You have not even touched how limited iOS is compared to Android. I can list over 50 things any 2015 Android can do which iPhone 16 can't. You basically have no control over anything in iPhone while in any Android even without rooting you control what every app access and how it's allowed to work or at all. I was not even referring to customized OSes like graphene or calyos which give higher level of control.
And how many of those 50 things actually matter? They’re things you want to do, not things the average user needs to do.
Simplicity is the main feature and has been a staple of Apple products for 35 years I’ve been using them. It means we don’t have to spend ages tweaking settings, we can get on with more productive stuff.
Xperia 1 iii?
Except you have to contend with those fucking model names Sony uses. The Xperia 5 IV. The 1 V. The Pro I 5G.
Ah yes. The ancient ios vs android debate.
They each have their use cases, and I can understand the justification for using either.
My specific threat model (similar to high profile journalist covering topics that expose wrongdoings in high positions of power) has me using iOS, where the cons of being locked in Apple’s walled garden don’t outweigh the benefits of having a robust, secure operating system right out of the box without much setup and maintenance (i.e. Lockdown Mode).
Other folks’ threat models have android on the winning side. It is highly personal, and making grand statements about one being better over the other is childish.
The only other option that I see as more viable is GrapheneOS on a Google Pixel, but I have yet to make the leap. Maybe soon.