IOS vs. Android

[Jus711]

If you have other Apple devices, the integration provides real benefits. If not, then Android devices have better specs and more variety.

More variety? Absolutely, we're talking several manufacturers vs one. Better specs? I'm not so sure, there's a difference between better sounding specs and actually better specs. Quad core sounds better than dual core until you test them and the dual-core (Apple's chips) beat everybody else's. Higher screen resolutions, more RAM, various gimmickry (Samsung) all sound good until you realize they often aren't useful or noticeable and just drain battery life. And I'm not just espousing fanboyism, certainly Apple's not above touting features that aren't ultimately all that useful themselves, but its much more prevalent on the Android side.

What I always tell people who ask me is, Android is much more customizable out of the box-I say out of the box because a jailbroken iPhone is highly customizable-and that is important to a lot of people, however for others Apple's more tightly integrated/lock-down approach is "better" for others, its up to individual interpretation. It's similar to Windows vs OSX in this regard.

 

[ZBoater]

Sorry, but some of the Quad HD Android phones win the spec war handily. No need to deny the obvious. Some of those phones are freaking awesome hardware wise.

 

[C. Robert]

If your thinking about an android, then go android. iOS is for people who value productivity, quality, and service over tinkering with their tech.

 

[sunking101]

Integration is one of the big ones of why I'll never go back to Android (among other things but that would be a pretty long post so I won't get into the other issues I have with that OS here).

- I take a pic on my iPhone, it's almost instantly available on my Mac and iPad. No worries about connecting to your PC or downloading a third party storage app to upload to. It's just done automatically for you
- I can iMessage and FaceTime friends/family from either of these 3 devices with just the push of a button. FaceTime audio as well. I find the iMessage particularly useful, sending messages via iPad or Macbook is pretty nice. All without any third party apps or extra phone numbers to give out to people.
- 80% of my contacts are using iPhones so the few who made the wrong choice of phone don't bother me too much but even that will be solved once Yosemite and iOS 8 come out to allow SMS to non Apple devices.
- Same for calendars, notes, mail, iBooks, Safari. It's really convenient to be browsing on your Macbook and then be able to continue where you left off on your iPhone instantly from wherever you are
- It also applies to music if you have iTunes Match. I add music to my library or update any of my playlists from any device and it updates across all 3 devices.
- With Yosemite, iOS 8, and continuity, things are only looking to get better

It's in the area of integration where Android is behind and can probably never catch up since there are so many different types of devices and vendors.

Can these things be done on Android? Probably. Can they be done natively out of the box without jumping through hoops of downloading third party apps from several different vendors? No. But that's to be expected when one company makes your OS and another one makes your hardware.

Absolutely none of that interests me one jot. I don't need any of those features and they don't entice me in the slightest.