Apple vs Android remains a debate for the ages.
It is the picture of controversy, the gadget form of a Messi vs Ronaldo debate. I’m sure we know which is which. No need to elaborate.
Anyway, I’m not going to be biased here; if I wanted to, I’d go right ahead and tell you how one brand is far superior to the other and you should go for that and blah blah… Some reporters use bias, but I do not. We will discuss the pros and cons of iPhones and the pros and cons of androids.
Now, I won’t tell you everything, but at the end of this article, you will have made your decision. You will know what you want.
Apple Vs Android: Apple’s Bullet points
An Upgraded Ecosystem
Apple has designed a multitude of continuity features that allow you to carry over work and data from one of its devices to another. These features can certainly save you time.
Take Handoff, for example, where calls on your iPhone and web pages in Safari can move seamlessly between iOS and macOS. Universal Clipboard makes text copied on one platform usable on the other. Another favorite is Continuity Camera, which allows you to take pictures and scan documents using your iPhone’s camera, and then view and edit them on your Mac. You can even complete purchases on your Mac by using biometric authentication features on your iPhone via Apple Pay.
Only a handful of Android phone makers have hardware ecosystems that approach Apple’s, and even for some that come close, like Samsung, you won’t get the depth of integration possible between the iPhone and other Apple-built devices. Microsoft is helping Google close the gap somewhat with its new Your Phone app for Windows, which allows Android users to respond to texts and notifications on their PCs, though the experience is a little clunky and there is still work to be done.
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Useful Third-Party Apps
This one is definitely down to personal preference, but as someone who has jumped back and forth between Apple and Android, I’ve been consistently blown away by the quality of apps built by Apple developers, and mostly disappointed in their Android counterparts.
Don’t get me wrong — there’s great software and developers on Android, but they’re harder to find, in my experience. Tweetbot, for instance, is an iOS exclusive. Sad to hear it’s not working anymore. By contrast, Fenix 2, though one of the best third-party Twitter apps we’ve encountered on Android, strongly pales in comparison. Some of us use Bear to compose blog posts on our Macs and iPhones, but we’ve struggled to find a note-taking app on Android as comprehensive and slick.
You may even find that apps from established companies, ranging from banks to airlines, are a bit smoother and cleaner on iOS than Android, with better integration with the phone’s core services, like Wallet.
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Zero Bloatware
No matter how you buy your iPhone, where you buy it from, or what iPhone you buy, you won’t see any bloatware preinstalled when you boot it up for the first time. That means it’s clean from the very start, with no power or data-sucking apps you didn’t ask for sabotaging things behind the scenes.
Android buyers who purchase one of the best-unlocked phones without a service agreement will have better luck avoiding bloatware. It also depends on the company. OnePlus is a recent example of this, and Samsung’s ads on its smartphones have become notoriously annoying.
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Faster Updates
The number of updates an Android phone sees over the course of its life depends largely on how expensive it is, what carrier you buy it from, and what the phone maker’s software support policy is.
That’s a far cry from iPhones, which are supported major software updates for many years, no matter what. Take the iPhone 6S, for example, which received iOS 15, even though it originally launched with iOS 9 back in 2015. For comparison, consider Samsung’s Galaxy S6, which launched the same year and started with Android 5.0 Lollipop. Not only does it lack the latest Android software, but it stopped getting updates years ago. It only made it as far as 7.0 Nougat when Samsung pulled the plug on support — and when the S6 did get Nougat, it arrived in March 2017, eight months after Google unveiled the update.
Apple Vs Android: Android’s Bullet points
Puts The “Afford” In Affordable
No matter how much you can spend, chances are you can find an Android device that fits your budget or offers exclusive features. The vast majority of the world’s smartphones run Android, and because so many companies build Android phones, they’re available in every price range.
The same cannot be said for iPhones, which historically have been expensive at launch, only to come down in price after successive generations.
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Universal Charging Means
Android phones largely rely on USB-C ports for charging and data transfer these days, which is super convenient if you’re one of those people who like to pack light and carry only one cable. USB-C is also on many PCs these days, as well as on the Nintendo Switch. It’s a beautiful thing.
However, Apple’s Lightning cable is a relic of the days when every tech company felt compelled to develop its own proprietary connector. USB-C represents the ideal single-port solution the industry is working toward. It also opens doors to faster-charging technologies.
But rumor has it that Apple will finally make the USB-C switch with the iPhone 15 this year after an EU ruling compelling the change.
First To Gain Innovation
Sure, Apple’s coffers are pretty stacked. However, it is just one company, with one philosophy. As a result, iOS can be slow — or at least slower than the Android community — to adapt to emerging technologies.
With so many companies building Android phones, it’s little surprise that Android partners tend to beat Apple to the market with innovations in the mobile space. Wireless charging, fast charging, NFC, 4G LTE, 5G, OLED displays, in-screen fingerprint sensors, water resistance and multi-lens cameras all landed on Android devices before iPhones, as well as software breakthroughs like true multitasking, copy and paste and multiwindow support.
Of course, this isn’t to say Apple hasn’t delivered breakthroughs of its own. The iPhone X wasn’t the first phone with face recognition, but it was the first one that worked reliably and securely.
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Accessible File System
Most people don’t need to get their hands dirty with their smartphone’s file system. Still, it’s good to know that Android gives you that option if you desire it. When you plug an Android handset into a Windows PC, you can very easily drag and drop files into folders, as if the device were just another drive.
That means your media libraries and documents are a snap to carry over and store locally, and you don’t have to subscribe to a monthly cloud service if you have a large library.
Apple, however, obscures the file system from the user for everything except photos, which can be very frustrating for dealing with music, documents and other forms of media.
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A Word From Battabox on Apple Vs Android
So, here we are. Apple vs Android? Which will you choose? Well, that decision is not mine to make, but I will leave you with some parting words.
Owning an iPhone is a simpler, more convenient experience. There’s less to think about, and because Apple’s iPhone represents the single most popular brand of smartphone, there’s an abundance of support everywhere you go — whether you need your battery replaced or you’re just trying to pick up a new case.
Android-device ownership is a bit harder in those respects. Yet it’s simultaneously more freeing because it offers more choice — choice of how much you want to spend, choice of hardware and software features, and choice in how you organize and personalize your experience.
In the end, it all boils down to your preferences. Best of luck.
If you have any questions, let us know below.
