Ever since Apple released the first iPhone I've been a faithful parishioner at the Church of iOS and updated my phone to the latest version - all except the 3GS. I've now got the iPhone 5 and after using it for a few months I can say that it's ok - not great but just ok! Yes it's fast, yes the screen quality is amazing however iOS is definitely getting a bit dated and has lost its wow factor.
As for the alternatives there's never been much option - I really don't like Android, although I picked it up pretty easily after using a phone running it for a few minutes after a while I thought it was clunky and felt as though it was just thrown together. As for the naming convention - Ice Cream Sandwich, Jelly Bean!!!!!!! Get lost!! I'm 37 not 14!
The other player in the market, although quite a bit lower in he usage market is Windows phone. As an Apple appreciator I guess that there's the thought 'I love Apple stuff therefore I cannot like Windows stuff' however this for me has just been completely disproven with the introduction of Windows 8. My brother in law has sung it's praises for ages and I've never really taken much notice until recently. At this moment in time I think if I was asked would I leave Apple and iOS for Windows 8 I would probably say yes! One review video I've just watched on YouTube summed it up quite nicely, in iOS the way things work is app centric so to update your status on Facebook you open the Facebook app whereas Windows 8 seems to be task centric. Instead of updating a specific app you update your general status and then choose where to update it, all the apps work together. Yes there are some in iOS which do this - iPhone and Instagram to name two however the aren't many more. For me when I post a photo I would like to be able to open the photo in Camera Roll and choose where it goes, select for example Facebook, Twitter and Flickr from the menu and off it goes rather than having to upload specifically to each network one at a time. Yes there probably lots if apps which I could download to do that however I want the OS to do it.
Overall I think, possibly like a few other people, that Apple is getting lazy, their products look and feel amazing but using a device is more than that - its about the user experience and how many clicks and swipes it takes to do something not just how thin it is! I just hope for the next release to iOS or iPhone I see Tim Cook stood on a stage describing improvements in user experience rather than constantly describing how gorgeous something is. Am I considering switching from iOS to Windows 8? Yes I am, will I switch from iOS to Windows 8? Probably not!! Although the 4G promise from O2 is become a little more interesting!
