Key Differences Between Android and iOS

With the onset of smart phones, people have become increasingly dependent on their smart phones which run on operating system. Among others, iOS and Android are two biggest and most popular operating systems for mobile phones all over the world. Due to increasing dependency on smart phones both Google (developer of android and Apple (developer of iOS) are working and developing even better versions of their operating systems to cater to the customer requirements.

What is the iOS operating system?

iOS was launched in 2007 for iPhones back then and was then extended to other devices like iPads and iPods. iOS was previously known as iPhone OS is one of the most widely used mobile operating systems in the world. This change in the name happened in June of 2010 when Apple trademarked the word ‘iOS’ from Cisco. iOS is used on devices made by Apple like iPhone, iPod and iPad etc.

iOS is available in over 40 languages and is a closed source software i.e. a license and proper permission of the developer is required to use it or manipulate it. This OS is written in

• C
• Objective-C
• C++
• Swift

As of 2017, the share of various versions of iOS as per Apple are:

• iOS 10: 86%
• iOS 9: 11%
• iOS 8 and earlier: 3%

Features of iOS:

• The entire iOS user interface is based on direct manipulation and uses multi-touch gestures to navigate through various applications and features.
• Gestures such as tap, pinch, swipe, reverse pinch, two fingers zoom, long press features etc have their build definitions and perform specific functions. Users can even define and then use their own gestures as per their requirements.
• iOS has features like the ‘App Store’ from which users can browse through millions of applications developed by Apple and third-party developers to make their life easier
• iOS has a music store called ‘iTunes’ from which users can browse, buy and listen to various collections of songs in various languages.
• Apple has also included the ‘Accessibility’ function which has empowered people with visual and hearing problem to use Apple products and make their life easier.
• Inbuild video calling services through FaceTime
• Voice control through Siri

What is Android Operating system?

Android operating system was launched in 2008 as open source software i.e. it is available to be used by anyone all over the world for free.  Android was developed by Google and the Open Handset Alliance (OHA). Open Handset Alliance is a collaboration of various software, hardware and telecommunication companies all over the world Around 30 companies were involved in the OHA like Motorola, HTC, Intel Sprint, wireless carriers like NTT DoCoMo and KDDI to name a few. Back then Android was released under the Apache v2 open source license.

Android is the most widely used operating system for mobile phones all over the world dues to its open source nature. Android is a Unix like system It is written in:

• Java (User Interface)
• C++
• Core C

Currently, Android is used in a wide range of products like:

• Mobile Phones
• Android TV
• Android based Tabs
• Smart Watches
• Digital cameras
• Gaming consoles.

Features of Android:

Other than the normal camera, Wi-Fi, gestures and other services there are some features unique to Android. They are as follows:

• Alternate downloadable keyboards
• Infrared transmissions
• Automation of applications
• Removable storages (external storage devices like SD cards)
• Removable batteries in many handsets.
• Android is highly customizable and almost everything can be customised.
• Widgets
• Voice commands through Google Now
• Multi SIM handsets

Features which iOS took from Android

• Siri has been made open to developers just like Google Now with the onset of third-party support.
• Apple Maps have been revamped to include more data layers just like Google Maps to include information related to current traffic etc
• The card like design notification, speaking of notifications, anall-clear button for notifications of new iOS devices, something which was already available Android users since quite a lot of years.
• Apple Photos’ concept is almost just like Google Photos which uses artificial intelligence to sort photos on the basis of faces, place, mode etc.

Features of Android which are like existing iOS

• Android Pay is very similar to the already used Apple Pay used in iOS. It also used credit card information of the user through NFC technology. It also used finger print authentications like
• Android has recently introduced the feature where a user can directly reply to notification from the lock screen like it is done in iOS devices.
• The recent onset of finger print recognition in android phones is something which was already being used in iOS devices as TouchID. Fingerprints are used to unlock phones, applications and also authenticate
• Night Mode which was already in iOS as Night Shift has been included in the new versions of Android.
• Unlike before when users used to give all permissions to the applications at one go not users just like in iOS can give selective permissions to the applications.

Comparison of Android and iOS

• In iOS, there is a very restrictive environment of sharing files and media from an iOS device to another while in Android it is very easy to share files from one device to another.
• Android devices are battery(power) guzzlers i.e. have huge power requirements. This has an effect on the battery life per cycle and at times restricts the usage
• Apple devices running iOS have a memory issue just like their Android counterparts as a lot of memory storage is required to fulfil the system memory requirements. The solution to this problem is external storage devices and memory cards in Android devices but this is not available on iOS.
• iOS devices restrict connectivity as they do not allow multiple SIM cards like Android devices.
• Devices running on iOS are known for their fluid user interface which is missing in some Android devices.
• As Android is open sourceit’s devices are available in a larger range of cost whereas iOS devices are usually costly.

Both Operating Systems have their own upsides and down sides but due to the open source nature and affordability of Android devices, they are very popular amongst the crowd especially in developing countries. Development and modifications of Operating Systems have only and only positive effect on the end users as in the race to build a better OS the users get better and better features to use with each update.