One of my biggest surprises in 2022 wasn’t the likes of Surface Laptop Studio or Dynamic Island for the iPhone 14 Pro. Instead, it was more personal: specifically, how I was able to hold on to my iPhone 13 Pro for a full 12 months, even though I was a longtime Android user.
My switch from Android to iPhone has been well documented, highlighting the good parts of iOS and the iPhone and looking at the shortcomings of the Apple smartphone. And while I advocated for the consistency of the iPhone experience, I was firmly convinced that I’d eventually end up going back to Android in a relatively short time.
This isn’t because I thought Android would offer me a better experience, just that devices from the likes of Samsung, Oppo, and Google are more compelling than iPhones, which have only evolved in small steps over the past few years.
I would have thought that the Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra would make me give up on the smaller and featureless iPhone 13 Pro very quickly. But as great as I think the Galaxy S22 Ultra is, and also a really good gaming phone, I didn’t end up switching to it.
However, I thought October would change things, with the arrival of the Google Pixel 7 Pro. While it’s far from an evolutionary leap over the Pixel 6 Pro — my phone for 2021 — the tweaks to Google’s latest flagship really won me over. But that wasn’t enough to make me give up the iPhone 13 Pro.
The iPhone experience is unbeatable
So, are Apple’s flagship smartphones really that good at keeping the Android fan and savvy new gadget guy in general from switching to a newer phone? Well, yes and no.
I can’t claim the iPhone 13 Pro is a pretty phone. I really like the flat edges, though I know not everyone is a fan. And the 6.1-inch screen means the phone is almost the perfect size for me; I can use it with one hand, but there’s also enough room for playing the single game or writing a quick essay on the go. The cameras also achieved some great results, trading blows with the Galaxy and Pixel phones, while leading the way in video shooting.
But then again, the lack of major changes from the likes of the iPhone 11 Pro to the 13 Pro and even the 14 Pro with its own Dynamic Island means the iPhone is a bit dull in terms of hardware.
There’s no interesting camera strip, brilliantly curved screen, or extra telephoto cameras. And despite being able to handle everything one could really need from a smartphone, there is a lack of features on the software side to make digging through the iPhone’s settings and options really interesting. Also, Siri is a bit dumb compared to Google Assistant.
So why did you hold on to the iPhone 13 Pro? Well, it all comes down to how smooth the experience is.
I hate to peddle an Apple cliche, but every time I take out my iPhone, it ‘just works’. Face ID is nearly flawless, the 120Hz screen is never weird (unlike some Android phones), and even relatively new gadgets work well.
Moreover, the camera app is one of the best out there; It’s fast and lets me get the photo I want practically all the time (only the macro mode can get a bit moody, but that’s not uncommon on other phones and may be due to my clumsy and unsteady hands).
I’m sure I’ll sometimes prefer a Pixel or Galaxy photo to an iPhone 13 Pro shot. But the Apple phone and computational photography give 9 out of 10 still images. I’ve found that Android competitors can be more consistent, though they sometimes hit a few high notes when it comes to phone photography.
But it’s that consistency that makes the switch to Android so difficult, even though the likes of the Galaxy Z Fold 4 are so compelling. I know that if I need a phone to rely on that works well with almost any form of smartphone ecosystem, the iPhone is the one I’ll reach for without question.
a little too good?
However, all of this comes with a form of catch; I think the iPhone 13 Pro is such a solid phone that I’m not interested in the iPhone 14 Pro.
Thanks to the nature of my work, I can get the latest iPhone to test and run the Daily Driver. But I didn’t move.
While the Dynamic Island is interesting, it still feels like a first-generation feature. It looks pretty cool in Apple’s promotional videos, but it has yet to get a huge amount of app and third-party support. nor have I seen anyone really zealously use it in real-life use; Richard Priday’s iPhone 14 Pro Max looks great, but I haven’t seen it really extoll the virtues of Dynamic Island.
It also doesn’t really claim to reclaim space lost to previous generation iPhones, so I feel like Dynamic Island is a square peg in a round hole at the moment. I’m curious as to where the technology will go next, but it’s not a compelling reason to ditch the iPhone 13 Pro.
Nor is the 48-megapixel main camera. It’s definitely the best camera on the iPhone, as always. Again, in practical use, to transfer photos to Instagram, I think many will be hard-pressed to notice the difference between a photo taken by an iPhone 14 Pro versus an iPhone 13 Pro.
With all of this in mind, along with my desire to try to reduce e-waste and the environmental image of incremental phone updates, I’m waiting for the iPhone 15 camp.
That in itself is surprising, as I never thought I’d consider waiting for the next generation iPhone, rather than eagerly looking forward to the rumored Samsung Galaxy S23. But that goes to show how much the iPhone has got under my skin even though I find it pales in comparison to the best Android phones.
So while I may grumble that Apple isn’t innovating with iPhones like it used to, there’s no denying how good iPhones really are in practical use and why they top our best phones list time and time again.
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