Five reasons you'll regret ditching your Apple iPhone for an Android

It's official, the switch to Android is complete. Nearly three weeks on, Google's mobile platform has more than lived up to the hype.

But we'd be lying if we said we didn't miss the iPhone. There are still features you just cannot enjoy as much on Android. Here are the five we miss the most:

1. iMessage

It's hard to believe iMessage didn't appear on iOS until 2011, four years after the iPhone launched. Now, those blue message bubbles are all anyone on the platform can talk about it. And yes, they are bloody fantastic.

Easy picture messaging, group chats, games, gifs... Apple has really kicked the platform into overdrive in the past few years. And it should, it's a big reason a lot of people don't want to leave iPhones or iOS.

Remember worrying about MMS and picture messaging charges? You can probably thank Apple for making that redundant.

2. Live photos

Getting a photo sent to you is great, but when Apple unveiled live photos for the iPhone 6S it added a whole extra dimension to snaps. Force touch the picture and it would become "alive", with about 1.5 seconds of footage recorded before and after you hit the shutter button.

It was easy for Apple to market: kids laughing and smiling, fireworks exploding... You get the idea. As more and more people upgraded beyond the iPhone 6s, it almost became the norm.

And although other companies offer alternatives, such as the Pixel 2's motion photos, it's just not the same since you have to share with software-compatible friends. There's a theme emerging here: Apple is very good at locking you in.

3. Apple Pay

So here's the problem with Android Pay, not all banks need to buy in. Barclays, for example, does not support Android Pay, choosing instead to push its own app. This is such a major shortcoming.

Apple's "our way or the highway" mentality actually pays off in this situation. My Apple Pay had accounts from three different banks set up and it was easy to decide which one to use when purchasing something.

Sorry, no one wants to use two or three different apps to do the same thing. Know anybody with three different Facebook apps? Didn't think so.

4. The connectivity

Boy oh boy Apple are good at locking you in. When you've got an iPhone, buying a Macbook eventually becomes routine. You like how your iPhone works, so it should be smooth for an Apple computer as well. And it is. But then fast forward to a switch and now you've got a completely different setup to tackle.

The Macbook doesn't matter too much, the real killer is the Apple Watch. Say goodbye to notifications on your wrist, Apple Watch categorically does not work with an Android phone. Ironically, it's still attached snugly to my wrist. What for you ask? It's still a great fitness tracker without an iPhone nearby. Plus, I can use Apple Pay.

One last thing: Apple TV. Go and buy yourself a Chromecast because that little black box won't pick up a thing from your Android device (at least not for free).

5. Accessories

So many wasted cords, so many useless headphone adapters. Thanks to the rise of Bluetooth, this issue is not nearly as bad as it once would have been. Headphones, speakers and car connections are mostly wireless now anyway.

But that doesn't mean it's not an absolute pain to have countless lightning cables sitting around for nothing. Come on, everyone has more than one, don't they.

Then there's those little headphone to lightning adapters, they're all useless now as well. Bringing back the theme, once you're in, Apple make every effort to keep you locked down.