Switching to Android with a partner who is not happy with the idea?

DeletedUser349

I spoke to my partner today about having my next phone be a Pixel running Grapheneos. We both currently use iPhones. They said they didn't want to deal with me having a different OS than them, mainly because of green chat bubbles. I’ve been considering graphene due to research I’ve been doing on privacy. Also, I won’t be out of contract with my phone for a bit, but this still seemed like a big deal to them.

So, have any of you been able to work through this issue with a significant other? Did you do anything to resolve the issue? What was the result?

Graphene1

DeletedUser349 download Signal for them?

Its just a phone, don't allow your partner to call the shots that's how they will loose your respect especially over something so trivial.

vlad

DeletedUser349 mainly because of green chat bubbles.

signal.

Delaney

DeletedUser349 I think your partner is just averse to change, which is a normal response to have. When you actually switch over and can still communicate with them, chances are they'll realise it's not really a big deal at all.

This is especially so if you live in a country where third party messaging apps are the norm rather than iMessage.

DeletedUser495

DeletedUser349 mutual respect in a relationship is fundamental. If she can't understand your decision for switching to another OS for whatever reason just as you can respect her unwillingness to part with habits she thinks work for her (because she knows no better?!), trust me, things will not end there and eventually will show in more profound aspects of life. Talking about things and educating yourselves is the first step in establishing common ground upon which you can build to achieve successful outcomes.

Let me translate it. She should understand your decision for wanting to communicate with her and in general in more private ways. You should respect if she wants to do something else. But by pulling at different ends of the rope, you are hardly going to reach desired consensus and one of you will have to compromise.

Grapi

What is exactly the issue?

DeletedUser349

Graphene1 very good point! it is trivial you’re right

DeletedUser349

vlad I guess I would have to convince them to use signal but you’re right it would get rid of the chat bubble issues

DeletedUser349

Delaney this is a very good point, I am hoping they realize it doesn’t matter cause, well, it doesn't.

DeletedUser299

use whatever phone you like, as will your partner. If they prefere an Apple device, no big deal.
Communicate with one of the several multi platform secure messaging apps available.
My household has Android and Apple devices, I use GrapheneOS, we use the Threema app, no issues.

cleanbowtie

We just moved to Signal, and that was quite literally it.

trashaccount

You can probably use Google Messages (with a bit of setup) and have end-to-end encryption to iMessage. But i have a feeling that the main issue is not liking the green color.

chinook

trashaccount the green is intentionally made obnoxious and unpleasant, an example of fostering the Us vs Them hostility.
I've seen enough videos to believe that Android crowd (green bubbles) are on the receiving end of the actual, genuine bullying from peers / family members. And it's not about the underlying protocol considering how insulated the iUser is from anything technical

It's a cult. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/apple-stimulates-brains-religious-responses-claims-bbc/

@op - move to GOS if that's the right thing for you. Configure RCS and suggest Signal for the sake of it.

But seriously, if your partner bullies you because of the bubble colour, they need help (and having their bubble colour secretly swapped)

DeletedUser349

chinook it’s interesting, for the longest time I was a rabid apple fan. I do still enjoy some of their products, but yeah it does sometimes feel like a cult. And I do believe the bullying is real - it’s so normalized to act like “ewww green bubble” which is kind of ridiculous when you think about it

Mystified3527

chinook

chinook But seriously, if your partner bullies you because of the bubble colour, they need help (and having their bubble colour secretly swapped)

Is it possible to set iMessages to green and SMS to blue (at the same time)? I did not see this mentioned in the article.

chinook

DeletedUser349 my point exactly. I've only ever used Apple products for work, for a few years, and I appreciate engineering and effort put into making it seamless, but it's also obvious for me why this ecosystem is not for me.

At the same time someone making a conscious choice to stay within this ecosystem has my unreserved respect -- this decision has its merits.

What I can't stand is the ignorance- or exceptionalism-driven false superiority complex and the "green bubble" ridicule is by far one of the most striking examples of that (seriously, I created account on insta and watched posts relating to this for a few days and it's flabbergasting). Another is for example user of the iPhone XS (£100 second hand) trying to boast the hardware superiority over the owner of one of the recent Android flagships with thinly veiled "only poor buy Android phones". Like... come on.

There's A LOT to the iOS/iPhone I applaud, but the average user I met is ... weird :D

Mystified3527 I have no way to test it, but this article suggests it should be possible, possibly with third party app?

secrec

When I met my wife, she had a cat and an iHeadache. Within days, the cat was given away and the iHeadache was sold.

DeletedUser349

secrec I gotta be honest, that’s kind of terrible that you got rid of your wife’s cat. That’s super depressing dude. I get getting rid of an iPhone or whatever but an animal?

Blastoidea

I’d depends on which is more important to you, your partner or your operating system.

secrec

DeletedUser349 Do you know what its like to be allergic to cat?

spl4tt

What difference does it make, what will change for her if you switch? xD She probably doesn't even notice what phone you're holding anyway. Why people use imessage is beyond me anyway. Just use some messaging app like literally the whole world but the US is using.

chinook

spl4tt I encourage you to find some videos containing "green bubble" and "ick" in it. Instagram or TikTok :D