Android v I phone.....help me moving forward.

[Tolkienista]

I've had a Motorola g31 phone since October 31st 2022. I bought it in John Lewis it came with a 2 year guarantee and I've needed it, as I've had problems .
I'm an O2 customer and I've got a SIM only deal.
I was told by customer services at Motorola that the average life of a phone is just over 2 years, which to me seems incredibly short.
I've always used Android phones, now I'm thinking of changing to an I phone, but I know very little about them.
Cost, different models, where to buy one etc.

Fellow mumsnetters, what do you think?
I'm not really au fait with the latest technology, but I do use my phone a lot so I want something that I can understand how to use quickly & is cost effective. I've noticed photos taken on an I phone are far superior to ones taken on mine.
Maybe it's time to bite the bullet and move to an I phone.
Any thoughts?

The Motorola G31 was a low-end phone when it came out. It's not surprising that it's not got the same picture quality as an iPhone that costs 5-10 times as much. If you spent as much on a Samsung or Pixel as you'd need to spend to get an iPhone you'll get iPhone-quality photos on that too.

Thanks for your message and clarity in explaining the difference between my phone and more expensive models, that is most helpful.
Just to clarify, I've only really noticed the difference in picture quality on fairly close up facial photos and selfies, otherwise it's fine, but probably time to aim higher in my choice of phone model.

Motorolas are cheap and cheerful phones and perfectly good for a basic phone, pictures are crap, DH has one, I have an iPhone 15 PM, my phone cost nearly 10 times more, of course the photos are better, DH was moaning about his photos, I told him to get a high end Google or Samsung phone, he doesn't want Apple

Unfortunately the best photos are on the phones around ££££ rather than £££, as DH has found when looking at reviews for this, he still has his Motorola, not sure which one but it was about £130 about 2 years ago.

What’s your budget op?

One thing to think about if moving from Android to an iPhone is any supporting technology you may have. For example myself, my husband and my son all have android phones, we use family link for my son's phone and have the Google home devices if one of us switched to an iPhone it wouldn't be compatible.

I love my Pixel phone and would happily buy another when the time comes. It's only a year old though so I expect another year minimum if not 2 or 3. Mine's a 7a. The 7 is better than the 7a. Newest is the 9 series....maybe look at prices for varies models, handset size varies too. My 7a does all I need it to, photo quality is good.
My son has had a fairly basic Samsung for almost 4 years, dropped it down the wooden stairs the first week he had it and it's still going strong! I used to have Samsung and again, great quality phones with good features. Son and I are android users, rest of the family are iPhone and loyal, I can never use DH's phone, but I'm sure iPhone are quick to learn when using day in day out. The other kids moved from android easy enough.

Edited for typos

Great point...we used family link and I can no longer track 2 of the kids now they switched to iPhone. Life360 will do the job I think when I get it set up.

Omg, no idea.
My current phone was £130, October 2022.
It's now April 2025, don't know if I should buy a sim free phone or go for a phone on contract.
Don't want a super duper expensive phone, but don't want a bargain basement phone either.

Sounds like mine.
My Motorola phone was £130 around two years ago.
Very good support from customer services, but it's my second Moto phone and time to aim higher.

To be honest , the reason I bought it was that it came with a two year guarantee from John Lewis and it's been really easy to use.....not so great for photos, but that's only one part of phone use

We are all Android, I can't imagine having an iPhone. Look at OnePlus Nord Lite. Battery last days. Camera is brilliant. My DH has one. I have OnePlus 9

Everyone I know who has an iphone spends their life looking for a charger or carrying around power packs

On the iPhone the best photos are on the ones called Pro or Pro Max, they are the iPhones with the 3 cameras things in the square shape, the standard iPhone have the 2 cameras things in a rectangle shape so you can recognise what phone your friends have.

I love my OnePlus phone too - the photos are fine and v easy to use. Their fast chargers are amazing.

I got the kids budget iphones preowned from giff gaff - I got a lower grade one and it looked brand new with decent battery life

Well I wouldn’t be without my iPhone and it’s nonsense to say you’re constantly looking for a charger or carrying round battery packs. That would only be if you’re a heavy user.

That said, iPhones are expensive., you could check out the Apple refurbished section and get something a bit cheaper, but it will be far more than £130. I’d go for the most up to date model you can afford, but it very much depends on what you are prepared to spend.

www.apple.com/uk/shop/refurbished/iphone

It's just my experience with two friends who have iPhones.

Maybe It's the ones with the old iPhones that have to carry power packs with them, if you had a much used 5 year old iPhone the battery would be a bit worn like it would with any older phone, I have never needed one with mine

I'm a Samsung girl, I had the iPhone 3 when it first came out. Switched to Samsung and never looked back. For me it's all about the camera.

I'm currently have an S23 ultra, and the picture quality is amazing(due to upgrade next year).

Go into the O2 shop and have a look at phones, try them in your hand, ask them for advice. You may not want or need the super duper expensive top of the range phone, but they can give you advice on what other models there are that meet your requirements

You're either iPhone or Android I find.

I'd get a Samsung. I've had iPhone and Samsungs and prefer the latter. They are cheaper for the same quality and IMO, more intuitive to use. They also tend to last longer which is important if you're not bothered about constantly upgrading.

I've always had Motorola phones ,last one was a G Power (I think!) and I had it for 4/5 years ,the camera was dreadful,really awful which was a shame as the phone before was cheaper and the camera was great.

I dithered about going to an iPhone but bought a Google Pixel instead and it's fantastic and the camera is truly brilliant.

In my experience, iPhones last longer, and are more intuitive to use than Android models. Plus, iPhones receive updates for several years. For example, the latest operating system is compatible with iPhones released in 2018.

Depends on the make and model of android phone though and on the person using the phone.

Also you've just proved what I said about being either Android or iPhone.

Stick with android .. I flipped back to an iPhone but soon flipped back to android afterwards the battery life for a start! I have an oppo phone. Best I've had. Love it

If you have always used an iPhone, it will always seem more intuitive compared to Android. I think completely the opposite being an Android user.

I don't understand about the updates. The new OnePlus gets 6 years of updates. I'm still getting updates (had an OS one last week!) and I swear I've had it 5 years already.