JollyLNB
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The decision to switch to iOS has been outlined in this thread. Also, I will NOT be retiring my Xiaomi Redmi Note 5 in the coming months or years as I feel some things (particularly file transferring and management) can only be done on an Android device. This will be a very long post.
WHY I THINK THE iPHONE 11 IS THE BEST MAINSTREAM/VALUE-FOR-MONEY iPHONE IN 2021
I decided to buy an iPhone 11 over other iPhones because of the following reasons:
THE PURCHASE
I am fortunate to study in Singapore (and now work, for my internship) since it is served by three big Apple Stores, in Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands (the world’s only floating Apple Store) and the Jewel Changi Airport. All are world-famous tourist spots you tend to associate with Singapore, and they are exactly the kind of luxury place where you would expect to find a first-party Apple Store. This remains a dream in India. But my buying an iPhone directly from Apple was partly a practical decision and partly an emotional one.
Now, I have to say that AD, my friend and fellow student at the Nanyang Technological University, where I study, interned at Apple a few months ago. I admit it is largely thanks to her that I went ahead with this purchase. She had kept her iPhone 7 for many years and decided to upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro in time for her birthday in November 2020, of course after receiving a huge employee discount. I had no such advantage or discount but that did not stop me as I was determined. It was her strong recommendation that I buy only directly from Apple since the local online sellers like Lazada and Shopee do not stock products directly from Apple the way Amazon and Flipkart do in India, and third-party resellers cannot be counted on. Therefore, heeding her advice, I decided to buy it from the Apple website and collect it from the Apple Store in Orchard Road.
On Sunday, 7 February, I placed the order for a 256GB purple iPhone 11, and on the evening of Monday, 8 February, I collected it and set it up at home using iTunes, my new iPad (which I bought two months ago) and my old phone.
THE INITIA(LISA)TION
You may know by know that Apple no longer provides charging adapters or EarPods in the box, so all that was there other than the documentation, the SIM eject tool and the iPhone itself was a Lightning-to-USB-C cable, which was not useful for me since none of my chargers use USB-C. Fortunately my iPad came with an 18W charger so that is what I use, along with a regular Lightning-to-USB charger I bought in January. Anyway, no charger in the box is better any day than the measly 5W brick earlier provided with the 11.
I also bought a transparent case, a transparent ceramic screen protector and a Lightning-to-3.5mm connector, along with a Lightning-to-EarPods headset. Of course, this only increased the base price, but there was no problem since I bought all these (including the iPhone itself) with my internship salary.
Regarding carriers, my decision was simple. Unlike in India, where Airtel, Jio and more recently Vi (Vodafone Idea) have eSIM support, in Singapore, only M1, the smallest of the three big networks, supports it. The two bigger networks, Singtel and StarHub, support only physical SIMs. This was actually a blessing for me since I use Singtel. (In fact, I am interning at NCS, a technology company owned by Singtel.) So it was as simple as inserting my Singtel 4G SIM in the iPhone and keeping my Airtel SIM in my Android phone, which I use only for OTPs and bank SMSes. I did not have to bother about registering for the eSIM service and having to wait for it to be activated.
I must mention a word about Quick Start. It can only be used if you have an existing iPhone or iPad, but I do have an iPad that I bought in December 2020. In a step as simple as scanning an image on the iPhone with the iPad’s camera, all my Apple ID information, saved Wi-Fi passwords, iCloud data and apps and settings were transferred to the iPhone in a matter of minutes. It is another small way in which Apple strives to create a seamless experience for its customers.
I am not going to spend too much time talking over the obvious details, namely the 6.1" Liquid Retina display with True Tone, A13 Bionic chip, dual Wide and Ultra Wide cameras, Face ID and TrueDepth camera, and the absolute pleasure to use that is iOS 14. That, by the way, brings with it vital features like App Library that are simply invaluable to people like me shifting over from Android and suddenly finding they cannot arrange apps the way they want with a certain number of apps in each row and folder. This, along with Spotlight Search, is a lifesaver and a big way to avoid the messy home screens that have otherwise been synonymous with iOS.
I will, however, mention the impact of Face ID and Apple Pay on me. Not only is Face ID much more effortless than the Touch ID that I have on my iPad (even though it will not work with a mask in this pandemic age), but its integration with Apple Pay is a revelation to me. In one tap and one look at the TrueDepth camera, I can pay for MRT (Metro) trains, buses and contactless payment terminals which would require a credit card to use. Of course, this is bearing in mind that Singapore’s advanced public transport systems and their payment methods are a distant dream in India, but I have to say that I am greatly impacted by the convenience.
There will no detailed elaborations about specifications like display, build quality and battery life—to which I have only one thing to say: Apple actively ensures that you get the very best out of the money you pay, and in these matters, it remains second to none.
Instead I would like to share an incident which demonstrates how Apple cares about its customers.
Many people switching over from Android to iOS are afraid they will lose their WhatsApp chats. Thankfully I was well aware of this and went ahead with buying a licence for third-party backup software. I used Backuptrans, which may look very antiquated and dated, but actually does a fantastic job, unlike Dr.Fone, which is good otherwise but refused to recognise my Xiaomi phone because it was unable to install a Connector app. Backuptrans has detailed instructions and tutorials on its website at every step of the way. This is something I strongly recommend for anyone considering buying an iPhone. Switching to iOS, despite popular perception, does NOT necessarily mean that you should sacrifice your precious WhatsApp chats.
But that is not even the point! After backing up all my chats and merging them with my iPhone backup in iTunes, I was ready to restore the backup to my new iPhone. The process was all but done when, to my complete horror, the hours-old device fell into a boot loop. It would show the Apple logo and switch off, then show the Apple logo and go blank, ad infinitum. Shell-shocked, I rushed to the Apple Store at Orchard Road, where they kindly offered a replacement iPhone within 14 days of purchase, free of charge, in case this one could not be rescued. After speaking to Apple Support, I had to force it to enter recovery mode while connected to iTunes. It turns out it was downloading the iOS 14.4 software update. After several hours of tension, to my immense relief, the iPhone updated itself and turned on as if nothing had happened. Not only that, but all my files, settings, etc. were completely intact, and so were my transferred WhatsApp chats, all 66,000 of them.
The point is not only that Apple creates hardware and software that works wonderfully well. Things can and do go wrong, but Apple was kind enough to offer a replacement iPhone completely free of charge. I have heard a similar story from @Siva bro which shows the lengths to which Apple goes to ensure the satisfaction of its customers. Even if the price is somewhat high, every rupee or dollar is well paid.
TL;DR: I have simply been blown away with not only my new iPhone per se, but the level of commitment that Apple has with regards to creating an harmonious environment of products that last, and ensuring that its customers are happy for years, even decades.
Still, I do not want to be called an Apple fanboy, as I realise every platform, whether iOS or Android, macOS or Windows, will have its share of restrictions, flaws and frustrations. I continue to use my Android phone, and I am not going to shift from Windows to macOS any time soon, but as far as phones and tablets are concerned, there is, at least since 2017, no one doing it better than Apple.
Thanks for patiently reading!
WHY I THINK THE iPHONE 11 IS THE BEST MAINSTREAM/VALUE-FOR-MONEY iPHONE IN 2021
I decided to buy an iPhone 11 over other iPhones because of the following reasons:
- It is a significant value upgrade over the Xʀ which, while a good device and the most popular smartphone in the world in 2018, did not have that great of a display and lacked a lot of features. The Xs and Xs Max were ruled out. I felt it was not worth to spend less money on an older device that was good but not good enough.
- At the same time the 11 is extremely close to the 11 Pro (Max) in its feature set and there is almost nothing on the Pro models that the 11 does not have. The Pros are way more expensive as well, even for the starting variant, which is well above the highest-storage 256GB variant I chose.
- The iPhone SE 2020 is an awesome device for a very low price, on par with the 11/12 series, but only for those who like small form factors and absolutely insist on having the home button. I needed the new design, Face ID and dual cameras; it was not for me.
- Moreover, I think the iPhone 12 series is too expensive, too hyped and not worth the money. True, 5G is rolling out at a steady pace, but it will be 3 years at least before I can realistically appreciate its coverage. No doubt, if you can blow ₹1.5 lakh on an iPhone, and/or if you are a celebrity, a social media influencer or simply a rich kid, I will recommend nothing less than the iPhone 12 Pro Max (or the iPhone 12 Pro if it feels too big). But for someone buying their first iPhone, there is no beating the iPhone 11, even in 2021, unless you think 5G and an OLED display is important enough for you to buy the 12 at a significant price increase.
- Above all, the iPhone 11 is the only model to be available in purple, and I simply love that colour. No way I was buying any other iPhone colour, not when this one is around.
THE PURCHASE
I am fortunate to study in Singapore (and now work, for my internship) since it is served by three big Apple Stores, in Orchard Road, Marina Bay Sands (the world’s only floating Apple Store) and the Jewel Changi Airport. All are world-famous tourist spots you tend to associate with Singapore, and they are exactly the kind of luxury place where you would expect to find a first-party Apple Store. This remains a dream in India. But my buying an iPhone directly from Apple was partly a practical decision and partly an emotional one.
Now, I have to say that AD, my friend and fellow student at the Nanyang Technological University, where I study, interned at Apple a few months ago. I admit it is largely thanks to her that I went ahead with this purchase. She had kept her iPhone 7 for many years and decided to upgrade to the iPhone 12 Pro in time for her birthday in November 2020, of course after receiving a huge employee discount. I had no such advantage or discount but that did not stop me as I was determined. It was her strong recommendation that I buy only directly from Apple since the local online sellers like Lazada and Shopee do not stock products directly from Apple the way Amazon and Flipkart do in India, and third-party resellers cannot be counted on. Therefore, heeding her advice, I decided to buy it from the Apple website and collect it from the Apple Store in Orchard Road.
On Sunday, 7 February, I placed the order for a 256GB purple iPhone 11, and on the evening of Monday, 8 February, I collected it and set it up at home using iTunes, my new iPad (which I bought two months ago) and my old phone.
THE INITIA(LISA)TION
You may know by know that Apple no longer provides charging adapters or EarPods in the box, so all that was there other than the documentation, the SIM eject tool and the iPhone itself was a Lightning-to-USB-C cable, which was not useful for me since none of my chargers use USB-C. Fortunately my iPad came with an 18W charger so that is what I use, along with a regular Lightning-to-USB charger I bought in January. Anyway, no charger in the box is better any day than the measly 5W brick earlier provided with the 11.
I also bought a transparent case, a transparent ceramic screen protector and a Lightning-to-3.5mm connector, along with a Lightning-to-EarPods headset. Of course, this only increased the base price, but there was no problem since I bought all these (including the iPhone itself) with my internship salary.
Regarding carriers, my decision was simple. Unlike in India, where Airtel, Jio and more recently Vi (Vodafone Idea) have eSIM support, in Singapore, only M1, the smallest of the three big networks, supports it. The two bigger networks, Singtel and StarHub, support only physical SIMs. This was actually a blessing for me since I use Singtel. (In fact, I am interning at NCS, a technology company owned by Singtel.) So it was as simple as inserting my Singtel 4G SIM in the iPhone and keeping my Airtel SIM in my Android phone, which I use only for OTPs and bank SMSes. I did not have to bother about registering for the eSIM service and having to wait for it to be activated.
I must mention a word about Quick Start. It can only be used if you have an existing iPhone or iPad, but I do have an iPad that I bought in December 2020. In a step as simple as scanning an image on the iPhone with the iPad’s camera, all my Apple ID information, saved Wi-Fi passwords, iCloud data and apps and settings were transferred to the iPhone in a matter of minutes. It is another small way in which Apple strives to create a seamless experience for its customers.
I am not going to spend too much time talking over the obvious details, namely the 6.1" Liquid Retina display with True Tone, A13 Bionic chip, dual Wide and Ultra Wide cameras, Face ID and TrueDepth camera, and the absolute pleasure to use that is iOS 14. That, by the way, brings with it vital features like App Library that are simply invaluable to people like me shifting over from Android and suddenly finding they cannot arrange apps the way they want with a certain number of apps in each row and folder. This, along with Spotlight Search, is a lifesaver and a big way to avoid the messy home screens that have otherwise been synonymous with iOS.
I will, however, mention the impact of Face ID and Apple Pay on me. Not only is Face ID much more effortless than the Touch ID that I have on my iPad (even though it will not work with a mask in this pandemic age), but its integration with Apple Pay is a revelation to me. In one tap and one look at the TrueDepth camera, I can pay for MRT (Metro) trains, buses and contactless payment terminals which would require a credit card to use. Of course, this is bearing in mind that Singapore’s advanced public transport systems and their payment methods are a distant dream in India, but I have to say that I am greatly impacted by the convenience.
There will no detailed elaborations about specifications like display, build quality and battery life—to which I have only one thing to say: Apple actively ensures that you get the very best out of the money you pay, and in these matters, it remains second to none.
Instead I would like to share an incident which demonstrates how Apple cares about its customers.
Many people switching over from Android to iOS are afraid they will lose their WhatsApp chats. Thankfully I was well aware of this and went ahead with buying a licence for third-party backup software. I used Backuptrans, which may look very antiquated and dated, but actually does a fantastic job, unlike Dr.Fone, which is good otherwise but refused to recognise my Xiaomi phone because it was unable to install a Connector app. Backuptrans has detailed instructions and tutorials on its website at every step of the way. This is something I strongly recommend for anyone considering buying an iPhone. Switching to iOS, despite popular perception, does NOT necessarily mean that you should sacrifice your precious WhatsApp chats.
But that is not even the point! After backing up all my chats and merging them with my iPhone backup in iTunes, I was ready to restore the backup to my new iPhone. The process was all but done when, to my complete horror, the hours-old device fell into a boot loop. It would show the Apple logo and switch off, then show the Apple logo and go blank, ad infinitum. Shell-shocked, I rushed to the Apple Store at Orchard Road, where they kindly offered a replacement iPhone within 14 days of purchase, free of charge, in case this one could not be rescued. After speaking to Apple Support, I had to force it to enter recovery mode while connected to iTunes. It turns out it was downloading the iOS 14.4 software update. After several hours of tension, to my immense relief, the iPhone updated itself and turned on as if nothing had happened. Not only that, but all my files, settings, etc. were completely intact, and so were my transferred WhatsApp chats, all 66,000 of them.
The point is not only that Apple creates hardware and software that works wonderfully well. Things can and do go wrong, but Apple was kind enough to offer a replacement iPhone completely free of charge. I have heard a similar story from @Siva bro which shows the lengths to which Apple goes to ensure the satisfaction of its customers. Even if the price is somewhat high, every rupee or dollar is well paid.
TL;DR: I have simply been blown away with not only my new iPhone per se, but the level of commitment that Apple has with regards to creating an harmonious environment of products that last, and ensuring that its customers are happy for years, even decades.
Still, I do not want to be called an Apple fanboy, as I realise every platform, whether iOS or Android, macOS or Windows, will have its share of restrictions, flaws and frustrations. I continue to use my Android phone, and I am not going to shift from Windows to macOS any time soon, but as far as phones and tablets are concerned, there is, at least since 2017, no one doing it better than Apple.
Thanks for patiently reading!
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