How To: Turn Your Samsung Galaxy S3 into an Effective iPhone Clone

So, you've finally converted from an iPhone to a Samsung Galaxy S3 smartphone. Great. Only now you're overwhelmed with the unfamiliar look and feel of the Android operating system.

Switching from Apple to Android can be a tough transition, but you'll eventually get used to it—even love it.

To help ease the process, you can temporarily turn your new Android smartphone into an iPhone clone simply by downloading a few apps from Google Play.

So, whether you're a recent Apple-to-Android switcher, or a weird hipster contrarian that wants to buck the establishment, the following five apps will help bring that iOS look to your new Samsung Galaxy S3 (or other Android smartphone).

Springboard Clone

There are a few iOS springboard plugins for Android, but none of them take the all encompassing approach that Espier Launcher does.

This launcher transforms the standard Android UI into an exact replica of the familiar iOS springboard. It also includes the hold-to-delete function, double-tap to view open apps, and the ability to rename and move apps to different home screens.

Lockscreen Clone

Espier Screen Locker is a free app still in beta, but has received good reviews and really does emulate the iPhone lockscreen with accuracy and includes nearly all of its features.

You can't even really tell the difference, can you?

Reminders Clone

Reminders iOS Style is a free app in the Play Store that mimics the look and feel of the standard iOS Reminders app. I used Reminders on my iPhone all the time, so I know everyone could use some help remembering what's on their to-do list.

You can create a checklist of items to do, create calendar reminders, repeat events, and much more. If you're new to the GS3 or Androids in general, this is an easy to use app to help you stop forgetting.

There's also the free Espier Reminders app, but they haven't implemented English support yet.

Notifications Clone

The notifications center for the iPhone is one of the more recent additions to iOS and definitely one of the most useful ones. It provides users with an all-in information deck, including recent alerts, new emails, app notifications, weather, time, date, and other system information. To mimic this look on your Android, try out the free Espier Notifications.

Working in conjunction with Espier Launcher and Espier Reminders, Espier Notifications will display app alerts, text messages, and reminders all in one convenient location. You will need to have the Espier Launcher installed for this addition to work correctly.

Keyboard Clone

A.I.type Keyboard is a really cool free app that not only makes your S3 keyboard look like an iPhone's, but it comes loaded with a bunch of other awesome features.

You can mimic the keyboard for nearly any popular devices, like Windows Phone, Blackberry, and the old Android Ice Cream Sandwich layout.

There is also an auto-correct notification bubble that pops up before the phone simply corrects something you're trying to write. The app is really smart and can suggest the next word and learns previous words you have entered.

Cool features like this are limited to 14 days on the free version, so if you want those ones for good, you're going to need A.I.type Keyboard Plus, which will cost you $ 3.99.

Any more iOS apps for the Samsung Galaxy S3 or any other Android device? Let us know what we missed in the comments section.