Which operating system is better, iOS or Android? The answer to this question depends on several factors: what system do your contacts use? Which one will be more suitable for your job? And where can you find the best experience with the apps you love the most?
Longtime Android Police blogger Manuel Vonau wrote an extensive article explaining why iPhone apps are still better than Android apps, and why he keeps going back to his iPhone. As a longtime iPhone user, I can certainly understand how he reached this conclusion.
While I have tested several Android phones over the years, the main reason iPhone apps seem to have an advantage over their Android counterparts is due to fewer options in the market. You can find a bunch of Android phones with different capabilities, processors, displays, cameras, etc. But Apple only makes a handful of iPhone models to choose from.
Even though Apple expanded the number of models, they are all high-end devices that can take advantage of the most demanding apps for years to come. Interestingly enough, Manuel Vonau notes that Google apps are also better on the iPhone.
“Google Maps builds its routes on the fly, giving you a sense of motion. WhatsApp delivers proper transitions when you open the keyboard or swipe to go back to all chats. And YouTube offers a rich, prolonged animation when you move your phone to landscape mode,” he writes.
Another point the writer makes is that iOS’s gesture navigation has been the default since the iPhone X, while Android phones offer different methods. For example, depending on the phone going back could involve pressing the back button, making a back gesture, or a custom implementation from the device manufacturer.
Lastly, although Vonau doesn’t mention this, it’s worth noting that iPhone owners are more likely to pay for an app or in-app subscriptions than Android owners. Statista has a chart that shows how much people spend on the App Store and on the Google Play Store and how much they will pay going forward — and the difference is wild.
That said, it’s only natural that developers would make better apps for iPhone users as the income will come from them, despite Android having a larger user base. Combining larger revenue, fewer phones to work with, and a user base that constantly updates their smartphones, you can see why the iPhone might offer better app experiences than an Android.
While Vonau says Android 14 will improve upon that, users will still struggle with another issue: the lack of Android phones that actually update to the latest OS version. On the other hand, WWDC 2023 is just around the corner, and the vast majority of iPhone users will install iOS 17 as soon as it’s available.
