Ten ways Android beats iOS (or, Why Apple is User-Hostile)

I owned an iPod Touch for about ten months, before handing it over to a daughter, where upon I have owned a Galaxy S Vibrant for the last three months. (I'm saying this so that you know I have experience with both iOS and Android OS.)

In many areas, iOS and Android devices are similar:

• Physical size
• Screen resolution
• Many apps are similar or identical
• User interface and touch controls are similar
• Interactivity between apps
• Task switching and multi-tasking
• Movie and still camera, GPS, Bluetooth, WiFi, phone, sensors, compass, etc.
• Pricing is similar 

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Yet, iOS lags. From my experience, there are ten areas  in which Android is better than iOS. (Some of the features described below may be specific to Samsung devices.) Here is my list:

10. Flexible User Interface.  Android lets you choose different interfaces (called "launchers"), keyboards (I have four installed, but primarily use SwiftKey, $3.99), screen fonts, widgets, shortcuts, and live backgrounds. I don't like Apple's cold brushed-metal interface; I do like Samsung's custom interface for Android. (Indeed, it is so nice that Google is adapting parts of Samsung's GUI for future releases of Android.)

Apple limits iOS to a single user interface.

9. User-replaceable battery. When I travel, I use my portable devices a lot, so they need to have long battery life (like 33 hours for my Sony MP3 player) or have replaceable batteries. On a iTouch or Android, I typically go through 1.5 battery-charges a day. When traveling with iOS devices, you need to carry along external rechargers and then wait for the recharge to complete, which takes hours; for my Android phone, I just replace the battery and I have my instant recharge.

iOS devices lack replaceable batteries.

8. Full Access to All My Data. You can access all drives, folders, and files on Android devices. They can be accessed on the device itself, or through a connected computer, via USB or wirelessly. While Android has specific folders for movies, music, photos, and so on, you don't need to place any file in any specific location. That's because MediaScanner knows the location of all files. In contrast, Apple sandbags files to prevent one program from accessing another's data.

iOS does not allow you to access all your folders and data.

7. Instant Google Synchronization. When I first got the iTouch, I spent a half-day moving all my contact and calendar data from my Palm to Google. (The time was not in moving the data, but finding effective solutions to automate the process. I have 600+ contacts and 14 years of calendar data.) I could access this data on the iTouch, but was frustrated with the painfully slow and non-automatic synchronization. On the Android, synchronization is near-instant and invisible.

iOS syncs slowly with Google Mail, Calendar, and Contacts.

6. Shortcut Folders. Shortcuts allow you to access sub-sections of data stored on the Android device. (They are sometimes misnamed "folders.") The one shortcut I use lists starred contacts, in effect a mini-list of frequently called people in a quickly-accessible list. I like it, because it reminds me of the shortcut buttons on old Palm devices that instantly accessed the calendar, contacts, and so on.

iOS does not support shortcuts.

5. Alternative Distribution of Apps. You can install apps on Android from any source: the official store, from independent Web sites, side-loading from your PC through the USB cable or wirelessly. Android uses package files (also used by Linux and OS X.) My first disappointment with iTouch was when I learned CAD vendors could not simply send me their iOS apps to test; I'd have to buy them through Apple's app store. Unimaginable! And then there was that unfathomable bloatware known as iTunes.

Apple limits installation of apps and other files through iTunes and AppStore.

4. No Limitations on Apps. There is (almost) no limit to what kind of app can be made available for Android. Want an alternative keyboard, new interface, interesting UI font, better Web browser, or just a simple WiFi checker? Except for recently allowing alternative Web browsers, Apple allows none of these. The iOS experience soured for me when Apple pulled WiFi managers from their store; fortunately, I had downloaded one the week before. (When roaming with a portable Internet device, how is one to live without a speedy WiFi checker?)

Apple limits the content of third-party apps, and removes them from distribution retroactively.

3. More Apps Free. Some 2/3 of Android apps are free, which lead some iOS boosters to condemn the competition, saying it was proof of Android's impending failure. ("If developers can't make money from selling apps, then they won't develop for Android.") Then Angry Birds came along and made $1 million a month from the ads in their free game on Android. The anti-Android crowd forgets that there is no market for iOS developers in the areas of alternative keyboards, launchers, widgets, et al. In any case, I cheerfully pay for all apps that I find myself using regularly.

Approximately 2/3 of iOS apps are not free.

2. Widgets.  Widgets are small-interface programs that run on the screen, covering the area of three or four or more buttons. Widgets let you see data instantly, without having to launch an app. One of the widgets I use is CheckItOff (free or $2.99), which lists the next 4-5 appointments. Others include The Weather Channel Widget, Samsung's dual timezone widget, and a retro-style date widget.

iOS does not support widgets.

1.  Status Bar. The Android feature I use the most is the pull-down status bar. The right end of the bar displays icons indicating missed calls, new emails and messages, recent tweets, completion of software installation, and so on. Drag down the status bar to see more information about each item; press the item to directly access the app that generated the alert. I find it interesting that the status bar has become the primary interface for me.

iOS's status bar is not interactive.

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In summary, Apple is user-hostile.

Comments

[Matt Lombard]

I've used all of those except the replaceable battery on my Droid Eris (at least a year older than your much nicer Galaxy), and can't imagine not being frustrated without them. It's hard to believe that anyone would use much less pay for a device lacking such basic functionality. Thanks for the apples-to-android comparison.

[Owen Wengerd]

I didn't realize that the iOS status bar was not interactive. Wow. Status bar notifications are the primary entry point for everyday use on my Droid 2.

[Kevin E.]

You list both the strenths and weaknesses of Android. One of the weaknesses you list I am not even sure if you realized it or not.

The Media Scanner you mention is only on Samsung phones. I'm afraid that if I gave you my HTCH phone, you would be quite frustrated trying to find that feature. Even though you know how to you "your" Android phone, it would take you some time to use my Android phone.

No doubt that there are user preferences that are available on my phone that you don't have on your phone and vice versa.

Accessing files and folders wirelessly is also not a native Android capability. The only wireless access i am aware of is a 3rd party app that allows you to sync your music wirelessly.

This is the Android fragmentation issue. The freedoms you mention also come with penalties. Poorly written apps, or the way that Android does multitasking can drain a battery very very quickly. Copywright infringement also runs rampid in the app store.

[ralphg]

Kevin:

As I noted at the top of the article, some features are specific to Samsung. Naturally, third-party apps are needed for some functions. Android provides a detailed picture of which apps use the most battery life, so that you can avoid them, if need be. Of course freedoms come with penalties, but I prefer those over the safety penalties imposed by Apple.

[SeanDotson]

>>iOS does not allow you to access all your folders and data.

What data does iOS not allow you access to? I can get to any of my files I store of the iPhone.

>>Apple limits installation of apps and other files through iTunes and AppStore.

So what? You have access to the store on your phone. A few clicks and bang. If you want to argue about Apple's review process that's a different argument. But ease of access? No difference.

>>Approximately 2/3 of iOS apps are not free.
As on October 2010 the Android marketplace had 100,000 apps. The App Store had 300,000. So even if 1/3 of them were free they would still have more free apps than Android. Besides many of the Droid apps are ports of successful Apple apps.

>>iOS does not support shortcuts.

From reading what a shortcut folder does on one of the Droid websites you can do very similar things (place links to a contact, a webpage, an app etc..) on your iPhone homescreen.

[Iskyski]

In this entire article you may have one valid point. Anybody who knows anything about technology "jailbreaks" their iPhone(which by the way is 100% legal, safe, and reversible!) With that said, iOS + Cydia(Jailbreak) crushes Android! Everything Android lovers claim iOS can't do, can be done--in a more efficient way as well. Widgets, Efficient Multitasking, Live backgrounds...everything! And plus with Cydia one can make minor tweaks to just about any part of iOS to make it run the way the want! So nIce try, but do some research first. The only thing that is valid in this article is the removable battery.

The speed factor you talked about is a ridiculous argument. You're comparing a touch to a NEW smartphone. Of course the processor is going to be better!

[Wes M.]

Android is debatably friendlier to geeks, but the average Joe is going to have way more grief with Android than iOS. My wife and father are on iPhone 4s and watching the Android users I know, I couldn't be bothered to switch. Windows Mobile 7 might be tempting in a release or two, but what with the autodesk apps for iOS it's hard to make the case for Android at present for most people.

[Christian Louboutin Sandals]

The biggest problem for me? I can't burn MP3 disks with AAC-encoded tunes any more. This after I changed to MP3-capable players everywhere. Before, I could, because iTunes let me. Not anymore.

Heh.