I'm still probably going to switch to Apple because I've been working towards being more privacy conscious in the last several months and Apple's stance on privacy and encryption is appealing.
At the time I had a T-Mobile G2 which was approaching the end of its natural lifecycle, I was also dissatisfied with the software quality of android overall - at the time I was looking for another android phone running stock android with a keyboard (something that didnt exist effectively), because the android on screen keyboard at the time was so awful - so I started looking at the iPhone - at the time I expected the same difficulties with iOS that I had with android (android always felt like it was half-done, for example non-scrolling context menu's that scrolled off the screen) - but I found overall that the software quality was just better with iOS - and added benefit is, my iPhone largely 'just works' - I spend all day repairing and building technology, the last thing I want to do is have to invest cycles to keep my own kit working.
With iPhone when it doesn't work (or has an issue), I take it back to the 'fruit store', and they make it all better, without me having to be much involved in the process - however with iOS this has happened precisely twice (once for a software bug, the other for a hardware issue), versus in two Android phones, I was performing a factory reset of the device about once a year due to software bugs (text messaging DB, apps that wouldnt uninstall, having to perform space management with a SD card and internal storage, email that would just stop syncing randomly, digitizer would stop working, etc), as well as a lack of updates to still new-ish hardware. While I realize with Google I have much more control and flexibility with how I can use my device, for me at least this added control is largely unimportant for my use case - yes there have been a few cases I wish I could do things with my iPhone that it doesnt do, but these are mostly edge cases, when I want to use my phone in a non-typical use case.
In addition with Apple, I know what the product they're selling is - and its not me. With Google, I've got a sneaking suspicion that I'm the product - don't get me wrong, I use Google, I like Google, but the relationship between Apple and I is much more clear cut. I also trust Apple as more likely to keep my data secure, and to stand at my side if someone (specifically the government) wanted at it.
As a Samsung Note 2/4 owner I used to give myself a lot of excuses as to why iPhones were "bad" -- non-expandable storage (even though I never maxed out the storage that came built in with my Android phones), non-user replaceable battery (even though my battery hardly ever dips below 50%, as whenever I'm in a place where I can plug it in, it's plugged in), a more restrictive ecosystem (even though I barely use more than the web browser and a few other common apps on any phone).
My tipping point was visiting Canada one time with data roaming turned off. Despite this, Sprint decided overnight that my Note 4 needed to download the Sprint NASCAR app that I did not request or have any intention of ever using. The download, since I was roaming in another country, cost me about $20 on my next statement.
Shortly thereafter I got an iPhone 6S Plus and haven't looked back. I'm still with Sprint, but thanks to iOS's restrictions I don't have to have any of their junk installed on there, which couldn't be removed from my Note 4 without rooting it.
I will say, however, that I'm still not a fan of iPhones killing the headphone jack, so I don't intend to upgrade until it becomes strictly necessary.
People tell me Android has improved since then, but it always felt not quite done. I'm still happy with the iPhone. Meanwhile, a co-worker in the office received his new Pixel 2 XL and RMAed it the same day because the proximity sensor doesn't work.
I'd rather have a phone/OS built by a company whose primary source of revenue is not user data.
From my, admittedly limited, understanding of the issues between iOS and Android it seems like iOS is more secure/privacy oriented with some obvious caveats like the Uber app issue you mentioned.
If you really want/need to stick to the big two systems, some AOSP build with microG is way better option that iOS, where you can do almost nothing to actually get your privacy back into your own hands.
