iOS and Android are the two most popular operating systems today in the world of smartphones and phablets.
Offered by Apple and Google respectively, they undergo periodic revisions or updates to give the best features to their users. While iOS works only with Apple devices, Android runs on gadgets designed by various manufacturers. The latest version of iOS is iOS 10 whereas that of Android is Android 7.0 Nougat that is also known as Android N. In this article, we try to give you a comparative study of some features of these two operating systems.
Interface Layout
iOS 10 takes the 3D Touch implemented in the earlier iOS 9 to a new level. A long press on app icons launches their corresponding widgets that allow you to take control over core functions without opening the apps. In iOS 10, these widgets can also be accessed on the lock screen of your handset by a swipe towards the left. Also, when your device is lifted from a flat surface it gets ‘woken up’ although you will have to actually press the home button to unlock the gadget. This ease of operation using widgets is not supported by Android’s operating system.
On the other hand, Android N offers the possibility of multitasking when the handset is used in landscape orientation. This is something that Apple has not considered so far. Using the Recent menu, you can actually work on two apps at a time. Not only this, you can opt for the drag and drop technique used in desktops and laptops to transfer items from one open app to the other open app. What makes things more impressive is that Android has taken effort to stimulate the 3D Touch concept of Apple in its own style with a pressure sensitive screen system.
Notifications Indication
It goes without saying that notifications have become an integral part of the user interface irrespective of the operating system used. This feature has undergone a slew of modifications in both iOS 10 and Android Nougat. In iOS 10, the 3D Touch extends a lending hand to notifications as well. It helps in expanding notifications and taking required action quickly and easily. Moreover, the Notifications menu is now simplified and a standalone menu that makes it easier to access. The Clear All option is quite handy and can help you get rid of all the notifications in one go after you have dealt with them. Notifications are bundled according to app for ease of tackling them.
As for Android N, notifications occupy a major part of the screen real estate. Interestingly, this window also offers access to settings of your choice. In other words, you can decide which settings must be displayed along with the notifications. This saves you the hassle of performing the double swipe action that was the case in the earlier Marshmallow. Finally with Android N, Google has brought out the concept of bundled notifications that was a long overdue functionality.
Assistant Software
While this is Siri for Apple, it is Google Now on Tap for Android. Even as enhancements are made to the former to be at par with Apple’s latest operating system, changes to these two entities are made independent of each other as far as Android is concerned. With iOS 10, you can use Siri to access popular third party mobile apps like Uber, WhatsApp, Lyft and others. It can also help you in making your due payments. Google Now on Tap is still a new kid on the block and has a long way to go in this regard.
Managing Photos and Music
iOS 10 has finally made photo management almost at par with that of Google Photos. You can now either group together snaps with the same faces or even create a slideshow with related photos or videos. You can also search for various elements such as people, places and objects in your photos and videos using a keyword search. This is not new in case of Android Nougat as Google has supported this facility for quite some time now.
On the music front, iOS 10 appears to be more rigid with a cleaner and easy to use interface that allows you to play streamlined Apple music. However, with the Play Music in Android N, you can stream just about any music and play any downloaded music.
Although Apple and Google have taken different approaches to win the hearts of their customers, the gap between the two is slowly narrowing down. However the good news is that irrespective of the beta version of the operating system used, you can always revert to the current release when you face any problem. But, you will not be able to use backups created using beta platforms.