MARCH 2020 PCWorld 101worst excesses, but iOS has
always been more measured.
It slowly added new features
to the OS, and apps are
kinder to your battery as a
result. The iPhone 11 Pro will
last an entire day, even if you
use it heavily. It’s about on a
par with Android phones
with 20 to 30 percent larger
batteries.
Silent switch: The
iPhone’s silent mode switch is a quick, simple
way to shut up your phone. My old iPhone
3G had one, and I’m happy Apple has stuck
with it. There are still ringer volume controls
and a Do Not Disturb mode, but you have to
wake up the phone to use those. The iPhone’s
switch doesn’t move far, but it has delightful
tactile click, and you get haptic feedback
when activating silent mode. It’s so easy and
reliable, you can change the ringer mode
while the phone is in your pocket.
True Tone display: Color accuracy is a
noble ideal, but that’s not always good for a
phone display you might be staring at for
hours. Apple’s True Tone technology tweaks
the color temperature of the display based on
environmental lighting, making it easier on
the eyes. So, you get nice, bright whites
outside and warmer, less-distracting tones
inside. The iPhone screen “blends in” with
the world much better than other phones I’ve
used. Google has a similar feature on the Pixel
4, but it’s nowhere near as effective.
AirDrop: Sharing content with the
internet at large is easy these days—there’s
Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat...take your pick.
But sharing something securely with a person
right next to you is comparatively difficult on
Android. On the iPhone, it’s a breeze thanks
to AirDrop. Just hit the share menu, pick
AirDrop, and nearby contacts will appear like
magic. The recipient has the option to accept
or decline each transfer. If you’re daring, you
can even allow AirDrop visibility for people
who aren’t in your contact list.WHERE THE iPHONE FAILS
The home screen: Ten years after I left the
iPhone behind, its home screen remains
almost entirely unchanged. This was one of
the biggest pain points for me coming over
from Android—I missed my app drawer so
much. In addition, iOS only supports
rudimentary widgets, and they’re all crammedThe iPhone’s silent mode switch sure comes in handy.