I have now used both an iPhone 4s and a Samsung Galaxy Note 4 for two years. After these two years, I have realized many of the differences between these two phones. But there ultimately is a difference for me personally between these two phones. So instead of going through the specifications of the phones, or any of the basic tech stuff, I will instead offer my story with my iPhone 4s, and my Galaxy Note 4. I will also do my best to focus on the core aspects of the OS of both phones; I’m well aware the iPhone 4s is far from the most recent iteration of the iPhone.

iPhone 4s

I got my iPhone 4s on Christmas morning as a complete surprise. Prior to this, I only had a flip phone and my texting skills were atrocious. The unboxing was so enjoyable. Even just the way the upper lid fits around the rest of the box is enjoyable to remove. The phone was gorgeous, and turning it on itself was a joy. For the first two weeks I was ecstatic. The phone was fast and snappy. iMessage was not only quick, and could work via wifi, but it was beautiful. I was in love with my new smartphone and instantly was convinced that this was cutting edge technology. Personally one of my favorite features of smartphones is how they save numbers – old flip phones were horrible. After the first two weeks, the phone became such a daily part of my routine that it also stopped seeming new, but always felt necessary. I never liked how the phone was so slippery and easily breakable that I had to put an OtterBox on it in fear of dropping it. I never found anything new for my phone to do after the first few months of use, but I loved it anyways – it did what I wanted it to do.

Then update after update slowly bogged down my phone and slowed it to a crippling halt. In the last few months of use, the phone's battery was lasting a measly 3 hours. I had a portable battery bank with me as a necessity in case my phone's battery died, and it did. This battery problem became so bad that once, when I was in the city after midnight, my phone died and I could not contact my parents. They had no idea where I was until I got home at 4 am that morning. I was infuriated. The phone had become so bad that it could not meet the basic function of a phone – communication – especially in times of emergency. I knew I needed a new phone. But a big part of me wanted to see if the grass was greener on the other side. I began comparing specs and reviews of phones from the iPhone 6, Nexus, Note, and Galaxy S series. But in the end, I decided I would spend two years without Apple, and leave a company I wasn't so loyal to anyways and try out a Samsung Note 4.

Note 4

The unboxing experience with my Note 4 was not as satisfactory as the iPhone, but it was still pretty nice. But once that massive AMOLED screen lit up, it was so damn beautiful, I fell in love. I had to transfer all my contacts and several other things from my iPhone to my Note. This was still an annoying process but it was faster than I had expected. The Note was huge to hold; the iPhone 4s is almost a third of the size of the Note 4. There also was a bit of a learning curve. I had gotten so used to IOS, I barely knew how to use Android. But unlike the claims of many Apple users, it was snappy and fast. No discernable lag to me. Now battery was my primary concern after my iPhone 4s experience, and Apple has still not matched the battery capacity of even the Galaxy S line up, let alone the Note 4. My battery, on wifi the entire time, once lasted three whole days. I remember coming back to it the next morning after forgetting to charge it and being astonished it was at 80% still. So I wanted to see how long it could go, and it went 2 more days, with moderate usage.

Then school came around and I began using my Note 4 for note taking. Its S pen was small and it was a little challenging to get used to. But it was so nice to no longer need to remember paper, and to not have to organize. And for the first time in my life I actually reread my notes, using OneNote, which immediately organizes the notes. The Note 4 went from an experimental note taking device, to my only note taking device in a couple of weeks. This phone decreased the amount of stuff in my bag, increased organization, and made me greener overnight. That was incredible to me, and something I love my Note 4 for in particular.

But now I'm back to the last few months of Note 4 usage, and this is where this phone really differs from my iPhone 4s. My Note 4 began experiencing battery problems a month ago. It would heat up and stay hot, and the battery would drain so fast, sometimes 4% per hour while on idle. But unlike my iPhone, I was able to fix my Note 4. This took two weeks of constant forum searching and constantly playing with my phone's settings, and looking for rogue apps. I knew my CPU was being overused but I could not figure out why. One morning I turned off photo syncing and my Android Wear cloud syncing, as well as deleted apps made by small proprietors. Voila, my phone is back to normal. Something interesting also happened. I began changing launchers, using widgets more often, and using my S pen even for basic texts, all in the last few months. Unlike my iPhone, my Note 4 was constantly changing and I was learning more and more about it even 2 years later. I really appreciated that. Sadly, the Note 4’s younger brother, the Note 7, had a minor battery problem (i.e. it exploded often) and I cannot get the Note 7. I am currently torn between waiting another year for another Note or getting a new phone in fears that another Note might not exist after all of this. But here is where the experiences drastically differ. After my iPhone 4s, I wanted nothing more than to try something new. After the Note 4, I was willing to buy a phone on recall with an exploding battery. I craved the Note 7 (RIP Note 7). For me, this is the primary difference after 2 years of using an iPhone vs. 2 years with a Note 4. This is not everyone's experience, but it was certainly mine.