iOS vs Android: Which Operating System is Best for You

An operating system is a software that allows you to interact with your electronic devices, such as cell phones and laptops.  In other words, it translates the users’ commands into results associated with those commands. The two most used mobile operating systems are iOS and Android.  Apple uses iOS as its operating system. Unlike Android, which is used for various smartphones, iOS is very specific and exclusive. Used only for iPhone, iOS features are instantly recognizable.  Siri, the Apple Store, Safari, and FaceTime are just a few of them. Samsung uses Android as its operating system. Much more inclusive than iOS, Android is used by most smartphone manufacturers worldwide. 

Defining features of Android include the Play Store, Samsung Bixby, Flipboard, among others.  It would seem logical to think that the breadth of Android use is indicative of its edge over iOS, but there are other important considerations to take into account when comparing the two.  While they only use iOS in Apple devices, many devices use Android worldwide. For the purposes of narrowing the focus of this article to ios vs Android, we’ll focus on the Samsung Galaxy for comparison.

iOS User Interface

The user interface is the first thing you see when you turn your phone on.  It refers to the visual part of your phone and how you interact with it. Usually, the first thing you do when you get a new phone is to get familiar with its user interface: the phone’s visual design, navigating from one app to another, etc. 

If you are an iPhone user, then you are already familiar with the apple interface. iPhones have the main screen where apps are stored, and a second screen where some apps are pinned for quick access, such as the Weather app and the News app.  Users are able to customize the interface by adding more pages or grouping apps together.  

Android User Interface

The user interface principal for Samsung Galaxy phones may be similar to that of an iPhone, but the first time an iPhone user interacts with a Galaxy, he will have difficulty interacting with it.  That is because Galaxy does not come laid out on the main phone screen. Instead, usually, a Galaxy’s home screen is blank save for a Weather widget. Most of the apps are permanently stored in a semi-hidden “Apps” screen that you have to navigate to from the home screen.  Like with iOS, the Galaxy home screen is customizable. Users can place apps on the home screen and create additional pages to house their apps.

iOS Navigation

iOS devices navigate much differently than Android ones.  But even among iPhones, navigation has experienced some differentiation with later models.  The home button, up until 2017, has been a central feature of iOS phones. With one click, users can unlock their iPhone.  Two clicks of the home button while the phone is locked bring up the wallet app. Swiping left or right bring up either the camera or pinned apps, respectively.  While the iPhone is unlocked, one click of the home button takes the user back to the home screen. Two clicks bring up the app switcher where users can navigate between apps or close apps they are no longer using. A prolonged click activates Siri, and a prolonged click on any app on the home screen activates wiggle mode, where users can move or delete apps.

So, with all the uses that the home button has, Apple’s announcement that it would no longer exist in newer models was quite dramatic.  But a closer look reveals that the absence of a home button is less dramatic and more efficient. The video below explains exactly how to interact with an iPhone X.

Android Navigation

Unlike the similarity in the user interface, navigating an Android device is noticeably different.  For one, the “home” button in a Galaxy phone is not exactly a button. Rather, it’s a clickable icon that disappears when not in use but reappears with a gentle upward swipe from the bottom of the phone.  It’s possible that Apple was aiming for similar user experience with the elimination of the home button. Even so, the home button navigation experience is quite different on a Galaxy. For example, while activating Siri on an iPhone requires a lengthy click of the home button, the Galaxy’s Voice Assistant requires a double-click.  A lengthy, single click brings up the app switcher screen. Deleting apps on a Galaxy phone requires a little more work. The user cannot just delete an app from the home screen. To uninstall a Galaxy app, one would need to go to the Apps tab and select an app to uninstall.

Deciding on a Phone

When buying a smartphone, you are really buying an operating system.  Many of us already own electronic devices compatible with either iPhone or Android.  As a matter of convenience, most of us would opt for a smartphone that can be easily synced with an existing device.  Take the ability to receive iPhone calls on an iPad, for example. Of course, there are other factors that contribute to choosing a smartphone.  Those can include price, longevity, and versatility. We will explore some of those in later articles, so stay tuned!