I Used to Be an iPhone Loyalist — Here's Why I Switched to Android + Windows
I used to be a full "iPhone person." An iPhone Pro Max, an iPad Pro 13-inch with the Nano-texture glass option, an Apple Watch Ultra — a complete Apple setup, and I was happy with how well it all worked together. Then diving, golf, and PDF work for my job led me to switch to an Android-and-Windows setup instead. Here's the story.
In short: a Galaxy S25 Ultra, an ASUS Zenbook S14, an external eGPU, and a Garmin quatix 8 together now cover things my iPad and Apple Watch never could.
What was I using before?
Before switching, my setup was a full Apple lineup: an iPhone Pro Max, an iPad Pro 13-inch with the Nano-texture glass option, and an Apple Watch Ultra. The way those devices worked together was genuinely comfortable, and I had no major complaints. But as I got deeper into diving, golf, and handling PDFs for work, I noticed something: iPhone tends to push you toward subscriptions everywhere, and when I compared app quality and price directly, Android came out ahead in a lot of cases.
The phone: Galaxy S25 Ultra
The first swap was the phone itself, to a Galaxy S25 Ultra. Processing power, the camera, and how comfortable it was to work on a large screen all impressed me day to day. But making that switch raised the next question: what replaces the tablet?
Replacing the tablet with a laptop instead
My original plan was to pair it with a Galaxy Tab Ultra. But while researching, I learned Android and Windows work together more smoothly than Android and a tablet OS, and changed course. What I carry now is an ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406AA) built around an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H. Display size, battery life, speaker quality, and everything else a tablet simply can't do — it beats my old iPad Pro across the board.
ASUS Zenbook (Core Ultra 9 386H)
The laptop I chose in place of a tablet. Display, battery, and speakers all beat my old iPad Pro.
View on AmazonGaming, solved with an eGPU
The one thing the laptop alone couldn't handle was gaming. So I added an external eGPU, a GIGABYTE AORUS RTX 5060 Ti AI Box, plugged in only when I'm at my desk. That combination makes gaming — PC games included — more comfortable than my old iPad Pro ever managed. I cover this laptop-plus-eGPU desk setup in more detail in Laptop + eGPU: a space-saving desk setup connected by a single USB-C cable.
GIGABYTE AORUS RTX 5060 Ti AI Box
An external eGPU box for the laptop. I connect it only when I need real graphics performance or want to game.
View on AmazonThe watch: Apple Watch Ultra to Garmin quatix 8
The Apple Watch Ultra I used for golf and diving was replaced with a Garmin quatix 8. Yardage measurement, an automatic scorecard, a virtual caddie for golf, and safety-stop tracking plus automatic dive-log recording — all with no subscription. That was a real win. I go into detail in How a Garmin quatix 8 changed golf and diving for me.
In summary
Switching from a full Apple lineup to a Galaxy S25 Ultra, an ASUS Zenbook S14, an external eGPU, and a Garmin quatix 8 filled gaps my iPad and Apple Watch never covered. It was a good reminder not to choose by brand alone, but to reconsider each device against how you actually use it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What replaced your iPad Pro?
A. Not a tablet at all — I now carry an ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406AA) built around an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H. The display size, battery life, and speakers all beat my old iPad Pro, and it runs full Windows apps.
Q. Can a laptop alone handle gaming comfortably?
A. Not on integrated graphics alone, so I pair it with an external eGPU — a GIGABYTE AORUS RTX 5060 Ti AI Box. I only plug it in when I'm at my desk, and it makes gaming (PC games included) more comfortable than my old iPad Pro ever was.
Q. What replaced the Apple Watch Ultra?
A. A Garmin quatix 8, which covers both golf and diving. Yardage measurement, a virtual caddie, and dive safety-stop tracking and logging all work with no subscription required — that was the deciding factor.
Q. Why switch from iPhone to Galaxy in the first place?
A. Comparing the apps I actually use for diving, golf, and PDF work at my job, Android consistently came out ahead of iOS on price and functionality. That was the main reason.
Q. What's the benefit of pairing Android with Windows specifically?
A. Android and Windows share files and data more smoothly than iOS and iPadOS do in my experience, which makes moving work between phone and laptop easier. You're also not locked into a single-purpose tablet OS the way you are with iPad.