There seems to be a mindset that people get into once they’ve used a mobile operating system for a long period of time. (To be fair, this is universally applicable and can be found in many parts of life.) Apple users love their devices and protect that admiration — or “fanboyism” if you wish — with a passion. They remain loyal to the Apple ecosystem, sometimes even if they don’t like the changes that are taking place.

Just last night, at a friend’s birthday party, everyone in the room was talking about the iPhone 5s, why they’re getting it over the 5c, and how excited they are for the new phone. Even people without upgrades were talking about purchasing one. You certainly must value the community that revolves around Apple. They’re dedicated. Sadly, though, they often see users of products other than Apple as inferior. The American complex.

Then there’s the occasional wanderer who opposes the current trend. He doesn’t agree with the design choices, or he just gets bored. (After a while, Apple’s minimal, slow-changing approach to things can get dull.) I’m him, but not until recently.

It started back in June when iOS 7 was announced at this year’s WWDC. I, as well as most heavy iOS users, was very excited about the redesign. I got the initial beta by the second day of its release through my channels and began trying things out. That lasted about a week. I didn’t get bored with Apple’s way of doing things, but rather annoyed with a beta experience. This was strange since most people claimed iOS 7’s first few betas were “the most stable” releases (for betas) they’d ever seen from Apple. I couldn’t agree, and the final release didn’t change that.

To me, the design wasn’t all that appealing at first, which, if you know me, is an immediate turnoff. I’m critical about my taste in aesthetics. In my app reviews, that’s sometimes all I can talk about. Design is, to me, the most important element of user experience. I value quality in design more than anything. If you develop an app that offers uncontestedly unique functionality but uses a default template for the platform, I’ll pass it up in a jiffy. Likewise, if the icon is lacking imagination or too fancy, I won’t even look at the rest of the app page.

So yes, I’m very particular about the appearance of what I use on a daily basis. I’m sure there are others like this, too, because more and more top (and indie) apps are finding their own voice in design.

Now, back to iOS 7. Rather than rant about my quibbles, I’ll leave a list of them at the bottom of this article. Overall, let’s just say that I disliked the new OS so much that I have switched to Android.

After installing the iOS 7 Gold Master on my iPhone 5 last Tuesday and using it for a the remaining hours of the day, I concluded that I did not want to work with the OS anymore. It didn’t feel like the seamless experience I’d always had with Apple products. There was this strange disconnect between the device and myself and I no longer felt at home using it.

So, last Thursday, after researching all available Android smartphones on Verizon, I ordered a Moto X online. It would be delivered Monday. I was very excited to try something new, and yet there was this strange feeling that I was doing something wrong. It was as if I had made a bad decision and would be punished for switching from Apple to Google; as if I was making a big life decision. After all, your phone says things about you. But after thinking about this way too much, I shut off my brain and watched New Girl with some friends.

I fretted about the switch over the weekend, but by Monday my excitement had returned. As I studied for my pre-calculus exam, I waited impatiently for FedEx to arrive. They finally did at 11 a.m. and, with opening white box, I entered a new world of terrifying curiosity. It had been two years since I used Android full time, and back then I hated it.

I started out very excited, but this energy slowly died as I installed all the apps I needed and experimented with home screen organization. I finally settled on a Yahoo Weather widget with a clock and eight apps (plus the ones on the dock) on the main screen. This was perfect, but I continued to worry that I was taking a step in the wrong direction. It’s scary forging a new path when you’ve used the same one for so many years.

I had a lot of time on my hands to worry about things, so I did just that on Monday. Eventually I forgot about it all and went to sleep. I woke up with new excitement yesterday, hoping to start using my Moto X as my main phone. (After all, my iPhone 5 was now inactive.) I headed to town for my math exam, studied a bit, and then went to the coffee shop to begin my psychology assignment. I didn’t even notice that my phone had started playing music for me in the car, read off my mother's name when she was calling (also in the car), and detected that I took it out of my pocket. Apple always wanted to make technology disappear, but ironically, the first experience with this that I had was with the Moto X.

Switching to a new platform is by no means easy, especially if you rely on it for everything throughout your day. At first, I envisioned Android as a newly-polished operating system. Then fear set in and I started thinking I may have had a horrible idea risking my entire mobile life on a whim. (I actually wanted to be more disconnected from people when I was out and about, so if Android didn’t work out I wouldn’t have anything to worry about. I even considered getting a free dumbphone to cut off the Internet.) But this was a good impulse.

I like the way the Moto X feels in my hand. Its curved design feels natural after you use if for a few hours. I also like that it knows when I pick it up off the desk or take it out of my pocket. I think it’s nifty that it can stop calls when I’m sleeping and automatically send people to voicemail if I’m in a meeting. The always-on voice activation feature is the most impressive and accurate bit of technology I’ve seen in a long time, even if it is creepy to some people. (You can always turn it off.)

Overall, I enjoy my new phone. Looking back a week ago, it was a big waste of time for me to dread switching platforms. Your phone is a social statement, but who cares if other people don’t like it? If you enjoy it as much as I do, that’s what matters. I’ve been showing my Moto X off to friends and they’re beginning to gain faith in Android again thanks to its fantastic representation of the platform. Sure, there are little glitches and annoying bits here and there, but I genuinely delight in using my new device.

For reference, I still own a MacBook Air and EarPods. I do not intend to abandon the Apple ecosystem, but rather explore what else is out there. I know that Windows 8 is terrible and Ubuntu severely underdeveloped, but Android is promising and there’s no reason to blindly bash it.

iOS 7 Stumbling Blocks

  • Control Center and Spotlight are too easy to access while swiping around as you usually would. Likewise, swiping back down on Control Center doesn’t always close it.
  • Safari and Mail’s white design is blinding.
  • All transitions and animations have a buffer after them that prevents you from swiping or tapping.
  • The parallax effect, despite being a good concept, is distracting, nauseating, and sluggish on my iPhone 5.
  • The fancy flow effect Messages yields when scrolling gets old very fast and can’t be disabled.
  • You can't shuffle a genre in the Music app.
  • Quitting apps in the multitasking menu is now a chore. Also, often when I try swiping the app up to close it, the OS thinks I’ve swiped left or right. It’s almost too sensitive.