5 Reasons Why It's Time To Switch From iPhone To Android In 2025

Longtime iOS users have a hard time leaving behind Apple's walled garden. Apple doesn't make it easy, but making the switch to Android can be worth it once you find what you're missing out on. Android, which is available on dozens of phones from various manufacturers, is the most popular operating system with over 75% global market share – and for good reasons. Sure, some Android phones cost way less than others, making them accessible to a larger portion of smartphone users, but the operating system has other advantages besides price. Android phones can be fun and innovative with a host of options like gaming phones, foldable phones, and even e-ink phones, all while offering fewer restrictions.

Whether you're considering making the switch because you're tired of iOS or because you want a phone that has better integration with Google's suite of services, Android phones are worth considering. The following list makes a strong case for making the switch from iOS to Android. 

With the latest iPhones ranging from $799 for the iPhone 17 to $1199 for the iPhone Pro Max, there isn't really a budget option, unless you consider the iPhone 16e, which is only $200 cheaper. Over on team Android, you can get a quality phone for under $500, and while you may have to compromise on camera performance, build quality, or display resolution, you're still getting a phone with most of the features you actually need. 

Take, for example, Nothing's line of phones. The $799 Nothing Phone (3) is the flagship option, but you can get the Phone (3a) Pro for $459. If you want to go even lower, look to CMF-branded phones, which are made by Nothing. CMF is Nothing's budget line, providing affordable, yet functional devices that cost a fraction of the price of the cheapest iPhone. The CMF Phone 2 Pro is the brand's flagship and only costs $279. For that price, you get a 50 MP main camera, a 6.77-inch flexible AMOLED display, and Nothing OS 3.2, which runs on top of Android and adds a ton of unique features.

While Nothing has some of the most affordable Android phones, they're not the only ones that know how to put out a top-quality device on a budget. Google's budget line of Pixel phones is solid, with the Pixel 9a being a solid but often overlooked option. Samsung and Motorola also have budget options worth taking a look at. 

Android phones just want to have fun. If you doubt that, just get a good look at all the foldables available from Samsung, Google, Motorola, and OnePlus. Are foldable phones a gimmick? Maybe at one point in the past, but they get better every year. If you're tired of the rumors claiming Apple will debut a foldable phone in the near future, maybe you should take a hard look at the Android foldables to satisfy your craving. 

Foldables are great, but they're not the only fun option. The LG Wing is one of the quirkier phone designs, sporting an entire second display that swivels from vertical to horizontal orientation, which gives the phone a T shape. Unfortunately, the phone is no longer in production. LG left the phone business entirely shortly after releasing the Wing, but at least it continued to update the phone years after leaving the industry. Maybe one day we'll get an LG Wing 2. 

Other quirky Androids have popped up at tech conferences, like this bendable Motorola phone meant to be worn on the wrist. E-ink phones are a category of their own. The Bigme e-ink phone from Hibreak is one of the first of its kind, delivering a full Android 14 experience on an e-ink display. It's not the best candidate for watching YouTube or scrolling through social media because of the low refresh rate, but some people like the experience as it helps them disconnect from an always-online world. The Onyx Boox Palma is also an e-ink device. Sadly, it can't be used as a phone despite looking and working like one. Still, you can download any app from the Google Play Store, and it's a great e-reader alternative if you're looking for something smaller.

Whether you use Google Drive for school or work, Google Maps while driving, Gemini for AI assistance, or Gmail for personal correspondence, it's nearly impossible to avoid the Google ecosystem. There are alternatives, of course. Proton's suite of products can replace a lot of Google's most-used services, like Drive, Calendar, and Gmail. Transitioning to an entirely new ecosystem is a hard bargain for some. 

Doubling down on Google by getting an Android phone offers advantages if you're already invested in the ecosystem because Google apps offer better integration on Android. Photos taken on an Android phone can be immediately sent to the cloud, which you can access from your computer via a web browser. Google Drive is also better on Android, allowing you to access files stored on the cloud from your phone's file explorer. This makes browsing files a breeze through a single app — whether stored locally or on the cloud — which is a huge timesaver. The other significant advantage is easy access to Gemini via a single button press or by uttering the "Hey Google" hotword. Gemini, which has replaced the Google Assistant on Android phones, is a helpful AI tool that can do more than the old assistant. Moreover, it works much better than Apple's AI, which is getting left behind on this metric. 

There are gaming PCs, laptops, headsets, keyboards, and mice. Now there are also gaming phones. If you haven't been keeping up, Android gaming phones take up a very small slice of the phone industry. They're expensive, distinct-looking, and overkill for most people. This is not the phone you get when all you play is "Wordle" or "Balatro." It's like getting a McLaren to drive to the supermarket. 

Gaming phones, while not for everyone, exist for a reason. These phones offer higher-end components under the hood, better, sharper displays, and enhanced cooling to ensure the phone doesn't overheat. If you want to get the best experience when playing "Genshin Impact" or "Zenless Zone Zero," then maybe a gaming phone is for you. Some pro "PUBG Mobile" and "Call of Duty: Mobile" players use gaming phones, proving that these devices deliver a top-tier gaming experience. ASUS's ROG phones are arguably the best option. The latest ROG Phone 9 Pro is a performance beast with a Snapdragon 8 Elite CPU, which is one of the most powerful smartphone processors available. It also has a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 185 Hz refresh rate for smooth gameplay — with a peak brightness of 2500 nits, you can use this phone in broad daylight. It may be overkill for most games, but for competitive games or graphically demanding titles, it's just right. 

While you can now use certain video game emulators on iOS, Androids have done it for a lot longer, and they still do it better. There are just more emulation apps available on the Google Play Store, and managing files like ROMs is much easier via Android's file management system. It's not just emulators. Android lets you install apps not available on the Google App Store through a process called "sideloading." You can sideload apps like "Fortnite" that you can't find on the Google Play Store. While Android might block sideloading for some apps for being outdated, newer apps that work with the current version of Android should work fine. 

Android phones are also very customizable. You can choose custom color palettes for the UI with Android's Material You, create unique emoji-based wallpapers, change app icons, and a lot more. Google's Pixel phones typically get the best Android features first, but they eventually trickle down to other Android phones.