As you all know, Android is an operating system for mobile devices (although it can also be installed on PCs) created by Google using a Linux kernel. On the other hand, there's Android's main rival, iOS, which is Apple's equivalent, although instead of being open source, it's proprietary and based on the XNU (BSD) kernel, just like its older sibling, Mac OS X. Well, in this article, we'll try to outline the advantages and disadvantages of each system.
Analyzing the characteristics of each, we already find some major differences without going into too much detail. Besides being based on different kernels and licenses, iOS has a graphical interface called Cocoa Touch with some differences compared to Android, which in its latest versions bases its interface on Material Design, the language created by Google to implement lightweight interfaces.
Although I say Android and iOS, I mean both the system and the devices themselves, since in the case of the Apple system I can say iPhone or iPad to refer to the hardware or device in question, but in the case of Android it is more complicated as there is a great variety ...
On the other hand, there are the programming languages ​​used for the development of each. Android uses C and C++ (previously also Java for its GUI), while iOS employs C, C++, Objective-C, and Apple's newer Swift. Therefore, iOS is more heterogeneous in this respect. Furthermore, Apple's system is only available for ARM architectures, while Google's also supports x86, MIPS, and POWER, allowing it to be installed on more devices.
So far, these are just some more mundane differences that don't directly affect the end user. But now we'll look at some pros and cons from the user's point of view :
Advantages of iOS vs. Cons of Android:
- Performance of an iPad or iPhone device generally seems more fluid than some Android devices. This is because iOS is only exclusive to Apple devices, while Android must adapt to a multitude of very different gears and models (although there are some optimized devices).
- El iOS update log It is better than Android, since if it is not a Nexus, updates can be made to wait or have to look for your life to update your terminal with the latest version of Android. Something that does not happen with iOS that brings its updates to all devices more immediately.
- Apps in the Apple App Store usually have a cleaner and more beautiful look than Android apps usually do. This does not mean that Android apps are worse, since I am an Android user and I do not have too many objections about it.
- Backup with iCloud. The Apple cloud helps to better save your data, apps and everything you need to have a backup. On Android, although with Google accounts you can save certain content, not everything can be kept safe ...
Advantages of Android vs. Cons of iOS:
- Limitations regarding providers hardware and software. Likewise, iOS is a more closed system.
- SD cards can be used in most Android terminals to be able to expand the storage capacity if necessary, something that in Apple's is impossible.
- The battery can be removed in most devices Android, while it is not possible on iPhones and iPads, something that particularly bothers me despite not being critical ...
- Although I have said before that iCloud represents a better means of backups, I also say that there are many apps for Android to make backups, while the freedom of choice in Apple is more limited (iTunes, iCloud, ...), although if you are willing to Jailbreak there are other options in the iDevices.
- The widgets They are another data to highlight, although I do not usually use them much, perhaps other users will miss them in the other system.
Currently, these two systems dominate the market. Tizen doesn't seem to be taking off, or is doing so only very subtly and for specific devices, and we already know the fate of Mozilla's Firefox OS… However, Ubuntu could be a good alternative to both systems in the future, but for now, we have to be content with what we have.