Why iOS 7 is simply better than Android

[spinedoc77]

I agree with OP, but for different reasons. I don't think iOS7 is any particularly incredible evolution, if anything its a devolution. It's horribly ugly and some things are harder to do IMO. But iOS in general is a much better OS for getting things done IMO, for just digging in and conducting business. Siri is the biggest example of this, it's an incredible business tool, especially if you need to get stuff done hands free.

Android is more of a tinkerers OS, which I like, but I have to balance that need to tinker with the need to get business done. Ideally I would have an iphone m-f 9-5, and an android device in the evenings and on the weekends. In fact I would probably do this, but the sharing between ecosystems is pretty poor and more trouble than it's worth.

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TouchWiz is the problem here. I'm not saying Android doesn't have "lag" it honestly, truly does. But so does iOS.

For all its faults and the horrid ugliness of iOS7 I can honestly say that in years of using iOS I've never encountered lag. I have encountered apps suddenly closing and issues with low memory such as having lots of tabs open while web browsing, but no lag. Android has always had some lag, although it's not functionally limiting in the least, just annoying. IMO the occasional app closing on iOS and the occasional lag on Android are pretty comparable in annoyance and it's kind of a wash IMO.

 

[T5BRICK]

For all its faults and the horrid ugliness of iOS7 I can honestly say that in years of using iOS I've never encountered lag. I have encountered apps suddenly closing and issues with low memory such as having lots of tabs open while web browsing, but no lag. Android has always had some lag, although it's not functionally limiting in the least, just annoying. IMO the occasional app closing on iOS and the occasional lag on Android are pretty comparable in annoyance and it's kind of a wash IMO.

One of the best examples of lag on iOS was Spotlight. Even when my iPhone 4s was on iOS 5.x, I had lag or stutters swiping over to the Spotlight screen. I have to say though, they seem to have fixed this problem with the new spotlight transition in iOS 7. Another example is during typing. There have been quite a few times on iOS where my keyboard has become unresponsive or has a delay between when I press a character and when it actually registers.

 

[chagla]

i'm not judging you at all. but clearly you are more concerned about how pretty something looks rather than functionality. you even claim how good facebook app looks. lol. honestly, have you ever tried doing something more than using few apps and making calls on your iphone?

anyways, stick to your iphone. it suits you best.

Hey guys, I had considered moving to android for a while, friends started to sell their iPhone 4 (which sucks IMO) and bought a shiny new android (galaxy 4, HTC one)... They all obsessively talked about how lame ios is, and I started believing them. Seriously, on Android you can do so many cool things, you can customize so much, their notification center is awesome, and the HD displays look gorgeous.

I had never had a good friend with an android until recently, he has a Galaxy S4. At first, I was astonished by this phone... It looked so beautiful and fun, and WhatsApp on this phone is really awesome, but the more I used it I realized how bad it performs against my iPhone 5.
Many apps LAG, they stutter, they don't feel natural and smooth, there is no bounce back scrolling... Even browsing on this phone is a nightmare, I knew that I would regret switching so badly if I actually did it.

I am so in love with the new ios 7 apps, everything gets so beautiful and clean, so much consistency that never existed on ios apps. Did you realize the notification alerts less interfere with what you're doing thanks to the new guidelines? And the new Facebook app, isn't it beautiful? Android users can only look from the side and feel jealous.

I know this OS still lacks so many things compared to android, but nothing compares the experience...

I'm not a fanboy nor I care much about which phone is better, I just wanted to share with you guys why I realized that Android is not ready yet for me to switch. I am using my iPhone 5 for a year and it's amazing what can I do on it, never lags, always fun!

Sorry about my bad English, sorry if you felt this thread was stupid and unnecessary, I'd like to hear your opinions

 

[Frankied22]

I will say iOS 7 is very clean and very playful. There are so many little smooth animations that you just don't get on Android. Right now I have an N4 and a 5C and I'm pretty torn between the two. It seems in Android every transition is chunky. For instance, you are in a reddit app and hit the back button. There is a janky jump that happens which loads up the previous screen. When you scroll through the web or a list view there is some stutter. On iOS it's silky smooth when scrolling and devs put a lot of work into little animations for transitions. Of course, there are still a lot of cool things you can do with Android.

 

[sarcosis]

I will say iOS 7 is very clean and very playful. There are so many little smooth animations that you just don't get on Android. Right now I have an N4 and a 5C and I'm pretty torn between the two. It seems in Android every transition is chunky. For instance, you are in a reddit app and hit the back button. There is a janky jump that happens which loads up the previous screen. When you scroll through the web or a list view there is some stutter. On iOS it's silky smooth when scrolling and devs put a lot of work into little animations for transitions. Of course, there are still a lot of cool things you can do with Android.

I do enjoy the animations on iOS 7,but when you try to get some thing done quick, I just end up frustrated. Waiting for those animations to end kills me. Yes I am impatient, but iOS 6 and Android didn't make me wait, so it drove me nuts.

Also for iOS 6, I actually found a consistent way to he get it to stutter. Load up Facebook with a bunch of pictures in your feed and go back to the home screen, those icons coming back aren't so smooth at all. To be fair, I found a way to do something in similar with a Galaxy S3. But the main culprit of lag anywhere is iOS 7 on my iPad 3rd Gen. I hit the keyboard to go to the number keys, and it takes like 3 seconds. I won't even talk about changing wallpapers...

 

[spinedoc77]

One of the best examples of lag on iOS was Spotlight. Even when my iPhone 4s was on iOS 5.x, I had lag or stutters swiping over to the Spotlight screen. I have to say though, they seem to have fixed this problem with the new spotlight transition in iOS 7. Another example is during typing. There have been quite a few times on iOS where my keyboard has become unresponsive or has a delay between when I press a character and when it actually registers.

Hmm, I never experienced anything like that. I love spotlight and miss it in Android. I can't vouch for iOS7 too much as I only used it on my ip4, as I had sold my ip5 by that time. And to no ones surprise it ran horribly on an ip4.

 

[Frankied22]

I do enjoy the animations on iOS 7,but when you try to get some thing done quick, I just end up frustrated. Waiting for those animations to end kills me. Yes I am impatient, but iOS 6 and Android didn't make me wait, so it drove me nuts.

Also for iOS 6, I actually found a consistent way to he get it to stutter. Load up Facebook with a bunch of pictures in your feed and go back to the home screen, those icons coming back aren't so smooth at all. To be fair, I found a way to do something in similar with a Galaxy S3. But the main culprit of lag anywhere is iOS 7 on my iPad 3rd Gen. I hit the keyboard to go to the number keys, and it takes like 3 seconds. I won't even talk about changing wallpapers...

I wouldn't use Facebook to gauge lag in anything because their app is terrible on both platforms lol. That doesn't surprise me about iOS 7 on the iPad. I've heard it runs pretty awful on the iPads.

 

[spinedoc77]

I think the prime example I can think of with Android lag, and something fairly reproducable would be the phone app. Opening it at first takes a good 1--2 seconds, and then transitioning from one tab to another takes less than a second, but it's NOT instant. You just see a white blank screen for a split second, then the tab loads. It's not earth shattering, just annoying that I have such a highly powered device (G2), but it's still slow like that. Same happened on my old Note 2 so I don't think it's the UI skin, but maybe it is. I'd be curious how it functions on vanilla Android.

 

[Lloydbm41]

The first or second day that I used my Nexus 7 last year, I downloaded this emulator app from the play store that spammed my tablet with notifications. The app was even in the top 25 free apps, and it appeared to have good (fake) reviews. When I tried to filter the reviews later on, that's when I saw people mentioning spam. When I used my N7 through out the year sometimes I'd have random ads show up in my picture gallery, and I even had random websites being bookmarked on chrome that would show up on my home screen. I'm not even sure which apps they came from. I mostly downloaded apps in the top 100, so it's not like I was looking for suspicious apps. With Android, I have to look at reviews and permissions closely before downloading any apps from the play store to avoid spammy apps. I don't have to worry about that **** with iOS, and I guess I was used to that.

What you are describing was called 'airpush' advertising. This was outlawed by Google at the beginning of this year. No app in the Play Store can do this anymore.
BTW. Airpush ads was not malware or viruses, it was a cheesy way for developers to get more ad revenue.

 

[T5BRICK]

I think the prime example I can think of with Android lag, and something fairly reproducable would be the phone app. Opening it at first takes a good 1--2 seconds, and then transitioning from one tab to another takes less than a second, but it's NOT instant. You just see a white blank screen for a split second, then the tab loads. It's not earth shattering, just annoying that I have such a highly powered device (G2), but it's still slow like that. Same happened on my old Note 2 so I don't think it's the UI skin, but maybe it is. I'd be curious how it functions on vanilla Android.

I just tried fiddling around in the phone app on my HTC One running the Google Edition ROM. Aside from a slight stutter when I started scrolling through my contacts, I didn't notice any lag when opening the app or switching to different tabs.

 

[Brittany246]

What you are describing was called 'airpush' advertising. This was outlawed by Google at the beginning of this year. No app in the Play Store can do this anymore.
BTW. Airpush ads was not malware or viruses, it was a cheesy way for developers to get more ad revenue.

Yeah, I know it was airpush. It's good to know that the Google got rid of it. Wouldn't apps like that be considered adware though?

 

[sarcosis]

I just tried fiddling around in the phone app on my HTC One running the Google Edition ROM. Aside from a slight stutter when I started scrolling through my contacts, I didn't notice any lag when opening the app or switching to different tabs.

I didn't notice too much of a lag on the phone app with stock android. It was always quick on my Nexus 4. It was just about as fast as the phone app on iOS 7. The one thing that puzzles me is the lag on the G2's phone app since everything else is super smooth and fast. Thankfully I can't get around it by using quick dial on my home screen.

I wouldn't use Facebook to gauge lag in anything because their app is terrible on both platforms lol. That doesn't surprise me about iOS 7 on the iPad. I've heard it runs pretty awful on the iPads.

That's true and which is why I didn't mind iOS 6. It happened rarely and everything else was fast. If iOS 7 we just as fast and didn't eat the battery on my iPhone 5, I'd still have it.

 

[Tsuchiya]

Hey guys, I had considered moving to android for a while, friends started to sell their iPhone 4 (which sucks IMO) and bought a shiny new android (galaxy 4, HTC one)... They all obsessively talked about how lame ios is, and I started believing them. Seriously, on Android you can do so many cool things, you can customize so much, their notification center is awesome, and the HD displays look gorgeous.

I had never had a good friend with an android until recently, he has a Galaxy S4. At first, I was astonished by this phone... It looked so beautiful and fun, and WhatsApp on this phone is really awesome, but the more I used it I realized how bad it performs against my iPhone 5.
Many apps LAG, they stutter, they don't feel natural and smooth, there is no bounce back scrolling... Even browsing on this phone is a nightmare, I knew that I would regret switching so badly if I actually did it.

I am so in love with the new ios 7 apps, everything gets so beautiful and clean, so much consistency that never existed on ios apps. Did you realize the notification alerts less interfere with what you're doing thanks to the new guidelines? And the new Facebook app, isn't it beautiful? Android users can only look from the side and feel jealous.

I know this OS still lacks so many things compared to android, but nothing compares the experience...

I'm not a fanboy nor I care much about which phone is better, I just wanted to share with you guys why I realized that Android is not ready yet for me to switch. I am using my iPhone 5 for a year and it's amazing what can I do on it, never lags, always fun!

Sorry about my bad English, sorry if you felt this thread was stupid and unnecessary, I'd like to hear your opinions

I have to disagree for the most part. Your points about iOS7 vs Android are the following:

1) Whatsapp performs terribly...It just doesn't. performance was identical to the iOS7 version I was using up until only a few weeks ago. In fact Whatsapp on Android is better because it integrates with other applications. I can share files or links without copy/paste because Android simply lets me.

2) Many apps lag/stutter in Android. Not so. Though you're right in saying that iOS apps are more playful like with the scroll bounce.

3) Browsing is a nightmare. Chrome is quite fast on my S4 and again I think it's superior to the iOS version simply because it plays nice with other applications.

4) iOS consistency. This is true. Apple has pushed a certain aesthetic and developers are keen on playing along. I don't blame them, it does look good.

5) Notification alerts have improved. That is true. I liked that you could dismiss anything that appeared along the top quickly. Android still does this better, you get a quick notification message in the bar along the top which doesn't obscure your view of what you are doing, then you get a clean icon that lets you know whats new.


Don't get me wrong, I genuinely do like iOS7, and was running it on my iPhone 4S until I brought a Galaxy S4. Also in general, I still use my iPad daily, that isn't going anywhere and I've got an iPod touch with iOS7 for car use.

However, Android is not the pit that some iOS users like to believe. In some regards I think the S4 is the best phone I've owned thus far. It just kind of lets me get on with it. Work or play. So far I think the only thing I really miss is Apple hardware. Other manufacturers just don't seem to understand good design.

 

[JerZyT28]

My Galaxy S4 is running Nova launcher with Go locker..FLAWLESS...ZERO lag. Hell, even Touchwiz didn't have lag on this phone. My problem is Touchwiz's overall design, not a fan. Also, I don't like having pages. I run one homescreen with two folder (Google and most used apps). When it comes to the phone experience, for me, Android is untouchable. To quote Apple, it just works...for me. I installed iOS7 on my iPad 3 and it simply butchered it. I reset it over and over again, but its still just lag all over. The animations are sickening, the bright colors and thin font is sickening, and the rainbow colors are sickening. Now i'm not one of those people who are crying about Apple as better off keeping the iOS 6 style. I like change, but I feel Apple went way overboard. I know that the iPad 5 and mini 2 will most likely run it very smooth and yes...one of those devices will be mine. I do feel that people (like the OP) needs to actually have an experience with another platform. I came from using the iPhone for 3 years before I switched to a Galaxy S3, then to S4. You actually have to use the products to give a fair assessment on it. The S4 does have flaws, as does the iPhone. Not mention Apples disgusting attempt to sell an old product with a ridiculous price. To me, the way to go is Nexus. I run a new Nexus 7 as my main tablet now (thanks to iOS7). For the phone, Nexus 5 will be mine.

 

[Technarchy]

I have to disagree for the most part. Your points about iOS7 vs Android are the following:


3) Browsing is a nightmare. Chrome is quite fast on my S4 and again I think it's superior to the iOS version simply because it plays nice with other applications.

Is this a joke? Chrome performance is utterly horrible on Android compared to iOS.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Is this a joke? Chrome performance is utterly horrible on Android compared to iOS.

I think it depends on the device used. Don't think it is fair to imply 'Android' as a whole on every device.
A more apt description would be to say that IOS provides a better, more fluid experience across all iDevices, than Chrome can on all Android devices. This doesn't mean Chrome runs like crap on all Android devices. It runs flawlessly for me on my Nexus.

 

[Sensamic]

Seriously?

Apple fans are still using the lag argument?

Seriously?

They must not know that iOS 7 lags more than Android now thanks to the slower animations...

 

[vikingjunior]

Seriously?

Apple fans are still using the lag argument?

Seriously?

They must not know that iOS 7 lags more than Android now thanks to the slower animations...

Its OK let them think android lags gives us a better chance of getting a nexus 5 on launch day.

 

[gotluck]

Is this a joke? Chrome performance is utterly horrible on Android compared to iOS.

chrome seems to vary wildly depending on the device.

it is atrocious on my touchpad, yet i prefer it on my gs4ge over all others (the beta version)

 

[fredaroony]

Is this a joke? Chrome performance is utterly horrible on Android compared to iOS.

How so? I dont have any issues.

 

[T5BRICK]

How so? I dont have any issues.

Running Chrome beta on my HTC One running vanilla Android 4.3 is a much better experience than using it on the same device running 4.2.2 and the HTC Sense 5.0 skin. I think Sense and TouchWiz are causing problems for some people.

 

[Lloydbm41]

Running Chrome beta on my HTC One running vanilla Android 4.3 is a much better experience than using it on the same device running 4.2.2 and the HTC Sense 5.0 skin. I think Sense and TouchWiz are causing problems for some people.

My wife has the AT&T version of the HTC One running 4.3 now (after the update came recently) and still using the Sense ROM, not rooted or altered in any way.
She was using the stock Samsung browser on her previous phone, but likes Chrome on the HTC One (we just got the phone though, so never experienced the One running 4.2.2 to compare. The day we got the phone was the day AT&T released the 4.3 update. Perfect timing!)
I will say the HTC One is a really nice looking and feeling phone. Much better than my Nexus 4 (although I have my 4 in a Ringke clear case, because the Nexus 4's glass is so fragile.)

I never tried Sense before, but it looks and runs better than Touchwiz on Galaxy phones imo. I kinda like Sense 5.

Edit: P.S. Did you root your One to flash the GE 4.3 ROM? If so, was it a smooth install? Any issues? Is the camera better on stock ROM or on the Google Edition. I have read other reviews, but always curious to get a point of view from someone on this board. Thanks in advance.

 

[T5BRICK]

Edit: P.S. Did you root your One to flash the GE 4.3 ROM?

I unlocked and rooted my phone right off the bat, just because. I knew eventually I'd be installing custom ROMs, so I just wanted to get it out of the way. I bought my phone before HTC had done any major updates, so it was running Android 4.1.2 and had an older version of the "Hboot." I was able to achieve "S-Off" on mine, which basically means I am able to flash any ROM and modify any partition on my phone. I don't believe the newer versions are able to achieve "S-Off" as easily.

If you're interested in any of this stuff, you ought to check out XDA and do some reading.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one

If so, was it a smooth install? Any issues?

The install went fine. It's not like restoring iOS using iTunes though. There are points where you're typing commands into a terminal and whatnot.

Is the camera better on stock ROM or on the Google Edition. I have read other reviews, but always curious to get a point of view from someone on this board. Thanks in advance.

Unfortunately the camera on this phone really is its weak point. I think the Sense camera on the stock ROM has more features available, but regardless of the ROM I've used, the image quality is about the same. Well, aside from the AOSP ROMs that seem to have purple or pink tint.

 

[daveathall]

Is this a joke? Chrome performance is utterly horrible on Android compared to iOS.

Must admit that I use Chrome Beta on my S4 (Not rooted, using Apex launcher) and find it quite pleasurable, it may be worth a look Tech, I would be interested and appreciate your thoughts if you do try it please.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.chrome.beta&hl=en_GB

 

[Lloydbm41]

I unlocked and rooted my phone right off the bat, just because. I knew eventually I'd be installing custom ROMs, so I just wanted to get it out of the way. I bought my phone before HTC had done any major updates, so it was running Android 4.1.2 and had an older version of the "Hboot." I was able to achieve "S-Off" on mine, which basically means I am able to flash any ROM and modify any partition on my phone. I don't believe the newer versions are able to achieve "S-Off" as easily.

If you're interested in any of this stuff, you ought to check out XDA and do some reading.

http://forum.xda-developers.com/htc-one



The install went fine. It's not like restoring iOS using iTunes though. There are points where you're typing commands into a terminal and whatnot.



Unfortunately the camera on this phone really is its weak point. I think the Sense camera on the stock ROM has more features available, but regardless of the ROM I've used, the image quality is about the same. Well, aside from the AOSP ROMs that seem to have purple or pink tint.

Thanks for the info. I am familiar with ADB and fastboot commands via terminal. I have just never messed with an HTC phone before or the Sense UI. Using Odin and Samsung Toolkits or Keis are akin to iTunes (with PIA drivers needing installation to get USB access to the phone). Not very user friendly. Nexus is a much easier affair, especially using Wug's Nexus toolkit.

If my wife eventually wants me to root the HTC, I'll look into it more. I was more curious if there was anything tricky to bypass with the One. From what you have said, it sounds like a fairly easy deal. Can't be any worse than Samsung devices!

I know the stock ROM for the One just got an update to the camera, and it looks like that blueish tint is gone. Low light pics are its strength, but in normal light (or very bright areas) I keep seeing tons of lens flare. Very annoying. But hey, it's my wifes phone. he he I don't have to use it every day.

Again, thanks for the info.