I will be traveling to the United Kingdom numerous times of the year and want to make my life easier.  Today’s cell phones are much more than phones but mobile computers.

Today we rely on apps more so than the actual phone capabilities on our mobile devices.  Most mobile devices are either Apple or Android devices.  I noticed Apple devices are more prevalent in the United States – I’ve always wondered why.  I can say, I understand why now.

Before I continue, below is my experience & only my opinion.  If looking between Apple & Android ecosystems, please research for yourself.

My current mobile device is an iPhone.  You are logged in to your iCloud account on your iPhone which is country specific.  So, you are only able to download country specific apps on the Apple store.  I guess that’s a good design.  But what happens if you want to download apps from a different region or country?  There was a need for me to download various transportation apps in the United Kingdom which helps me to plan and purchase fare while abroad.

I researched around the topic of how to download country specific apps on iPhone.  From what I read, all suggested to create a new iCloud account in that region.  Okay, so far this is acceptable.

Once I created an UK specific iCloud account, I logged out of my US iCloud account on my phone.  The options provided are as follows:

• Erase phone – essentially wiping everything and resetting your device.
• Keep Data on iPhone – this keeps all apps but some of the app data is lost.

I chose option 2 to keep data on iPhone.

I proceeded to log into my iPhone with my UK iCloud account.  I also VPN’d into the UK in case Apple wants to verify location to download UK apps.  I was pleased to be able to download the transportation apps as planned – score!

Then I logged out of my UK iPhone account on my device again with option 2 and log in with my home US iCloud account.

To my surprise, much of my app data was lost.  Some apps, had me re-validate my login and most important, my Apple Wallet was completely wiped out.  I suspect Apple did this to tighten security around financial data.  Do you know how painful it is to add your credit cards and authenticate once again in Apple Wallet?

My assessment is that iPhone’s are great for individuals that require apps from a single country..

So to answer the question above, why are Apple devices more prevalent in the US? – it’s because the UI and ecosystem is simpler to use.  The drawback – it is difficult to have apps from different countries resident on your iPhone.  Now I understand why Android devices are more common in Asian & Europe where residents travel quite frequently between countries and utilize apps from different countries.

I remember working on developing apps for a pharmaceutical company where we tested availability of app in various countries.   On Android devices all I would have to do is VPN into the country and change my region/country in Google Play.

So I’ve upgraded my phone to a dual-SIM Android handset as my travel friendly mobile device.

Now to tackle the issue of simplifying having a local data plan while I travel – Goodbye Pre-Paid SIM cards & Hello eSIM!.