What is it about Android that makes it more "advanced"?

[mikegg]

I keep hearing that Android is the more advanced mobile OS compared to iOS.

But I have the iPhone 5 and have the Galaxy Nexus and Nexus 7 and I honestly notice that it's inferior to the iOS overall. In terms of speed and smoothness, it's not even a comparison. I haven't noticed anything that I could do on the Android that I can't do the same on iOS. I guess one thing I can't do is use widgets but that's more of a design decision and the drop down notifications can easily replace widgets. Everything on the iOS is so polished and detailed.

I feel like both OS' are pretty much the same. I'm a techie person in general(built my first computer at age 11) but I don't even feel the need to customize much on iOS. I never customized anything on the Android except for the keyboard.

 

[podspi]

Doesn't iOS still lack true multitasking? If not, the only thing I can think of is:

1) Inability to use widgets (which is huge, imho)
2) Inability to sideload apps (without jailbreaking)
3) Inability to customize 'experience' by replacing built-in apps
(android can replace keyboard, SMS client, dialer, etc)

If those things are not important to you, then yea they are not too different. You could even make the argument that all of these differences were conscious design decisions by Apple, and you'd probably be right.

 

[Red Storm]

the drop down notifications can easily replace widgets.

No, they can't.

Can you plug an iOS device into any computer and drag and drop files like you would a USB drive? Can you play any type of media file? Can you do gesture style typing? Can you get automated transit info when you're near a bus station? Or traffic alerts when it's time to go to work or time go to home? Or have your phone alert you to leave earlier than usual for an appointment because of traffic delays? Or automatically update you on a sports game as it's going on and then find a place to go watch it if you're out and about? Or download another browser or media player or any kind of app and set it as your default app of choice? Or look at a saved photo or video on your phone and be able to share/send it to any app installed on your phone right away? Have multiple user accounts so you can more comfortably share a device with others?

That's off the top of my head.

 

[rcpratt]

In terms of speed and smoothness, it's not even a comparison.

Probably a true statement.

I haven't noticed anything that I could do on the Android that I can't do the same on iOS.

Not even close to a true statement.

 

[fbrdphreak]

Probably a true statement.


Not even close to a true statement.

Bingo.

OP - you said yourself you don't feel the need to customize. Then the benefits of Android, ignoring the significantly lower prices, don't really apply to you. What Apple has created is good enough for your needs...

 

[swanysto]

Troll thread. Close it before it gets like the 5,000 others.

 

[Ravynmagi]

Both OS'es are special and beautiful in their own ways. Let's all have a group hug now, because we are all winners.

 

[deathBOB]

iOS is for people.
Android is for nerds.
Brand specific enhancements to Android (Touchwiz, Sense, etc.) attempt to close that nerd -> people gap.

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

Not even close to a true statement.

If you think about it in the sense that there's nothing you really feel like you're missing out on when you go to an iOS device, it's pretty true. If you always worry about 1:1 comparisons, yeah, you can see the differences in both. But that's not how someone uses their device. And if you're using it like that, then you're thinking about it the wrong way. It's about what you can accomplish at the end of the day.

 

[lopri]

Well I would not get into the recurring arguments with a laundry list of bullet points. But let me give you one example: I have just received 2 x USB OTG cables that I ordered from Amazon. They were $0.82 each, free shipping. Took almost 3 weeks to get them but hey, I wouldn't have cared had I never received those.

So I was surprised to see them in the mailbox. Rushed to open the package and hook one of those to my Nexus 7 and voila, I now can use USB thumb drives, USB mouse/keyboard, or anything that might work in the future with my Nexy. Sure I am not likely to hook up a keyboard and a mouse to my Nexus 7 but it's nice to know that the potential is endless and I have the control over my hardware.

 

[cheezy321]

Well I would not get into the recurring arguments with a laundry list of bullet points. But let me give you one example: I have just received 2 x USB OTG cables that I ordered from Amazon. They were $0.82 each, free shipping. Took almost 3 weeks to get them but hey, I wouldn't have cared had I never received those.

So I was surprised to see them in the mailbox. Rushed to open the package and hook one of those to my Nexus 7 and voila, I now can use USB thumb drives, USB mouse/keyboard, or anything that might work in the future with my Nexy. Sure I am not likely to hook up a keyboard and a mouse to my Nexus 7 but it's nice to know that the potential is endless and I have the control over my hardware.

LOL I am imagining someone trying to hold a nexus 7 in one hand while using the mouse in another hand and the keyboard in their lap. You need a third arm to make it even remotely useful!

 

[Suspicious-Teach8788]

LOL I am imagining someone trying to hold a nexus 7 in one hand while using the mouse in another hand and the keyboard in their lap. You need a third arm to make it even remotely useful!

might as well go full blown laptop....

 

[lopri]

Not while holding it, no. lol. Keyboard/mouse is a proof of concept to me. USB Thumb drives will definitely be used, though. (I wonder how big can they be?) This dude seems to have fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOqn62m49S0

 

[VashHT]

Not that I would use my nexus 7 with a kb/mouse but it's a lot more mobile than a laptop and probably has better battery life than most.

 

[Red Storm]

If you think about it in the sense that there's nothing you really feel like you're missing out on when you go to an iOS device, it's pretty true. If you always worry about 1:1 comparisons, yeah, you can see the differences in both. But that's not how someone uses their device. And if you're using it like that, then you're thinking about it the wrong way. It's about what you can accomplish at the end of the day.

Depends where you're coming from. Someone who's only known iOS their whole life is not going to know what advantages and speed improvements they could potentially get from utilizing widgets, Google Now, gesture typing, drag and drop file management, etc. Whereas someone coming from Android to iOS might begin to wonder why the new media player app they just downloaded isn't working as the default, or why they can't quickly upload a photo to Dropbox or another downloaded app straight from their gallery, etc.

 

[rcpratt]

If you think about it in the sense that there's nothing you really feel like you're missing out on when you go to an iOS device, it's pretty true. If you always worry about 1:1 comparisons, yeah, you can see the differences in both. But that's not how someone uses their device. And if you're using it like that, then you're thinking about it the wrong way. It's about what you can accomplish at the end of the day.

Well, thank god we have you to tell us how to think and how to use our devices.

 

[gorcorps]

"Advanced" isn't really the word, it's just different. Some people like the freedom to use different keyboards and customize themes. Other people don't give a rat's ass about those things. There's room for both models in this world so can we stop the bickering and get along?

 

[vi edit]

1. Download a rom emulator to your iphone
2. Now go to a website and try to download the .zip file of a ROM you want to play
3. Not just download but do it from your phone and store it on the phone
4. If you don't like the default location create a new folder on your SD expandable storage and then move that ROM via a file manager on the phone
5. Play said ROM

That's a case study on a pile of things you can't do on iOS.

 

[cheezy321]

Depends where you're coming from. Someone who's only known iOS their whole life is not going to know what advantages and speed improvements they could potentially get from utilizing widgets, Google Now, gesture typing, drag and drop file management, etc. Whereas someone coming from Android to iOS might begin to wonder why the new media player app they just downloaded isn't working as the default, or why they can't quickly upload a photo to Dropbox or another downloaded app straight from their gallery, etc.

Just like people going from iOS to android will wonder 'Why do I ever have to change the keyboard to make it useful?' 'Why do I have to change the text messaging app (and pay for it) to get functional group text messages?' 'Why do I have to be so cautious about the apps I download on the play store?' 'Why do I have to root and download a paid 3rd party app just so I can fully backup my phone and apps?'

 

[cheezy321]

1. Download a rom emulator to your iphone
2. Now go to a website and try to download the .zip file of a ROM you want to play
3. Not just download but do it from your phone and store it on the phone
4. If you don't like the default location create a new folder on your SD expandable storage and then move that ROM via a file manager on the phone
5. Play said ROM

That's a case study on a pile of things you can't do on iOS.

We are all well aware that android is much easier to do illegal (and borderline legal) things.

 

[lopri]

Depends where you're coming from. Someone who's only known iOS their whole life is not going to know what advantages and speed improvements they could potentially get without being charged for such.

 

[Red Storm]

Just like people going from iOS to android will wonder 'Why do I ever have to change the keyboard to make it useful?' 'Why do I have to change the text messaging app (and pay for it) to get functional group text messages?' 'Why do I have to be so cautious about the apps I download on the play store?' 'Why do I have to root and download a paid 3rd party app just so I can fully backup my phone and apps?'

I don't use group messaging or Titanium backup, Google's own cloud backup has worked for me so I will just agree with you on those, there are downsides to both platforms. And I was talking about the stock Android keyboard which is more useful than the stock iOS keyboard because it includes additional functionality like gesture typing out of the box, but you could download SwiftKey or Sype if you wanted to. Having that freedom/option is the definition of "more advanced."

 

[lemon8h8ead]

The Linux kernel versions in the various flavors of Android are close to the kernel version in the desktop Linux distros (Ubuntu, Fedora, etc.). The best thing about Android from a tinkerer's POV is that like Linux desktops, if you don't like what you have exactly, you can always amend it - even the mobile desktop as there are competitors to the as-delivered one.

So, I guess the "more advanced" feature of Android is the natural Linux flexibility. But, be careful and perform backups before major tinkering. (-:

 

[Yuriman]

Just like people going from iOS to android will wonder 'Why do I ever have to change the keyboard to make it useful?' 'Why do I have to change the text messaging app (and pay for it) to get functional group text messages?' 'Why do I have to be so cautious about the apps I download on the play store?' 'Why do I have to root and download a paid 3rd party app just so I can fully backup my phone and apps?'

Samsung has recently implemented a pretty good full system backup/image that (obviously) doesn't require root. It's not vanilla Android though. I think the stock Jelly Bean keyboard is pretty good too. Perhaps it's just because I've been in the Android ecosystem for so long, I don't think I'd be able to live with some of iOS's limitations.

You do bring up some good points though, the play store is a mess, and what are limitations to me are not even a consideration to some people. My wife doesn't sideload apps, doesn't keep more music on her phone than would fit in the internal storage, doesn't keep a backup image of her OS on her PC (though I recently deleted 180GB of backups from her sister's Mac) and doesn't *ever* open up a file manager to sort files. All she wants from a device is to be able to make phone calls, snap a picture, and browse the web to check a movie review or store hours.

 

[Bateluer]

iOS is for people.
Android is for nerds.

TIL that 75% of people are nerds.

https://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS23771812

And 1.3 million Android devices activated daily.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-...droid-winning-mobile-war-with-apple-tech.html