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While a few services like Apple Music work fine on Android devices
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AirPods can connect to Android phones, for instance, but they lose many of the features that make them work so seamlessly with an iPhone.
Key facts
- The reporter finally made the big switch to iOS with the iPhone 15 Pro Max, driving it through three iterations of the OS before jumping back to Android with the OnePlus 15
- Most Android manufacturers still only offer around three or four years of updates
- While a few services like Apple Music work fine on Android devices, others don't play nearly as nicely outside Apple's walled garden
- There are third-party tools you can install, like LibrePods, but features like Spatial Audio with head tracking still aren't reliable enough
Summary
The reporter has been an Android user their entire life, starting out with a Samsung Galaxy Ace, then sticking mostly with OnePlus phones thanks to their excellent value for money. The switch itself is no longer the headache it used to be. Generally speaking, iPhones also have most Android phones beat on the software front. You may need to go through a few hurdles switching from an iPhone to an Android smartphone, but you will eventually find a setup of apps and services that works as well.