Should i android or iphone

You might have to wait a little longer for your favourite title to make it to Android. In terms of apps made by Apple and Google, you can, of course, get all of Google's key apps on your iPhone: in fact a lot of people use them instead of Apple's defaults.

In contrast, the only significant app you can get on Android that's made by Apple is Apple Music. Why would you choose Android? It's more customisable, as we've said. You get a broader choice of devices. It also gives its apps more freedom — you can get screen recorders and call recorders on Android that Apple doesn't allow on the iPhone, for example.

If you don't like the default apps, you can swap them out. Saying that, with the latest iOS versions, you can now choose different default apps for services like mail and web browsing. Google's cloud apps are also much stronger than Apple's at the moment: compare Gmail on the web with Mail in iCloud. You might choose Android if you want to switch between a lot of devices regularly, rather than just devices made by Apple.

This is getting more into the broader ecosystem that Google and Apple offer — which is an increasingly important consideration when you're choosing between Android and iOS.

An iPhone guarantees you a stylish and stable smartphone experience, and overall the interfaces of its menus and apps tend to have more polish than the Android equivalents though there's not much in it when you put Apple's phones up against top-tier Android phones.

You can argue about the aesthetics and the interface, but there's no doubt iPhones certainly get software updates much quicker than many Android phones, and that has knock-on effects on security and performance. Apple controls the hardware and the software of the iPhone, and that leads to a smartphone that's usually smooth in operation and very simple to use. Privacy is another big differentiator: Apple doesn't use your data to target ads at you like Google does, and keeps most personalisation settings such as where your office is stored locally on devices rather than in the cloud.

And make no mistake: The fight is between these two mobile operating systems. All the alternatives are pretty much dead and buried. So today, and for as far as I can see into the future, your only real choices are Android smartphones and iPhones. People love to say Apple products just work. But so is the Android interface. Sure, a decade ago, when the iPhone first appeared and Windows Mobile and Nokia Symbian phones were the competition, the iPhone blew them away.

It was just so much easier to use. But that was 10 years ago. If we put appearance and home-screen setup into this category, though, things tip toward Android. Android smartphones give you more control over your system and its applications. I like control. That flexibility has helped Android build brand loyalty. IPhones are beautiful. Thank you, Jony Ive. True, by controlling every step of the manufacturing process, Apple makes sure iPhones have great fit and finish, but so do the big Android phone manufacturers.

That said, some Android phones are just plain ugly. Part of the reason for this is that Apple makes nothing but luxury phones. Are they good looking? Not really, but they do the job at a fraction of the price of an iPhone. If you're wondering how hard it is to ditch the iPhone and move to an Android device here's our switching guide. What you give up in flexibility with an iPhone is balanced out by quality and attention to detail, a device that just works and is well-integrated with other products.

If you want a phone that works well, delivers a high-quality experience, and is easy to use, pick iPhone. On the other hand, if you value flexibility and choice enough to accept some potential issues, you'll probably prefer Android. The last item mentioned that Android's openness means that sometimes manufacturers install their own apps in place of higher-quality standard apps.

This is compounded by phone companies also installing their own apps. As a result, it can be hard to know what apps will come on your Android device and whether they'll be any good.

You don't have to worry about that with the iPhone. Apple is the only company that pre-installs apps on the iPhone, so every phone comes with the same, mostly high-quality apps. Many people use a tablet, computer, or wearable in addition to their smartphone. For them, Apple offers a better-integrated experience. Because Apple makes computers, tablets, and watches along with the iPhone, it offers things that Android which mostly runs on smartphones, though there are tablets and wearables that use it can't.

Apple's Continuity features let you unlock your Mac using an Apple Watch, start writing an email on your iPhone while you're walking and finish it on your Mac at home , or have all of your devices receive any call coming into your iPhone. Google's services like Gmail, Maps, Google Now , etc. But unless your watch, tablet, phone, and computer are all made by the same company—and there aren't too many companies other than Samsung that make products in all of those categories—Android has no unified cross-device experience.

More recent models can go days without a charge, though new versions of the operating system tend to cut battery life until they're optimized in later releases. The battery situation is more complex with Android, due to the large variety of hardware options. Some Android models have 7-inch screens and other features which burn through much more battery life. But, thanks to the wide variety of Android models, there are also some that offer ultra-high capacity batteries.

If you don't mind the extra bulk, and really need a long-lasting battery, Android can deliver a device that works much longer than an iPhone on a single charge.

Apple emphasizes elegance and simplicity in the iPhone above all else. Android, on the other hand, lets users change the phone's battery and expand its storage capacity.

The trade-off is that Android is a bit more complex and a bit less elegant, but that may be worth it compared to running out of memory or avoiding paying for an expensive battery replacement. Owning a smartphone usually means owning some accessories for it, such as speakers, battery cases, or simply extra charging cables.

Android phones offer the widest choice of accessories. Apple, on the other hand, uses its proprietary Lightning port to connect to accessories. There are some advantages to Lightning, like that it gives Apple more control over the quality of the accessories that work with the iPhone, but it's less widely compatible. Plus, if you need to charge your phone right now , people are more likely to have a USB cable handy. As long as you've got access to the internet and a smartphone, you never have to get lost again thanks to the built-in GPS and maps apps on both the iPhone and Android.

Both platforms support third-party GPS apps that can give drivers turn-by-turn directions. Apple Maps is exclusive to iOS, and while that app had some famous problems when it debuted, it's getting steadily better all the time. It's a strong alternative to Google Maps for many users. Even if you don't want to try Apple Maps, Google Maps is available on both platforms generally pre-loaded on Android , so the experience is roughly identical.

Using a smartphone involves more than just the apps that come with it or that you add. Some of these apps are likely to require subscriptions to deliver really valuable content. Think of music or TV streaming apps, for instance. On that front, the iPhone offers a set of services that Android can't match.

On Android, you can subscribe to competing services in every category, but not for such a good price and there's no equivalent of Apple News or the made-only-for-Apple Arcade games. If you don't want or need these services, then either platform will be fine. But only iPhone can offer such a compelling selection of content at such a good price. Motorola, Samsung and HTC have smart covers and sensors that automatically show you the time when you pull the phone out of your pocket. There are terrific Android cameras, and there are awful Android cameras.

Yet managing photos is a much better - and cheaper -- experience on Android. Google Photos gives you unlimited free storage. Apple and Google both have fantastic app stores. But Android is far superior at organizing apps, letting you put important stuff on the home screens and hide less useful apps in the app drawer.

Android has an excellent music-playing app in Google Play Music, which offers an impressive list of free, ad-supported music. Apple has Apple Music, which has no free option but integrates impressively well with your iTunes downloads. Android uses Gmail as its main mail app, no matter what email service you use.