Android vs iOS, the debate has been around for a long time. Both sides have large number of diehard fans who are not ready to listen to the other side. There is no one definite answer also. Both Android and iOS have their plus points as well as some drawbacks. Here we are adding our two cents to this giant debate of Android vs iOS. You can decide which one is suitable for you after learning about the pros and cons of both.
Let is begin by briefly explaining what iOS and Android are. Most of the people would already know but for the sake of those who do not here goes.
Android and iOS both are mobile based operating systems. An operating system is basically that core software that manages all the tasks on a device in which it is installed. On a mobile phone the tasks would be like making calls, receiving calls, call logs, texting, gallery display, managing the mobile home screen etc.
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Android is a mobile operating system that was developed by Google for smartphones. It works best for mobiles and tablets that have touch screens. Android the most installed operating system in the world. It has a very user friendly interface and Google has developed it variations for other devices also like Android TV for television, Android Auto for cars or Android Wear for wrist watches.
iOS on the other hand is a mobile operating system that is developed by Apple and is solely used by Apple Inc. for their devices. iPhones, Ipads and all the other apple products use iOS. Let us compare some of the features of both iOS and Android to see which is better
Android VS iOS Customization
Android is an open source software. Therefore many customization options are available for it. iOS has worked on this area but they still have to go a long way before they can meet the level of customization that Android has given to its users. Here are some highlights of this user experience.
- You can install alternative launchers that will change the look of your user interface.
- You can set up your lock screen and multiple home screens with backgrounds, resizable widgets, and shortcuts. Both iOS and Windows Mobile offer limited options.
- You can set up backgrounds and shortcuts.
Apple opened up third-party keyboard support in iOS 8, and there are many more options now, but it still has a way to go to match Android. Beyond the keyboard, you can set third-party apps as defaults for all kinds of things in Android that are locked down in iOS Mobiles.
Android VS iOS Camera
The camera is an important aspect of smartphone. Video calling and video
sharing are now two major aspects of communication through mobile phone. As for as the camera aspect goes iOS is a winner. Although in the terms of numerics latest LG and Huawei phones working with Android use 16 Megapixels camera which is 2 mega pixel more than iPhone 7’s 14 mega pixel but Apple camera has more usability.
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The camera apps on each platform are very good and very fast. For ease of use and best results without tweaking, the iOS camera app takes the cake. There’s more variation on Android simply because OEMs tend to add their own camera apps with lots of features, some good, some a bit gimmicky, but we’d still take Apple’s camera any day of the week.
Android VS iOS affordability
Apple doesn’t make budget devices, and the latest iPhone is always among the most expensive handsets on the market, costing $650 and up. Last year’s
iPhone 6S comes in at $100 less. The iPhone SE is as close as Apple gets to budget starting from $400, but it’s still quite pricey. Apple’s large iPhone 7 Plus starts at $770.
For sheer scale and variety, nothing competes with Android. You can spend a lot if you want to, for example, Google’s new Pixel phones and Samsung’s Galaxy S line match Apple’s iPhone pricing, but there’s also a huge choice of low-cost handsets from a wide variety of different manufacturers and the platform has been deliberately optimized to run on low-end hardware. The fact that Android also leads the field in free apps makes it the natural choice for the budget-conscious. Chances are, if it’s a smartphone by HTC, Samsung, Sony, ZTE, Huawei, or LG, it’s running Android.
Android VS iOS Interface
Although both platforms have learnt a lot from their previous mistakes and developed interfaces that are very easy to understand and user friendly Apple does have an edge over Android here. After a major redesign in iOS 7, Apple’s platform is bright and modern-feeling. The slick animations as you navigate around give a sense of depth, and it’s easy to understand. Apple made further refinements in iOS 9, but the aesthetic remained largely unchanged. The design was refreshed in iOS 10 with slick animations, richer notifications, and a major revamp of iMessage, along with a handful of new apps. It’s a big step forward for iOS that puts it more or less on par with Android in terms of functionality.
The big problem in case of Android is that many Android manufacturers have added their own user interfaces on top of stock Android, and so your mileage will vary. The basic structure with customizable home screens, an app drawer, and pull down notifications is standard, but there’s much more variation on Android than you’ll find on the other two platforms.
The Android Lollipop roll-out ushered in Google’s “Material Design,” giving stock Android a minimalist look with simple animations that offers some continuity across the platform and in Google’s apps. It’s stylish and slick, and it runs on around 35 percent of Android devices, at the time of writing. The aesthetic didn’t change much in Android 6.0 Marshmallow, which brought a few subtle refinements, but it’s still on less than 20 percent of devices. The latest Android 7.0 Nougat brings another batch of tweaks and enhancements, but it will be some time before we see it on a large percentage of devices.
Android VS iOS Appstore vs Playstore
App store and quality and number of Apps on each App store are a major factor in determining the usability of the OS. Once the Apple’s Appstore was unmatchable but Android’s playstore has caught up fast. Now both of them have become huge platforms for developers and the newly developed Apps are developed for both these platforms. However Appstore is good for its recommendations, sale offers and user friendliness.
As far as number of Apps are concerned there are still more Apps in App store than in Playstore. The new games usually come to the App store before they come to the Playstore.
However the as far as the alternate App store are concerned Android wins clearly. It’s relatively easy to sideload apps (install them from your PC using a USB cable or alternate download method) on Android and there are a lot of alternate App stores beyond the Play Store, although sideloading can open you up to the risk of malware. Apple is opposed to third-party app stores and expect users to stick to their app stores. If you want a wider choice of apps and easy sideloading then your choice is obvious. Android is more open than its competitors and is more geek friendly.
Android vs iOS Calls and messaging
Calls and messaging features are great in both the OS. Google offer the Hangouts, Allo, Duo and Messenger. With Hangouts, you can send messages via Wi-Fi, data network, or SMS. You can also make video calls online. It can be confusing, though depending on which Android phone you own, because many come with their own messaging and dialer apps in addition to Gooogle’s messaging apps, or they eliminate the Google apps. Group chats are hard to create on Android unless you get a third-party app, too.
FaceTime and iMessage come pre-installed on every iPhone and iPad, so it’s remarkably easy to connect with your friends and family. iMessage is very easy to use, but it’s obviously best with other iPhone users. In iOS 10, iMessage gained a lot of new features, including third-party app integration, fun stickers, GIFs, and much more. We give iOS the win for its consistency and ease of use, however, iMessages and FaceTime are only for iOS and Mac OS X.
Android vs iOS Cloud service
As far as cloud services are concerned, Android’s Google drive is way better than iCloud of just 5GB. Google Drive is 15 GB and for a month subscription of only 2 dollars you can have a 100 GBs of storage on Google Drive. Android’s cloud storage is so much easier to use and more effective than the competition. Google also offers a lot more space for much less.
Android vs iOS Backups
If you use the Photos app in Android, then you can automatically backup all of your photos and videos. You can also use Photos on iOS. OneDrive allows you to automatically back up photos on Android, iOS, or Windows Phone. You can only backup to iCloud on iOS, and it offers less free space at 5GB compared to 15GB with Google Drive and OneDrive.
It’s also worth noting that Google’s Photos app lets you backup an unlimited number of photos or videos at standard size for free, only full-sized files count against your allowance. If you have a Google Pixel phone, then you get free, unlimited photo and video storage at full resolution.
Android vs iOS Connecting with other devices
Both the mobile platforms support Bluetooth and Wi-Fi as standard. Android Mobile led the way with NFC (near field communication) for easy wireless transfers and mobile payments, but Apple included NFC in the
iPhone 6 and 6 Plus. It also launched Apple Pay with some major partners, which could close the mobile payment gap very quickly. Android now has Android Pay, too. NFC can also be used for quick file transfers, tapping phones together to share contacts or web pages, or tapping on supported speakers to stream music. Android wins by a hair because it’s often easier to set up third-party accessories with Android and NFC is unlocked so you can use it for more things.
So android has a slight edge over Apple here but connectivity is over all good in both OS.
Android vs iOS Location finding tools
Both Android and iOS platforms offer good maps solution. Key features are pretty similar, you can download maps for offline use, get accurate estimates based on current traffic conditions, and turn-by-turn directions for driving or walking. They all work well and should get you where you’re going.
Still, the scale and quality of Google Maps is unsurpassed. It has more points of interest and it is generally more detailed than Bing Maps or Apple Maps, but the accuracy can vary from place to place. Ever since Apple’s maps debacle, Google Maps has been everyone’s go-to Maps platform.
Android vs iOS User friendliness and ease of use
Both platforms are easy to use but due to sometimes overwhelming number of iOS features, older relatives might not find it that easy to use. If you were looking for a device for an elderly relative, or a technophobe then you’ll find some specialist offerings on Android, but they tend to scale down what’s possible. Manufacturers like Samsung also include options like “Easy mode” which make the interface bigger and simplify the whole experience, or you can opt for a third-party app to do the same. There are lots of good apps aimed at the elderly on Android and iOS as well.
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There has been a perception that Android is more complicated than iOS, but it’s not really true. There’s no need to dive into the customization options if you don’t want to. All three platforms offer a good range of accessibility features.
After this detailed analysis, we can safely say that both platforms are good enough and offer almost the same services though on different scales. You can enjoy whichever you think is good for you.
