An Apple user first describes the experience after one year

It’s officially been a year since I became an Apple user. Now, as an Apple blogger, I felt this was a good time to think about the experience because I came from a unique perspective.

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Android has always been my favorite phone. I bought the stigma that Apple was too expensive and found it unpurchasable. As someone who has looked at their products, I have never owned them myself. Barely exposed to Apple devices.

When shopping for my first smartphone as a college student on a budget, I was impressed with the camera and the size of Samsung’s Galaxy lineup. The iPhone’s small size and size put me off. At the time, I owned an Android tablet, so I felt comfortable staying in the Android family. Also, every non-smartphone I previously owned was a Samsung; Those devices were useful to me.

However, that all changed last year when I first became an Apple user.

Reasons to switch to Apple products

Back in July 2021, I found myself in my home country Verizon Shop, badly in need of an upgrade. My current phone at the time was a Samsung Galaxy S7 that I bought in 2016. It made my phone five years old when I finally upgraded. While I was considering an iPhone in 2016, I had to buy my S7 in a hurry and wasn’t ready yet to make the switch.

Over time, I got tired of the slow S7 and was ready for a faster, more modern device. YouTube has become a source of knowledge when it comes to finding phones. Looking at the iPhone 12, I finally found an iPhone that I thought looked good and matched my desire for a simple interface.

iPhone made the deal

When I was in Verizon, I researched all the deals with this great salesperson, aiming to find the right package for me. We settled on a purple iPhone 12, which gave me a special deal to also get an Apple Watch SE. What also pushed me towards the iPhone was the fact that I did an interview after hours in my local country Apple Store. Fun fact, the first call I made on my first iPhone was from Apple itself!

One month later, I started working as an Apple Store Specialist. You might think. How did someone with no experience with Apple products get a job at the company? Perhaps what helped me was my previous experience working in the hospitality industry. At the Apple Store, it’s more about people’s skills than your knowledge of Apple. It also didn’t hurt that I’m a former Walt Disney World employee and the hiring manager is a huge Disney fan.

iOS culture shock for first time Apple user

Switching from Android to iPhone seemed like a complete culture shock to me. While navigating through iOS I felt like I was in a foreign territory. However, I got over it the right way and started enjoying my new iPhone, while finding it easy to use.

One thing in particular I miss from Android is a small blinking light that warns me with a notification when my phone is in sleep mode. Even a year later, I still expected to see a flashing light letting me know to check my phone.

Benefits of being an Apple product user

iPhone is very simple. Its simplicity is so appealing that I’ve gotten several family members in the past year to switch to Apple, too. The integration of all my Apple devices is great; I never knew a hardware ecosystem could coordinate so beautifully. Also, don’t get me started on Mac!

One year later, I knew the ins and outs of my iPhone and loved the experience. In my seven years with Samsung Galaxies, I can barely make a phone call some days. Now, it has been a relief to my shoulder to have a phone that doesn’t complicate things for me and is a pleasure to use.

Products I have been using

Apple products you got last year (thanks to an Apple Store discount) include:

Will I go back to Android?

I’m totally going back to Android. There is no specific reason for this; Maybe I miss the Samsung brand? I know that people love the advanced customization features that Android devices offer; I actually don’t care. Now when it comes to computers, I’m totally going back to Windows as the main focus. I actually still own my HP laptop and would love to own both a Windows and a Mac.

My future as an Apple user

I’ve been very happy so far in my year as an Apple enthusiast. But, there are a few things I would change in the second year.

Ideally, I’d like to work on an iPad that has a Mac-like experience. While I love the iPad, depending on what you’re doing, it can be terrible to work. I use an iPad (9th generation) and it’s a great tablet, but it’s not a machine for heavy multitasking.

Another thing I’m looking forward to in my future as an Apple user is to become more efficient with the camera. As the iPhone camera has become a complete game changer, I need to know how to take really good photos. If there are any iPhone camera enthusiasts out there, I’d love a few tips.

When did you first become an Apple user? I’m curious to know what brings you to Apple devices? Let me know in the comments!

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