The two most popular Smartphone Operating Systems are Android and iOS (iOS powers iPhones) bringing a battle of Android vs iPhone, and the popular argument is, are Android phones better than iPhones or the other way round?
Smartphone has become a part of our life in today’s world and chances are that you either use Google’s Android-powered smartphone or Apple’s iOS-powered iPhone. These two have the biggest market share in the world when it comes to the smartphone market. In 2018, they both accounted for 100% of all new shipped smartphones according to IDC. Other smartphone OS does exist, however, they are negligible, therefore the reason for the competition between Apple’s iPhone and Google’s Android.
Android vs iPhone, which is better?
This is a tough question to answer since both Operating systems are top-notch and excellent, and whichever you choose, you can be sure to enjoy them as they both have a lot in common. However, they still have their little differences. These differences help us know on what ground is android better than iOS iPhone and vice versa. Let us examine 10 different criteria and award a winner. In the end, the best one depends on you, choosing from the criteria that matter to you most and making your choice.
Android Vs iPhone: Mobile Apps
The two platforms have a large number of apps for their users. According to statista.com, “As of the third quarter of 2019, Android users were able to choose between 2.47 million apps, making Google Play the app store with the biggest number of available apps. Apple’s App Store was the second-largest app store with 1.8 million available apps for iOS.” Also, Play Store has more free apps than the iOS App Store. However, numbers alone are not enough to judge, the iOS App Store is known to be the first ground to experience top-quality apps and mobile games before coming to the Android Play store if at all.
The Verdict: In the aspect of the quantity, availability, and affordability of apps, Android Wins. iOS may edge Android when it comes to the quality of apps but that line is slowly becoming blurry since Android almost every time gets the same or an alternative
Android Vs iPhone: Affordability and Pricing
Apple’s iOS iPhone broke the barrier of a $1000 phone when it releases its iPhone X and iPhone XS Max. iOS iPhone has always been a high-end device in the market and it doesn’t seem to be getting cheaper as opposed to speculations.
Android devices, on the other hand, are of different types, scales, and prices from different manufacturers. This lets you have a huge array of choices from a cheap low-end to a high-end device. Also, there are android versions that were deliberately designed and optimized to run on low-end hardware at low prices.
Verdict: Although there are many android devices that are almost as costly as iPhone (like google pixel 3XL and Samsung galaxy note), however, iPhone can not compete with Android in terms of affordability and pricing. Android Wins.
Personalization and Customization
Android is an Open source ware which means you can download the codes of the OS and customize, adapt and personalize it as you want. this is not the case with iOS. Also, an android device allows for customization; you can easily change your layout, add and arrange widgets as you want or even change the entire interface with your desired launcher. iOS is not as flexible.
verdict: In terms of customization and personalization, Android Wins
Security and Updates
Android and iOS are very secure and are regularly updated with patches. Almost all iPhone devices run the latest version of iOS since it’s only made by Apple. However, Android devices are made by different manufacturers, and some are just not in the habit of regular updates. Also Android allows for downloads of Apps from third-party app stores which exposes a user to malware. So is Android better than iOS iPhone?
Verdict: If you are seriously concerned about security, updates and regular bug fixes, you have to be selective as to which android manufacturer you choose. Therefore, iOS iPhone wins
Artificial intelligence and voice assistant
This feature is one of the smartest things on a smartphone these days. Your phone learns from you, behaves the way you want it and get things done for you with just a command with your voice, all made possible as a result of artificial intelligence. But who does it better Android or iOS iPhone?
iPhone has Siri and Android has Google Assistant, and you can do almost the same thing with the two. However, Google Assistant is more intelligent and smarter. this is possibly due to the vast Google data it can tap into.
You can read more on how to set up Google Assistant and What you can do With it here
Verdict: When it comes to voice assistant Android Wins
Accessories and Extra Features
This is a tough one to decide. Both platforms boast very good accessories and extra features like a smartwatch and other peripherals. However, there is a difference when it comes to connecting USB cables and audio plugs. Android uses micro-USB and more recently USB-C standard. These are fairly common in the market and make it seamlessly easy to connect with your PC for file transfer. iOS iPhone, on the other hand, is stuck with its proprietary lightning cable which is used by only an iPhone.
Also, starting from iPhone 7, Apple abandoned the standard 3.5mm audio, which means you have to get an external dongle if you must use it. Android still retains this feature, although some manufacturers are now finding favour with the USB-C audio.
Besides, the use of the stylus pen (s pen in Samsung) is only found on android and the revolutionary foldable smartphone has only been achieved on the android platform. It’s also very easy to use OTG with Android than it is with iOS.
Verdict: On both platforms, you still get the best of extra features and accessories that make you enjoy your device, however android wins this stage due to its ease of use and availability.
Cloud storage capacity
For this category, it appears both Apple and Google are in a very competitive race to provide the biggest cloud storage capacity at the cheapest price. Google offers you 15GB free cloud storage while you get 5GB free with iCloud.
For extension, Google charges you $2 per month for 100GB, which is $24 per year while Apple offers 1$ per month for 50GB or $4 per month for 200GB. This makes the two of them at par on this plan, however, the higher you go the cheaper it is for Google, it offers $10 per month for 2TB while Apple gives 1TB for the same price.
Verdict: Apple’s iOS is lagging in its cloud storage provision compared to Android. Android Wins
Flexibility and Ease of use
How easy a device is to use may depend on the individual and length of use, however, when it comes to flexibility there is a little line between the two and this sometimes determines how easy the device is to use.
For example Android allows you to make a wide range of choices and tweak its software even changing the default Chrome browser, however, iOS is not this flexible, although it allows you to change the default browser on app-specific bases but not system-wide. It is also far more flexible to control the system volume on Android than on iPhone.
Verdict: While both are fairly easy to use, Android Wins
Hardware-Software Integration and compatibility
Here is where the iOS iPhone takes its pride. Because both the software and the hardware are made by Apple, they have a very high level of integration and compatibility. On the other hand, manufacturers of Android smartphones have to design hardware that fits the OS. Although there is an exception with Google which develops the software and the hardware for Google Pixels. The many different manufacturers raise some compatibility issues with android. Although this is easily dealt with since android is open source and can be customized to fit designed hardware but that raises security issues.
Verdict: we just have to give this to iOS iPhone
Android Vs iPhone: Speed
At the top of the list of the fastest Android phones in the market are Google Pixel and Samsung. The iOS iPhone with its latest A12 bionic cheap beats all in the Android market, not even the Samsung’s snapdragon 855.
Also because of its better software-hardware integration and compatibility, iPhone is just amazingly fast
Verdict: while a lot of top Android phones are incredibly fast, iOS iPhone wins the race.
Conclusion – are Android Phones better than iPhones?
A critical examination of the question, about which is better, Android or iOS iPhone shows that both are very good and are recommended. In each category where one wins, the other may lag a bit but it is not a write-off. In conclusion, you as an individual will have to examine what you want in a smartphone and which one serves you better. However for the sake of this article, Android takes the majority of the wins.
If you have any addition to this list or something I missed, kindly add them in the comments below. Don’t forget to share
