Apple’s OS(iPhone OS) or Google’s OS (Android OS)? Which one is for you?

Apple iPhone

The online world has become a very hotly contested space. Companies are coming up with new technologies everyday making outdated technologies obsolete. This is a battle of the strongest contender where the survival of the fittest lies largely on the  new technologies that can be brought to the market. Currently the big battle is between Google’s Android OS and iPhone OS. Both are operating systems used primarily in the latest mobile technology, such as tablets, (i)pads, and Smartphones.

Android Vs. iOS

When talking about the Android operating system, it is Linux-based and partly an open source. Its interface and basic features are more customizable, whereas, iOS uniform designs are sometimes considered as being more user-friendly. Comparing both operating systems will help you know more about the applications being used in both the operating systems.

Today, there is a great tug-of-war going between the two big operating systems, the Android operating system and the iPhone OS (iOS). So when choosing or switching your Smartphone or tablet devices from Google to Apple or vice versa, it is really important to do it smartly as it will require buying your favorite apps all over again. Since Apple has Apple App Store and Google has Google Play, you will then need to buy apps from their respective App Stores.

If you are choosing between both these operating systems, you have to first decide about the features and functions you are looking for and what is important for you. Below, the provided information will help you make the right selection of OS for your device.

Let’s have a look at the differences.

●     Interface

Both use touch interfaces that have a lot of common features such as, swiping, pinch-and-zoom, and tapping. If you look at both interfaces, you will find that both operating systems boot to homescreen, which is quite similar to a computer desktop. iOS home screen contains rows of app icons and the users can pin their most frequently used applications, whereas Android allows the use of widgets, which display auto-updating information such as weather, watch and email. When  it comes to comparing the status bar of both operating systems, both Android and iOS offers information such as battery life, Wi-Fi or cellular data connectivity on the top of the device.

iOS’s menu system is quite clean and simple but it has some limitations since it runs on Apple devices, as far as Android is concerned, it has a simple QWERTY keypad but it will make you drool over the different features and to top it off, Android can run on many devices.

●     Applications (apps) available

Both Apps stores offer many applications to run on. But the bottomline when comparing these operating systems, is without a doubt, the open source feature of the Android which is defeating the Apple iOS.

●     Software upgrades

Although Google often updates Android, but users often complain that they don’t receive the updates on their devices. Even phone manufacturers have found that users get upgrade information after many months of the release of the new version.

Here, iOS beats Android since users get the latest upgrades on their devices. If keeping the old devices aside, almost all the new Apple devices have certain features like Siri, and get their new upgrades on a timely manner. 

●     Selection of device

For Android users, there is a wide range of devices available at different sizes and hardware capabilities; however this is not the case for iOS users where there are very limited devices such as iPad, iPod, and iPhone which come compatible and are extremely expensive. Not the case with Android, where the number of options in the devices are limitless, such as Samsung Galaxy, Motorola, Galaxy Nexus.

Call feature

With Android, the user can send self-composed texts as auto replies when declining a call.

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

●     Video calling

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.

●     Messaging

Android users can easily log onto GTalk for instant messaging with friends whereas iOS doesn’t offer any way for iOS users to chat with the non-Apple-users. However, iOS users can message using iMessage or use apps from Google for GTalk and Microsoft for Skype.

Last words

While choosing, you must know that Apple has a strong hold on its operating system, but only runs on Apple devices. Android, on the other hand, started as a part of an open alliance of 84 electronic firms, which is backed by Google with the intention of developing a consistent OS between them. Samsung, LG and Motorola are some examples that use Android. This is possibly the biggest reason for  Android to become the world’s most commonly used platform.

Over to you

The last choice of choosing the operating system is yours. However make sure that you are  aware of their differences. Well, one look at the consumer behavior, it won’t be wrong to say that Apple users will use iOS even if it is restricted to the current version of iPhone. The same goes for Android users, they will like the open features of their mobile phones over everything else.