Hi Sparkingchip 

Well, from my own personal point of view I'd always opt for an Apple device 

Going from the back office reporting figures for EngX visitors, the most used mobile device for viewing the forums etc is the Apple iPhone followed by an Apple iPad. The next device on the list is usually a Samsung (i.e android operating system) but the device usage numbers drop dramatically once you get past the Apple ones. 

For example in our monthly reports I can see that there are 14,821 people who have visited EngX on their Apple iphone compared with just 403 on their Samsung Galaxy S21. Even if I sum all of the different Samsung models it comes to just over 1000 which still doesn't compare with 14,821 users viewing on an Apple iphone. These are unique users by the way and not 'visits'.

However, this is just going by what we see in the behind the scenes reporting for our online community and may not reflect usage elsewhere for other websites etc

I think it also depends on the app software developers though as some will consider Apple first as they hold the market share. Apps can also behave differently depending on which device they're made for. A colleague has an android and their version of the Facebook app is laid out differently to mine on my iPhone. So when I tell them that they'll find a feature in the app in a certain place, that's not always correct! 

I think most manufacturers will provide apps for both operating systems nowadays though so it all comes down to the cost of the phone itself and what else you want your phone to do for you. As I say, I'm an Apple consumer because I like the way they do things and it suits my personal needs. 

It would be interesting to see how many of us use which though so I've popped a quick poll in here: 

I have difficulty with Apple touch-screens, but most androids no problem at all. Not sure why that is.

Second, and perhaps main, reason I choose Android is ease of integration with Windows laptop (which I have to use because some packages I use are only available on Windows).

I have difficulty with Apple touch-screens, but most androids no problem at all. Not sure why that is.

Second, and perhaps main, reason I choose Android is ease of integration with Windows laptop (which I have to use because some packages I use are only available on Windows).

The reason I've just moved away from an iPhone for my personal phone is that I was so cross that I couldn't install even most iPhone compatible apps on my previous, perfectly functional, iPhone because it wouldn't support the latest iOS. So now it's an iPhone for work (because that's what I've been given, and it's the company's problem to give me a new one every couple of years when Apple gets bored with supporting the old one ) and Android for home. Yes I know Android devices eventually have the same problem but it seems to take longer.

But for anything IET, Windows Chrome and a nice big monitor every time. Ok, I might try accessing it on my Android tablet if I'm feeling very masochistic / lazy.

Oh, and iPhones don't have headphone sockets any more. Grrr, spit... (being an old analogue audio engineer!)

Cheers,

Andy

They don't have a 3.5 jack plug anymore Andy but you can get an adapter so you can plug your headphones into it and then into the lightning connector they now have. My previous phone came with one but my new phone didn't. I still have my old one though so I'm using that.  

Andy Millar said:

Oh, and iPhones don't have headphone sockets any more. Grrr, spit... (being an old analogue audio engineer!)

That's 'cos you are meant to buy some new bluetooth ones.

I know exactly what you mean about obsolescence. I wasn't able to use the NHS covid app, which was no bad thing. I might have to "upgrade" next year when 3G is switched off, but I very seldom use "data" in any event. What I don't want to pay for is all those fancy cameras. When I want to take a proper photograph, I use a proper camera. After all, you wouldn't want to make a phone call with a camera would you?

(Yes, I know, you can get a Leica phone.)