I’m a developer and don’t buy an iPhone anymore, although I use a MacBook Air. Here’s why Android was better

I have a programmer friend who recently surprised me with a revelation: six months ago, one day he switched from iPhone to Android and from Windows to Mac. The cop’s decisions seemed strange to me, so I decided to delve deeper and find out the reason for such a strange jump.

Was it difficult to transfer? What is the price? How is the MacBook Air organized for development and what configuration seems convenient? I asked him these and other questions, and then formulated the text in the first person.

During the conversation, it was noted that the platform only limits those who want to be limited. If you make a reasonable choice of technology and do not assemble an ecosystem from one manufacturer, you can live without problems, regardless of which OS you use and in what combination.

The story below turned out to be one such example.

Further, my conversation with the hero of the post is edited in the text from the first person.

Hello. I am doing frontal examination. I love active recreation. I used to play, but not so much now.

I follow the latest technological trends without fanaticism. I’m rummaging around, but I can’t tell you what the camera ratio between the two iPhones is in real life.

I consider myself a reasonable consumer, so I don’t chase innovation. I choose technology based on its advantages.

The last time I updated the entire pool was in July 2023, when I bought myself a MacBook Air with M1 and Pixel 4.

My entire setup costs less than one MacBook Pro 14

We use three devices on a regular basis.

MacBook Air: M1 chip, 16 GB of combined memory, 512 GB of storage, with Russian layout.

I took a custom one because I have no idea how to use the 8/256 base. The minimum required for work.

I paid 1,700 dollars or 155,000 rubles for the MacBook Air.

Pixel 4: Snapdragon 855 chip, 6 GB RAM, 64 GB storage, 5.7-inch OLED screen with a frequency of 90 Hz.

I took it to the minimum configuration, since it’s not connected to the phone at all. I take little photographs, don’t edit them, and don’t watch films.

For Pixel 4 they paid 190 dollars or 17,100 rubles.

Mi Band 8: AMOLED screen, 600 nits, 190 mAh.

I took it in addition. I use it as a stepper, as a watch and, unfortunately, as a test tool. I run on call, but I have demanding friends.

For Mi Band 8 they charged 40 dollars or 3,400 rubles.

I also have JBL Tune Beam for 115 dollars or 10,500 rubles. Cool, happy with the noise reduction.

I repeat, I bought all the equipment in the summer of 2023, prices in rubles are indicated at the exchange rate at that time.

That is, 187,000 rubles were returned for a complete update. In comparison, this is the best MacBook Pro 14 on the M2 Pro.

For this, a connection from a Windows laptop and an iPhone was used.

Before the Pixel 4 there was an iPhone 7, which I bought from a friend. I used it for two years and was dissatisfied: applications lagged, turned off, kept it on the power bank all the time.

After upgrading to Pixel 4 speeds, the screen quality was surprising and the 90Hz refresh rate increased dramatically.

Even earlier, I had a Sony Xperia XZ1 Compact, which I ruined with custom firmware. This was my first Android, it was interesting to experiment with this system. At that time, the function of switching the speaker with the talk mode on music broke down and almost went deaf a couple of times during a call.

Before Sony, I used Nokia Lumia on Windows Phone. I love her, it’s a pity that Microsoft returned everything.

Before the MacBook Air, I had a huge monster Lenovo G510. I bought it in 2014. It turns out that it served me for 9 years, but only thanks to changing the HDD to an SSD and the patience I received.

After the repair, I still had to change it, since the hard brakes were gone, but it took time. It’s too heavy for travel, it breaks out quickly and constantly stalls.

I worked mainly on Windows 10, and bought it installed on Windows 8, itself with the Metro philosophy and squares. To find her now, it was like magic.

Why did you choose them? It was difficult to adapt

Pixel 4 is the only Google smartphone with 3D face image like Face ID in iPhone

The change of platform and even the new opposite pairing didn’t bother me at all. There are now many applications that run on Windows, macOS, iOS and Android, so I don’t see the point in collecting these proprietary ecosystems of yours.

I just heard about Pixel 4 that it’s a good phone. The price was reasonable, I decided to take it without much comparison.

It was not difficult to transfer because I did not transfer any data through special transfer means. I just installed all the familiar applications and bought from them.

I communicate with everyone on Telegram, so even when transferring contacts there was no pair, they themselves somehow added events to the memory of Pixel 4. As for Slack, Yandex, social networks, I logged in to all universal applications, and the data was pulled up from their servers.

The old iPhone 7 is still lying somewhere with tabs that are going to be transferred to a computer with Safari, this is the only thing.

Now all devices are charged with one USB-C cable.

I took longer with the MacBook Air.

At first I was choosing between a model with a new design on the M2 and a MacBook Pro 13 on the M1. But both outwardly did not suit me.

The MacBook Air with paper bangs is thinner, but looks, well, thicker. I don’t like it, it doesn’t look like a travel format at all.

The MacBook Pro 13 on M1 is even worse with its boxy body. My work tasks do not require active cooling, so I also finally rejected the option.

Well, the main advantage of the MacBook Air M1, besides its iconic edges, is its rich golden color. I enjoy it, but Apple doesn’t do this anymore in other models. So the choice became obvious.

I didn’t consider options for Windows because they all look awkward, their chips are not as energy efficient, and because Mac as a platform is better adapted not only for work, but also for hobbies.

During my work, I plan to take up photography and vocals, and it’s also interesting to try my hand at illustrations and 3D modeling. Only on Mac, as a single platform, all programs in this range will work fine, and you won’t have to work from one computer to another.

It was easy to adapt to the Mac because we had a Lenovo iMac 27 (2010) at home. The system is in its logic with the fact that time has not changed much, plus the iPhone has been at hand for the last two years, and this macOS has become closer in terms of experience of interacting with Apple Silicon.

I don’t miss games, I’ve played enough. In parallel with the iMac, I had a gaming PC with a Core i7 and an overclocked GTX 780 Ti video card. Almost with the purchase, she was not allowed to play games on her own and reflash the BIOS settings in order to programmatically reduce the frequency to the original ones. Mac has not had such problems and never will.

Both work for a long time, but I expected more from Pixel

My iPhone 7 barely left the external battery, it literally lasted two hours and that’s it.

Naturally, I had a blast with the transition to Pixel 4. I still charge it once a day, although now I’m not exactly happy with it anymore. When I get stuck on social networks, the battery melts before my eyes. I would like better autonomy.

I know that there is an OLED screen here, this probably played a positive role. I didn’t recognize whether there was Always On, I didn’t understand the software. But the owner cannot use it. Smooth sweep at 90 Hz and there doesn’t seem to be much charge.

From the editor: The iPhone 7 has a battery with a capacity of 1960 mAh, the Pixel 4 already has 2800 mAh, a third more. The data soon converges that the Apple smartphone was bought under control. There is no Always On on Pixel 4

I won’t say much about the MacBook Air. An average charge lasts for one day. I don’t pay attention to this, since I often work next to an outlet.

I have all my processes in Slack, Figma and Visual Studio Code. Since I check my web development results in Safari, Firefox and Chrome. These are all not particularly energy-intensive things, at least not for computer brains.

Different platforms do not interfere with data synchronization

You just need to use universal applications

I only use multi-platform apps. This helps avoid the barrier of two platforms created by Apple.

At work I use Slack to communicate on Telegram. All bookmarks are synchronized in the Chrome browser. All notes are made in Notion, use the free version.

There are no problems with the photographs. On a smartphone they are synchronized with Google Photos, the same service is used on a MacBook. To do this, use Google Drive for 2 TB purchased for 700 rubles per month (annual subscription). Now there are 18 GB occupied there.

If you really need to transfer it urgently, use Android File Transfer or send it to yourself via Telegram.

Otherwise, I still have an ascetic approach. I don’t need SD riders, HDMI ports, and I don’t use USB-A flasks either. There are no translators.

The most convenient thing is that I charge my Mac, Pixel, and JBL headphones with one wire. Owners of new equipment from Apple even now cannot do this with their kindergarten of MagSafe (whatever, not ports).

Some more quick facts

The phone can also be used for work. Sometimes I check how the site works on a smartphone. I’m doing a diploma and using Chrome I go to the site. But nothing more is needed from him in this regard.

I listen to music on Spotify. I use the paid version, I didn’t know there was a free version. They told you now 🙂 I don’t need to know, I’m a developer.

I like the pixel camera, there are no special requirements. I thought that he was using two cameras to shoot and mix frames like an interferometer. While I was talking about the phone, they explained to me that the second camera has a two-fold zoom.

Face ID is super stable and can be recognized in glasses

I use Chrome on Mac instead of Safari. They have to synchronize somehow, but I synchronize them via Telegram. I’m adding it to my favorites 🙂

I keep my notes in Notion. This is how they sync with the Mac. I use the rating, I didn’t know there was a paid one. Reason: point about Spotify.

The MacBook Air display is much better after Lenovo. When I open an old chickpea, my head hurts from the graininess. Gouge out your eye, not Retina, of course. Well, Winda is ugly, if only she were the eighth!

Face unlock always works, even upside down. Can the iPhone do this, by the way?

From the editor: no, he can’t. Apple’s Face ID only learned to recognize faces in landscape orientation in iOS 16 and on models from iPhone 13. Google brought 3D facial recognition to just one generation a full four years ago, and because of its convenience, it still doesn’t do without the iPhone. But not in terms of compactness.

What are your next plans for technology?

64 GB of memory on a smartphone is enough

No problem, I also updated and am happy with everything.

There is only one moment, but it will be in about a year. I stopped playing after school, but I installed one game from my childhood about radiation on my Mac via Crossover. I’m getting into the subject again, so then I plan to buy a desktop gaming PC.

The phone is compact and convenient for all events. I don’t look at iPhones; I don’t care about the platform. This setup will last me another 10 years.

📸 All photos in the article: