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What are something's you can do with Android that you can't with iOS?

wesk702

wesk702

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jul 7, 2007
1,809
368
The hood
With iOS8 and all the new features, just curious what advantage Android would have.
 
wesk702 said:
With iOS8 and all the new features, just curious what advantage Android would have.
Click to expand...

Having just come from Android for the past few years to an iPhone 6 here are some things which I would like to see but DON'T necessarily miss on an iPhone:

*Notification light for missed events, calls, messages etc.
*Memory card - so convenient to slip in extra memory at a low cost although negated with my 64gb iPhone
*Widgets - although can be a battery drain, was nice to see the weather and news on the main screen without having to open an app
*Drag & drop - one of the main, if not main things I miss. Plugging in your phone and having the file folder open up and move anything onto the phone without having to do it through iTunes

Even with the above items, I still think IOS is slicker and I've experienced no crashes on my iPhone so far. Everything is smooth and fast - so far very happy with my choice.
 
wesk702 said:
With iOS8 and all the new features, just curious what advantage Android would have.
Click to expand...

USB Hosting was something I used a lot. With tablets and phones you can connected a mouse and a mouse cursor pops up on the screen. Useful for tablets imo. Game controllers work too which was nice.

A more laxed app store when it comes to functionality. Wifi sweepers are allowed and emulators (albeit there are some legality issues playing certain roms).

Downloads not limited to the app store.

More freedom with files regardless of the file types and being able to email them directly.

I still prefer iOS for other reasons though hence the reason I still use it. Those are just some of the things I miss from Android.
 
baconroll said:
Having just come from Android for the past few years to an iPhone 6 here are some things which I would like to see but DON'T necessarily miss on an iPhone:

*Notification light for missed events, calls, messages etc.
*Memory card - so convenient to slip in extra memory at a low cost although negated with my 64gb iPhone
*Widgets - although can be a battery drain, was nice to see the weather and news on the main screen without having to open an app
*Drag & drop - one of the main, if not main things I miss. Plugging in your phone and having the file folder open up and move anything onto the phone without having to do it through iTunes

Even with the above items, I still think IOS is slicker and I've experienced no crashes on my iPhone so far. Everything is smooth and fast - so far very happy with my choice.
Click to expand...

Memory card and Notification light are Branding features (Samsung/HTC/Motorla etc). Not all "Android" powered phones have those two features.

OP- Basically you can change the ROM of the phone. You can use different texting apps.. You can pretty much customize EVERYTHING except hardware. You can change the animations of the app icons when scrolling from page to page. You can scroll up and down instead of left to right. You can move the apps to any part of the screen in any pattern. They dont need to be left to right and top to bottom. Endless things you can change.

Android is like a jailbroken iOS device w/ more features. Way too many to try and list.
 
Last edited:
baconroll said:
*Drag & drop - one of the main, if not main things I miss. Plugging in your phone and having the file folder open up and move anything onto the phone without having to do it through iTunes
Click to expand...

This is pretty cool. Just wish iTunes was faster. My new nMP is the only thing that makes iTunes speed tolerable. Using my wife's 2010 iMac and opening iTunes is aggravating.
 
Install apps like Green Power that automatically switch off Wifi and Data. Saves a lot of battery in standby. iPhone a great with standby battery life but not as great compared to my Xperia Z3c with Green Power.
 
baconroll said:
*Drag & drop - one of the main, if not main things I miss. Plugging in your phone and having the file folder open up and move anything onto the phone without having to do it through iTunes

Even with the above items, I still think IOS is slicker and I've experienced no crashes on my iPhone so far. Everything is smooth and fast - so far very happy with my choice.
Click to expand...

This for sure. I'm not a big fan of iTunes.
 
After 8 major releases of iOS, I still can't believe you can't reply to an email with an attachment. I need this for work and was the reason I switched to Android 3 years ago.

Apple should be embarrassed to leave out something so basic in 2014.
 
Dmunjal said:
After 8 major releases of iOS, I still can't believe you can't reply to an email with an attachment. I need this for work and was the reason I switched to Android 3 years ago.

Apple should be embarrassed to leave out something so basic in 2014.
Click to expand...


I agree. I was expecting iCloud Drive to be integrated with mail (even mailbox supports attaching files from Dropbox) but that feature is conspicuously missing, and it doesn't seem like it will be included in the later patches.

No idea if Apple simply ran out of time and pushed it back to ios9 or something.
 
masands said:
Install apps like Green Power that automatically switch off Wifi and Data. Saves a lot of battery in standby. iPhone a great with standby battery life but not as great compared to my Xperia Z3c with Green Power.
Click to expand...


Whats the point if a smartphone then?
 
Abazigal said:
I agree. I was expecting iCloud Drive to be integrated with mail (even mailbox supports attaching files from Dropbox) but that feature is conspicuously missing, and it doesn't seem like it will be included in the later patches.

No idea if Apple simply ran out of time and pushed it back to ios9 or something.
Click to expand...

Inserting photos and videos is easy. Anything else and you are out of luck I'm afriad.
 
If you want to know what the ambient temperature is in your pocket, Samsung's got ya covered. :cool:
 
its Dale said:
Memory card and Notification light are Branding features (Samsung/HTC/Motorla etc). Not all "Android" powered phones have those two features.

OP- Basically you can change the ROM of the phone. You can use different texting apps.. You can pretty much customize EVERYTHING except hardware. You can change the animations of the app icons when scrolling from page to page. You can scroll up and down instead of left to right. You can move the apps to any part of the screen in any pattern. They dont need to be left to right and top to bottom. Endless things you can change.

Android is like a jailbroken iOS device w/ more features. Way too many to try and list.
Click to expand...

Best way to describe the two, I always felt Android is Jailbroken iOS without needing a jailbreak or root.

I have used jailbroken iOS 4-6, I have used android ice-cream sandwich to Kit-Kat.

Un-jailbroken iOS8.

I was on blackberry for a few years but they don't really count especially in this thread.

For the few times you curse at apple for not allowing something that is allowed on android in the end its not worth worrying about because IMO iOS is the better of them
 
Of features that I actually think are useful, I'd just say the dedicated file storage system. It's surprising that Apple still refuses to add this. Especially with a 128GB iPhone option now being available.
 
I really enjoyed playing my Nintendo DS emilator on my note 3. Ran flawlessly but they won't even make a good running one for iPhones
 
CEmajr said:
Of featuresey had to try that I actually think are useful, I'd just say the dedicated file storage system. It's surprising that Apple still refuses to add this. Especially with a 128GB iPhone option now being available.
Click to expand...

Seriously. Apple and iCloud could have destroyed Dropbox and everyone else in one move but they had to try and make iCloud so invisible and "easy" that it was confusing for most needs. Simple airdrop to a dedicated "iCloud folder" just like Dropbox folder to sync with your iCloud would have been awesome.
 
File storage
Ringtones without iTunes
Moving music around without iTunes
More app cross communication
Customizing UI and the OS
Widgets (I know notification widgets, not the same)
Apps that wouldn't be allowed on iphone (emulators, and my favorite torrent clients. VPNs are also available)
Adblock
Different default apps

I dunno I don't have an android phone but those are some things I think id really like. Especially the different apps that are banned in the appstore.
 
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