XPost: misc.phone.mobile.iphone

On Sun, 31 Aug 2025 22:34:29 -0400, Tom Elam wrote :

How is it a $30 Android has more functionality than any iPhone ever made?

You need 3 Android phones plus an Apple 12 mini?

Hi Tom Elam,

I welcome any adult conversation about Apple products, so thanks for asking
why I need three Androids but only one iPhone, and why the Androids are
still working but the iPHone has long been traded in back to T-Mobile.

The simple answer is I have four family members on my plan, one of whom
loves Apple products, but who found out the iPhone 12 mini battery died.

The problem with all iPhones is that the hardware is garbage, so it's not unusual for an iPhone 12 mini to have died in half the lifetime of Android.

Your $30 price is not the price at introduction. Apple and oranges.

The cost was $30 even though the Apple trolls insist aliens manipulated my
bill such that money secretly is being paid by me unbeknownst to the world.

There were no strings attached to that cost, but even if I bought the
Android outright in April of 2021, it would have cost under $300.

Bear in mind every Android phone has more functionality than any iPhone.
Once you understand that fact, only then can I begin to teach you why.

What does the Android do that my iPhone won't.

The iPhone is a barely functional toy compared to a real phone, Tom.

What Android Can Do That iOS Typically Won't

System-wide firewall & VPN routing: Android allows apps like NetGuard or AFWall+ to control network access per app-no root required in some cases.

App sideloading without an account: You can install APKs directly from any source, no Google account needed.

GPS spoofing: Android supports mock location apps natively (with developer mode), while iOS requires jailbreaking.

TOR-level anonymity: Orbot and similar apps offer full TOR routing on
Android. iOS has Onion Browser, but it's sandboxed and limited.

Custom file naming for photos: Android file managers and camera apps let
you define naming conventions. iOS sticks to its internal format.

Signal debugging: Apps like Network Signal Guru or CellMapper give granular cellular and Wi-Fi diagnostics-iOS doesn't expose this data.

Default app control: Android lets you set third-party apps as defaults for dialer, SMS, browser, camera, etc. iOS only allows limited changes (e.g., browser and email).

Cross-device app restoration: Android backs up and restores apps across
devices without tying them to a single account the way Apple does.

The fact iOS can't do what every other OS easily does proves it's a toy.

However I already know what your response will be which is that on your
iPhone you don't want to do anything, so of course, a toy is fine for you.

One thing the Android will not do is run ForeFlight.

Thanks Tom for trying to find something (anything) that iOS can do that
Android can't do, but the fact remains nobody can find anything other than
the use of port 445 that an iPhone can do that Android doesn't already do.

The discussion is about functionality, not about brand names, where we
could probably list a billion brand names that work on either platform that won't work on the other - so bringing up brand names is nearly meaningless.

What matters is functionality.

1. Garmin Pilot
- Full-featured: flight planning, charts, weather, synthetic vision
- Works with Garmin avionics
- Requires subscription

2. FltPlan Go
- Free and solid for VFR/IFR
- Geo-referenced plates, GPS nav, weather
- ADS-B support

3. Avare
- Totally free and open-source
- Sectionals, airport info, offline GPS
- Lightweight and community-supported

Other options:
- WingX Pro (free for CFIs)
- SkyDemon (popular in Europe)

The document you posted appears to show a 128mb iPhone 12 mini purchased
for $50 + tax and shipping from T-Mobile. How was that possible? Appears
to be subsidized by your plan's cost. Please post the T-Mobile monthly
bill that goes with this purchase.

Thanks for trying to find where the aliens are adding hidden costs to my
bill, Tom, as all the Apple trolls are desperate to find the alien action.

The T-Mobile monthly bill never changes, Tom. It's for service only.
It was $100/month for 4 lines in April of 2021 & it's the same today.
The only thing that changed was taxes of $16 went to $20 in that time.

The only cost was the sales tax and the initial trade in.
a. For the iPhone, it was another iPhone as the trade in.
b. For the Androids, it was any phone (so I gave them old flip phones).

With the trade-in, the cost went to about 1/2 for the iPhone 12 mini.
For the Androids, the flip phones were worthless to me, so we assume $0.

All this was covered in gory details in this very newsgroup at the time.

Bear in mind that T-Mobile doesn't have "contracts" so you can drop service
at any time and they don't change your service based on the free phone.

All they do is credit you the remaining value of the free phone, so if you
do drop the service, then you own them the remaining credited value.

Once a month, for 24 months, they reduce the lien on the free phone by
1/24th. It's really simple but the Apple trolls are desperate to claim that aliens must be manipulating my bill because they can't understand it.

But it's really simple.
There are no aliens manipulating my bill.

Every single person on T-Mobile USA postpaid was offered the same deal.
You'll note that badgolferman took up T-Mobile on that deal just as I did.

You'll note that even he had to trade in his iPhone so out of the five
phones, three Androids are still working fine & both iPhones died sooner.

That known fact, while anecdotal, is yet another nail in the coffin of the
myth that Apple puts in good hardware since iPhone hardware is garbage.

Particularly the crappy garbage batteries that Apple puts in the iPhone.

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