iOS & Android – The Major Differences
Harley Dixon As smartphones have become a part of everyday life, so to have the names Android and iOS. These are the operating software systems that the large majority of all smartphones run on. They started off looking fairly different but in recent years have started to look more and more alike as new updates to the systems come through.
IOS is the system that was developed by Apple and is used exclusively on iPads, iPods and iPhones. the system features a highly layered architecture that is not open for tinkering with by the general public. Android on the other hand is used by a wide variety of manufacturers, including technology giants like Samsung and Huawei. This operating software was developed by Google and can be seen on many smartphones and tablets. This is an open source software that was based on Linux.
1. Customization
The first major difference between the two operating systems comes down to the ability to customize your device. Because Android is open source and used by so many different manufacturers, a device running on this operating system can look very different to another one. As the end user, you are also able to change the layout and the way the phone works to quite a large degree.
iOS is quite different in that the user is incredibly limited in what they can customize. Additionally, since it is an Apple system used only on Apple products, the devices all look the same and operate in a very similar manner. Users are not given much in the way of system permissions and have to stick to very specific parameters for operating their phones and other devices.
2. Quality Control
One thing an Android phone cannot provide is quality assurance. The range of devices using the system is vast, from high-end through to cheap and cheerful. If you want to know that the device will continue to work as intended, it’s best to research the manufacturer of the device and see what they are using in terms of parts and how they are deploying the operating system.
Apple has a strict hold on which devices use their iOS and are responsible for creating those devices themselves. These are all high-end devices, with the price points usually coming in at the top end of the market. Apple can therefore guarantee that all products using the system are up to their standards.
3. The Apps
Both operating systems make use of an app store – Google Play for Android and simply named the App Store for iOS. The number of apps on each is fairly comparable and manufacturers have realized that they need to make their apps for both stores if they want to reach as wide a market as possible.
One major difference though is the quality control that developers have to go through in order to get their apps listed on the Apple App Store. Many developers tend to focus on that first and then work on an Android version.