The world is full of great rivalries, and in the world of smartphones the dilemma is now only one: iPhone or Android "> In fact, to make a comparison of this type one would have to take two smartphones of the same price and with the same hardware capabilities. In fact, you cannot compare an iPhone with a 100 Euro Android mobile phone, but with a Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4 absolutely yes.
It would then be more correct to compare Android with the iPhone operating system, called iOS .
There are many differences between the two operating systems and we will see here only the main ones, the general ones that go beyond the single option and which should be considered more when choosing which smartphone to buy, if one is Android or iOS (i.e. the iPhone) .
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1) Android is a more open and open-source operating system
Even if Android is maintained by Google, the bare and raw operating system called "Stock", is taken and modified by the production companies that try to differentiate it by adding their own tools and apps.
For this reason a Samsung Galaxy is different from an HTC or an LG smartphone, only for its home screen and the application menu.
For all the rest they are identical mobile phones.
The fact that Android is OpenSource then opens up the possibility of autonomous system projects such as CyanogenMod, Paranoid Android and MIUI which can be installed on any smartphone.
2) Conversely, iOS is a closed system, which can only be installed on the iPhone, of which there are no different versions.
IPhones are all the same while instead of Android smartphones there are many types.
Fortunately, in the last year, the Android update project has become more coherent and simpler therefore most smartphones mount the latest (4.1, 4.2 and 4.3) or at least the penultimate version (4.0) of Android.
Unfortunately, however, still remain for sale old cellphones with Android 2.3 which, I would like to reiterate, cannot really be compared to iPhones and should disappear from circulation.
Basically, if it is true that when you buy an iPhone there are no variations on the theme, when you buy an Android phone, depending on the brand, the smartphone is different from the others, but only in appearance, in aesthetics, in the bodywork.
Below, even on Android smartphones, there is always the same operating system, which can be modified and customized even in extreme ways, on any mobile phone.
READ ALSO: Customize Android of the home screen and apps .
3) Applications and games (even)
If up to a year ago, iOS beat Android by the number of applications available, today the race we say is practically tied.
For years, apps were born first on iOS, and then, not always, were also brought to Android.
Today, however, apps are developed immediately or almost for both platforms, and the same is true for games.
Note however that many apps are free for Android and paid for iPhone.
4) Internet browsing (Android)
A point in favor of Android, which is a freer system, is the greater flexibility with its applications for surfing the internet, allowing you to run different browsers such as Firefox, Opera and Chrome.
In addition, Android supports Flash and allows you to watch each video streamed from its screen, as you would do on a computer.
5) Data sharing between applications (Android)
One thing that Android manages to do wonderfully is sharing data between applications that are often linked together.
In fact, each app has an icon at the top that allows you to share the photo or document on other applications and then send it via email or Facebook with a touch.
6) Ease of use (iPhone)
People less familiar with IT and tech stuff tend to prefer the iPhone because iOS is a little easier to use than Android which, conversely, has more features and more options.
7) Consistency (iPhone)
The advantage of a non-open-source system is consistency between devices.
An iPhone is always the same so the instruction booklet of one is valid for everyone.
With Android, however, there may be differences between a Nexus 4, a Galaxy S4 or an HTC One, although then, through some modifications, you can use the original version of Android, the Google Stock, on each smartphone.
Google is trying to remedy this problem of fragmentation between systems and the lack of updates trying to make Android as homogeneous as possible and taking advantage of a service called Google Play Services that allows you to release new features on all devices automatically, without the their manufacturers must intervene (see, for example, the new Android device management system for localization and anti-theft)
8) Integration with computer and other devices (Equal)
Meanwhile, we say that in computer science everything can be integrated and any device that connects to the internet can talk to another; in some cases, however, things are easier.
It is quite obvious, therefore, that if you have a Mac and an iPad at home, it is advisable to buy an iPhone that integrates very well with other Apple devices, without configuration difficulties.
If instead you have nothing in the Apple world, then it would be preferable to buy an Android smartphone that is more open and allows you to use its memory as if it were a USB Wifi pen, integrating with any computer.
People who use Gmail and Google services can only prefer Android as the operating system for their mobile phone.
Although personally, as seen, I see better Android, a comparison of this type still remains alive and always ready to overturn, as new smartphone models and new updates of the two systems will come out.
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