Android vs iOS - Comparison

Google's Android and Apple's iOS are operating systems used primarily in mobile technology, such as smartphones and tablets. Android, which is Linux-based and partly open source, is more PC-like than iOS, in that its interface and basic features are generally more customizable from top to bottom. However, iOS' uniform design elements are sometimes seen as being more user-friendly.

You should choose your smartphone and tablet systems carefully, as switching from iOS to Android or vice versa will require you to buy apps again in the Google Play or Apple App Store. Android is now the world’s most commonly used smartphone platform and is used by many different phone manufacturers. iOS is only used on Apple devices, such as the iPhone 7.

Interface      

iOS and Android both use touch interfaces that have a lot in common - swiping, tapping and pinch-and-zoom. Both operating systems boot to a homescreen, which is similar to a computer desktop. While an iOS home screen only contains rows of app icons, Android allows the use of widgets, which display auto-updating information such as weather and email. The iOS user interface features a dock where users can pin their most frequently used applications.

A status bar runs across the top on both iOS and Android, offering information such the time, WiFi or cell signal, and battery life; on Android the status bar also shows the number of newly received emails, messages and reminders.

Android N highlights include:

• split screen (even on phones that aren't large)
• display size setting to not only zoom in but also zoom out to make the most of the screen real estate
• customize which buttons/settings are available in the quick settings launcher
• support for Google Daydream, a virtual reality platform

User experience

Apps Available on iOS vs. Android

Android gets apps from Google Play, which currently has 600,000 apps available, most of which will run on tablets. Many originally iOS-only apps are now available for Android, including Instagram and Pinterest, and Google’s more open app-store means other exclusive apps are also available, including Adobe Flash Player and BitTorrent. Android also offers access to Google-based apps, such as Youtube and Google Docs.

The Apple app store currently offers 700,000 apps, 250,000 of which are available for the iPad. Most developers prefer to develop games for iOS before they develop for Android. Since a recent update, the Youtube app has become unavailable on iOS, but iOS still offers some exclusive apps, including the popular game Infinity Blade and Twitter client Tweetbot.

The bottomline when comparing Google and Apple's app stores is that most popular apps are available for both platforms. But for tablets, there are more apps designed specifically for the iPad while Android tablet apps are often scaled up versions of Android smartphone apps. Developers at startups often focus on one platform (usually iOS) when they first launch their smartphone app because they do not have resources to serve multiple platforms from the get go. For example, the popular Instagram app started with iOS and their Android app came much later.

Speed

An iPhone 6s handily beat a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 in on speed test that involved opening several apps one by one, cycling through a set of apps twice. The same set of apps were used for both devices. The iPhone was able to complete two laps in 1m21s while it took the Galaxy Note 2m4s to finish the same task. The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 boasts better hardware specs and is a much newer phone compared with the iPhone 6s.

However, it should be noted that the difference could be in how app publishers develop their apps for Android vs. iOS. Just because the same apps are on both platforms does not mean their internal workings are the same.

However, the Samsung Galaxy S8 ( Android N ) manages to beat the Iphone 7 (iOS 10.3.2) in term of opening apps and cycling through a set of apps twice.

Software upgrades

Although Google does update Android frequently, some users may find that they do not receive the updates on their phone, or even purchase phones with out-of-date software. Phone manufacturers decide whether and when to offer software upgrades. They may not offer an upgrade to the latest version of Android for all the phones and tablets in their product line. Even when an upgrade is offered, it is usually several months after the new version of Android has been released.

This is one area where iOS users have an advantage. iOS upgrades are generally available to all iOS devices. There could be exceptions for devices older than three years, or for certain features like Siri, which was available for iPhone 4S users but not for older versions of iPhone. Apple cites hardware capability as the reason some older devices may not receive all new features in an upgrade.

Device Selection

A wide variety of Android devices are available at many different price points, sizes and hardware capabilities such as the Samsung Galaxy S8, HTC 10 and the Sony XPERIA XZ Premium .

iOS is only available on Apple devices: the iPhone as a phone, the iPad as a tablet, and the iPod Touch as an MP3 player. 

Call Features

Android allows the user to send one of a number of self-composed texts as autoreplies when declining a call.

iOS’s phone app has many abilities, including the ability to reply to a phonecall with a canned text message instead of answering, or to set a callback reminder. It also has a Do Not Disturb mode.

Messaging

Android allows users to log onto GTalk for instant messages. iOS does not offer a native way to chat to non-Apple users. Users can message over Apple users using iMessage or use apps from Google for GTalk and Microsoft for Skype.

Video Chat

Google Hangouts on Android can also be used for video chat, allowing users to chat over either 3G or Wi-Fi. iOS uses Facetime, which can place video calls over both 3G and WiFi. However, it only allows users to communicate with other Apple devices.

Voice Commands on Android vs. iOS

iOS uses Siri, a voice-based virtual assistant, to understand and respond to both dictation as well as spoken commands. Siri includes many features, such as reading sports scores and standings, making reservations at restaurants and finding movie times at the local theater. You can also dictate texts and emails, schedule calendar events, and interface with car audio and navigation.

Android offers a similar assistant, Google Now, which features the above abilities, plus can keep track of your calendar and give verbal reminders when it is time to leave. It allows for voice search and dictation.

Security

Android’s applications are isolated from the rest of the system’s resources, unless a user specifically grants an application access to other features. This makes the system less vulnerable to bugs, but developer confusion means that many apps ask for unnecessary permissions.  As it is the more popular smartphone operating system, it is more likely to be the focus of attacks.

Malware writers are less likely to write apps for iOS, due to Apple's review of all the apps and verification of the identity of app publishers. However, if an iOS device is jailbroken and apps installed from outside Apple's store, it can be vulnerable to attacks and malware. Both iOS and Android are also vulnerable to bugs.

In the real world, the security of an Android or iOS device is only as good as the software updates that have been applied to it. This is where iOS shines because of the fragmented nature of the Android ecosystem. Apple releases software updates and makes them available to all iOS devices at the same time. On Android, Google releases software updates and security patches to Nexus devices. Devices from other manufacturers lag behind because the manufacturer must take these security updates from Google and apply them to their own devices "in the wild". Virtually all manufacturers do a poor job at this. Most don't release patches to devices older than 12-18 months.

Verdict

iOS pros and cons

• Massive app ecosystem: distinct advantage for tablet apps while on smartphones popular apps are usually available for both platforms
• Deeper integration with Facebook and Twitter: it is easier to post updates and share on social networks using iOS than Android because of how deeply integrated these platforms are with iOS.
• iOS-only apps like Passbook, FaceTime, and mobile payments app Square 
• Interface is locked down: Limited customization options for the home screens; only rows of app icons are allowed. 
• Software upgrades: Apple offers software upgrades to all devices that have the hardware capable of handling the new software. This means devices stay current with software features for at least two to three years.
• Better privacy controls: iOS offers better control over the access apps have to users' private information such as contacts and location.

Android pros and cons

• Massive hardware selection: A large number of Android devices are available at various price points, with varying hardware capabilities, screen sizes and features.
• Highly customizable user experience: The home screen can be customized with not just app icons but widgets that allow the user to stay connected or informed. 
• Google has fewer restrictions than Apple on what kinds of apps it allows in its Play store. Moreover, you can choose to install Android apps from places other than the Google Play store.

Comparison chart

Android versus iOS comparison chart

	Android	iOS
	current rating is 4.14/5 1 2 3 4 5	current rating is 3.87/5 1 2 3 4 5
Developer	Google	Apple Inc.
Initial release	September 23, 2008	July 29, 2007
Source model	Open source	Closed, with open source components.
Customizability	A lot. Can change almost anything.	Limited unless jailbroken
File transfer	Easier than iOS. Using USB port and Android File Transfer desktop app. Photos can be transferred via USB without apps.	More difficult. Media files can be transferred using iTunes desktop app. Photos can be transferred out via USB without apps.
Available on	Many phones and tablets.	iPod Touch, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation)
Calls and messaging	Google Hangouts. 3rd party apps like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Duo and Skype all work on Android and iOS both.	iMessage, FaceTime . 3rd party apps like Google Hangouts, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, Google Duo and Skype all work on Android and iOS both.
App store , Affordability and interface	Google Play.	Apple app store.
Video chat	Google Hangouts and other 3rd party apps	FaceTime  and other 3rd party apps
Open source	Kernel, UI, and some standard apps	The iOS kernel is not open source but is based on the open-source Darwin OS.
Widgets	Yes	No, except in NotificationCenter
Internet browsing	Google Chrome (or Android Browser on older versions; other browsers are available)	Mobile Safari (Other browsers are available)
Voice commands	Google Now, Bixby	Siri
Maps	Google Maps	Apple Maps (Google Maps also available via a separate app download)
Available language(s)	32 Languages	34 Languages
Latest stable release and Updates	Android 6.0.1 (Marshmallow) (October 2015)	9.3 (March 21, 2016)
Alternative app stores and side loading	Several alternative app stores other than the official Google Play Store. It's risky to download apps from other stores because they may be malware.	Apple blocks 3rd party app stores. The phone needs to be jailbroken if you want to download apps from other stores.
Battery life and management	Many Android phone manufacturers equip their devices with large batteries with a longer life.	Apple batteries are generally not as big as the largest Android batteries. However, Apple is able to squeeze decent battery life via hardware/software optimizations.
Rooting, bootloaders, and jailbreaking	Access and complete control over your device is available and you can unlock the bootloader.	Complete control over your device is not available.
File manager	Yes, available.	Not available
Cloud services	Native integration with Google cloud storage. 15GB free, $2/mo for 100GB, 1TB for $10. Apps available for Amazon Photos, OneDrive and Dropbox.	Native integration with iCloud. 5GB free, 50GB for $1/mo, 200GB for $3/mo, 1TB for $10/mo. Apps available for Google Drive and Google Photos, Amazon Photos, OneDrive and Dropbox.
Photos & Videos backup	Apps available for automatic backup of photos and videos. Google Photos allows unlimited backup of photos if you select the low-resolution option. OneDrive, Amazon Photos and Dropbox are other alternatives.	Up to 5 GB of photos and videos can be automatically back up with iCloud. All other vendors like Google, Amazon, Dropbox, Flickr and Microsoft have auto-backup apps for both iOS and Android.
Security	Android software patches are available soonest to Nexus device users. Manufacturers tend to lag behind in pushing out these updates. So at any given time a vast majority of Android devices are not running updated fully patched software.	Most people will never encounter a problem with malware because they don’t go outside the Play Store for apps. Apple's software updates support older iOS devices also.