However, as a new dad with bills to pay, the financially sensible part of my brain kicked in, telling me that there was no point forking out for an iPhone when I had plenty of the best Android phones already in my possession. In the moment, this argument won out.
So I said goodbye to my iPhone and transferred everything over to my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. I felt comfortable and completely justified in my choice – but I have to admit that my thrifty decision lasted a week.
What Android does best
To its credit, and this is something I absolutely want to highlight here, the S25 Ultra is a phenomenal phone. Moving up to the larger 6.9-inch display was a lot of fun as it felt like carrying around a mini tablet, perfect for streaming and gaming, not to mention having more room for reading apps such as Kindle or PressReader.
Android has a far better system when it comes to notifications
The camera set-up on the phone is also emblematic of the fact that, if you really want a smartphone that goes all-in on giving you the best experience for photography on the go, then an Android is essential. I also have the Oppo Find X9 Pro on hand and the photos that phone takes are enough to make even the Pro-level iPhones hang their heads in shame.
Luke Baker
It also needs to be said that Android has a far better system when it comes to notifications (although this won’t be a surprise to fans). Being able to see little icons in the top left-hand corner of the screen for various messages or alerts that have come in, particularly as you’re using the phone, is a huge win. I’m far more likely to remember that they’re there. Instead, having notifications bunched together on an iPhone means that I’m constantly forgetting about things I need to respond to.
One feature that really did start to draw me in was Google Gemini. The way that you can quickly get answers to a series of questions is a huge win, and I never encountered any issues or misunderstood requests. That’s not something I can say about my time using an iPhone, even with the more advanced Siri AI now on the market.
