With Apple and Google established as the undisputed king and queens of the mobile front, much of the attention has now been turned to Microsoft, Nokia and BlackBerry, former reigning giants who are trying to get back into relevance. But even with that, there is still war between Cupertino and Mountain View and the latest list of litigations Apple has levied against Android OEM’s should be a good indication that both companies are anything but friends. In this article, we will take a look at Android 4.0 as well as iOS 5 and point out the biggest differences. If you’re on the fence as to which platform you should sign your allegiance to, keep reading.
At the core, both phones are Linux systems, but whereas iOS is more of a walled garden and Google allows users to experiment, as long as they know the risks. It is because of these two different ideologies that have caused the war between both companies to be so intense as Apple tries to take back ground lost to Android, and Android keeps expanding.
Application Stores
Both operating systems boast an impressive application list and while iOS is ahead in amount of applications, it is safe to say that every app in the App Store has a counterpart in the Android Marketplace. The biggest difference is there are a lot more free Android apps than iOS apps. More Android apps use advertisements for revenue while most iOS apps require upfront payment, usually in the form of $0.99.
Navigation
Though Apple is planning to fix this with iOS 6, Android has the best navigation app on any mobile device. Best of all it is free and highly effective. iOS 5 relies on third-party apps and for the most part they cannot be compared to Android. Even the paid versions do not compare to the offering by Google Navigation.
Voice Control
Love it or hate it, Siri is here to stay and while we personally do not see the relevance of it, for many Siri is more than a novelty. As of now, Android does not have anything close to the artificial intelligence of Siri and it does not seem like Google will be planning a Siri alternative in the near future. Google does have voice controls which are very effective especially when you are trying to keep your eyes on the wheel.
Connected Services
With Android you get Gmail, Google Docs, Drive, Calendar, Plus and a whole host of other Google products. With iOS 5 you get FaceTime, iMessage, iCloud, Pages, Numbers, Keynote and many others. Overall the beautify of the connected services on iOS surpass that of Android 4.0, but in effectiveness, Google wins this round with a great selection of free apps that are almost as good as their paid counterparts.
Conclusion
In the end it boils down to choice. There are great features from both offerings and honestly we cannot define a winner. We’ll just say, if you like to customize your phone and personalize it, as well as spend less money, Android is for you. If you are all about fancy and devices that rarely give have issues, you may want to check out iOS.
