iPhone vs. Android: What's the Difference?

By Thomas Hart on April 18, 2020

If you had asked me what the difference between Apple and Androids were a year ago, I would’ve said, “Androids are like iPhones, just more fairly priced.” However, with the release of Apple’s new iPhone SE, the once undercutting Android phones have been outpriced by the new cheap iPhone. So, I thought this article could be useful as a way to tell Apple and Android devices apart in ways that actually matter for the average college student.

I’m assuming you already know about Apple’s iPhone line, so let’s get a bit of background information on the Androids. Android basically refers to any smartphone that uses a variant of Google’s Android operating system. Android OS is the biggest difference between them and iPhones, and the only thing that might prevent a loyal Apple consumer from turning traitor, but we’ll get to that later. With Android phones, multiple companies make different variants, meaning there’s more competition but also tons of different phones to choose that all look the same, making it pretty confusing. There are a few different companies that most people pay attention to when looking for a good Android: Samsung, who makes the Galaxy and Note lines, known for general excellence and the Note’s stylus pen; Google, who makes the Pixel line, best known for camera quality; and OnePlus with their OnePlus line, known for being quality phones for cheaper prices.

The Samsung Galaxy s8, shown above, was released in 2017 and was one of the most prominent members of Samsung’s Galaxy line of smartphones. Source: Pexel.com

When it comes to hardware, these three companies usually compete with Apple when it comes to build quality, and many of them also competed in an area did not until this year: the $300 dollar price range. This year, however, Apple released the iPhone SE, a cheaper iPhone that can compete with the other cheaper phones. The hardware is still fairly the same and not that important to talk about, so let’s talk about the biggest difference: IOS vs Android OS.

IOS’ biggest strength is that all of Apple’s products work well together. Your iPhone connects to your Macbook seamlessly and you can view your notifications on it or use iMessage or you can use Airdrop to easily send documents to other iPhones in the room. That is pretty much gone with Android phones. There’s no Airdrop or iMessage, which is going to be a loss felt by any Apple user. Instead, Android’s big advantage is that their OS is more customizable. The Google Play Store has many more options for apps, and you can infinitely customize your home screen. There is an app launcher built into Android OS, so you don’t need to have all of your apps on your home screen, leaving it free for your most used apps or widgets, another convenient feature.

With IOS, the most organization you can get is within these small folders, but Android phones can keep most apps in the launcher and leave your home screen uncluttered. Source: Pexel.com

Some might want to compare Apple and Android phones as which is better, but when it comes to the purposes of most consumers, it comes down to iPhone’s ease of use vs. Android’s customization, and which is better for them. If you’ve ever felt like iPhones are too limited, then it might be time to consider a switch. Both sides are excellent though, so it will really come down to your preferences.

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