There’s no operating system that can be called perfect. Despite the fact
that Android leads the mobile OS game, running on 84% of
smartphones globally, it’s known to have some rough edges.
With the latest version of Android, called Lollipop, Google aims to smoothen these rough edges
with plenty of design improvements, new features and security upgrades.
Android’s closest rival is Apple’s iOS, which runs on 12% of smartphones
shipped globally. It’s been two months since Apple launched iOS 8 – the latest version of its operating system
for iPhones and iPads. With better multitasking and support for third party
apps and widgets, Apple calls it the biggest update since the launch of the App
Store.
With both Apple and Google coming out with their respective mobile OSes,
it’s time to see who copied from whom, who did a better job at making their
platform fun to use and, ultimately, which mobile OS has an upper hand in terms
of features and the overall experience.
Look and feel
iOS 8 is just like iOS 7 in terms of the overall look and feel. It uses
colourful and flat vector-based icons, while other aspects of the UI stick to
basic colours of blue and black with a white background.
While iOS 8 continues to be conservative with subtle colours, Android has
always been the more colourful one. However, we’ve noticed Android steadily
toning down its colours with each iteration.
Android 5.0 Lollipop goes a
step further in that direction. While it uses a fantastic colour scheme as part
of its ‘Material Design’, the colours are lighter and you see a prominent white
background instead of black (except for the app drawer, which still uses a
black background). It’s also good to see other Google apps including Gmail,
Google keyboard and Google Maps, carry on the same design language.
Features
As always, Android offers lot more
features than iOS 8, including the option to add multiple users, the ability to
cast the screen to a separate device without the need for installing a
third-party app and making calls from the lock screen. The latest Android 5.0
Lollipop update takes this one step ahead by making these features easier to
use.
In terms of refinements, again, both
are pretty close to reach a level where it gives users enough control without
overwhelming an average user. For example, with Lollipop, you now see how much
more time you have before you’ll need to charge the device again, which is
missing in iOS 8. However, iOS 8 tells you exactly which apps have been
consuming battery and by how much, so you can delete unnecessary apps – a
feature we would have loved to see in Android Lollipop.
Android 5.0 Lollipop now lets you control which notifications can appear on
the lock screen. iOS 8 also gives you this option, but it also lets you dictate
which apps can push notifications on a locked screen.
iOS 8’s built-in keyboard lets you send voice clips other than photos and
text. However, voice clips can only be sent through iMessages i.e to a fellow
Apple user and not to non-Apple devices. It introduced predictive text,
which does a great job at helping you complete the words you are about to type.
You can also disable the suggestions while you are using the keyboard. If
you’re unhappy with the keyboard, you can switch to third-party keyboards apps.
Android Lolliop’s stock keyboard is very different from the one on iOS 8.
It’s flatter and, as usual, lets you ‘swype’ instead of typing individual keys.
While iOS 8’s built-in keyboard does not let you swipe text, both keyboards are
equally accurate and intuitive to use.
Unlike Android Lollipop, iOS 8 separates the notification and shortcuts for
quick settings. While notifications appear on the top dropdown, the Control
Center lets you swipe upwards from the bottom of the screen to give you quick access
to Bluetooth, Airplane and Sleep modes, Wi-Fi and auto-rotate options. However,
it lacks the GPS/Location setting which you’ll find on Android 5.0 Lollipop.
Android Lollipop has uncluttered its notification dropdown and includes
essential quick settings such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Auto rotate and Location.
Like iOS, there’s now a flashlight option. Plus, there’s more you can do now –
you can switch between users directly from the notification screen, tap to
reply to message notifications and cast the screen on to a connected device.
To put it in a nutshell, Android has more features to offer, while iOS 8 has
limited features that are a bit more refined.
Verdict
It’s a tough call. Having used both iOS 8 and Android 5.0 Lollipop, I must
say that I’m impressed by both. The latest mobile OSes from Google and Apple,
take inspiration from each other to make their existing mobile platforms even
better. The complete design overhaul in Lollipop shows that Android is trying
to refine its features and make them easier to use, while Apple is being more
open and trying to give users more control over their devices. You can tell
this from the addition of widgets, support for third party keyboards and the
battery-usage feature. Similarly, both operating systems have some useful
features that you won’t find in the other.
In the process of one-upping each other, both are getting to be more alike,
which should help those who are looking to make a switch from iOS to Android or
vice versa. However, this also means that there’s no clear winner among the two
major mobile operating systems.
Have you tried both iOS 8 and Android Lollipop? Tell us which OS you prefer.
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