6 Days with the iPhone 6S Plus

6 days ago I got the iPhone 6s Plus. It’s the latest iteration in my crazy “experiment” to try out the latest and greatest in mobile technology. The experiment started over 6 months ago when I found out I was auto-enrolled for AT&T’s Next shenanigans. Having used a Note 3 for nearly two years and the Galaxy SII Skyrocket for two years before that, I was itching to try something that was definitely not Samsung. So despite the sleek and sexy S6 being announced the same day, I opted to go for the HTC One M9. A little more than two months later, I found myself in the possession of the LG G4. Having been an Android developer since Eclair, daily user since Gingerbread (an eon in smartphone days) and being an avid fan of Google (Wave, Plus, Glass — been there, done that), I never imagined switching teams. But I also don’t like to make baseless accusations against things I have little experience in, so I always opted for the trite, diplomatic response when someone asked my my opinion about iPhones: “Apple designs great products, but I like the flexibility of Android.” But every WWDC, Apple unveils yet another iOS that adopts yet another feature that Android has had for years. Having not really used iOS extensively since iPhone OS 3 on my iPod Touch, I felt like the iPhone 6S Plus with iOS 9 was a good entry point for a phablet loving Android power user. What follows is an account of my first plunge into iOS since 2011-ish.

After the initial bootup and navigating the maze of staying away from iCloud as much as I can, I was dropped into the familiar iPhone home screen. I can’t believe that iOS has had essentially the same UI for the last 8 years. Sure, there’s now backgrounds and folders and 3D Touch, but it’s pretty much the same. I really missed my carefully organized screen of widgets I carried with me from one Android phone to another. After installing a bunch of essential apps, I found only a couple that offered anything for the Today View (I think that’s what it called) in Notification Center. Things that were only a few taps away on my Android phone are now just a little more difficult to reach.

I knew about the widgets issue going in, so I figured that it couldn’t really get worse than that. After trying to set up Spotify for the first time, I realized how foreign this walled garden really seems. I forgot that Spotify uses a Facebook login, so I first had to setup Facebook. No problem, that’s pretty quick except that I use LastPass to manage my Facebook password. On Android, the LastPass app would simply pop up over the login and fill in the credentials for me. Now, I had to open the LastPass app, login (made simpler by TouchID, so at least I have that going for me), copy my password to the clipboard, switch back to Facebook, and paste it in. Finally, Facebook was setup, and I could continue on to Spotify. Hit the “Login with Facebook” option, and I’m asked ““Spotify” would like to open “Facebook”, ” and I hit “OK”. Facebook does its thing pretty fast, and then I’m prompted with ““Facebook” would like to open “Spotify””. I always associated Apple with great UX, but this was just stupid. Not as stupid as when I decided to download my music. After starting the download process, I popped over to another app to continue setting up my phone. Seconds later, I get a notification “Spotify has gone idle. Please open the app to continue downloading.” What?!? Getting even more frustrated, I opened the app to continue downloading, and switched over to my computer to kill time while Spotify downloaded. Again seconds later, “Spotify has gone idle. Please open the app to continue downloading.” My iPhone had gone to sleep so of course Spotify can’t do anything. So to download my music, I have to babysit my phone to make sure it doesn’t fall asleep while the Spotify app is open. A pretty rocky start for a phone that “changes everything.”

Thankfully, things went mostly better after that. Hardware wise, the iPhone is pretty good looking, about on par with the M9 (except for the speaker of course). The phone’s about the same size as the G4, but because of the iPhone’s bezels, its screen size is a few inches smaller. I never considered the G4 a phablet so I’ll say the same for the iPhone. Anecdotally, the battery life of the Plus is amazing and I usually end the day of heavy usage with 55–60% battery remaining, a feat that even the Note 3 or G4 couldn’t match. On the software side of things, day-to-day usage feels like a delight. The G4 feels really smooth, but the 6S Plus feels really, really smooth. But none of this was really a surprise to me, as I’ve heard it repeated so many times before. What did surprise me is how unrefined the notification experience is.

I always just assumed that iPhone notifications are on par with Android notifications. On Android it was simple — if you see an app icon on your lock screen or status bar, you have a notification; swipe to dismiss, pull down for more actions. Surely Apple would make something that was at least as good as if not better than those algorithm jockeys in Mountain View. Out of the box, iOS Notifications suck. I could be preaching to the choir here, but it’s the one thing that has been giving me the hardest time on iOS.

Upon activating the lock screen, I only see some notifications show up. After turning on the phone, I have to pull down Notification Center and hope I’m not in the Today tab. Since I can’t figure out when my phone will ring or vibrate to alert me, I have to remember to check my phone every five minutes lest I miss an important email or message. I’ve been told I can configure the per app settings, but I was promised that “It Just Works, ™” which somehow Android figured out. I have yet to build the muscle memory to deal with notifications. I always forget which way to swipe — one way dumps me into Today view, the other shows me the options, and it’s either 2 taps to dismiss one notification or all notifications. Since I use notifications as a way to remind me to do things, being able to quickly micromanage them is an essential part of my workflow. I’m sure I’ll eventually figure out how to tolerate the annoyances but I’ll need a little more time.

Since this will likely be a love-hate relationship, I should probably show a little more love. TouchID is pretty cool and when I inevitably switch back to Android, I’m excited to use Imprint (or whatever it’s called). Buying apps with TouchID and logging into LastPass with it is a breeze — sometimes I worry I’ll forget my passwords because I never have to use them. The feature that really made me say “WOW!” is Continuity. It blew my mind when a call came in, and I could pick up the phone and talk through my Mac. No more fumbling for my phone from my pocket and trying to figure out if I should pick it up or not before I miss the call. Google really dropped the ball with Hangouts/Google Voice. Somehow Apple beat Google at the messaging game with iMessage which is a pretty seamless experience.

The iPhone 6S Plus is just another data point in my experiment, so I don’t expect to stick with it for the long haul. Using the phone makes me wish Apple and Google would stop their quibbling and build something together. Apple has made a smooth operating device, but it lacks the cohesion of Android. When the OS encourages apps to play with each other freely (instead of asking permission to even shake each other’s hand), the phone feels like it’s working for you instead of forcing you to work for it. I’ll see where this experiment takes me, but after 6 days with the iPhone 6s Plus, I think I can tolerate it.