APP MAN: iPhone vs Android – Which to choose
Which phone you prefer is no longer a gadget choice, it is a lifestyle statement. I would even petition that iPhone or Android should be a required question on all dating sites so that you know what you’re getting into ahead of time.
Here is a rundown of why to choose one or the other, and what it tells you about yourself.
On Jan. 9, 2007, Steve Jobs famously said, say hello to iPhone, and it forever changed the world. Apple redefined what a phone is and it set in motion a technology battle that is still going strong. It has gone beyond just technology, though. We as consumers define ourselves by where we live, the clothes we wear, cars we drive, and now by the phone we carry.
I always get asked, should I go with an iPhone or an Android phone? And what’s the difference anyways? Up until 2010, the answer to that questions was iPhone, hands down. But with the introduction of the original Verizon Droid, things got very interesting.
Before choosing a phone, you first have to ask yourself a fundamental question. Do you prefer a smooth and easy experience, and you are OK being limited in some ways to ensure there aren’t any challenges? Or are you the kind of person who thrives on cutting-edge features, flexibility and hardware and doesn’t mind getting your hands dirty with some work-arounds now and then?
Apple has created an operating system (iOS) that is as smooth as silk. They put you on a predefined track where your every move and expectation has been thought out. The downside is that you can’t venture from that path. Because they have chosen to carefully control these variables, they have to move at a slower and more controlled pace.
The hardware and engineering advantages that Apple once enjoyed has evaporated. While there is no doubt they produced high-quality hardware, it is no longer a key differentiator for them. Their slow and controlled release cycles are allowing their competitors to surpass them in the hardware area. A big advantage that Apple still maintains is that they have the largest and most finely curated app store available. They take great care in approving what is available to their users and how that content is categorized.
Android devices are the wild West, and they come with all the expected rugged excitement. I should start by saying that Android is a mobile device operating system created by Google and licensed to many different phone hardware manufacturers such as Samsung, HTC, and Motorola.
So our comparison is iOS vs. Android on the software side, and iPhone vs Samsung Galaxy S5 (for example), on the hardware side. A key advantage that Android maintains over iOS is that their operating system and hardware can evolve faster than Apple because they allow developers more control over the platform, similar to open source versus closed source. This means they can react quicker to cutting-edge software features and hardware advances than Apple can. Google has chosen to live on the cutting edge with Android, but in return they give up the ability to stage every experience the user will encounter, which occasionally leads to bugs or inferior user experiences. With Android, you often see quicker battery drain due to poorly developed apps, more bugs due to phone hardware variation, and their app store requires a bit more work to separate the good stuff among the bad. But if you love the latest and greatest and don’t mind dealing with small technical hurdles from time to time, then you might be a bold Android user.
Your phone choice says a lot about you. Does Apple’s closed ecosystem with stylish curves and polished interfaces appeal to you? Or do you prefer to push the boundaries with the bold and free-spirited Android devices? The good news is there is no wrong side in this battle; at the end of the day we all get to benefit from these amazing devices.
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