It’s time to get out of the iPhone! Thinking about whether you should give up on Apple and switch to Android after a complete AI defeat.

Android smartphone market share slightly exceeded

As a result of Softbank’s one-time ¥0 campaign, the iPhone has always been the smartphone of choice in the Japanese market.

One would think that the iPhone era would continue, but a change is coming. In a recent survey, the share of Android phones slightly exceeded that of iPhones.

In addition, a new wind is blowing, and it is AI. In the AI field, Apple is clearly behind the curve. For those who are reasonably interested in AI, it is no longer a secret that some of the features of Apple Intelligence, which was announced in 2012, are still not available, leading to accusations of false advertising, and that the development of the next-generation Siri has been delayed.

On the other hand, Google, with its AI “Gemini,” is emerging to catch up with and surpass “ChatGPT’s” OpenAI in the AI field. In fact, it is no exaggeration to say that Google is the leader in image generation.

Smartphones equipped with Gemini have also evolved greatly in terms of functionality. Starting from automatic photo correction to schedule suggestion and summary generation from text and voice, smartphones are being transformed into new and useful tools.

In the midst of all this, should we continue to use iPhones, which still don’t have a well-functioning AI?　Shouldn’t we switch to Android?　We examined the possibilities.

In 2012, Apple officially announced its entry into the field of generative AI with the launch of Apple Intelligence. However, there is a clear difference in the degree of perfection between Apple Intelligence and Google’s AI at this point in time. Of course, Apple Intelligence can summarize sentences, compose text, generate images, and recognize images, just like Google’s Gemini 2.5 (as of this writing). However, a closer look at the details of what it can do reveals a crucial difference between the two AIs. For example, in image generation, Apple can only create original emoji with Genmoji and original images with Image Playground.

Google’s image generation AI Nano Banana, however, offers not only the above features, but also continuous conversational editing, compositing of multiple images, and continuous editing and image generation while maintaining the same person or object over multiple sessions.

In addition, Veo 3 not only generates video from text, but also synthesizes text, images, audio, and video (multimodal) to generate short videos, a function not possible with Apple Intelligence.

Furthermore, while Apple’s AI functions are currently limited to integration between Apple’s genuine apps, Google can integrate with a variety of third-party apps and generate content that users want by reading information from those other apps as well.

In other words, when AI is the main focus, the functionality offered by the iPhone is becoming less and less convenient.

Of course, the iPhone can also use Gemini’s functions and its integration features. In other words, there seems to be nothing wrong with continuing to use the iPhone. However, if you look at the home screen of your smartphone, don’t you see that it is actually lined with Google applications, even though it is an iPhone?

You can read your email on Gmail, schedule an appointment on Google Calendar, get directions to your destination on Google Maps, watch videos on YouTube, and even search for things on Chrome. I find myself making full use of Google services on my iPhone. It is safe to say that Google, not Apple, is now the main part of the smartphone experience.

Given this, wouldn’t it be better to switch to Google’s genuine Pixel smartphone instead of the iPhone for a more connected AI experience?　Some of you might be thinking. No, there are. So let’s think about it for a moment. That is the reason for writing this article.

Similar in appearance, but completely different in feel

However, it doesn’t work that way, which is one of the major differences between iPhone and Android. Many people are stumped by the fact that the apps are the same, but the “feel” of the controls is different, and the first thing anyone who switches from iPhone to Android or vice versa will experience is the discomfort of the controls.

For example, when moving around the screen, iPhone users can swipe left to right to go back and vice versa. Android, on the other hand, uses a back gesture for both left and right. This takes some time to get used to.

In addition, the settings screen also has a fundamentally different structure. Apple consolidates all app settings into the “Settings app,” and all apps have similar layouts for accessing notifications, permissions, and privacy items. Android, on the other hand, tends to allow each app to have its own settings, and in many cases, apps have their own settings menu in addition to the system settings. This provides a high degree of freedom, but at first you may have trouble just finding what to change and where to change it.

The scrolling feel of the screen and screen movement also differs between iPhone and Android. iPhone is slow and smooth, while Android seems to move mechanically and stop at a snail’s pace. This may be due to differences in the specifications of the device being used and OS customization by the manufacturer, but it is a point of great discomfort for those who have switched between operating systems.

Some of this is simply a matter of familiarity, while others can be attributed to the difference in design philosophy between iOS and Android. Apple is trying to unify the user experience, while Google allows users and manufacturers to customize it to their liking.

In other words, this is largely a matter of familiarity here, but in the end, it is also a matter of which way of thinking suits your style and the way you use your phone.

In addition, there are conveniences that are lost by leaving the iPhone. For example, if you are a Mac user, you lose the convenience of using iMessage to send and receive SMS on your Mac. In Japan, SMS is now mainly handled by LINE, so mobile users may not have that much trouble, but those who use a Mac for work will have a great deal of trouble.

Also, if you are monitoring your health with Apple Watch, you will have to transfer the data you have accumulated so far to the Android environment via PC. A new device such as a Pixel Watch or Galaxy Watch will be needed, and this is where the extra budget will be spent.

The most important thing is the lack of support for AirDrop. When you want to send files such as photos and videos, you can share them instantly between iPhones, but if you switch to Android, you will have to use other apps to exchange data between iPhones and Android.

Instead, Quick Share (formerly Nearby Share), which is available for Android as a whole, can be used, but as mentioned at the beginning, this is not much help in Japan, where iPhones are the mainstream. In particular, many heavy users of AI are Mac users, so the loss of file sharing with Mac via AirDrop will be a blow.

Migration is easy, but you need to be prepared for it until you get used to the operation.

Considering the above, it is not recommended to migrate to Android OS at this stage because it is convenient with AI. In fact, it would be a real mistake for those who have been using it a lot to lose the ability to work with Macs and become inconvenienced.

However, if you just want to migrate without thinking about it, it is quite easy to do so. Google’s official “Data Migration Tool” allows you to copy photos, contacts, messages, and app data from your iPhone to your Pixel in one go; photos uploaded to iCloud can also be transferred via Google Photos; and the free version of LINE only allows you to transfer your most recent talk history. However, if you use a paid service (such as LINE Premium Plan), you can transfer your entire talk history.

In terms of familiarity, after a month of use, you will be able to enjoy the back button, the hierarchical menu of notifications, and the customizable features unique to Android. However, even if these features become more convenient, the strength of integration with Apple devices cannot be solved in any way.

The question of whether to focus on Gemini or to enjoy the same convenience as before will only deepen our concerns as users. By the way, I have two devices, an iPhone and an Android phone. So far, I have had no problems.