A: Android is pretty easy to like, as ~71% total smartphone users agree (Samsung, Pixel, Sony Xperia, Motorola, etc.)

24. "Android phones don’t hold their value—how will you resell it?" A: I can upgrade the phone myself, or buy a new one after backing up my data. There's not much of an incentive to resell.

25. "How will you back up your stuff without iCloud?" A: There are many alternatives, including: Google Cloud, Samsung Cloud, Syncthing, setting up a NAS, External Hard Drive and/or regular backups can keep my stuff safe.

26. "What if you need help? We don’t know anything about Android!" A: Google, StackOverflow and Reddit are my best friends. These big communities can fix nearly any problem I have with my Android.

27. "Do Android phones even work with our HomeKit smart lights?" A: Yes. Home Assistant, Google Home and Amazon Alexa all are alternatives that allow my Android seamlesss integration.

28. "Will you still get my Shared Notes and reminders?" A: Proton Calendar can sync for reminders, working on both Android and iPhone. For notes, Google Keep (for convenience) or Obsidian (for organized notes)

29. "How will we monitor your screen time without Apple’s parental controls?" A: You can use Life360, and depending on the kind of phone you get, you can also install the Samsung Family Hub, Family Link (Google), etc.

30. "What if your Android phone breaks? There’s no Apple Store to fix it." A: iPhones break easily if you tinker with them. Plus, everything is public knowledge in the Android world. Anything can be fixed by a community of ~71% of phone users.

31. "Why switch? iPhones just work better!" A: Speed, Customizeability, Fun, Tinkering, Cost of Maintenance and Androids are essentially a Mobile Desktop.

32. "Are you doing this just to be different?" A: No. There's so much more I can do on Android than I can on iOS.

33. "What’s wrong with the way we’ve always done things?" A: Nothing. iPhone is better for simplicity and compatibility (with other Apple devices), but if you want to use anything other than Apple devices, use an Android.

34. "What if your Android phone doesn’t work with the car’s Bluetooth?" A: Android phones use the same Bluetooth technology that your iPhone does.

35. "Will you still be able to use Memoji and Animoji?" A: Bitmoji is an alternative for both Android and iPhone.

36. "How do you transfer everything from iPhone to Android? It sounds complicated!" A: Use iTunes to download notes, photos, app data and such to your computer, use LocalSend to move whatever Apple doesn't want to sync, then you can back up all those to the new Android phone.

37. "How will you get 2FA codes without the Apple Password app?" A: Ente Auth works on all devices including Android and iPhone.

38. "What password manager will you use without the Apple Password app?" A: Bitwarden works on every device including Android and iPhone.

Useful Resources

Awesome Android Apps (AAA)