I just recently used a 1+ open for 11 days. It was such an amazing device and Android has come a long ways since the days of Jellybean. But there’s still things that annoy me about Android. Android auto being one of the main pain points, it’s just so bad. Also I still hate how apps don’t have feature parity between OSes.

I returned the phone 3 days before this news was announced dang it, I might have kept the phone if this news had been announced sooner. Yes it certainly all comes down to preference and I still prefer iOS at the moment.

I chose the iPhone se(2016) as my first phone back in 2018. My first apple device was the first iPad mini from 2012 which I still use today.

I had the option to get pretty much any phone I desired as long as it fit my budget of $400. At that budget (and time), you wouldn’t get that long of software support so it was an easy choice. iPhones last much longer than their android counter parts. Five years later, my sister got handed down my iPhone SE. Many of my friends with androids upgrade every 2-3 years while I can get double the mileage with an iPhone.

Now, there’s a lot of good mid-range androids that offer a comparable/better experience than the iPhone such as the Pixel 6a/7a and the s23fe. Will they last as long as my iPhone? Maybe. But Apple did this a long time ago. Android’s playing catch up here. And longevity is very important for an average user especially if you’re willing to buy something that isn’t <$200.

As you can tell from my flair, I’ve decided to stay with iPhones. I believe android has more features, but iOS has many advantages. Features =/= advantages. Key detail.

• App quality. This is the biggest reason why I chose iOS in the first place. My experience with android has always been lackluster when it comes to app quality in pre-2015 era. Even now on my 2021 Galaxy Tab, apps work much better on iOS. It’s actually quite saddening to see google apps work better on iOS. Features even come faster on iOS. Although, android users do have a Gboard app that’s miles better.
• Airdrop/iMessage/Facetime. These are the biggest reason I imagine people who are in the ecosystem appreciate. I only have an iPhone but the fact that I’m in the US, having iMessage, airdrop, and Facetime is much more useful. Everyone knows about airdrop yet no one knows about nearby share because Apple’s marketing works. These advantages aren’t mitigated outside the US either if you’re in the ecosystem. RCS coming to iPhone next year will somewhat mitigate this advantage but Airdrop and Facetime aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
• Timely software updates. iPhones get updates the same day all over the world. With android, you have to wait until Google decides to give you the update which sometimes takes months. You’ll notice that many more people are on the latest update of iOS but there’s still a bunch of people on Android 11 and 12.
• No useless bloatware. From what I’ve seen, only the Pixel and Asus have close to none bloatware. I know you can delete the bloatware with ADB but it’s nice to have none of it in the first place.

These are some noteworthy features off the back of my head:

• Find My(Ultra wideband). Google’s trying to catch-up but Apple’s implementation is superior. You’re telling me that I can spend $30 on an airtag and can track my car all over the world without GPS? Samsung has their own version but Apple wins here because the more iPhones there are in an area, the more accurate the airtag will be. So if you live in an iPhone-concentrated area, this is a clear advantage.
• Face ID. It really is a game-changer. Works in the dark and even if you wear a mask.
• Security options. In settings, you can choose to opt out of a lot of first-party and third-party data collecting. No android stands up to Apple’s security. To get something better than that on android, you would need to install GrapheneOS on Pixel, but that renders a loss of a lot of features.
• Proper backup/restore feature. Not many people talk about this but when you backup an iPhone, it backs up everything. And considering both Android and iOS are pretty buggy these days, iOS gets you back running a fresh OS copy with minimal bugs. Google’s version doesn’t perform as well and doesn’t backup as much data.

Now I can list all the features/advantages android has over iOS but you seem to get the idea. On paper, android is better hardware-wise and software-wise. But it’s also why they’re worse. Top of the end androids have much better specs as iPhones but usually will lack something software-wise while others like the pixel offer a better software experience but lack in hardware quality.

iPhones are the the best average phone. When you look at iOS, you have to look at the iPhone, but when you look at android you look at multiple devices with different advantages and disadvantages. I know many android users that wish they had an iPhone but with Android instead of iOS. Across the years, many long-term android users switch to iOS as iOS slowly adopts/copies those android features they can’t live without. I think MrWhosetheBoss made a great video on how iOS can only improve because it’s behind Android while Android will eventually level off. You already see android copying features from iOS in A14.

Also there are features you’d think that aren’t available on iOS such as sideloading, chrome and firefox extensions support, customization etc. Although they’re limited compared to android, they are still possible on iOS.

TLDR: Not many advantages/features over android. But it’s the experience long-term that counts. Apple hasn’t been taking full potential of iOS and what it’s capable of. They’re slowly getting there.

Mostly personal preference. iOS just feels so much faster and optimized to me. Also the hardware looks more attractive and feels better in the hand.

Android doesn’t have more features, it has more gimmicks that mostly don’t work. -former Android user

Besides what you said, smoother animations on iOS, face id (compared to fingerprint) and camera I like better, but that’s subjective.

Other than that, android is a far superior operating system. Besides things it simply does better like notifications and device input (keyboard, cursor management, copy&paste) android simply has more features available.

If you will notice people who say iOS is better, other than what I mentioned they can’t have concrete examples, they say passwords, “it just feels better”, “it just works”, “its more polished”. But it’s easy to give concrete examples of the advantages of android:

Just a few examples of features android has and iOS doesn’t: true caller id support, notification history, separate alarm and call volume, control over messaging app which gives abilities such as automatic spam filtering, notification history view, infinite call history log, can sort camera images automatically into a dedicated folder/album (this one is a mess in iOS), controlling different types of notifications per app, consistent back gesture, and the list goes on…

Also most things you want to do can simply be done with less steps and friction on android. There are many examples but one example is if you get a notification from an app, you can get from this notification straight into the notification configuration of this app.

More efficient operating system. Better manages memory. Less chance for hacking. Lots better security. And it just works. Every time, all the time.

I couldn’t decided which OS I prefer more so I’ve made a comparison recently of iOS and Android as per everyday tasks and iOS got 15 points and Android 16 ;) As per hardware iPhone Mini is unbeatable and uncomparable because of its form so basically my daily driver remains unchanged.

iOS won’t start lagging and freezing after one year. You don’t have to mess around in settings every other day just because one of the apps start acting out. It’s much easier to upgrade your phone. The whole thing just works.

I got my parents iPhones, my in laws have Android. My parents get on fine with their phones. Every single time I’m at my in laws I’m not spending time with anyone, I’m tech support for their phones because they’ve messed something up or something isn’t working right. My work phone is Android so I know my way round and don’t have issues on it. I think the added layer of complexity / potential complexity with more permission requests, customisation possibility, storage options (they have mid devices with SD storage in addition to internal which is the cause of many problems for them).

Just think of iOS as a better or polished version of android. It will eventually get some of the android features as long as Apple thinks it is the right time.

A few examples include:

• OLED Technology (I rarely see burn in on apple devices)
• LTPO Technology (They only adapt 120hz when LTPO comes out)
• Side Loading apps (I think it isn’t secure but they were forced to do it in Europe)
• Customizations are coming.

15pm is my first iPhone.

I think the things it’s doing better are premium hardware, speaker sound, face ID, and Wallet with Apple Card integration. Resale will be nice too.

There are drawbacks, the App Store- everything is a paid sub, basic apps that should be more feature rich by default like calendar, clock, calculator. I use those 3 alot and they’re just not good. I should not have to buy 3rd party for basic functions. Notifications.

stability, airdrop, security, performance, user experience, better native apps.

Shortcuts.

I always wonder why Android users have these delusions that Android has more features than iOS.

Because the truth of the matter is, features on iOS is simply better defined that the crazy world of iOS.

When you talk about iOS, 15 has more than 14 has more than 13 and so on. Rarely does a feature that existed on the previous model of iOS goes missing on the current model.

Android? Be ready for features to come and go, because now you have to factor in manufacturers, Google itself, etc etc. Notwithstanding the fact that Google has start to offer features than are behind paywalls - case in point, some extra photo editing features you need a google drive subscription to have.

And Google can always change their minds. Used to be that using google photo was an advantage since you can upload for free - that now is gone.

In the end though, I leave you with this point - When you talk about features, are you talking about the OS or the associated feature that came with specific apps - Cause we have Google apps in iOS.

Barring Apple Music, not sure what else you have from Apple in Android.

Troll