Comment by mvieira38
5 days ago
> Is this a "left brain vs right brain" type of thing? Do most HNers prefer Androids?
I don't think so. The stuff you mentioned is objectively better as there's no reason for Apple not to let you do it. It's more of a "I've been in the Apple walled garden for so long and so are all my friends" or the so-called network effects. Examples: you can't "Facetime" and "Airdrop" on Android, your text confirmation marks are green instead of blue, you don't have access to the same apps as your friends (sometimes), you don't have integration with iPad. If you grew up in certain circles you may be bullied for not having an iPhone, too.
Also there is a prevailing sentiment that Android doesn't "just work" as much as iOS, which is true tbh but not for Pixels which are basically the Android equivalent of an iPhone, where the device is pretty much tailor-made for the OS.
There’s still an element of subjective preference, as much as many like to say otherwise. To me, Android animations and gestures have always felt less polished and natural and more rough “forever prototype” and mechanistic, for example.
In terms of “just working,” a big weak point of Android that stands out to me is just how clunky it is if you’re not neck-deep in the Google ecosystem and use more standardized service providers like FastMail. iOS stock apps work great with IMAP, CardDAV, CalDAV, etc but on Android you have to hunt down third party service agnostic apps for everything, few of which are designed to work with each other. To be fair though, Windows also suffers this issue.
You can just add IMAP accounts to the Gmail app but generally you're right.
For me, it's how can I get the slick and super convenient integrations between my phone, tablet, and laptop outside of Apple?
I am talking about Handoff, Continuity, iPhone mirroring (can use my iPhone and its apps while it remains locked somewhere), AirDrop, Continuity Camera, universal clipboard, iMessage, etc.
I worked at Samsung and even there a third of the team had iPhones.
Logical analysis, like using folders and file APIs, is "left-brained".
The left/right brain thing is pseudo-science and even worse - a false dichotomy. It's much more about cultural snobbery and cultural tribalism around which pursuits are regarded as "more worthy".
Look up C.P. Snow's "The Two Cultures" - it was incredibly influential at the time but also described a prejudice we still labour under. It's pervasive in the English speaking world. I suspect less so in the non-anglosphere West and possibly even less so in Asia.
> The left/right brain thing is pseudo-science
It's real in terms of consciousness - brains switch between modes depending on activity. You can try it and feel the switch yourself. Whether that switch is localized, or whether people have more affinity for one than the other is probably what's fake.
3 replies →
This is such a redditor comment
“There’s no reason for apple to not let you do it” - they have reasons. Whether you agree with them or not is fine but pretending they don’t have reasons is a little silly.
You also can’t put every option in for everything, because simplicity has value too.