Can you really just have one foot in the Apple Ecosystem?
This is something that I have been thinking about recently especially when deciding to make the switch to an android phone. I have been in the Apple Ecosystem for what seems like forever and its is great, the handoffs from device to device in my experience is truly seamless which meant that I got deeper and deeper into it.
For me this is really what Apple are selling you, that really great integrated user journey where it just works. It that seamless integration that in the end makes you buy that other device or upgrade to the latest iPhone.
But my question was could I have a non apple phone and still be able to use my other Apple devices? Could I live in two separate Ecosystems?
I believe that the answer is yes. However you will need to make a few sacrifices along the way such as if you have the Apple Watch then you are going to have to change it. This is the one thing that you really have to have an iPhone for, otherwise it is just not going to work. The other issue that you could come across is if you use the native Apple apps such as Apple Notes, you will only be able to use them on your apple devices.
So let’s look at some of the points that I considered when I set my challenge of switching to an Android phone for the next year.
Apps
Now for me I didn’t see this as a big issue. I don’t generally use my phone for taking notes I tend to do all of that on my iPad Pro. I also don’t always use Apple Notes, for writing these blogs and planning I use Notion and for my digital to do list I am using Todoist which sync across iSO and Android. So I can still get all the information across all my device, so there are ways around it if you are prepared to look for apps that do want you need them to across both Ecosystems.
Handoffs
Of course you are not going to get the benefits that you get from having all Apple devices, you are not going to be able to handoff from your phone to your Mac for instance. But how often do you use those features? if you are a die hard apple fan then I think that you will and that’s great but it doesn’t need to tie you in. I very rarely answers a call on my phone to then transfer it over to my iPad or Mac Mini, its just not a scenario that comes up for me. I do however think that I will miss other elements such as been able to pick up browsing on my phone to my iPad for instance but yet again its not something that I use all the time but is useful and just works.
Cost to Change
I was massively in the Apple Ecosystem to the point that I had most of Apple devices so the decision to break that by getting rid of my iPhone (and sadly my Apple Watch) was not taken lightly. Not in part because it is expensive to get out once you are in. You will need to buy a new phone and if you are into tracking your fitness etc with your watch you will need an alternative to the glorious Apple Watch. For me so far I have not seen too many issues with moving but that is because of how I use my phone and the apps that I have installed. I am not going to lie I do miss the apple watch but I picked up the Galaxy Watch 4 classic which is a nice watch and does all the things that the apple did.
So for me I think it is possible if you want to go down the road of having both Android and iOS/MAC OS but I have only been using both for a couple of weeks. So for the next few weeks I will be working out how best to manage both Ecosystems alongside each other and whether my initial thoughts are right and you can live in two Ecosystems at the same time.