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Concerns of an Android convert - Part 4

183:752865107 (Amelia Ali) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 17:44:53 GMT

Images and the pictures we take are things we want to keep with us for as long as possible. Pictures in particular are the main concern when transferring over to a new phone. Will they transfer? Will I lose any in the process? How will they be organized?

The thing is, Apple to Apple there is no issue, simply sign into your iCloud and life is good. I'm sure between Android devices is a similar situation. However, when going from Apple to Android or vice versa, there is some grey area of unknown.

Google was clever enough to provide a converter along with the Pixel which, for the most part, was able to copy over my phone perfectly down to the wallpaper. Unfortunately there is one thing that did not go as smoothly, pictures.

Picture folders are scattered and a huge mess.

This issue is crucial to all users coming from Apple, and possibly others as well. When opening up pictures straight from the phone itself everything seems to be in order. The real issue comes when trying to upload a picture.

Once you initiate uploading a picture you are hit with all the folders on your device presented to you at once. Not one of them being a folder you created but rather, one the converter did.

These numbers are supposed to coincide with a timeline of sorts, 100 being the beginning of your Apple camera roll and 108 being the end. Now imagine you have to go back into your memory to even guess when the picture you're looking for was taken, where in these 8 folders will you find the one you're looking for? What if the picture you want was taken after you switched to Pixel? Then what?

Unfortunately the process is rather similar, with a few differences.

To be completely honest, this has to be one of the biggest things annoying me about the switch. There isn't even a way for you to rearrange or redistribute these pictures into manageable folders. I now dread changing my profile picture because just the thought of having to navigate this maze every time becomes exhausting. I appreciate the ability to transfer all of my images with little to no hassle, but it's the aftermath that makes it unbearable.

Concerns of an Android convert - Part 3

183:752865107 (Amelia Ali) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 17:06:03 GMT

This one may take a while to explain, so I will attach pictures to try and add clarity.

Consistency throughout applications. Specifically, Google based applications.

This has to do with mass-marking items for either deletion or “read”. This spans between emails and text messages.

For example when I go to delete multiple conversations in my text messages, I have to do so by tapping on the message itself rather than the icon ( first image ). However, with emails if I want to mark them as read, I do so by pressing on the icon rather than the message ( second image ).

Wouldn't it make sense to have these methods similar rather than different? It goes against consistency. I understand that these are technically two different applications, but they are both Google based. Functions like this could easily be applied to texts and emails in order to make flowing between both easier for the user.

Concerns of an Android convert - Part 2

183:752865107 (Amelia Ali) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 17:06:01 GMT

Now let me preface this by saying I would take Google Assistant over Siri any day, but there are some aspects I do not understand, or may not be clear enough for me to change in settings on my own that I would like to address.

Google Assistant Commands

One thing I do not understand is, why do we have to unlock our phones every time we use assistant?

Now, before writing this I did take a look at settings and found:

google → search → google assistant settings → phone (under devices) → unlock with voice match

but even enabling that did not solve my problem (maybe due to a software update bug?). This problem being that you have to unlock your phone anytime you use assistant, even for minuscule things like setting a timer or checking the weather.

One feature I was under the impression Google had, but apparently they do not, is a “Ok google, find my phone” feature. I understand you have a “find device” app but what I am suggesting is a command. This would be, for example, when you placed your phone in your room but can’t find it. All you would have to do is say “Ok Google, find my phone” and it would emit a sound of some sort so you can locate it. But let’s say Google already had this feature, how exactly do they expect me to unlock my phone when using a command like this? THIS IS THE WHOLE POINT OF THE COMMAND, that I do not know where my phone is so how am I expected to unlock it?

Similar situations, including this one, could be avoided if you had a Google Home device. Here, simply saying "Ok Google ___" would automatically complete the command since it was done through Google Home rather than your phone. What if you did not have a Home device? What if you're cooking, your hands are dirty, and you need to set a timer? Or you need to reply to a text? Commands like these become challenging even though they are simple. Looking back at my first post, it all comes down to added expense. First it was headphones, now its Google Home. I was lucky enough to get a Home device through a promotion Google had when you purchased a Pixel 2, but what about other users? This added expense is completely unnecessary.

Concerns of an Android convert - Part 1

183:752865107 (Amelia Ali) — Thu, 13 Sep 2018 17:05:59 GMT

Here in the Silicon Valley you can find majority of individuals with a Macbook in one hand and an iPhone in the other. I have to admit I was one of these people. Having been a fan of Apple for a very long time, I found their products streamlined and easy to use. But once I saw the release of Google's Pixel 2, something inside me wanted a change. At first I was ecstatic, stepping away from the norm made me feel like a tech connoisseur. However, once the honeymoon phase wore down, I started to notice everyday inconveniences I could no longer overlook.

Let's start with the biggest issue I have, headphones.

If you recall, Google gave Apple a hard time about the release of their headphone converter, only to mimic them one model later. If we compare, Apple provides not only a converter, but also a pair of headphones. Google only provides a converter.

Now I am unsure if headphone shortcuts can only belong to a certain company (i.e Apple), but why is it that when I had my Apple headphones plugged in, the general pause/skip/volume features would not work?

It makes me wonder, if you (as a company) had the slightest idea that majority of your new clientele would be converts from Apple, why would you make the converter not Apple friendly? Essentially, if you are not willing to provide headphones at least allow my old ones to work. In order to resolve this I had to buy new headphones, which is an added cost and hassle for no justified reason.This also brought up another issue. The fact that the converter did not work well with Apple headphones meant I would plug them into the converter, then the converter into my phone, yet the sound would still play from my phone. The converter would not register being plugged in and as a result would not play sound through the headphones.

My suggestions to Google would be either provide headphones that have working shortcuts and actually register with the Pixel, OR provide a converter that is able to work along side not just Apple headphones but others as well.