Lots of my friends and family swear by iPhones, and I would often scoff at how much they paid considering that the tech giant lagged behind Google in so many areas – from not having a weather(!) app on the iPad until 2022, to Apple Maps adding a feature just this year that has been on Google Maps for over a decade.
Having tested a wide range of phones in the past, I knew that the likes of Samsung, Google and OnePlus offered better hardware and often more impressive features for the price.
When someone would start getting superior about having an iPhone (and that really is a thing – Apple is a ‘lifestyle’ after all), it’d be so tempting to pettily whip out something like a Motorola Razr, and say: “sure… but can it do this?!” and dramatically flip it open and wave it in their face like an insufferable, tech-obsessed moron.
And Apple is still catching up in some respects – the first folding iPhone isn’t expected until 2026, a full seven years after Samsung made its foldable debut.
Where it does excel is in making the essentials the best they can be, mainly on the software front. But that’s something I didn’t want to pay an extreme premium to enjoy.
However, the reality is that in today’s market of price hikes and tariffs, Android phones at this tier aren’t necessarily better value, and now my most solid argument against Apple is beginning to waver. Here’s why testing the iPhone 17 has made me take a big slice of humble pie.
I’d definitely consider the iPhone 17 as my new daily driver… and as a long-time Android user, that’s not something I thought I’d ever say
Apple’s simple software works a treat
I never really understood what people meant by this, but the layout of the iPhone’s home screen and lock screen is probably the most intuitive and aesthetically pleasing design I’ve used.
That includes the Dynamic Island, which admittedly has been mimicked on my OnePlus 12 to some extent, to the handy-dandy grouping system in the App Library that saved me from doing lots of my own customisation, as I would on Android.
Despite some preinstalled bloatware, I’m a big fan of Apple’s Journal app in particular, with scheduling times to log entries, encouragement for writing streaks and easy ways to add in photos, recordings and even Apple Health data. If you have a Pixel 10 phone, the Pixel Journal app is a good alternative, but there’s no like-for-like replacement on my OnePlus phone, so recommendations for a good, free option are welcome.
Voicemail summaries with Apple Intelligence are also brilliant. During one particularly busy day in London for a Nintendo event (among other things), I missed a doctor’s call. Ordinarily, I may have forgotten to phone up my voicemail inbox while frantically downing my iced coffee as I typed up a story, but I didn’t need to with this software, which provided a pretty accurate transcription of what I needed to know.
This is a good use of AI (and I’m not the biggest fan of AI generally), so well done, Apple.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
iPhones are very much for people who don’t have time to fuss about. That’s obvious in the camera controls, which are massively simplified compared to what I have on my OnePlus.
While this may be seen as a negative by camera enthusiasts, for people (like myself) who are in a rush and don’t have the desire to explore every angle or setting, this approach will suit them down to the ground.
One minor touch that made me unnecessarily happy was the Siri voice options. One of them has a northern accent that sounds kind of like me (British Voice 3, if you’re wondering). Considering some voice assistants struggle to understand my dialect, forcing me to pretend to be a southerner (shudders), it’s great to have one that not only works, but even shares my inflections and intonation – big up the North.
And the hardware is better than I expected
Over the six years I’ve been a tech journalist, I’ve watched the decline of small smartphones. As someone who advocates for devices that can fit in women’s jeans pockets, that’s a shame – maybe I should be lobbying fashion designers to make women’s clothes more practical, but I digress.
The iPhone 17 is a goldilocks phone for me. It’s a good size for watching videos on (with an impressive set of speakers to boot), but dinky enough that it can slip into outfits much more easily than many bulkier phones these days. And, as a OnePlus user who relies on the alert slider for silencing my phone quickly, that action button is a godsend (it can be customised to do all sorts of other things if you’d prefer).
Plus, the pretty pastel purple model I tried is so aesthetically pleasing. This is a good-looking smartphone, and the curved edges and glass back make it smooth and comfortable to hold.
I firmly believe that many users out there are probably overspending by opting for the 17 Pro and Pro Max. This will mainly be for the all-singing/all-dancing camera set-ups. Now, if you create content for a living or are a photography enthusiast, fine – I’ll let you off.
However, if you use your smartphone just for social media and day-to-day memory capturing, trust me, the vanilla iPhone 17 camera is probably good enough. Details are sharp, crisp and clear, with the option to apply a shade preset to all your snaps to emphasise specific undertones.
Those with a keener eye may notice that it overcompensates in low light, pumping up the colours (particularly of the night sky) to hyperreal standards. Nonetheless, for daylight snaps of pretty landscapes and portraits of your loved ones, fluffy or otherwise, it’ll fulfil your needs.
But switching from Android isn’t a piece of cake
If you’re considering moving over from an Android phone such as a Pixel, Samsung or Xiaomi handset, there are some things you should know.
Firstly, your new iPhone will prompt you to download a ‘Move to iOS’ app on your old device to port over photos, contacts and more to try and make the transition easier. The key word there being ‘try’. I attempted this from my OnePlus 12 over five times, and was repeatedly unsuccessful, despite switching out cables and reducing the amount of data I was sending over.
The iPhone 17 is a goldilocks phone for me
But that wasn’t the most annoying part. Every time the transfer failed, the iPhone insisted on doing a factory reset, with no way to quit.
Why, oh why Apple? Is this revenge for me mocking Apple’s own celebrity Craig Federighi year after year?
This made the whole process long and arduous, as I had to go through setting up face recognition an obscene number of times, before finally accepting that the best thing to do was just to completely start from scratch.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
So, that meant downloading all the apps I needed and signing in. I was fortunate that I could link my Gmail account, which had my phone contacts, inboxes and calendar appointments saved – if I didn’t, I’d be in a real pickle. As this was a short-term loan, I didn’t even get around to some more complex things, such as switching over banking apps. Good luck, babe, is all I’ll say.
The other confusing thing was that I noticed text messages were coming through to my old phone. I discovered that this was because I had RCS messaging turned on – you must request to disable this feature by inputting your number on this Google form.
I only discovered this after sleuthing on Reddit, but others making the switch may get caught out.
If you plan to switch long-term, WhatsApp is another issue you might run into. As I was only using the iPhone 17 for a month, it made sense to set it up as a companion device and continue with my OnePlus 12 as the primary phone. This allowed me to seamlessly access all my chats and notifications on the iPhone – just note that you’ll have to connect the primary device to the internet at least once every two weeks.
However, as my colleague Anyron noted when switching to the iPhone 16 Pro last year, moving from a Google Drive backup on Android to an iCloud backup on the iPhone can lead to some major headaches.
The ‘Apple premium’ argument isn’t as strong these days
To fully examine how iPhone prices have become more competitive, it’s best to look at the nearest Android equivalent, the Google Pixel.
Two years ago, when the iPhone 15 went head-to-head with the Google Pixel 8, the Pixel undercut the iPhone by £100/$100. For the last two generations, that’s not been the case. The Pixel has crept up in price, while the iPhone stayed level.
Then, there’s cloud storage. As this is a subscription cost, many people overlook it. However, if you have photos and videos that are years old, you may very well end up paying for one of these services.
While upfront, Google offers the better free deal – 15GB of storage versus Apple’s 5GB, Apple’s pricing plans per month are slightly lower – 99p/99c for iCloud+ , which grants users access to 50GB of storage. Google’s plan is £1.59/$1.99 per month, though it does offer twice as much storage in return at 100GB.
There are also free trials of the higher storage option plans within Apple One and Google One.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
But you don’t necessarily need to worry about cloud storage plans immediately if your phone has enough base storage, and the iPhone 17 starts at 256GB versus the Pixel’s 128GB, which is a big L for Google.
With these price comparisons I am only factoring the base iPhone alone, not the Pro variants, nor the new Air model or the 16e. I think particularly in the mid-range space, Apple still can’t compete. Still, if I were faced with choosing a new phone around the £800/$800 price mark, I’d definitely consider the iPhone 17 as my new daily driver… and as a long-time Android user, that’s not something I thought I’d ever say.
But heed this warning – be prepared for at least several days of faffing around moving from Google’s ecosystem over to Apple’s. I wish that this process could be made easier, but I don’t see that happening at it doesn’t benefit either company from a sales perspective. ‘Keep them locked in’ is probably what they’re thinking.
To sum up, I was an Android truther, having tested a plethora of widely impressive smartphones running on Google’s OS (and various skins) during my time at Tech Advisor. I truly believed that iPhones were overhyped and overpriced. So, if even I can change my mind, maybe you can too.