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kupkakez

macrumors 68020
Apr 4, 2011
2,120
1,327
Austin, TX
I've never noticed a difference in app quality between iOS apps and Android apps. That could be because I really only use very popular apps, and not many apps for that matter.
 

sixrom

macrumors 6502a
Nov 13, 2013
709
1
Between my iPhone 5s and Note 3, I have every app available on both platforms with no hitch. Some features were slow to arrive to the Android counterpart but eventually they made it over like notifications on the Chase bank app or feed on Tapatalk. Don't believe everything you hear.

I too am using an iPhone 5S and Note 3. Both use the same apps and they're very well done. Apps in Google's Play Store have matured nicely and are every bit as good as iPhone apps. Being able to setup both my phones as mirror images of one another is a huge advantage.

Perhaps iPhone owners will also mature at some point and quit bashing Android just because they need to feed their egos. I can always tell because those who know the least about Android makeup the most outrageous stories.

Fact is they are totally different operating systems, both are excellent.
 

petvas

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jul 20, 2006
5,479
1,808
Munich, Germany
I too am using an iPhone 5S and Note 3. Both use the same apps and they're very well done. Apps in Google's Play Store have matured nicely and are every bit as good as iPhone apps. Being able to setup both my phones as mirror images of one another is a huge advantage.

Perhaps iPhone owners will also mature at some point and quit bashing Android just because they need to feed their egos. I can always tell because those who know the least about Android makeup the most outrageous stories.

Fact is they are totally different operating systems, both are excellent.

After my first day with Android I can say that iOS is much better for normal consumers. Android is much better for power users like me...
Some things have impressed me a lot and some other things could be better. The quality of the apps is good, but many iPhone apps are more polished.
 

spriter

macrumors 65816
May 13, 2004
1,460
586
More-or-less the same from my experience aside. All the mainstream / big name apps are the same. Biggest difference I see in quality, availability and polish is from Education apps - particularly tablet educational apps. I will always have a rMini for this reason.
 

The-Real-Deal82

macrumors P6
Jan 17, 2013
17,319
25,473
Wales, United Kingdom
My experience from using both is the apps are slightly more polished on iOS. Apps like Facebook used to be worse on Android but this has changed of late I know. Tapatalk used to access this forum was also better on iOS and was one of the first I purchased when moving across. It had more features and a better layout. I used to get the impression some of the Android apps I used were an after thought and converted just to appease the consumer base. Its just over 18 months now since I jumped from Android so I expect a lot has changed. :)
 

bushido

Suspended
Mar 26, 2008
8,070
2,755
Germany
in general the phone apps all work nice. the problem i am having is the design thats all over the place with every other app having its own ui elements that often dont look nice next to the overall design of kitkat. i guess thats kinda understandable with so many different devices running different versions of android tho
 

Alfuh

macrumors regular
Mar 31, 2009
239
0
From the apps I use:

Major apps like Pocket, Evernote and Flipboard are equally good on Android.

Less widely used apps tend to look less polished on Android, but some have better functionality there.

I've been on android for the last couple years and this has been my experience as well. For major apps there are very similar designs and often better functionality on Android.

For lesser known smaller apps you may find some made with old design language and haven't been updated in quite a while.

But for every one like that there is an Android app that could never exist on iOS such as All cast, busybox, assorted launchers, icon packs, key boards, custom recoveries etc

On the whole I would say the Android has definitely caught up (for a phone) and in some ways surpasses iOS
 

Wide opeN

macrumors 68000
Aug 27, 2010
1,763
1,035
Georgia
Even apps that are the EXACT same function better on iOS.

From screen transitioning, to scrolling list, to going from box/field to box/field.

Most instances, it's simply a better experience on iOS.

Ex. on my Suntrust app, which visually looks the same on both platforms, the transfer feature has a glitch on the Android app.

If you type an incorrect number, you have to start the whole transfer over, you can't simply delete/backspace and resume.

The lack of next on the keyboard is a major pain in the arse, as it's much more convenient than tapping each box.

The lack of being able to tap and go to the top of the page, is also a major bummer on Android.

I'm sorry guys, I've owned both extensively, and like Android, but iOS simply provides the better, more polished/fluid experience.
 

SurferMan

macrumors 65816
May 14, 2010
1,267
51
South FL
Owned both for years, don't see a difference, originally yes but not really now. Never had trouble finding the same, or similar app as on the iPhones. I'm sure there's some apps here and there on both systems that function a little better, I've had a few games that worked better on Android for that matter. But really, their basically the same. FB app on Android I still don't care for though, I just make a bookmark on the screen for the mobile site and use a FB icon, mobile works better than the app.

edit - also the Suntrust comment above is funny, don't use them, I have a couple different banks for personal and business use, and the apps all are the same in function etc on iOS and Android. Maybe you should switch to a bank that knows how to develop an app, not Androids fault ;)
 
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gotluck

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2011
5,717
1,260
East Central Florida
Even apps that are the EXACT same function better on iOS.

From screen transitioning, to scrolling list, to going from box/field to box/field.

Most instances, it's simply a better experience on iOS.

Ex. on my Suntrust app, which visually looks the same on both platforms, the transfer feature has a glitch on the Android app.

If you type an incorrect number, you have to start the whole transfer over, you can't simply delete/backspace and resume.

The lack of next on the keyboard is a major pain in the arse, as it's much more convenient than tapping each box.

The lack of being able to tap and go to the top of the page, is also a major bummer on Android.

I'm sorry guys, I've owned both extensively, and like Android, but iOS simply provides the better, more polished/fluid experience.

So basically the suntrust android app team is bad... Lol
 

apolloa

Suspended
Oct 21, 2008
12,318
7,802
Time, because it rules EVERYTHING!
I've not noticed any difference at all, in fact I find Androids game centre thingy integration to be better than iOS's one. And I love the Tegrazone games I can get on my Nexus 7, cause they run really smooth :)

Oh and I best not forget how I've been plugging my PS3 controller into my tablet using a 69p adapter since I got the tablet in 2012, straight out the box controller support.

I'm not sure if you get Waze on iOS? But that has to be the best satnav app I've EVER seen and it's free! In my mind, so far, it's better than TomTom and Co-pilot were on iOS, but that's not iOS fault but the apps.

And I get confused with all this no tablet apps talk? Android apps are built to fully support scaling, and considering we are starting to see 1080p screens being superseded than the same app will work just as well on a tablet or phone. From what I understand anyway.

I did find though that I had a really cool shift tracking app on my iPhone which wasn't available on Android, and the Android versions were alright but not as good. But as I am on a fixed pattern now it doesn't matter for me.
I will also say though that the YouTube app on iOS is better, I have never got that one? On my Nexus 7 for example you can't refresh your channels by pulling down like you can on iOS, in fact you have to go into suggested videos then back into your subscription ones to refresh them? Really don't get that?

Oh and I find the calendar app built in Android is way better, I was dead impressed when I started using it that it automatically synced across ALL my devices, both Android and Apple without me doing a thing! Now THAT'S how it should be :D

As for Google Now... meh still deciding that one haha. I use it now and then.
 
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MikeTheHustler

macrumors newbie
Apr 12, 2014
21
0
Android apps are mostly worse because developers dont care about making great apps when their apps can easily be downloaded for free
 

SurferMan

macrumors 65816
May 14, 2010
1,267
51
South FL
Android apps are mostly worse because developers dont care about making great apps when their apps can easily be downloaded for free
your clueless, I own both, for years now. Funny how with all my apps, Android version is just as good or similar apps are just as good as on iOS. So much for that logic of yours :rolleyes:

Years and years ago this was true, iOS was better no doubt, but there's really no difference now between both OS, sure there's some apps that may work better on iOS, just as there are some apps that work better on Android. Differences are negligible as a whole now and have been for a while now.
 

BlueGoldAce

macrumors 68000
Oct 11, 2011
1,951
1,455
your clueless, I own both, for years now. Funny how with all my apps, Android version is just as good or similar apps are just as good as on iOS. So much for that logic of yours :rolleyes:

Years and years ago this was true, iOS was better no doubt, but there's really no difference now between both OS, sure there's some apps that may work better on iOS, just as there are some apps that work better on Android. Differences are negligible as a whole now and have been for a while now.


Agreed.


Got to love people that just regurgitate stuff they have heard from years past without and real experience. Are some ios apps better? Yes. But they are cross platform apps that are better on android as we'll.pretty equal now.
 

Technarchy

macrumors 604
May 21, 2012
6,753
4,927
Just depends on the app.

I've had my S5 for about two days. 95% of the apps present on my iPhone 5S are on S5, and the a quality is pretty good. Nothing glaringly bad at least or vastly inferior in terms of features.
 

Shanghaichica

macrumors G5
Apr 8, 2013
14,725
13,245
UK
It's pretty equal these days. When I first started using Android in 2012, apps tended to be better on iOS and more apps were available on iOS. Now I can get virtually the same apps on born platforms and they are equal in quality. There is the odd app that is only available on iOS but you also have apps that are only available on Android.
 

Max(IT)

Suspended
Dec 8, 2009
8,551
1,662
Italy
If you speak about tablets, it's night and day,sadly. App Store is just better.
If you speak about phones, they are almost the same, but I found iOS apps to be slightly more polished in some cases.
And some apps of my interest are still missing in the play store.

----------

Agreed.


Got to love people that just regurgitate stuff they have heard from years past without and real experience. Are some ios apps better? Yes. But they are cross platform apps that are better on android as we'll.pretty equal now.

Could you name an app that is better on android ? Because I know none.
95% of the cases they are identical, but in that 5% they are slightly better on iOS.
Never found an app that was better on Android so far.
 

petvas

macrumors 603
Original poster
Jul 20, 2006
5,479
1,808
Munich, Germany
If you speak about tablets, it's night and day,sadly. App Store is just better.
If you speak about phones, they are almost the same, but I found iOS apps to be slightly more polished in some cases.
And some apps of my interest are still missing in the play store.

----------



Could you name an app that is better on android ? Because I know none.
95% of the cases they are identical, but in that 5% they are slightly better on iOS.
Never found an app that was better on Android so far.


I am using Nine as a mail client. Have a look at it. Much better than anything I had on iOS for Exchange.
Have a look at Dropbox on Android, or Facebook Messenger. They truly multitask..
 

Tinmania

macrumors 68040
Aug 8, 2011
3,528
1,016
Aridzona
At this point in time the apps are about equal.

However, there are features which Android allows that just are not possible in iOS. I don't mean just widgets, which I don't really use all that much.

I am referring to sharing between apps. If I am using a news app, for instance, on iOS and want to bring it into my Evernote account that news app has to be specifically coded to work with Evernote.

Take the Pulse app on iOS, for example. If I want to share an article my choices are Facebook (ugh), Twitter, or plain old emailing it. On Android I can share to Evernote and many other apps--in addition to Facebook, Twitter, email and G+.




Michael

----------

Max(IT) said:
Could you name an app that is better on android ? Because I know none.
95% of the cases they are identical, but in that 5% they are slightly better on iOS.
Never found an app that was better on Android so far.
Huffington Post.

Your "95%" claim is just another example of internet stats being made up on the spot.



Michael
 

Max(IT)

Suspended
Dec 8, 2009
8,551
1,662
Italy
I am using Nine as a mail client. Have a look at it. Much better than anything I had on iOS for Exchange.
Have a look at Dropbox on Android, or Facebook Messenger. They truly multitask..

I don't use Facebook, so I can't check, but my wife does and she prefer the iOS version over the android she has installed on her galaxy (and believe me she is an android user, since she never had an iPhone but she is on her fourth droid).
I use Dropbox on both platforms and I don't find mayor differences. Dropbox on iOS has background app refresh support and it works very well

----------

Huffington Post.

Your "95%" claim is just another example of internet stats being made up on the spot.



Michael
95 clearly is a figurative number to say they are almost all the same.
But surely I can claim myself to be quite an "expert" on both platforms, having joined them since the beginning with an impressive number of devices, so if I can't make a real statistic out of my experience I can say that the two markets are almost equal, but if I have to chose one and only one it would be App Store.
 

gotluck

macrumors 603
Dec 8, 2011
5,717
1,260
East Central Florida
If you speak about tablets, it's night and day,sadly. App Store is just better.
If you speak about phones, they are almost the same, but I found iOS apps to be slightly more polished in some cases.
And some apps of my interest are still missing in the play store.

----------



Could you name an app that is better on android ? Because I know none.
95% of the cases they are identical, but in that 5% they are slightly better on iOS.
Never found an app that was better on Android so far.


Pushbullet is better on android because of notification mirroring

Tasker and airdroid (and any other app that is impossible on ios) are better because they don't have counterparts that exist on ios.

File managers are more powerful etc

Can torrent without jailbreaking/rooting
 
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Max(IT)

Suspended
Dec 8, 2009
8,551
1,662
Italy
Pushbullet is better on android because of notification mirroring

Tasker and airdroid (and any other app that is impossible on ios) are better because they don't have counterparts that exist on ios.

File managers are more powerful etc

Can torrent without jailbreaking/rooting

I can play the same game: Tweetbot, LinkedIn cardmunch, MegaReader, VSCO Cam, Kickstarter, loungeBuddy, diptic PDQ, games like plants vs zombies 2, garage band, iMovie , Keynote, pages, Reeder ... There are exclusive on iOS ...

That isn't my point. We were comparing the two stores. Reporting exclusives is futile and take the discussion nowhere.

To defuse the topic a little bit: the app I'm missing more on android is KYMS. There is nothing similar in Android. Go and search what it does :D
 
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