How Switching from iPhone to Android and Back Within 48 Hours Changed My Business

Here is my unusual story of how I switched to Android and then switched right back to iOS within 48 hours, and how this experience helped me rethink the company I am building.

It all started with an event at the FedEx store. I had to print something and mail it out with a package for a return shipment. Easy, right?

Not on iPhones....

The task at hand was simple. I needed to log in to a website on my phone, download a PDF, print it, sign it, include it in my package, and send it.

FedEx locations have printers where you can email their unique email address to get your items printed. So, I downloaded the PDF on my iPhone's Safari browser, which saved it to the iOS Files app.

The problem was, there was no way to get the PDF from the Files app to the Gmail app to email it out. I tried to attach it directly from the app, share it from the Files app, and many other combinations, all to no success.

Combined with my previous frustrations with iOS around Siri, the lack of AI features, and the absence of power-user features, this was my breaking point.

I started researching the current Android landscape and found that the platform has come a long way. I was going to miss my Apple Watch, but the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic caught my eye with its beautiful circular shape and functional rotating bezel. I was going to miss AirDrop, iMessage, and a few other things, but I figured I could live without them.

My final options came down to the Pixel 8 Pro, Samsung Galaxy S24 Plus, and OnePlus 12. I went ahead with the Samsung phone because of its premium feel, amazing display, and built-in "Galaxy AI" features.

I spent some time setting everything up the way I wanted. I had been a long-time Android user since the first Android phone hit the US market and was even one of the first developers to work on the Android ROM and modding scene before I switched to iPhones about five years ago.

Then the troubles began. I was reminded why I had switched to Apple. First, there were inconsistencies everywhere. Everything from the UI, controls, settings, apps, etc., was a mess. It seemed like a hotpot of multiple different design languages and philosophies.

The lags began. Every time I got in my car and plugged my phone into Android Auto, my phone would overheat out of nowhere and start lagging. Even Android Auto would start lagging, and I had one instance where I missed a turn because the screen froze, and I couldn't see the map.

The story was the same with the Galaxy Watch 6 Classic. It was a beautiful watch, but the software was a mess. It was not as slow as my previous experiences with Android watches, but some experiences were just not polished. For example, the always-on display would not turn off when I raised my wrist sometimes.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that the power-user features and customization capabilities were not enough to compensate for fragmentation, inconsistencies, lags, and bugs. I returned the phone and the watch within 48 hours.

Then it hit me: echowin, the company I am building, was heading in the same direction! We kept building and adding features, capabilities, and integrations but forgot to stop for a second and think about the overall user experience. We were building a hotpot of features and capabilities geared towards power users, but not a cohesive product.

I realized that the reason I switched to Apple in the first place was because of the overall user experience. It was not because of the power-user features, customization capabilities, or integrations. It was because of how everything just worked, and how good it felt to use their products.

We are now rethinking our product and our company. We are going to focus on the overall user experience, making sure that everything just works, and that it feels good to use our product. We are going to focus on the details, the polish, the consistency, the performance, the reliability, the simplicity, the elegance, the beauty, the delight, the magic.

I am a believer in "everything happens for a reason" and maybe I was meant to go through this experience to unlock a new perspective. Watch out for echowin 2.0. It's going to be magical. ??