Not a troll/flame: Android fans - Now what is missing?

[MotionMan]

This is not intended as a troll or flame, though I can see it happening quickly and the thread being locked. This is a serious question that I would like serious and thoughtful answers to:

Android fans, with the impending release of iOS 6, now what is missing from iOS vs. Android (other than "openness")?

For reference:

92 New Features in Apple's iOS 6

Top 10 iOS 6 features

iOS 6 Features You Might Have Missed

40 iOS 6 Features You’ll Actually Care About

MotionMan


Thread locked. The last page of posts are more about whether or not this is a troll thread... which seems to me to be a sign that this discussion has run it's course. And, for what it's worth, I have never thought that this was a troll thread - or else I'd have locked it much sooner.

Moderator PM

 

[obidamnkenobi]

Lol, I don't follow iOS or android much, but I remember seeing this as an ICS feature, oh a year ago?
Good to see it's all friendsies and sharing between mobile OS makers..

Call Rejection and Reminder
So, next time you want to reject a call, you can quickly send an SMS saying you are busy with a chore, instead of just swiping across ‘do not answer.’ Moreover, users can even customize these messages - for instance - “Caught up with work..Will call you soon.” This isn’t all; you can also set a reminder, so that you don’t forget to make that call.

 

[Syran]

Lol, I don't follow iOS or android much, but I remember seeing this as an ICS feature, oh a year ago?
Good to see it's all friendsies and sharing between mobile OS makers..

Call Rejection and Reminder
So, next time you want to reject a call, you can quickly send an SMS saying you are busy with a chore, instead of just swiping across ‘do not answer.’ Moreover, users can even customize these messages - for instance - “Caught up with work..Will call you soon.” This isn’t all; you can also set a reminder, so that you don’t forget to make that call.

Doesn't even require ICS for this, I have it on my Droid X.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Did they allow flash, ability to play emulators, any iPhones with a 5.3" screen like my Note, ability to use a stylus, ability to change batteries, universal mini USB for charging/syncing, ability to skip the joke that is iTunes and use your device as USB storage? Not trolling just curious.

 

[ITHURTSWHENIP]

Maps = streetview, offline maps, public transportation, pedestrian/bike routes missing in iOS

Third party browsers and tab syncing: While Safari is pretty good, i need to own a mac in order to be able to use live tab syncing. Chrome is universal

Keyboard: iOS keyboard is pretty bad in comparison to some of the third party keyboards on Android. Swiftkey is probably the best keyboard i have used (own both iPhone 4 and Galaxy S2)

Passbook and improved accessability were pretty neat features that Android doesnt have

What i truly missed however was improved notifications in iOS6. They are simply horrible on iOS5 and i think Apple can do much better

 

[Oyeve]

My only real gripe with iphone is not really IOS, its the damn small ass screen.

 

[MotionMan]

Lol, I don't follow iOS or android much, but I remember seeing this as an ICS feature, oh a year ago?

So this is not something that is missing from iOS6 vs. Android, right?

MotionMan

 

[Puddle Jumper]

On the software side widgets and the ability to change the default applications for actions are two big things that come to mind. iOS is also behind Android on the sharing front since it can only share to Facebook and twitter while Android can share content using any service that has an app.

 

[MotionMan]

any iPhones with a 5.3" screen like my Note

Yeah, the new OS made the screen bigger.

ability to use a stylus

You can use a stylus with an iPhone.

ability to change batteries

Again, not something a new OS would be able to do.

universal mini USB for charging/syncing

Perhaps you need a refresher course on the difference between hardware and software?

MotionMan

 

[kaerflog]

Keyboard: iOS keyboard is pretty bad in comparison to some of the third party keyboards on Android. Swiftkey is probably the best keyboard i have used (own both iPhone 4 and Galaxy S2)

Thats just your own personal reference.
iPhone generally are known to have the best keyboard all around.
I'm probably a 70%/30% Android/iOs user and I currently use a One S right now with Swiftkey and its no way better than iOS.
The accuracy of an iPhone keyboard hasn't been matched.
I would say Swiftkeys has more functionality but I can just type faster with more accuracy on an iPhone.

 

[SlitheryDee]

For me, the only thing the iphone was missing before is a big enough screen. I'm sure there's other stuff too, but I don't use any of it. If they put a bigger screen on the next iphone, that's what I'm going to buy.

 

[MotionMan]

Thats just your own personal reference.
iPhone generally are known to have the best keyboard all around.
I'm probably a 70%/30% Android/iOs user and I currently use a One S right now with Swiftkey and its no way better than iOS.
The accuracy of an iPhone keyboard hasn't been matched.
I would say Swiftkeys has more functionality but I can just type faster with more accuracy on an iPhone.

A lot of things come down to personal preference. I was more interested in objective feature sets.

MotionMan

 

[ControlD]

Thats just your own personal reference.
iPhone generally are known to have the best keyboard all around.
I'm probably a 70%/30% Android/iOs user and I currently use a One S right now with Swiftkey and its no way better than iOS.
The accuracy of an iPhone keyboard hasn't been matched.
I would say Swiftkeys has more functionality but I can just type faster with more accuracy on an iPhone.

Generally known? What exactly is that supposed to mean? If I wasn't tied to a two year contract I would have ditched my iPhone for something else simply because of the shitty keyboard compared to almost every other smart phone I have tried since then.

Which ties into the one thing I wish iOS would add that Android does have: the ability to use third party keyboards. I am guessing that iOS6 still doesn't allow this.

 

[ITHURTSWHENIP]

Thats just your own personal reference.
iPhone generally are known to have the best keyboard all around.
I'm probably a 70%/30% Android/iOs user and I currently use a One S right now with Swiftkey and its no way better than iOS.
The accuracy of an iPhone keyboard hasn't been matched.
I would say Swiftkeys has more functionality but I can just type faster with more accuracy on an iPhone.

Claiming its my personal preference and then throw out "iPhones are generally known to have the best keyboard all around" makes you lose credibility

Have you ever heard of the "damn you autocorrect" meme on the internet? Thats usually not a sign of an OS having the best keyboard around

 

[dlock13]

Would you categorize the ability to share whatever you want in any application that has the ability to share as "openess"? Or the fact that several 3rd party apps tie directly into the OS so say you take a picture, it's automatically uploaded to Dropbox, Box.net, etc..?

I say those are major factors here that are still missing.

 

[Red Storm]

Customization (homescreen, keyboard, widgets, etc.), USB mode (also not having to rely on a computer program), default program settings, better selection of free apps, support for mSD/expandable storage, Flash for those of us who still stream sports, it is useful.

Oh and better integration of Google services, that's something iOS will just never have (same goes for Apple services on Android).

 

[ponyo]

File manager. Integrated third party app. Wifi hotspot/tethering (probably US carrier limitation rather than OS). Torrent. Flash.

 

[podspi]

Widgets are probably the biggest thing missing that the average end-user would care about. I've heard from a few people who say they'd never switch to an iOS device because they're used to their widgets.

WP7 kind of lacks widgets too, though of course tiles are supposed to replace them (though I think(?) they lack interactivity).

 

[abaez]

Here's a good little writeup http://www.theverge.com/2012/6/13/3082261/29-days-with-android that touches on the difference pretty well, including some of the upcoming 6 stuff.

 

[Oyeve]

Well, since I got ICS on my SGS2 a few days ago the mutli-tasking is phenominal. Does IOS 6 compare to it? That would be major if it did.

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

A lot of things come down to personal preference. I was more interested in objective feature sets.

MotionMan

You can't really have an objective feature set either. One persons feature is another persons waste of space.

Stop trying to justify one platform over another, go use them and see what you like.
I used to get caught up in the whole My mobile phone OS choice is better than yours. But I realized it's a stupid thing to argue about or say mines better. Everyone wants something different.
Since I use my phone a lot more and I want to have important info right there on the home screen, I use an Android phone with customized ICS so I can see everything I need in a quick glance.
When I get home, I use my iPad for surfing the web as i feel the iPad form factor and browser is just better than the Android tablet offerings.

 

[Ns1]

using phone as usb drive.
widgets.

 

[TheStu]

File manager. Integrated third party app. Wifi hotspot/tethering (probably US carrier limitation rather than OS). Torrent. Flash.

iOS has tethering built in.

What is 'Integrated third party app'?

Your other three are spot on, but I don't think that iOS is ever going to get them.

What are you torrenting on your phone???

 

[Red Storm]

iOS has tethering built in.

What is 'Integrated third party app'?

Your other three are spot on, but I don't think that iOS is ever going to get them.

What are you torrenting on your phone???

Integrating 3rd party apps as in being able to use or set 3rd party apps as default selections for files, functions, etc. Like installing a video player from the market and having it become the default player for media files, or open URL links by default with the browser of your choice, etc.

I use my phone to torrent TV episodes that I can watch on the go (rather than be stuck in my DVR at home). It's just another feature that lets Android be an entire computer replacement for me, while with iOS I'm still relying on an actual computer to do certain things.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

iOS has tethering built in.

What is 'Integrated third party app'?

Your other three are spot on, but I don't think that iOS is ever going to get them.

What are you torrenting on your phone???

By Integrated third party apps I think he means that Android apps can share content between each other and the system unlike iOS. For example whenver I take a picture it is automatically uploaded to dropbox without the need to launch any other apps or use a third party camera app.