iOS 10 vs. Blackberry OS 10 - The battle of the 10's

I've switched from my Q10 to an iPhone 5 and recently upgraded to iOS 10. Wanted to go over my thoughts and feelings.

The Cons:

1. Reception sucks compared to the Q10. It seems like I always only have 2-3 circles instead of 4-5 bars.
2. No way to select only 4G LTE/4G + 3G like there is on the Blackberry. It keeps going to Edge which is garbage. Also since I got an unlocked Verizon phone, it actually only does 4G on T-mobile.
3. Hardware buttons unreliable. My power button broke so quickly it's ridiculous. It's always the power or home button that stop working after very little use for most people.
4. Apps don't keep open if you don't keep using them. What do I mean? If you switch between apps it "refreshes" IE kind of reloads them. So essentially no real multitasking. Why does this matter? Well if you keep it on for long enough it restarts the app. This gets annoying when you're using HBO Go, Xfinity, or a music app and have to go in and search again.
5. No expandable memory - this is a huge one - sure you can buy a 128GB iPhone now but I can get more than that from expandable memory for really cheap + the internal memory and when I switch phones I take that flash card with me to the new one.
6. No physical button to pause/play or mute.
7. Battery sucks (I'm sure it's improved with the new one but I get almost half the battery life on the iPhone 5 with 4G than I do with the Q10 with LTE.
8. Lack of the hub.
9. Lack of a physical keyboard. I've been using iPhones and iPods for years and have never gotten used to it. Makes my fingers hurt so badly and annoys the hell out of me.
10. No predictive touch capabilities or "swiping up" for recognized words or connecting letters like you get on the newer blackberry keyboards.
11. Reliability isn't great on iPhones in my experience. Neither physical or software wise. I've had more native apps crash on iOS than on Blackberry OS10. Although iOS 10 has improved that slightly.

The Pros:
1. Amazing UI. Very smooth when scrolling through and everything looks crisper. The UI on both Blackberry and Android is too square and choppy IMHO. It doesn't look sleek at all. That was my biggest annoyance with OS10 is that it doesn't look very modern.
2. Access to apps - this is really a must. Most of what I use my phone for now is HBO Go, Xfinity, Line, Whatsapp (which is being discontinued), Facebook messenger, Lyft, my banking apps, Waze, the list can go on forever.

So now I'm caught in a sad spiral. I wanted to upgrade my Q10 to the Passport but it lacks the apps that I need (and yes I've patched Android apps on the Q10 but they are not usually reliable enough and are SUPER slow to load and function). The Passport is the best phone that Blackberry ever built in terms of looks and build and so many other things, but OS10 is getting phased out. Whatsapp support is ending. Worst of all the Facebook integration in the hub which was the bedrock of it for me since it synced all my contacts together and added photo's of them has stopped working.

Getting a Priv would be nice but it feels a bit clunky and I don't like Android OS - it feels clunky and not as smooth or beautiful as iOS and is missing a lot of features that I love about Blackberry OS 10 anyway. It seems like the logical solution, maybe the only one. I just can't help but think that if I do get it, it will be my last Blackberry. I didn't like the Dtek as it was just a re-branded Alcatel and seems like all the new phones will be TCL phones that will not be built by Blackberry in North America but will instead all be made by TCL in China. In my opinion Blackberry is focusing more on profit than producing anything amazing or revolutionary like they have in the past. Perhaps the Passport or Priv were the last hoorah for this once great company. Still thinking on whether to get one of them...

Originally Posted by Daniel Katz

I've switched from my Q10 to an iPhone 5 and recently upgraded to iOS 10. Wanted to go over my thoughts and feelings.

The Cons:

1. Reception sucks compared to the Q10. It seems like I always only have 2-3 circles instead of 4-5 bars.
2. No way to select only 4G LTE/4G + 3G like there is on the Blackberry. It keeps going to Edge which is garbage. Also since I got an unlocked Verizon phone, it actually only does 4G on T-mobile.
3. Hardware buttons unreliable. My power button broke so quickly it's ridiculous. It's always the power or home button that stop working after very little use for most people.
4. Apps don't keep open if you don't keep using them. What do I mean? If you switch between apps it "refreshes" IE kind of reloads them. So essentially no real multitasking. Why does this matter? Well if you keep it on for long enough it restarts the app. This gets annoying when you're using HBO Go, Xfinity, or a music app and have to go in and search again.
5. No expandable memory - this is a huge one - sure you can buy a 128GB iPhone now but I can get more than that from expandable memory for really cheap + the internal memory and when I switch phones I take that flash card with me to the new one.
6. No physical button to pause/play or mute.
7. Battery sucks (I'm sure it's improved with the new one but I get almost half the battery life on the iPhone 5 with 4G than I do with the Q10 with LTE.
8. Lack of the hub.
9. Lack of a physical keyboard. I've been using iPhones and iPods for years and have never gotten used to it. Makes my fingers hurt so badly and annoys the hell out of me.
10. No predictive touch capabilities or "swiping up" for recognized words or connecting letters like you get on the newer blackberry keyboards.
11. Reliability isn't great on iPhones in my experience. Neither physical or software wise. I've had more native apps crash on iOS than on Blackberry OS10. Although iOS 10 has improved that slightly.

The Pros:
1. Amazing UI. Very smooth when scrolling through and everything looks crisper. The UI on both Blackberry and Android is too square and choppy IMHO. It doesn't look sleek at all. That was my biggest annoyance with OS10 is that it doesn't look very modern.
2. Access to apps - this is really a must. Most of what I use my phone for now is HBO Go, Xfinity, Line, Whatsapp (which is being discontinued), Facebook messenger, Lyft, my banking apps, Waze, the list can go on forever.

So now I'm caught in a sad spiral. I wanted to upgrade my Q10 to the Passport but it lacks the apps that I need (and yes I've patched Android apps on the Q10 but they are not usually reliable enough and are SUPER slow to load and function). The Passport is the best phone that Blackberry ever built in terms of looks and build and so many other things, but OS10 is getting phased out. Whatsapp support is ending. Worst of all the Facebook integration in the hub which was the bedrock of it for me since it synced all my contacts together and added photo's of them has stopped working.

Getting a Priv would be nice but it feels a bit clunky and I don't like Android OS - it feels clunky and not as smooth or beautiful as iOS and is missing a lot of features that I love about Blackberry OS 10 anyway. It seems like the logical solution, maybe the only one. I just can't help but think that if I do get it, it will be my last Blackberry. I didn't like the Dtek as it was just a re-branded Alcatel and seems like all the new phones will be TCL phones that will not be built by Blackberry in North America but will instead all be made by TCL in China. In my opinion Blackberry is focusing more on profit than producing anything amazing or revolutionary like they have in the past. Perhaps the Passport or Priv were the last hoorah for this once great company. Still thinking on whether to get one of them...

You might want to wait for Rome / Mercury
That in all probability won't be made by TCL
Plus mostly all phones are assembled in China! (Even the iPhone)

Z30STA100-2/10.3.2.2876

If you got the money take a passport, maybe silver edition. In my opinion the passport silver edition feels better and the qwerty is smoother than on normal passport.
But if you really need those apps you said then I would give the priv a chance and customise the UI as you would look it. That's IMHO the only advantage on android and tonnes of apps.

Posted via CB10

Screw chen.

Posted via CB10

Originally Posted by Amritv

You might want to wait for Rome / Mercury
That in all probability won't be made by TCL
Plus mostly all phones are assembled in China! (Even the iPhone)

Z30STA100-2/10.3.2.2876

Hmm all the articles I've read point to it. The Hamburg has been confirmed to be made by TCL already... BlackBerry Hamburg visits the FCC, confirms TCL is the phone's manufacturer

And I know most phones are Made in China - but that's one of the major things that set Blackberry apart. Plus I thought the build quality on the Passport was incredible and was really good on the Priv. DTEK50 not so much - and I'm afraid it will only go down from there... The Passport looks like it's a luxury phone IMHO and build is incredible for any cell phone. No one builds them like they used to though (my old Nokia 8800 springs to mind as do some of my other higher end Nokia's from the past). Anyway the Rome/Mercury looks like the perfect size/comfort - so I'll guess we'll see but I don't want to wait until Jan/Feb of next year...

Originally Posted by luckyphil88

If you got the money take a passport, maybe silver edition. In my opinion the passport silver edition feels better and the qwerty is smoother than on normal passport.
But if you really need those apps you said then I would give the priv a chance and customise the UI as you would look it. That's IMHO the only advantage on android and tonnes of apps.

Posted via CB10

Well the passport's really gone down in price but I actually don't like the silver edition. It doesn't look as premium or nice to me. The black, white and red ones were so much nicer looking IMHO. If I get a passport it won't address my other frustrations - lack of usable apps, no more FB and Whatsapp integration, lack of future support, etc... I basically would have to use it as a hotspot and carry my iPhone around as well to watch films and use apps (which is what I did until it got annoying). I don't like the clunkiness of the Priv and the keyboard coming from the Q10...

I just discovered that you can use an iOS 10 theme on android phones that will make it look and feel exactly as smooth and sleek as iOS10 with the same menus, swiping gestures, etc... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZ6loAk_e68

Would that be possible on the Priv? And if so can I still get the hub and some of the other blackberry apps on there? Will the predictive swipe touch, capacitive keyboard swipes and keyboard itself work? Will true multitasking windows work? I could also do a Blackberry OS theme... So with that kind of customization the Priv might be the better bet. Although I love the look and feel of the Passport a million times better...

Originally Posted by Daniel Katz

I just discovered that you can use an iOS 10 theme on android phones that will make it look and feel exactly as smooth and sleek as iOS10 with the same menus, swiping gestures, etc...

Except that you would be simulating an interface that isn't designed for Android phones whereas iOS10 is specifically designed for iPhones. It's literally simulating the wrong interface for an Android vs using the right interface for an iPhone. There really can't be any comparison.

Originally Posted by early2bed

Except that you would be simulating an interface that isn't designed for Android phones whereas iOS10 is specifically designed for iPhones. It's literally simulating the wrong interface for an Android vs using the right interface for an iPhone. There really can't be any comparison.

But what if I like that interface better and it seems to run smoother in terms of swipes and scrolling through the apps, etc... Who cares if it's "considered sacrilege" The main thing is that it works and looks a lot sleeker than stock Android OS. My biggest issue with Blackberry 10 OS was that same kind of "lag" that the Android OS has when it's stock and that it doesn't look very sleek. Maybe a combination of the two would be good. Or maybe I can just install a Blackberry 10 OS theme to make it look exactly like that?

Originally Posted by Daniel Katz

I've switched from my Q10 to an iPhone 5 and recently upgraded to iOS 10. Wanted to go over my thoughts and feelings.

The Cons:

1. Reception sucks compared to the Q10. It seems like I always only have 2-3 circles instead of 4-5 bars.
2. No way to select only 4G LTE/4G + 3G like there is on the Blackberry. It keeps going to Edge which is garbage. Also since I got an unlocked Verizon phone, it actually only does 4G on T-mobile.

Do you not realize that these are self-inflicted "cons"? It has nothing to do with the iPhone and far more to do with the fact that you are using a phone that isn't intended for use on the carrier you're using it on, and therefore doesn't have the radios in it to connect to the strongest or fastest signals that the carrier offers in your area.

3. Hardware buttons unreliable. My power button broke so quickly it's ridiculous. It's always the power or home button that stop working after very little use for most people.

One of my sidejobs is repairing phones. I have worked on upwards of 500 iPhones over the last several years - mostly due to user-caused damage, but also some battery replacements and a few other things - but I've only had to replace one damaged home button. They are plenty robust for normal use.

4. Apps don't keep open if you don't keep using them. What do I mean? If you switch between apps it "refreshes" IE kind of reloads them. So essentially no real multitasking. Why does this matter? Well if you keep it on for long enough it restarts the app. This gets annoying when you're using HBO Go, Xfinity, or a music app and have to go in and search again.

This is absolutely true - and it's an intentional design decision by Apple, to minimize battery usage by suspending most apps when in the background. The iPhone is perfectly capable of multitasking - and does a fine job of doing so with apps that need it and are written to support it - but, yes, Apple's design guidelines recommend that most apps are put in "sleep mode" when in the background, and behave as you describe when brought back to the foreground.

7. Battery sucks (I'm sure it's improved with the new one but I get almost half the battery life on the iPhone 5 with 4G than I do with the Q10 with LTE.

Again, a big part of the reason for this is because your radios aren't the correct ones for your carrier, so your phone is constantly turning up the power trying to hold onto a less optimal signal - and this drains your battery. A made-for-T-Mobile iPhone 5 would likely do much better.

11. Reliability isn't great on iPhones in my experience. Neither physical or software wise. I've had more native apps crash on iOS than on Blackberry OS10. Although iOS 10 has improved that slightly.

That's often the case when a new major OS version is released (on ANY platform) - and will probably be resolved in a month or so as developers update their apps.

Originally Posted by Troy Tiscareno

Do you not realize that these are self-inflicted "cons"?

What I'm talking about is the capability to turn off EDGE completely. That is not available on ANY iPhone with T-Mobile. For example on the Blackberry I can go into network settings and choose ONLY 4/LTE + 3G. It will NEVER switch to 2G, EVER. I can't do that with iOS.

One of my sidejobs is repairing phones. I have worked on upwards of 500 iPhones over the last several years - mostly due to user-caused damage, but also some battery replacements and a few other things - but I've only had to replace one damaged home button. They are plenty robust for normal use.

For me it's the power button that's died. Most of my friends and family have had either the home or power button fail at some point. Probably one of the reasons why Apple decided to replace the physical power button with a touch one in the iPhone 7.

This is absolutely true - and it's an intentional design decision by Apple, to minimize battery usage by suspending most apps when in the background. The iPhone is perfectly capable of multitasking - and does a fine job of doing so with apps that need it and are written to support it - but, yes, Apple's design guidelines recommend that most apps are put in "sleep mode" when in the background, and behave as you describe when brought back to the foreground.

Not one I like... I would rather have them be running silently. I got decent battery life in the Q10 with a few apps running just fine and whenever I wanted to reload the music or youtube or whatever else was on I just clicked a button voila, not have to search for it again or reopen...

Good summing up. I am on the faster 6s variant

But it just works. How can what you said be true?

I ended up taking a whim and buying the Priv for $300 on eBay. I really like the look and premium feel of the Passport. If that was running Android I would have totally bought that but I knew I would have needed to upgrade soon enough anyway since the hardware and software will be obsolete soon unfortunately :( I hope BB makes their version of Android even more like OS10 in the future and releases another premium phone like the passport.

Originally Posted by deremi

But it just works. How can what you said be true?

What are you talking about?

Originally Posted by Q10Bold

Screw chen.

Posted via CB10

Such a well thought-out and relevant post!

Blackberry Poptart SE - Cricket Wireless

Originally Posted by Daniel Katz

What I'm talking about is the capability to turn off EDGE completely. That is not available on ANY iPhone with T-Mobile. For example on the Blackberry I can go into network settings and choose ONLY 4/LTE + 3G. It will NEVER switch to 2G, EVER. I can't do that with iOS.

Even if you could, in your case that would just mean that you'd have no connection at all - because again, your issue stems from the fact that your missing the needed radio bands. If you had them, you'd probably never have noticed that your phone was slow, because you'd probably never drop off of LTE.

For me it's the power button that's died. Most of my friends and family have had either the home or power button fail at some point. Probably one of the reasons why Apple decided to replace the physical power button with a touch one in the iPhone 7.

I've never had an Apple device in for repairs because of the power button, except for one where that whole corner of the phone was destroyed and wasn't salvageable at all.

Not one I like... I would rather have them be running silently. I got decent battery life in the Q10 with a few apps running just fine and whenever I wanted to reload the music or youtube or whatever else was on I just clicked a button voila, not have to search for it again or reopen...

Understood - but it's how Apple gets away with a smaller-capacity battery and still has long-enough battery life for most people. This was especially important with the smaller form-factors - including the iPhone SE. I agree that it's not always a great way of handling it, but it's not a limitation of the OS itself, but rather of the app handling guidelines.