My co-blogger, Jenny Dempsey and I are both the proud owners of new iPhones after many years as Android users. Jenny went with the iPhone 6 and I am thrilled to have a new iPhone 5s. Having switched to Mac computers within the last couple years, this move seems to complete the famed end to end customer experience that Steve Jobs envisioned.
In the post to follow, we want to take a few moments to talk about our switch from Android to iPhone and share our observations about the customer experience.
What were the drivers that pushed you to switch from Android to iPhone?
Jeremy- Well aside from the fact that it was time to get a new phone, I have had two Android phones and in both cases, the battery life didn’t hold a candle to Apple. My wife charges her iPhone every other day and I charge mine twice a day. My phone also got really, really slow toward the end–though that might be the case with almost any outdated technology. I’m willing to give Android a pass on that. I was also really excited to be on an iPhone so I could easily use Facetime with my wife, kids and extended family and sync my music effortlessly with iTunes.
Jenny-Same here, Jeremy. It was upgrade time and I figured that making the PC to MAC switch happened so it was only a natural progression from Android to iPhone. iPhones seem to have more apps available, plus I can connect it to my iTunes and other programs on my MacBook. You’re so right though, this battery life is incredible!
What were your initial impressions upon receiving your new iPhone?
Jenny- How the heck do I work this thing?! It’s much lighter than my Android and very speedy in opening programs.
Jeremy- I continue to revel in Apple’s amazing presentation. The box and packaging were a work of art. Three cheers for consistency! It really is a beautiful device and I’m proud to carry it around in my pocket.
What new functionality did you dive right into when you setup your new iPhone that you weren’t able to do with Android?
Jenny- Connecting to my iTunes account! Pretty awesome to have my music library with me wherever I go. Also, the text messaging from iPhone user to iPhone user is really nifty–you can see the other person typing. Oh, and of course, the Phone.com app (shameless plug).
Jeremy- You nailed it, Jenny. Syncing music on my Android was a nightmare. Toward the end there it took me up to thirty minutes to play a song! Streaming from the cloud? Fuggetaboutit! A close second is the fact that I went more than 24 hours before having to charge my phone. Of course I did Facetime with all of my family members as well.
What do you miss (if anything) from your old Android phone?
Jenny-Just knowing how everything worked is what I miss. I know I’ll get to that point with the iPhone, but for now, the learning curve, while exciting to figure out the mysteries of a new device, can be frustrating.
Jeremy- Not much! I do however my miss my old alarm clock and am on a quest to find a good alarm clock for iPhone that allows you to customize the snooze timer. Don’t you dare tell me to stop hitting snooze.
What aspects of the Apple end to end customer experience do you find most valuable?
Jeremy- My Apple experience consists of iPhone, Macbook pro and AppleTV. Each product interacts quite well with the other. Sharing music between all three and keeping in touch with family and friends via Facetime and Messages is effortless regardless of the device.
Jenny- I have yet to contact Apple about my new iPhone.. Their user guides and help docs are incredible. They even have a Tips app that updates weekly on the phone to help show you various things you can do with it. You can also schedule to go to free workshops at classes and get hands on help from a pro.
Are you an iPhone or Android user or– wait are there actually Windows phone users out there? If given your choice, which would you use and why? What are your favorite aspects of Apple’s end to end customer experience? What other companies rival Apple in this regard?
