13 Years on iPhone, He Switched — 5ch: “Even iPhones Got Cheap-Looking”

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The story

A poster who says they used an iPhone for 13 years straight reported switching to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, sparking a wave of reactions on the “Anything Goes” live board (5ch).

In the thread, some argued that “Android just looks cheap,” while others said their opinion of iPhone had shifted too, now that the body went aluminum starting with the 17 Pro and started feeling “cheap.” Beyond that, opinions split over finer differences between the two OSes — things like how usable Android’s “back button” is, the poor resale value of high-end Android phones, and differing impressions of “sluggishness” in performance.

What people said

1AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:21
iPhone 5s → iPhone 7 → iPhone X → iPhone 12 → Galaxy S26 Ultra
Damn, it's crazy smooth lol
The right-swipe-to-go-back thing was annoying until I got used to it though
5AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:23
I get it. But Android looks lame, so I wish you could just install Android OS on an iPhone.
8AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:25
Re: #5
That idea went out the window once the iPhone 17 Pro switched to cheap-looking aluminum.
Honestly I like the Pixel Pro better now.
9AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:26
Re: #7
If you just swapped the OS, you wouldn't get the oversized icons and stuff…
31AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:42
Re: #9
The OS covers the icons too, and the design's lame.
10AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:27
I know there's no demand for it, but I want the iPhone mini to come back. Heck, I'd even take a successor to the Rakuten Mini.
20AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:33
Re: #10
Probably impossible because of the battery.
13AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:27
If someone could just fix how badly high-end Android ("droid," 5ch slang for Android) phones tank in resale value, I honestly don't think there'd be any real downside left.
18AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:31
Re: #13
Do you even care about resale? I keep using my old phone as a backup after upgrading, so I've never worried about it.
34AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:43
Re: #13
So that means a used 25 Ultra is a good deal, huh.
16AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:29
Didn't know iPhone users had that kind of adaptability in them 😳
19AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:32
Re: #16
Once I realized how much you could do with it and started wanting to tinker, it got fun — glad I switched.
41AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:47
Seeing 100,000 yen treated like a huge amount of money really makes you feel the times have changed.
44AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:52
Re: #41
X
Phone
LINE
Camera
ChMate (a 5ch browser app)
YouTube
Instagram
Google Search
Google Maps
Do you really need to drop 100,000 yen just to kill time?
47AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:55
I'm on the fence about getting the S26 Ultra myself.
48AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:56
Re: #47
You don't really need the privacy display, so I think the S25 Ultra would do just fine.
49AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:58
I used to be really particular about using Android, but I don't have the energy anymore to fiddle with all those little settings. For long-term use, something like iPhone is just the right amount of hassle.
51AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:59
Re: #49
Once you get used to Android, not having a back button while typing text is unbearable. Makes me wonder how I ever used an iPhone.
50AnonymousSep 21, 2026 07:58
It's heavy and huge. I keep it around just in case, but iPhone 📱 is what I actually use day to day. The comfort level's just different.
54AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:00
Re: #50
Comfort????
55AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:02
NFC works way better on iPhone. Android throws errors constantly, it's garbage.
59AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:05
Re: #55
Apparently that's an Android (Google) issue. I've never had it error out on me though.
75AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:18
It's ridiculous that something as pointless as a back button even exists.
78AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:19
Re: #75
Why does it even have a 'back' button in the first place?
80AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:20
Re: #75
Seriously. On iOS you just intuitively swipe left to right — why does Android even need that thing?
82AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:21
Re: #75
Pretty sure you can hide it in the settings.
79AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:19
I bet OP just got too broke to afford an iPhone anymore.
87AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:26
Re: #79
Uh, it's actually more expensive than an iPhone though.
88AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:27
Re: #79
A poor person couldn't afford an S26 Ultra anyway.
89AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:28
With Android there's this split-second lag when you tap. You think the tap failed, and then it suddenly snaps into action like it's trying to catch up. That lag drives me nuts. It's as annoying as the car in front of you that doesn't move the instant the light turns green, then floors it once it finally gets going.
92AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:30
Re: #89
That's just a junk phone with too little RAM.
100AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:34
Re: #89
That's a budget Android in a price range iPhone doesn't even sell in 🥺

An Android at a comparable price doesn't have that problem 😁
103AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:35
Re: #89
Sounds like you're comparing it to some 4GB-RAM junk phone.
96AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:33
Android's bad with girls, so I'm not switching.
101AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:34
Re: #96
Honestly, worrying about how your phone plays with girls is the least attractive thing you could do.
108AnonymousSep 21, 2026 08:37
Re: #96
If you're scared of getting asked 'why not just get an iPhone,' that screams insecurity in general, way before we even get to how girls see you.

Background and Talking Points

Comparing iPhone and Android (especially Galaxy) is a recurring staple topic on 5ch, and this time too opinions split along three lines: design, UI operation, and resale value. The “back button” in particular is a holdover from Android’s original UI philosophy, and even after bottom-of-screen gesture navigation became standard, it still lingers on some devices — which tends to feel jarring to people used to iPhone’s swipe gestures. There’s also a common view that high-end Android models get replaced quickly by new releases and lose value fast on the used market, while iPhones are said to hold their resale price better thanks to strong secondhand demand — that’s the backdrop for the thread’s back-and-forth over “resale.” It’s worth noting that the complaints about “sluggish” performance largely come down to differences in RAM capacity between devices, and are a common misconception — it’s more a quirk of budget models than a problem with Android as a whole. The thread never reached a clear verdict on which is better; it landed closer to “depends how you use it.”

※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Anything Goes Live board) thread “[Breaking] Me, 13 Years on iPhone, Buys an Android Phone.”

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