After reading Sunny Patel’s explanation for choosing Android, I felt it was only fair to explain my choices regarding iOS. I started using Apple devices with the original iPhone in 2007. Thus far, I have owned every iPhone device since then. When I originally sat down to write this list up, I thought the reasons would flow out uncontrollably. It seems now that there are a few, simple reason why I continue to stick with Apple’s operating system.

Designers and Developers

After a long time in the OS X world, there are a large number of app developers that I follow. I like supporting those developers, and the vast majority of them code exclusively for iOS. Developers like Marco Arment, TapBots, The Omni Group, and JuneCloud. These people not only code, they also talk about it, giving an inside look into the world of small (and large) software development. It makes them almost endearing, honestly, and I want to support them. Since almost all of them code for iOS exclusively, I stay on iOS.

In part because of Apple’s work and in part due to the evangelism of users that love OS X, iOS has a large number of exclusive apps. This makes it a compelling choice for almost any field, whether it’s Pages for document editing, Infinity Blade and Cut the Rope for gaming, or Reeder for RSS. Some categories of apps you didn’t even know you needed until they present themselves (Read: Instapaper). Some of the most successful cross-platform applications started on iOS, such as Angry Birds and Words with Friends. iOS apps consistently have a level of polish and attention to detail that I just don’t see on competing platforms.

App Review Process

This is important. Repeat after me. My phone should not need an antivirus application. Apple’s App Review process helps contribute not only to the lack of malware, but unstable applications as well. It’s not 100% accurate, but I have yet to enter into an app with trepidation because I have my personal information on the phone. A lot of people have mocked Apple’s so-called “Walled Garden”, but every time another major Android scandal or exploit appears due to data loss or data theft, I’m proud someone is willing to take the criticism and look out for their customers.

Polish/Papercuts

Before switching to OS X, I was a hardcore Linux user. I had run Linux from 2000, starting with Red Hat, and moving through Debian, Gentoo, and Ubuntu. I was perfectly fine with maintaining my xorg.conf file, configuring my window manager, and updating the config files for firewall, routing, etc. This may result from a large amount of free time, or perhaps it was just tricking myself into thinking that editing config files by hand put me “closer to the PC.”

In 2009, Ubuntu correctly noticed that one of the problems with Linux as a desktop platform were all the small usability problems that crop up on a regular basis. They created a project called One Hundred Paper Cuts with the aim of fixing the small problems in the OS. The name stems from the idea that even though the problems are small, they can add up to a decently painful experience in large numbers. That realization, that small impacts in the daily experience affect the long-term productivity of your experience, made me stop and think about how well-designed the platforms I was using actually were.

The iPhone has been lauded as one of the most well-designed pieces of consumer technology in the last decade. Its critics have claimed it was a triumph of style over substance, that its adherents are more concerned about something looking pretty than being usable. This, to me, usually indicates that they missed the point. The smooth scrolling in iOS is a result of a huge amount of effort to make sure that when you move your finger over the glass, the page being rendered moves in exact time such that your brain doesn’t have to compensate for the jerking of the UI. That button you just pushed will give you instant feedback so you don’t have to sit, waiting, wondering if the application has frozen, or that you missed the button somehow. That minimizing action when moving an e-mail to the trash gives you an indicator that it indeed deleted it, rather than just accidentally moved on to the next message. These are all small things. However, it’s the small things that make the experience frictionless, or perhaps, make the experience.

OS X & Compatibility

Apple has managed to gain a great amount of profit from owning the entire stack, from the hardware created to the operating system to the standard accessories for its PCs. As a result of that level of control, they are able to optimize the experience between iOS and OS X. iTunes, for those who have only run it on Windows, is just plain better. Contacts sync automatically with Address Book. Bookmarks sync automatically with Safari. These things are possible in Windows, but nowhere near as easy.

Contracts keep me from exploring outside

I’ve given quite a lot of thought into exploring Windows Phone 7. It seems that Microsoft has put out a quality product that resulted from a genuine interest in how to improve the common tasks done on a phone. However, phones in the US are priced out of the range of a trial. Phones have become a major purpose, and one that can’t be entered into just to entertain one’s curiosity. I love using iOS, but I can’t even browse other phones because the only affordable option is a two-year contract in order to subsidize the phone.

Conclusion

As noted above, these are my personal reasons for staying with iOS. Some are due to devotion, some to security, and some to lock-in. I acknowledge that everyone has an opinion, and some are diametrically opposed to mine. I’m always open to looking at other platforms, as the main idea is to make the platform transparent in order to get to what you want to do. That said, Apple has been doing a great job, and I don’t see my stance wavering any time soon.

Note: Some of the above links are affiliate links. This gives me a small amount of money if you decide to purchase the listed app. It hasn’t influenced my opinion on which apps are good or bad, nor any of the points above, but in the interest of full disclosure, they are there.