A fresh take on Android vs iOS

There’s no doubt that Android and iOS are the most popular mobile operating systems out there — there are dedicated camps for each and superb devices on either side too. Both of them are constantly evolving, even borrowing features from each other. But from a long-time Android user’s perspective, what exactly do you stand to gain or lose by switching to iOS? Hitesh Raj Bhagat has some answers.

HERE'S WHAT YOU GAIN


BETTER TOUCH ID

TouchID on iPhone 6s/6s Plus works super-fast and in any orientation. It’s actually too fast, because it just manages to show lock screen notifications for a split second. To actually read them, use the power button instead of the home button.

FANTASTIC 3D TOUCH

Theoretically, 3D Touch had to be developed to cover up a basic inadequacy of iOS and the iPhone hardware (the single button). It works in three levels of pressure: normal touch, slightly harder to ‘peek’ and even harder to ‘pop’ into what you’re peeking at. It’s intuitive and makes things faster. It’s a feature that will likely trickle down to all touchscreens.

SEAMLESS APP SWITCHING

Because of how iOS is built, apps stay frozen in the background. Memory, CPU and battery usage is minimised for that app but it will still be ready to go in an instant. Even on the fastest Android phone around, there are a couple of seconds delay.

BETTER QUALITY

APPS We’ve been noticing a trend after using the same apps on both platforms. In general, apps on iOS are better quality (they work better and look slicker). Some developers release on iOS first and these are all due to combination of reasons. iOS users are more likely to buy apps. In addition, iOS is easier to develop for because device fragmentation is much lower.

GREAT CAMERA QUALITY

The iPhone has always had a great camera and the 6s hardware includes beefier iSight cameras with 12 Megapixel image sensors. In particular, the low light performance of these cameras is unrivalled and the addition of the optical image stabilisation on the 6s Plus (the best we’ve seen) makes capturing that great photo really easy.

PERMISSIONS – A BETTER WAY

Maybe you’ve not paid much heed to app permissions, but you should. It’s the long list of things you’re ‘allowing’ the developer to do via the app. Some of the more common permissions are access to location, photo album, camera and microphone. On most Android phones, you have to agree to everything before installing an app. On iOS, the app will ask you after you install it — you can deny permissions at a granular level.

BUT WHAT YOU'LL MISS MOST


NO GESTURES OR SHORTCUTS

Features like double tap to wake and screen-off gestures are super convenient (they can be enabled with an app or launcher too). You can also have glances on Android (see notifications when you pick it up, without pressing the power button). Put the phone down and the display shuts off.

NO LIVE CALLER IDENTIFICATION

TrueCalller on Android will identify the name/company of the caller while the phone is still ringing. Helpfully, if a caller has been marked as spam by others, it shows up as red. You can get TrueCaller on iOS, but it only works as a directory. You can copy-paste numbers from your call list into it to check names.

SOME BASICS ARE A LOT HARDER

On Android, one thing you take for granted is sharing — press the share button and you’ll be presented with every option under the sun. You can even share with other apps on the device. Bluetooth transfers are a breeze (you need apps on iOS to do this). And finally, USB OTG (on-the-go) will be a thing of the past.

THE SCREEN PALES IN COMPARISON

iPhones have good screens but they have to be compared with the best. They’re just not as good as some of the super amoleds that Samsung uses on their flagships. They have higher resolution, much higher contrast and colours that pop.

NO AUTO SMS BLOCKING

Apps like True Messenger and SMS Blocker by Optinno simply replace the stock SMS app on the phone and use crowdsourcing plus a list of known spammers to keep your inbox clean. On iOS, you will have to manually block a contact when you get spam. It’s painful!

NO THEMES, CUSTOMISATON OR LAUNCHERS

Coming from Android, you will miss the nearly unlimited customisation. This extends beyond just wallpaper to themes, launchers, ringtones/sounds, & icon packs. On the other hand, you have to consider that the iPhone interface has basically been unchanged since the first iPhone came out in 2007