iOS 5.0’s Advantages over Android 4.0

This article was just updated! You can view the new version here. It compares iOS 6 to Android 4.1.

Android has come a long way, but iOS is very mature and still has quite a few advantages over Android. Yesterday I listed the things I like better about Android 4.0 OS. Here are the things I miss most from iOS 5.0 and the Apple mobile ecosystem.

1. Better overall app quality – Android apps have improved, but still don’t match the App Store when it comes to overall app quality. Apple tests all apps and it shows. Apple also excels in categories like games.

2. Few tablet-optimized apps – Andy Rubin once said he didn’t think there should be apps specific to a tablet. I don’t agree with this statement. While it’s true, a well-designed app should adapt to different screen sizes, iPad-optimized apps provide a much better experience than standard iPhone apps. I wish the Android Market had a filter for tablet-optimized apps.

3. More iOS-only or iOS first apps – By now you’d think all popular apps would be available on both platforms, but that’s not the case. Android is still missing some popular iOS apps. To make things worse, even when developers support both platforms, they often release their iOS apps first. If I were Google, I would provide incentives to top app developers to make sure they release their popular apps at the same time on both platforms.

4. iCloud – Google had a huge lead in the area of cloud-based apps, but they still haven’t put together a comprehensive solution like Apple has with iCloud. Sure you could create an iCloud-like solution, but you’d have to do with a collection of apps. Apple makes it easier.

5. Better intelligent personal assistant – I’ve tried Iris and a few other Siri competitors on Android and they don’t compete with Siri yet. It’s ironic that Google let Apple win in this area, because they still have better cloud-based voice recognition and return more useful search results in general.

6. Better cut and paste – Apple has done a better job implementing their cut and paste. The also have more region selection options. This is one of the things I miss the most.

7. Better calendar app – Another thing I miss is the iOS calendar. I found it much easier to add appointments to the Apple Calendar than the Android Calendar.

8. No carrier bloatware – Carriers load all non-Nexus Android phones with useless apps. Some of these are links to paid services, others are carrier-branded apps. Most are things you don’t need and will never use. They clutter your screens and can’t be removed.

9. Less OS fragmentation – Carriers decide which versions of the Android OS to include. Oftentimes they do not allow users to upgrade to the newest OS. This combined with carrier skins makes the Android experience vary from phone to phone. Although Apple does have some problems with fragmentation of older phones (e.g. iPhone 3G), it’s not near as bad as most Android phones.

10. Better voice mail app – I think it’s ridiculous that I have to dial *86 to get voice-mail on my Galaxy Nexus. You’d think its 1998, not 2012. Apple’s phone app has dedicated voice mail button and its interface is excellent.

11. Better power management – iOS devices seem to have power management than Android devices. Some of this may be a result of the fact that iOS doesn’t allow third-party apps to run in the background. Others might have to do with the fact that iPhone 4S has an under-clocked processor and no LTE support. Whatever the reason, it’s an Apple advantage.

12. One-button operation – Apple uses a single button to return to the Home screen, display the search box, and show recently opened apps. Is it intuitive? No, but once you learn it, it works well.

These are the things that I miss about iOS. What did I leave out?

This article was just updated! You can view the new version here. It compares iOS 6 to Android 4.1.

– Rick

Copyright 2012 Rick Schwartz. All rights reserved. Linking to this article is encouraged.

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