iOS Vs Android

Although there are of course more than just 2 mobile operating systems, the dominant pair at the moment, and what looks like for the foreseeable future are Android and Apple’s iOS. There are good arguments on both sides and both have many plus points, and every smartphone or tablet user has their favorite, or maybe one that they are just used to.

It’s not all about style!

We’ll get this argument out of the way first. There’s no doubt that many iOS and iPhone/iPad users purchased their devices because of that Apple logo. To many people it stands for cool, chic and stylish however as much as there’s nothing wrong with an aesthetically pleasing device, it’s not all about style is it? Well, yes it is if you’re the one that’s making a living from selling it and you know that your target market likes the look and feel of the exterior of the device, and if the apps available allow users to do exactly what they want to do then all is good with that. There’s no doubt that Apple win on the style front, but more and more users are finding that other devices, devices that use Android are now just as ‘sexy’ and they also find that the OS is also pretty good. Style and image can only take a device so far, it’s what’s under the hood that counts. At the moment Apple’s share of the market is around 20% of smartphones, Android is used on 43% of them, many people have found that price is sometimes a tad more important than style. The big Android advantage is of course is that it’s simply not fixed to one device or one particular manufacturer, and this had allowed it to grow, with tablets and smartphones available to suit all budgets, while Apple is still seen by many as a high end expensive product.

The usability and functionality

These are really the 2 main factors on why people should be using a particular OS, we know that they are not, but they should be. Many iOS users believe that their device is just so easy to use, that all the apps line up nicely and the navigation is just so good, and this is true, as when many people first pick up an Android device, especially a new one, they can look a little messy, unfathomable to some. This however soon gives way to an ‘oh, you can do this with it, oh that’s good’. The general consensus is that Android takes a little more work however in just a short space of time it can be made a whole lot more personal than the iOS phone. With upgrades to both coming regularly and Google’s Kit Kat on the way, the battle lines have been drawn and the biggest indicator of who wins the battle will be in the sales figures of a period of time, It really does come down to this...You believe that the A platform is a whole lot better than the B platform, because A does exactly what you want it to. It is better for you, it’s a simple as that, you may not have even tried the other platform and you may never try it, it’s a little bit like a favorite pair of jeans, they fit, they look OK, and they do the job. For casual smartphone users, those that use messaging services, social media and game apps etc, there is plenty of room in the marketplace for 2 OS’s and with Windows picking up the pace a little of late, maybe that could turn into 3.