The Battle of Apps and Operating Systems: IOS vs. Android

Smartphones have changed the way we are living. They are presenting us the world within a small frame. We not only contact our loved ones through smartphones, which was already a feature with regular cell phones but also access social media, watch movies, and even read books. In other words, anything that we can do on our computers can be done on our smartphones and since we can carry the latter with us anywhere, it is highly utilized in everyday life. There is, however, no consensus on which smartphones and operating systems are the ones that deserve the hype. Especially when it comes to the almost decade-long rivalry between IOS apps and Android apps, people are still highly divided with new analyses coming to the scene every day.

According to a recent study, 80.96% of the world’s population, which attributes to 6.378 billion people, is using smartphones as of October 2021. This number is huge, proving to us that the world can change faster than we can realize since there were no smartphones only 15 years ago. In fact, between the dates of 2016-2021, the number of smartphone users increased by nearly 74%. It is clear that in today’s world, it is a rare occasion to see someone who is not enjoying the perks of smartphones or superwatches.

When it comes to which smartphone brand is dominating the market, we come across with iPhone as it has the 57.09& of the market share in the U.S. iPhone is followed by Samsung with 27.04%. These statistics automatically put IOS, the operating system of iPhone, in front of Android, which is preferred by nearly all the rest of the smartphone brands. Nevertheless, the numbers are not always the perfect reflection of the real quality of the products. Thus, we wonder, is IOS a better operating system than Android? And are IOS apps better than Android apps?

Advantages of IOS apps and operating system

It is clear that using iPhone and, naturally, the IOS operating system, has many advantages to the users. First of all, you become automatically be an integrated part of the Apple ecosystem. This means that if you are a tech addict who owns not only a smartphone but also a laptop, a smartwatch, a tablet, and more, you might prefer to go with the Apple brand in each one of them. The reason why is the fact that Apple is producing a wide range of products all of which are automatically connected, saving you from manually syncing all your devices. The unique features of the Apple ecosystem such as iCloud, the airdrop feature, Handoff, Universal Clipboard, and Continuity Camera are all enabling users to save time while having all of their devices on the same page.

Unfortunately, Android falls behind in this sense since it doesn’t exactly have a large and improved ecosystem that would provide similar benefits. Even though there is ongoing Microsoft-Google cooperation that eases the connection between Windows and Android, they surely still have to go a long way to keep up with the Apple ecosystem.

There is also the fact that often, IOS apps are way better than their Android counterparts. Even though there are some gems in Android, they are way scarce than the IOS apps and usually not as good as their IOS versions. Even the apps of firms, brands, or e-commerce companies differ between IOS and Android. Although they are being produced by the same firm with the same purpose, the ones that are designed for IOS tend to have a more sophisticated aesthetic and a user-friendly interface. These apps also integrate with other IOS features such as the Wallet better than their Android version, such as Google Play.

IOS apps also provide more privacy to users with some of their unique features such as opting out of the apps that are tracking you. This is a major plus on IOS’ part since companies such as Facebook traumatized millions with its lack of security and audacity to use your information casually for their benefit. Android has no similar feature to this, which is a shame. The reason why is that even though IOS apps also do not hesitate to gather as much information as they can about you, it still is more strong when it comes to forming a barrier between the user and the third-party apps by giving the user more power in controlling their privacy.

IOS is also better at having software updates as it is constantly coming up with new features that improve the system as a whole. Android smartphones are not very quick in their updating skills as there are few innovations and, thus, few improvements within the system. Besides, when IOS comes up with an update, it makes it available to all users on all devices at the same time. Android, on the other hand, releases the update gradually among its users which means that some people get it sooner while the others have to wait for long.

Advantages of Android operating system

Although all these suggest that IOS is a better operating system than Android, the latter also have some advantages to the former which cannot be overlooked when looking for a smartphone to buy. First and foremost, the phones with Android systems are remarkably cheaper than the Apple ones, which is an undeniable plus for Android. This means that Android is more available to everyone while IOS apps can only be reached by a limited group of people who can afford somewhat of a “luxury” item.

In addition, Android can provide a personalized experience more than the IOS and IOS apps. With its widgets, app placement, and ability to replace the pre-installed apps with their-party apps, Android enables users to customize their smartphones the way they want. IOS, on the other hand, still working on bettering these issues in its system and yet, it is debatable how successful it is in achieving anything remarkable so far.

It should also be noted that since IOS is managed by a single company and thus works with certain developers, while the Android community has a larger base that consists of diverse creative minds, the latter is often quicker in trying new technologies than the former. Thus, the innovations such as wireless charging come to Android first, enabling its users to experience a brand new technology while Apple usually catches up later on.

Last but certainly not least, USB-C, which are the ports that Android uses for not only charging its smartphones but also transferring data, is globally used. Thus, thanks to their universal nature, with one single USB-C port, you can charge most of the devices you own. iPhone, on the other hand, relies on its products which cannot be used on any other brand while other ports cannot be used on the iPhone products.

Your needs matter the most

All things considered, both IOS apps and Android apps have their specific advantages to each other. Therefore, it is difficult to come up with a definite “this one is better” argument for any party. To put it differently, one should determine what he/she needs in his/her smartphone and then go for the one that suits his/her needs the best.

Tags: android android apps apple ios ios apps operating systems