As a tech reviewer, I have enjoyed using both iOS and Android and when I bought Moto G couple of months back, it completely changed my outlook on Android. However just recently Apple unveiled iOS 8, which took iOS to whole other level and I mean literally!
However, lets just say you have (near) stock Android device, which in my case is Moto G and you have iOS 8 device, which in my case in iPad Mini running iOS 8 beta 1. How do these two compare with each other. Lets find out!
After Steve Jobs death, iOS did get a bit of freedom and we were able to do things with a different style. The new flatter layout, white UI and removing skeuomorphism are the main signs of how Apple is without Scott Forestall and Steve Jobs. Both of them were fan of skeuomorphism and when Jony Ive removed it from iOS, it just made iOS so much better, and modern.
Android on the other hand adopted modern and stylish look earlier than iOS . Android 4.0 was a huge release and everything after that was just perfect. Android worked on removing lagginess and made the experience smoother with Project Butter. Smoothness is quite evident on stock Android phones, like Nexus, Moto G,X etc. Android is open source, meaning you can do just about anything with your device's firmware. I like this option however this also means that you are vulnerable to malware and viruses.
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| Android 4.4 KitKat and iOS 8 |
SIMILARITIES
I will start with similarities and work my way to the differences between these two operating systems.
1. 3rd party Keyboard Support
First similarity is that both operating systems support 3rd party keyboards. This is not that new for Android users since they had this feature for ages but 3rd party keyboard support is new for iOS 8. Swiftkey, Fleksy and many other companies have started developing for iOS 8 as well. Its going to be quite interesting to see if Google also make there own stock keyboard available for iOS users. The native iOS keyboard features QuickType something we have seen in Android as well. QuickType is a auto correction method in a way! It gives you all the suggestions on the top part of the keyboard while you are writing something, similar to what Samsung Galaxy users are used to.
2. Widgets
Second similarity between iOS and Android is Widgets. Android supports widgets quite profoundly and allows users to put widgets where ever they like on their homescreens. In Android we do not have app specific widgets though a widget may come with an app as well like soundcloud or whatsapp. Native widgets in Android are clock, alarm, setting toggles, email , messages etc. In iOS the widgets are implemented quite differently however they are still called "widgets". Essentially there are no native iOS widgets except for stock, weather and calendar. All of these widgets are found in Notification center and not in homescreens like in Android. Most of the widgets are from 3rd Party apps, so for example when you download ebay, your ebay bid will be coming on the notifcation center and you can bid directly from the Notification center without having to open the application.
The difference between the widgets can be that Android implements them on homecreens while Apple has kept them for notification center only.
3. Okay Google & Hey Siri
Third similarity comes in the form of voice recognition. I have always preferred Google Now over Siri, and I
still do, (more about that later) however now these two are even similar than ever. Now with iOS 8, you can enable Siri just by saying " Hey Siri", from your homescreen and lockscreen and even from within applications. This is something you can do in Android as well. This feature was pioneered by Motorola with Moto X. Moto X comes with X8 processor and allows you to open and access Google Now even if your device is locked. This is something that iOS couldn't do. However, when LG came up with Nexus 5, Google gave it the same feature however it was only limited to homescreens.
This feature makes the device so much better. However, one limitation on iOS is that this feature can only work when your device is connected to power. This makes this feature tiny bit useless however its still quite nice and usable.
4. Interactive Notifications
Fourth similarity between the two operating system is Interactive Notifications. You can now reply to messages, tweets, facebook messages and more directly from notification center, lock screen or the notification banner. Now this is not something really new and Android users have been using this feature for ages. In Android you can reply to emails directly from notification center and you have the ability to expand the notifications as well which is something still missing from iOS. Interactive notifications though something new in iOS is quite old in Android, and this is yet another feature that Apple stole from Android, adding to the ever growing list of similarities between the two operating systems.
5. iCloud Drive .......... Google Drive
Fifth similarity is going to be iCloud Drive. iCloud Drive is the exact replica of Google Drive, which everyone uses on their iPhones, iPads and Macs and also PCs. iCloud Drive is essentially a cloud based storage that users can save their files and media onto, and all their data will become available across all of their devices in an instant. iCloud Drive is also available for PCs. Its going to work quite well across iOS devices and Mac OS X Yosemite and will make sharing files a lot easier. However, Google has the same service which they provide for all Apple devices and PCs. Apple is unlikely to make a iCloud Drive app for Android any time soon but here is yet another similarity between iOS 8 and Android.
Even though Apple bashed Android quite a bit during their WWDC event, there are still a lot of things that Apple actually got from Android. It seems kind of funny how Apple is able to make fun of Android only to talk about iCloud Drive and 3rd party keyboard support, few minutes later. All of these features in iOS 8 brings iOS a bit more closer to Android. I personally like 3rd party keyboard feature quite a lot, regardless of it being "not new", or "not revolutionary", but simply because this means that Apple is opening up its mobile operating system. Something they should have done years ago.
Android has remained open source from the start and it makes it customizable and have attracted many people towards itself mainly because of this. After iOS 6, Apple is trying to open iOS a bit and allowing 3rd party keyboards to work within iOS is the first step in this direction.
All of the above things were similarities and things that Apple took from Android. Now its time to talk about differences. This is when crisis between Apple fanboys and Android fanboys may erupt, but keep your heads cool and lets continue further in this epic battle between iOS 8 and Android 4.4 KitKat.
1. Google Play Store Vs App Store
The first difference I am going to talk about is applications. Applications are really important for any smartphone now. That can be an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S5. Without good apps, your device is essentially a phone without any "smart" features. In iOS 8 we have App Store from where we can buy applications and in Android we have the play store. I have been using Android for the past 3 to 4 months now and I have tried exploring Play Store as extensively as possible. However, part of me believes that I have remained unsuccessful in doing so.
The first thing I have noticed about Google Play Store is that you can't discover applications easily. For me the experienced hasn't really been that brilliant. Search is good and you can search for the app you are looking for and it gives accurate suggestions. However, Google still needs to work on redesigning the Play store and making it easier for the users to discover new applications. Next thing I want to talk about is that there are quite a good number of low quality applications and it seems that Google's quality control check isn't working properly. The applications are vague and are useless and usually do nothing.
On the other side, iOS App Store is filled with quality applications that work as advertised. There aren't that many "low quality or vague" apps and usually the applications are quite premium and useful. The app store design is also very well built, making it really easy to discover new applications.
For me iOS applications are far more better quality wise. There are tons of applications that are only made for iPad, so that the app can truly take the advantage of the 9.7" or 7.9" screen screen.
This feature works with iPad, iPod Touch and Mac OS X Yosemite!
3. Ability to download anything from Google Chrome
Third feature I am gonna talk about is the ability to download music, videos on your Android phone directly from the stock browser like Google Chrome. This feature "just works" on Android phones and this feature is my personal favorite. In iOS you have applications that can do this for you , but again they save your music in their own music library and not in the stock music app. So for those who don't buy music from Play Store, well they can download it for free from internet and listen to it using their stock music app on Android. I love this feature!
4. Appearance
iOS and Android, though really close to each other in features are actually really far from each other when it comes to appearance. I wanted to talk about appearance separately but decided to put it under differences since these two operating systems are really different when it comes to appearance. iOS, even after 8 years, still has the same grid of icons and slide to unlock lockscreen. In 2011, notification center made its debut and in 2013 we got control center. In 2013, Apple revamped the icons and the color combinations and brought more white and black color to the operating system. However, if you look at the OS over the course of 6 to 7 years, it has aesthetically remained the same.
I will start repeating myself here, however due to the limitations in iOS, users are just not able to change anything as far as UI goes! Android is completely opposite and you can change every damn thing possible. This means the launcher, lockscreen, app drawer, app icons, color, keyboard, everything! I like the appearance of iOS 8, its minimal, neat, flat and not cluttered but the stock Android is also really beautiful and it looks gorgeous. So in appearances, I think both look fantastic however, I think Android wins this department!
5. Updates
This is more general "Android" vs "iOS" rather than iOS 8 vs Android KitKat. On Android the .1 updates are quite phenomenal. Usually these .1 updates bring more features than 1.0 updates on iOS. Google brings .1 updates quickly unlike Apple, who wait for a good 4-5 months to bring the next update. Usually these .1 updates are more for fixing bugs instead of bringing any new features to the software. So for the quality of these updates, Android wins however if we talk about adoption rate then iOS blows Android out of water.
Nexus devices or devices running stock or close to stock Android receives these updates first as compared to HTC or Samsung. If you own a Samsung Galaxy device, it takes Samsung 3 or 4 months to push the new update, usually by this time, Google comes out with a new update. Hence adoption rate on Android of newer firmware is quite low.
CONCLUSION
So I talked about 5 similarities between Android 4.4 and iOS 8 and then I talked about few differences between iOS and Android. Now lets talk about my preference and lets conclude this epic battle! I am using both these operating systems daily and I like both mobile operating systems. Each OS has its own character and personality. With iOS 8, Apple's mobile OS becomes quite similar to Android, however, iOS still stands strong in applications and its app selection. Android may not be as smooth as iOS but gives you more control over your mobile phone.
My favorite feature of Android is the ability to download any song, video, or file from the browser. Its really convenient and I like this feature a lot.
Its difficult to choose and I will most likely go for 50 - 50 here. I will choose iOS for its App Store, Continuity and smoother experience and I will choose stock Android for its customization, better widgets implementation and how well it works with Google services.
I still stand balanced and don't really prefer one OS over the other. I hope you liked this comparison between iOS 8 and Android 4.4 KitKat. There will be one epic video coming up as well on my channel on this very topic. So make sure you subscribe!
What do you think of iOS 8 and Android 4.4 KitKat? One thing I can say is that when I was writing this article, it was easier to write the similarities between these two operating systems than differences which tells you a lot as to where iOS is heading!
Leave your opinions down below! Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page and don't forget to share this article with your geeky friends!
1. 3rd party Keyboard Support
First similarity is that both operating systems support 3rd party keyboards. This is not that new for Android users since they had this feature for ages but 3rd party keyboard support is new for iOS 8. Swiftkey, Fleksy and many other companies have started developing for iOS 8 as well. Its going to be quite interesting to see if Google also make there own stock keyboard available for iOS users. The native iOS keyboard features QuickType something we have seen in Android as well. QuickType is a auto correction method in a way! It gives you all the suggestions on the top part of the keyboard while you are writing something, similar to what Samsung Galaxy users are used to.
2. Widgets
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| Android Widgets |
The difference between the widgets can be that Android implements them on homecreens while Apple has kept them for notification center only.
3. Okay Google & Hey Siri
Third similarity comes in the form of voice recognition. I have always preferred Google Now over Siri, and I
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| Okay Google! |
This feature makes the device so much better. However, one limitation on iOS is that this feature can only work when your device is connected to power. This makes this feature tiny bit useless however its still quite nice and usable.
4. Interactive Notifications
Fourth similarity between the two operating system is Interactive Notifications. You can now reply to messages, tweets, facebook messages and more directly from notification center, lock screen or the notification banner. Now this is not something really new and Android users have been using this feature for ages. In Android you can reply to emails directly from notification center and you have the ability to expand the notifications as well which is something still missing from iOS. Interactive notifications though something new in iOS is quite old in Android, and this is yet another feature that Apple stole from Android, adding to the ever growing list of similarities between the two operating systems.
5. iCloud Drive .......... Google Drive
Fifth similarity is going to be iCloud Drive. iCloud Drive is the exact replica of Google Drive, which everyone uses on their iPhones, iPads and Macs and also PCs. iCloud Drive is essentially a cloud based storage that users can save their files and media onto, and all their data will become available across all of their devices in an instant. iCloud Drive is also available for PCs. Its going to work quite well across iOS devices and Mac OS X Yosemite and will make sharing files a lot easier. However, Google has the same service which they provide for all Apple devices and PCs. Apple is unlikely to make a iCloud Drive app for Android any time soon but here is yet another similarity between iOS 8 and Android.
Even though Apple bashed Android quite a bit during their WWDC event, there are still a lot of things that Apple actually got from Android. It seems kind of funny how Apple is able to make fun of Android only to talk about iCloud Drive and 3rd party keyboard support, few minutes later. All of these features in iOS 8 brings iOS a bit more closer to Android. I personally like 3rd party keyboard feature quite a lot, regardless of it being "not new", or "not revolutionary", but simply because this means that Apple is opening up its mobile operating system. Something they should have done years ago.
Android has remained open source from the start and it makes it customizable and have attracted many people towards itself mainly because of this. After iOS 6, Apple is trying to open iOS a bit and allowing 3rd party keyboards to work within iOS is the first step in this direction.
All of the above things were similarities and things that Apple took from Android. Now its time to talk about differences. This is when crisis between Apple fanboys and Android fanboys may erupt, but keep your heads cool and lets continue further in this epic battle between iOS 8 and Android 4.4 KitKat.
DIFFERENCES
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| The Differences? |
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| Google Play Store Home Page |
The first difference I am going to talk about is applications. Applications are really important for any smartphone now. That can be an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy S5. Without good apps, your device is essentially a phone without any "smart" features. In iOS 8 we have App Store from where we can buy applications and in Android we have the play store. I have been using Android for the past 3 to 4 months now and I have tried exploring Play Store as extensively as possible. However, part of me believes that I have remained unsuccessful in doing so.
The first thing I have noticed about Google Play Store is that you can't discover applications easily. For me the experienced hasn't really been that brilliant. Search is good and you can search for the app you are looking for and it gives accurate suggestions. However, Google still needs to work on redesigning the Play store and making it easier for the users to discover new applications. Next thing I want to talk about is that there are quite a good number of low quality applications and it seems that Google's quality control check isn't working properly. The applications are vague and are useless and usually do nothing.
.png) |
| App Store Homepage |
For me iOS applications are far more better quality wise. There are tons of applications that are only made for iPad, so that the app can truly take the advantage of the 9.7" or 7.9" screen screen.
2. Continuity - SMS and Phone Calls now on your iPad and Mac
Second feature I will talk about is the continuity feature that comes in iOS 8 pre-installed. This feature gives users the ability to pick up calls from iPad, iPod Touch and Mac. This is not something that Android can't achieve and due to its extremely open nature I am quite sure developers are going figure out to a way to get this feature however if we talk about stock android then this feature is not there. This feature is quite unique. I have never really seen this before on a stock OS. It has completely changed the way we used to think about SMS and Phone calls. With this feature, if your phone is ringing and you are in a different room using your iPad, it will give you the notification on iPad, that this "person" is calling you on your phone. Instead of going to the room where your phone is, you can simply accept the call on your iPad, and talk to that person by using your iPad's microphone. Simple yet awesome!This feature works with iPad, iPod Touch and Mac OS X Yosemite!
3. Ability to download anything from Google Chrome
Third feature I am gonna talk about is the ability to download music, videos on your Android phone directly from the stock browser like Google Chrome. This feature "just works" on Android phones and this feature is my personal favorite. In iOS you have applications that can do this for you , but again they save your music in their own music library and not in the stock music app. So for those who don't buy music from Play Store, well they can download it for free from internet and listen to it using their stock music app on Android. I love this feature!
4. Appearance
iOS and Android, though really close to each other in features are actually really far from each other when it comes to appearance. I wanted to talk about appearance separately but decided to put it under differences since these two operating systems are really different when it comes to appearance. iOS, even after 8 years, still has the same grid of icons and slide to unlock lockscreen. In 2011, notification center made its debut and in 2013 we got control center. In 2013, Apple revamped the icons and the color combinations and brought more white and black color to the operating system. However, if you look at the OS over the course of 6 to 7 years, it has aesthetically remained the same.
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| iOS Visual History |
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| Android looks beautiful! (Stock Android Doe:p) |
5. Updates
This is more general "Android" vs "iOS" rather than iOS 8 vs Android KitKat. On Android the .1 updates are quite phenomenal. Usually these .1 updates bring more features than 1.0 updates on iOS. Google brings .1 updates quickly unlike Apple, who wait for a good 4-5 months to bring the next update. Usually these .1 updates are more for fixing bugs instead of bringing any new features to the software. So for the quality of these updates, Android wins however if we talk about adoption rate then iOS blows Android out of water.
Nexus devices or devices running stock or close to stock Android receives these updates first as compared to HTC or Samsung. If you own a Samsung Galaxy device, it takes Samsung 3 or 4 months to push the new update, usually by this time, Google comes out with a new update. Hence adoption rate on Android of newer firmware is quite low.
CONCLUSION
So I talked about 5 similarities between Android 4.4 and iOS 8 and then I talked about few differences between iOS and Android. Now lets talk about my preference and lets conclude this epic battle! I am using both these operating systems daily and I like both mobile operating systems. Each OS has its own character and personality. With iOS 8, Apple's mobile OS becomes quite similar to Android, however, iOS still stands strong in applications and its app selection. Android may not be as smooth as iOS but gives you more control over your mobile phone.
My favorite feature of Android is the ability to download any song, video, or file from the browser. Its really convenient and I like this feature a lot.
Its difficult to choose and I will most likely go for 50 - 50 here. I will choose iOS for its App Store, Continuity and smoother experience and I will choose stock Android for its customization, better widgets implementation and how well it works with Google services.
I still stand balanced and don't really prefer one OS over the other. I hope you liked this comparison between iOS 8 and Android 4.4 KitKat. There will be one epic video coming up as well on my channel on this very topic. So make sure you subscribe!
What do you think of iOS 8 and Android 4.4 KitKat? One thing I can say is that when I was writing this article, it was easier to write the similarities between these two operating systems than differences which tells you a lot as to where iOS is heading!
Leave your opinions down below! Follow me on Twitter and like my Facebook page and don't forget to share this article with your geeky friends!
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