Casper 8
Adam Casper
Mrs. Livaudais
Honors English III, Block 2
12 March 2013
Android vs. iOS
This is a world of ever changing technology. From past days of phonographs, steam engines, and telegraphs to new-found digital mp3s, bullet trains, and the newest development, smartphones. Previous generations had to adapt to the ever changing strides in technological advances. Some people found this adaptation to be easier than others. Having a good knowledge base of how these new devices work makes this transition easier. However, regardless of whether one sees themself as a novice or an expert, the quest to find the latest and greatest will never cease. Smartphones are no exemption. The majority of people around the world use cellphones as “80% of the world’s population has a mobile phone” (Alexander). These people have adapted to this new technology. The latest improvement is the production of smartphones. Many people are utilizing the technology that is smartphones. “Out of the 5 billion mobile phones in the world, 1.08 billion are smartphones” (Alexander). These smartphones have much greater capabilities and are more media accessible. Smartphones are being utilized to expedite personal relationships, business, entertainment, and many other aspects of life. All of the applications available are rendered useless if not integrated into a platform that is intuitive to its users. When one considers purchasing a smartphone, he/she should examine the smartphones’ operating system. “Android is the world's most popular mobile platform” (“Android”). Other competing operating systems have been found to be obsolete when being compared to Android. Consumers that are looking for a smartphone should buy a device running Android, because it is a superior operating system.
Consumers that are looking for a smartphone should buy a device running Android, because Android is more efficient and easier to use than iOS. Two reasons why Android is more efficient and easier to use, is due to having widgets and more advanced multitasking abilities. “… you can see all of the information you want at a glance on your home screen without having to fire up an app” (Han). Unlike iOS, Android has widgets, which allows the device to display important information without navigating beyond the home screen. More elaborate tasks which involve switching back and forth from various applications cause for adept multitasking skills. “With Android, you can quickly and seamlessly switch between apps and pick up whatever you were doing. Juggling multiple tasks at once on a mobile device has never been easier” (“Android”). Android takes the complexities of life and displays them at easy access in a way that is welcoming and surprisingly simplistic. There are two reasons behind this simplicity over the iOS system. With the Android operating system the applications running in the background are currently active. Whereas in iOS, the applications would be saved into the memory, and drawn back when needed. Android has all that is needed, all the time, all operating in tandem with one another. Why take turns, when they can act as a team? Only with Android is it possible to view multiple applications at any given time, making productivity on a mobile device revolutionary.
Consumers that are looking for a smartphone should buy a device running Android, because Android has other companies manufacturing products so they can focus more on making the software better. Hardware is equally as important as software, since they complement one another. There could be the best operating system ever created, but was manufactured with hardware that didn’t possess the processing power to take the full benefit of the software. Apple believes that one company creating the software and the hardware, has an advantage over companies that make either the software or the hardware. “Because Apple makes both the hardware and the operating system for iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch, everything is designed to work together” (“The World's Most Advanced Mobile Operating System”). The fact that Apple decides to make both their software and hardware is unnecessary, because manufactures do this anyway. “Android typically has better hardware than iOS. Many different manufacturers make Android devices and they are all constantly competing with each other to make the best devices possible” (Rodriguez).
Table 1
The differences in specifications between the top Android smartphone and the top iOS smartphone
Samsung Galaxy S4 / Apple iPhone 5Operating System / Android 4.2.2 / iOS 6.1
Thickness / 7.9mm / 7.6mm
Weight / 130g / 112g
Screen / 5in, 1920x1080, 441ppi / 4in, 1136x640, 326ppi
Screen Protection / Corning Gorilla Glass 3 / Corning Gorilla Glass
Micro SD Support / Yes / No
Ram / 2048MB / 1024MB
DLNA, Wi-Fi Direct / Yes / No
NFC / Yes / No
Rear Camera / 13MP / 8MP
Front Camera / 2MP, 1080p / 1.2, 720p
Processor / Quad-core 1.6 GHz & Quad-core 1.2 GHz / Dual-core 1.2 GHz
Sensors / Barometer, temperature, humidity, gesture
Browsers / Adobe Flash, Java
Battery / 2600mAh / 1440mAh
Google makes the software, Android, and companies like Samsung, HTC, Sony, LG, Motorola, make the hardware. Because Google only has to work on making Android a better operating system, they are able to improve it faster than anyone else. Aside from Android's software advantages, the hardware has major benefits as well. Such as, the hardware generally having better specifications (Table 1).
“Android phones and tablets tend to have more features than iPhones or iPads. … Android manufacturers are competing with one another to try to make their Android devices better than everyone else's. To that end you have companies like Samsung and Sony adding extra features to their phones and tablets. NFC is standard on pretty much all Android phones, as are HD displays. In the next year we'll start seeing Android devices that are waterproof and drop-proof.” (Rodriguez).
When comparing the smartphones of Android and Apple, it is unbelievable, how much better the Android smartphone is than the iOS smartphone. Samsung is one of the many companies that are able to successfully add groundbreaking, new features that enhance smartphones.
“Simply motion your hand at the Samsung GALAXY S4 to accept calls, change music, or browse the web and your photos with Air Gesture. How simple is that? Air View makes it quicker, easier, and super-convenient to enlarge content and photos, preview emails, and speed dial all with your finger barely hovering over the screen. Even when you’re wearing gloves, the Samsung GALAXY S4 still responds to your touch” (“Samsung GALAXY S4”).
Manufacturers like Samsung are revolutionizing the Android mobile industry, by adding unique features like this. These features are molding and altering the way that we use technology, constantly.
Consumers that are looking for a smartphone should buy a device running Android, because Android has better applications and are cheaper than iOS applications. People use applications for many reasons, most of which involves enabling features or tasks that couldn’t be done without that application. Applications are limited to the operating system that the application is programed to run on. Meaning that the more open and flexible the operating system is, the more capable the application. The ability to share to different sources is mostly a standard feature found in applications. “Now it’s easier than ever to interact with the world’s largest social network” ("IPhone, IPad, and IPod Touch Get 200 New Features"). Apple has finally integrated Facebook into its software so that people can upload and share to Facebook, a feature that has been more intelligently incorporated into Android since 2010. Facebook isn’t the only social networking and sharing sources that Android allows to upload and share too. Android can upload and too many different places such as Dropbox, Box, Facebook, SkyDrive, Google Drive, Twitter, Gmail, Google+, etc. Unlike iOS, Android’s uploading and sharing integration is based solely on what applications you have installed. Therefore, if he/she doesn’t have a Facebook nor the Facebook application installed on your Android smartphone, then that unnecessary feature isn’t there. That being said, if there is multiple social networking and sharing applications installed, then the smartphone is capable of uploading and sharing to many of those. A problem with Apple smartphones that hasn’t begun to be fixed is their app compatibility. “REQUIRES ANDROID: 2.1 and up” ("FlightTrack"). Apple’s applications have had compatibility issues for a long time. When an application developer makes an iOS application, that application is compatible for the latest generation of iPhone. This only happens to be a problem if someone doesn't have the latest iPhone. Take the very popular application, Angry Birds for example, a popular application that lots of people play on their smartphones. A smartphone user has an iPhone 3G, and doesn’t own the application already. That person would be unable to download Angry Birds, due to an application compatibility issue. And therefore is unable to download and install the game on their smartphone. This is because the updates that the developer made to their application are no longer compatible with the user’s phone, and there is no way for them to get the earlier version. Now if the user instead had an Android phone not only could they find the earlier version of the application and install it onto their smartphone, but Android also keeps the earlier version of the application and updates the application on the smartphones that can support it. Taking this into account, Apple in a way is pushing users to always have their latest product causing the consumer to continue to buy a newer phone, even if there is nothing wrong with the one that they are currently using. It doesn’t stop there, Apple also has its user’s paying more for its applications. “Most Android apps are free and Android accessories generally cost half as much as their iOS counterparts” (Rodriguez). The decisions that Apple is making should make consumers decide carefully when picking between an Android smartphone and an iOS smartphone.
Consumers that are looking for a smartphone should buy a device running Android, because the customization is better on Android products. “Android lets you customize almost every aspect of your phone or tablet to your liking. So if you don't like the way something looks or works, you can simply swap it out for something else that has the qualities you're looking for” (Rodriguez). Apple restricts its consumers from customizing their device, in a way that most people find outrageous. Apple has recently allowed its customers to change the wallpaper on their smartphones, something that is one of the most basic ways a person could customize their device. This has also been a feature on Android since day one. “A few of weeks after taking an Android phone out of the box, it’s “yours” in a way that no iPhone will ever be. Because if there’s something you don’t like about how it behaves, there’s usually a way to change it. Partly this is down to basic design philosophy but it’s also a benefit of the deeper access that Android developers have to the hardware” (Ihnatko). It is because of this freely customizable philosophy that Google has built at the core of Android, which makes adding a personal touch into an Android phone possible. One of the most locked down things about Apple’s smartphone is the lock screen. With Apple devices there is the option for no lock, which still has the slide to unlock, four- digit number, and text. Android has those and more. “Android was the first to bring you features on certain devices like Face Unlock — which uses facial recognition to let you unlock your device with a smile” (Android). Android makes it possible for consumers to add their personal flare to their device, making it truly theirs, something that Apple consumers can only dream of.
Clearly, when considering efficiency, ease of use, product manufacturing, applications, and customization, Android is the preferred operating system. This has been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt by multiple sources discussing these important factors. Consumers should only consider smartphones running Android for their future purchases. Android’s superior benefits and features don’t stop at smartphones as it can also be found on many other products such as tablets, cameras, MP3 players, televisions, home phones, appliances, and eBook readers. Android will be the premiere operating system that will take this generation into the future of mobile technology.
Works Cited
Alexander, Anson. "Smartphone Usage Statistics 2012 [Infographic]."AnsonAlex. Anson Alexander, 24 Jan. 2012. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
"Android."- Discover. Google, Inc, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
"Apple - IOS 6 - IPhone, IPad, and IPod Touch Get 200 New Features." Apple - IOS 6 - IPhone, IPad, and IPod Touch Get 200 New Features. Apple, Inc, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
"Apple - IOS 6 - The World's Most Advanced Mobile Operating System." Apple - IOS 6 - The World's Most Advanced Mobile Operating System. Apple, Inc, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.
"FlightTrack." - Android Apps on Google Play. Google, Inc, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Han, James. "10 Reasons Why Android Is Still Better than IOS."Pandaapp.com. Pandaapp.com, 17 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Mar. 2013.
Ihnatko, Andy. "Ihnatko: Android vs. IOS. You Might Be Surprised Who Wins." - Chicago Sun-Times. Sun-Times Media, n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Rodriguez, Armando. E-mail interview. 8 Mar. 2013.
"Samsung GALAXY S4." Samsung GALAXY S4. SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.
Table 1:"Compare." Phones. GSMArena.com, n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013.