iPhone definitely has search. I don’t have many apps on my screens. I just search for them. There is also the app gallery which has them all in apple categories.

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They have something called the “App Library”. I’ve never used Android so I’m not sure if it’s similar or helps.

https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/find-your-apps-in-app-library-iph87abad19a/ios

I too recently moved to iphone after being on Samsung moet of my life, but i disagree with you - android has far more quality of life stuff. Best example would be the gallery - the iphone saves everything to the recent album, even the photos taken by the camera.

If you want to do more customization then setting a background and some widgets on the homescreen dont switch to iPhones. The App Library is a mess compared to the App Drawer Samsung has. I switched my work phone to apple recently and my frustration started with setting up the keyboard the way i used to on android. Im currently experiencing software issues like freezes and crashes to a point where my phone feels like its running a nightly build of some obscure android rom. If you are in any way keen on customizing any part of your phone, dont switch to iphone.

Having come from Android recently myself, I use my iPhone almost like you say. I don’t have any apps on my Home Screen. I just the use the App Library and Spotlight search and it works well. I disagree with people who the App Library is terrible, you just have to willing to let the algorithm have control. It’s nice to having to obsess about where everything goes myself.

back in the day i very briefly had an iphone 4s, but otherwise i’ve always used android. i just picked up a 14 pm since i’m unsatisfied with the current android lineup. anyway, i’ve had my phone for a little over 2 months now and the apps all over the screen and folders just drives me nuts. i’m not keep on the app library and while spotlight search works great, it’s annoying to have to always use. i still haven’t found an arrangement i’m comfortable with, and that’s with using widgets and such to achieve the arrangement and look i’m going for. i really miss the app drawer and custom placement. but if all you’re looking for is a single home screen with your fav apps and some widgets, it is achievable. everything else will just be in the app library, or you can make a folder.

i will also say, i’m irritated with the photo albums - how every photo ends up in the recents album, and while you can create custom albums, the photo is retained in recents always. makes it hard to separate them into albums.

I'll add that this thing, in conjunction with other rather small qol stuff and the abysmal notifications, caused me to move back to my Samsung.

iOS has an App Library screen that you can access from the rightmost home screen, and it organizes the apps automatically. The App Library groups similar apps into one folder, which it also names for you, and you can’t drag apps into other groups to rearrange. I pretty quickly found it unusable and just use the Search feature.

In a way, I got used to it by ignoring it.

See if a friend has an old iPhone or ipad they have in a drawer somewhere.. ask if you can borrow it . You can put it on Wi-Fi and play with it. Factory wipe it and create and an Apple ID and just start fiddling with it.. it’s not that bad once you get to know it. Most annoying thing is the shade to pull down for menu… nope gotta find the setting icon… not in the shade menu like android

I tried this route, not a friend has an old iPhone haha I'm ordering a refurbished one (prices in our country are almost 1.5x compared to America) and have one month to return it if I change my mind

I think SwiftKey is also on iPhone? It's my default one on Android, so at least on that part I'm not too worried