Confused about whether to get an iPhone or a Moto G?

ripplyuk

I've been offered a friend's old iPhone 4S. Atm, I'm using a very basic Nokia £20 phone and I've never had a smartphone, though I have an iPad at home. My main requirements are that it can take photos, have the snapfish app on it and a sat nav, and play music in the car (it has a round pin connector but I might be able to get an adaptor of some sort).

I do not want emails on it at all, and I don't want any of my iPad apps to 'sinc' with it.

I'm wondering if I'll have difficulty with the iPhone copying everything from my iPad when I don't want it to. Also, it's very old and I'm not sure if it would be painfully slow to use. I'd have to buy all music from iTunes too, which I guess would leave me tied to iPhones forever. I could never afford to buy an iPhone myself so I'm worried all the music will be unaccessible to me at some point.

I've also looked at the Moto G, which I've heard is easy to use. This would avoid any overlap with my iPad, and it might be nice to use google's App Store and music. I could wait and get that in a few months if it would be the better option. But I'm also worried that it wouldn't be as secure as the iPhone, with viruses etc.

Could anyone help or advise me with any of this? I'm really confused by it all.

20aday

I recently bought a friend the 2nd generation Moto G 4G (from 2014) and he's very happy with it.

It has the latest version of Android (Marshmallow) where as the iPhone 4S will never receive an iOS update again (not a bad thing given the last version it'll run is iOS 9 and I've heard it's painfully slow!)

Despite it being a couple of years old it still performs absolutely fine (I've never noticed any form of lag).

Frozen_up_north

You can avoid mixing up two accounts with iPhones and iPads, use a separate email address for the iCloud setting to that used for iTunes & App Store. Your existing iTunes/App Store can be used with more than one device, so whatever you have purchased can be downloaded on a second device...

By using a different log-on (different e-mail address) with iCloud, you get another 5 GB of free storage on the second device and no mixing of contacts, images, etc. You can of course use the same iCloud log-on if you want to sync between devices.

The iPhone 4S is very old, so expect it to be slow and perhaps needing a new battery.

ripplyuk

Thank you both. I'm a bit put off with the thought that this iPhone will be slow and get no more updates. But I don't want to seem ungrateful to my friend for offering it.

If I gave it a try and then bought a lot of music from iTunes, would this cause problems if I upgraded to a new android phone? I know I could still access it from my iPad, but I don't really want that as I never use the iPad for music at home.

With an android, would I need antivirus software for it? And would I need an actual computer for anything to do with it? I don't have one.

Sorry if I sound really stupid here.

JJ_Egan

Android AV not required .
Use without a PC Laptop yes not required .

Rev

I have an iPhone and an iPad. I just turn off he sync settings and that's that. They don't talk to each other at all. They're completely separate. I don't use desperate accounts. I have an iPod too. They're all using the same account but they don't sync with each other because I use them completely differently.

You can buy music from wherever you like and just put it on iTunes to sync with your phone. If you no longer have an iPhone just find your iTunes library on the PC and copy the songs you want to a separate folder.

Which moto g? There's a lot of Them around now.

I love iPhones but I'd not recommend 4s to anyone. Even if it was free. It's over 4 years old. Of course it will run like treacle and be useless in next to no time at all. It's not getting iOS 10 so it's done as far as updates are concerned and I imagine if it has iOS 9 it will be so slow it's unbearable. In all honesty I'd not even consider it.

ripplyuk

Rev wrote: »

You can buy music from wherever you like and just put it on iTunes to sync with your phone. If you no longer have an iPhone just find your iTunes library on the PC and copy the songs you want to a separate folder.

I don't have a PC but tbh, all that sounds too complicated for me anyway.

I hadn't decided on any particular model of the Moto G. It's just that I'd got advice previously and was told they were easy for beginners to use. But I'd welcome any suggestions.

There's only 2G at my house, but I guess it would still be able to make calls/texts. And use my wifi. It should be able to pick up 3G when I'm driving which is important as I'd like a sat nav on it.

Rev

ripplyuk wrote: »

I don't have a PC but tbh, all that sounds too complicated for me anyway.

I hadn't decided on any particular model of the Moto G. It's just that I'd got advice previously and was told they were easy for beginners to use. But I'd welcome any suggestions.

There's only 2G at my house, but I guess it would still be able to make calls/texts. And use my wifi. It should be able to pick up 3G when I'm driving which is important as I'd like a sat nav on it.

It's really not. It's just copy and paste or drag and drop. But a moot point if you have no PC.


I'd go for at least the 3rd gen moto g as you no doubt want it to last at least a few years. Phones aren't built or made to last years on end any more. But in all honestly any of the Motos will be better than a 4-5 year old iPhone. If you look on HUKD Voda have the second gen moto e for £35. Unlock codes are under £2 on eBay too. Even that would be better than a 4s.


Someone may know better about which moto to buy. I've stuck with iPhones so as far as android goes I'm not extremely knowledgeable.

20aday

My friend's 2nd gen Moto G is absolutely fine on Android Marshmallow but given that Motorola have just announced the 4th gen Moto G if you shop around you might find a deal on the 3rd Gen.

If you're happy with just using your phone for calls/texts/web browsing and sat nav then the Moto E would be fine for your needs (but may become sluggish much quicker than the Moto G).

ripplyuk

I'm starting to understand why people are always getting new phones! The new ones just don't seem to last. I've had my cheap little Nokia for 8 years now. I can't remember when I last charged it as the battery lasts at least a fortnight. I spend around £3 a month on calls/texts. I think a smartphone is going to be a big change.

The only reason I'm changing it is because I'm stuck in the dark ages as far as music goes. All I have is cd's. I'd like to be able to buy songs and play them in the car. Also, I need a camera and an idiot proof way of uploading the photos to snapfish. I think a smartphone with apps would do both these things. A sat nav app would also save me having to take my tomtom everywhere.

My sister suggested getting an iPod touch and just keeping my own basic phone. But I'm not sure I want to be carrying two devices with me everywhere. However, the thought of having to replace an expensive phone every couple of years is making me reconsider.

DigForVictory

As the stubborn owner of a 4, my concern for you would be that the snapfish app might grouse at having to work with an old ios, but that otherwise there's no reason (other than an easily tired battery) that it shouldn't work out for you.

Also, not all music needs to be bought through iTunes, just administered there, so it may not be as gruesome expensive as you fear.

It's kind of your friend, so give it a try before deciding which way to go?