MMoving to Japan

Worth switching to iOS from Android?

(Let me know if this is better suited for /r/japanlife )

I’m moving in April, and was going to upgrade my Android (Samsung) phone, but wondering if I should just switch to iPhone. Does it make life a bit easier? Seems to be more of the “default”, easier with Apple Pay etc.

9 comments

  1. People use both iOS and Android phones here. Apple Pay is not nearly as popular as the domestic PayPay and a multitude of other similar services. Just use what you want and it will be no problem.

  2. Apple is certainly the most popular here. The more important thing is that you shift your App Store or Google Play to a local account. While many apps are available on foreign market stores, there are many that are not.

  3. iPhones have better compatibility with IC cards like Suica. They’re supported natively on all types of iPhones sold worldwide.

    On Android, it’s rather… complicated. IC card support requires extra Japan-only chips and licences that most OEM do not include in their hardware.Some support it and when they do they’re only sold in Japan (Pixels for example).

    Moreover Japan is the country with **the biggest** iOS users share compared to Android (~60% iOS vs ~40% Android). So I would not be surprised if most popular apps are better designed on iPhones.

  5. It doesn’t really matter if it’s android of iOS

    But if you want to use something like mobile suica, mobile Pasmo or other touch to pay services, you should make sure the phone has FeliCa support.

    iPhones and Google pixel have the support worldwide. But many other models only have the support on models sold in Japan (I’m not sure about Samsung for example)

  6. I just made the switch around the other way, from iOS to Android. If you are planning to keep your home country in addition to the Japanese app store account, Android makes this much easier. It’s a real pain to switch between accounts and countries on iOS and not all apps are available internationally. That was my biggest issue with Apple. I had constantly had to switch accounts because I had subscriptions in different countries.

    One thing to be careful about is felica support for e.g. mobile train passes. Foreign iPhones have it (at least the newer models) but foreign Android phones don’t. If you buy an Android and want felica support you need to buy it in Japan. But also note that phones bought in Japan have a camera shutter you can’t turn off for legal reasons.

    And no, iphone doesn’t make life easier. Things like suica/pasmo (as long as you have felica support) or paypay work on all phones and are much more common than something like apple pay.

  7. I have tried for many years since I don’t like the dominance of apple but I end up using iPhones because it last longer and the usability is something I cannot be without. I didn’t liked the Android phone maker design and the performance and overall usability is poor. But as soon any maker could beat iPhone I would definitely switch.

  9. I have both a Pixel 6 Pro and Iphone 13: I liked how I was able to add my Pasmo card and use it a lot easier than android, to the point I only bring my iphone out of my bag when I get on the subway

    So if you’re taking trains a lot, iphone +1 for me.

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