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What features does Android have that iOS does not?

T

Teste

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jan 8, 2011
353
5
I know next to nothing about Android. Trying to learn about it online gives me either marketing speech or a technical list that is not what I'm looking for. What features does Android have that iOS does not?

I have seen by myself:

  • It allows for animated backgrounds
  • It allows for unlocking screens based on gestures and not numbers
  • It allows for real multitasking (having two apps open at the same time, both showing on the screen)

Anything else?

I have an iPhone and an iPad, and I'm not going to switch to Android. I'm just curious as to what functionalities other operational systems have that iOS is missing.
 
I bought a Nexus N7 just to see what Android was all about...I can't say that I've found any dramatic must haves in it, but that may be because most of the apps I've installed are the same apps I use on my iPad.
 
Third party app sharing integration is a big one from me.

img2013021.jpg


You're not limited to the standard applications and services apple limit you to on iOS and all third party applications that are programmed to use it can take advantage of sharing from the browser, gallery, clipboard e.t.c
 
From my perspective android provide a richer environment to configure and use applications. Apple keeps tight control over what developers can or cannot do.

The APIs are more open to allow deeper interaction with the underlying system and other applications, where as iOS is a bit more restrictive
 
Side load flash.

File manager in the play store.

Toggles in notification swipe thing.

Custom keyboards

Custom fonts

Launchers that change the ui (somewhat)
 
You can stick with the Android user interface.....

vyvezada.jpg


Or, if iOS is your thing, you can make it look like an iPhone.....

5yguzuby.jpg


.... Or if Win 8 is what you want, with live tiles, just change the launcher....

7u7ada8u.jpg


... Or if you want a real desktop experience, just install Ubuntu..

uzy7egyr.jpg


9yha9udu.jpg
 

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For me it's the freedom.

After jAilbreaking my iPhone 5, it has been easier to use as I want it, not as Apple thinks I should. I don't fit in their definition of a smartphone user and I want android to keep on growing so the pressure keeps on mounting on Apple.
 
Set default apps and manage my files in an actual file system. I can make the phone work how I want instead of the other way around.
 
How do you make it look like an iPhone with actual iPhone apps? I could see that being helpful while transitioning to Android.
 
A major feature that Android has over iOS is that in Android, tasks can be automated. Whereas in iOS you are stuck with having to manually do repetitive tasks, Android lets you create shortcuts and enables automation apps like Tasker and Llama to be created, which is just plain impossible in iOS. Just this single intuitive ability to automate common tasks makes Android superior to iOS in my opinion.

Android's ability to allow apps to be integrated and communicate with each other is also an outstanding benefit over iOS. It enables apps like Utter! Beta to be created that blows the doors off what Siri can do and with much faster response times. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_irIFVI1x0 for a real life example of what Utter! Beta is being developed to do.
 
Like others have kind of pointed out, the customization and third party integration is the major difference. I have to jail break my iPhone to get accomplish "some" of these features, whereas stock android offers it.
 
Profiles. When I'm in class, I have the internet, GPS, sounds, and my lock screen disabled. Lets me get into my offline notes faster. When I'm out and about, I have my tethering automatically enabled (with a password). And then I have silent hours, so that my phone doesn't do notifications or anything while I'm sleeping.
 
Sounds Good said:
How do you make it look like an iPhone with actual iPhone apps? I could see that being helpful while transitioning to Android.
Click to expand...

You're not using actual iPhone apps. The screen shot posted earlier is most likely using an aftermarket launcher like Nova or Apex. This allows you to install an icon pack from the play store and implement it through the launcher on the fly. This will change your icons to look like the icons from an iPhone. The actual apps are still the Android version of those apps (although many are very similar on both platforms).
 
For me, the biggest allure of Android is simply the integration with all of Google's services. I think Android is ok, depending on which phone/tablet you're using. I have had deplorable experiences on some phones, while the higher end phones and the nexus 7 have treated me well. I have been a Gmail user since beta, I am pretty immersed in the Google ecosystem, so to be able to have all that on the go is great. I do prefer iOS for many reasons, but lately I feel iOS truly belongs on a tablet. I've kind of given up on the iPhone for now, but I'm excited to see what they do this year.
 
b166er said:
For me, the biggest allure of Android is simply the integration with all of Google's services. I think Android is ok, depending on which phone/tablet you're using. I have had deplorable experiences on some phones, while the higher end phones and the nexus 7 have treated me well. I have been a Gmail user since beta, I am pretty immersed in the Google ecosystem, so to be able to have all that on the go is great. I do prefer iOS for many reasons, but lately I feel iOS truly belongs on a tablet. I've kind of given up on the iPhone for now, but I'm excited to see what they do this year.
Click to expand...

I agree about IOS on a tablet being best. Also, unless you know 100% you are going to stay with apple products syncing via google is a much better idea since it's cross platform.
 
For me google maps has sucked on every android phone I've used from 2.2 to 4. Even in its previous form it was better on ios


b166er said:
For me, the biggest allure of Android is simply the integration with all of Google's services. I think Android is ok, depending on which phone/tablet you're using. I have had deplorable experiences on some phones, while the higher end phones and the nexus 7 have treated me well. I have been a Gmail user since beta, I am pretty immersed in the Google ecosystem, so to be able to have all that on the go is great. I do prefer iOS for many reasons, but lately I feel iOS truly belongs on a tablet. I've kind of given up on the iPhone for now, but I'm excited to see what they do this year.
Click to expand...
 
alent1234 said:
For me google maps has sucked on every android phone I've used from 2.2 to 4. Even in its previous form it was better on ios
Click to expand...

The major thing I need out of maps is accuracy. I have to check the apple maps location compared to google maps before I feel confident it's right.
 
I must say I used google maps on my Galaxy S3 yesterday to get me to a football ground and I was amazed at how good the maps were.

I'm also going to take this moment to mention how brilliant the GPS is on the S3
 
Smooth effort based/kinetic scrolling. With larger text files or websites I can simply adjust the speed of my swipe to quickly go to any part of a long page. ios requires multiple swipes as the page just moves a fixed distance regardless of how much force you use.

I can not believe that no one ever talks about this feature. Its one of those gems on android.
 
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