Android vs iOS is a never ending war. We can find die hard fans of Android and iOS fans who can go to any level to defend their loving mobile OS. Sometimes this debate had also gone violent. But, both platforms have some shortcomings and some advantages. In this post, I am going to discuss why Android is better than iOS. If you are Apple lover, you may hate this post, but we already wrote a post covering 10 reasons why iOS is better than Android. So, you can read that to get point to defend iOS in Android vs iOS debate.
I want to make it clear that I love Android and iOS equally. I own devices running on both platforms. So, do not think that I am becoming biased. I am just putting facts.
Also Read: 10 Reasons why iPhone beats Android Phones
11 reasons why Android is better than iOS
1: Devices available for every price range
This is best thing I like in Android. We can buy Android devices in every price range. High-end flagship devices are available along with entry level devices for those who have less budget. But with iOS, people only have iPhone. Now, iPhone comes in two screen sizes but still it is unaffordable for most of the people.
2: Expandable storage
In iPhone, there is no option for expandable storage. So, you are forced to buy phones with high storage which costs much high. Buying a phone with high internal storage is costlier that buying a phone with low storage and then install a microSD card to expand storage. Here, I also want to add the security issue related to expandable storage. If you lost your phone, data available in microSD card will be exposed to the person who get your phone. There is no need to know the passcode of phone. He can just unplug the card and access the data. So, high internal storage is costlier but safer for your data.
3: Multiple hardware options, including rugged phones
In Android, you have multiple hardware options. You can buy a phone having camera of 2 MP or 21 MP, dual core processor or octa-core processor, 256 MB RAM or 4GB RAM and 1200 mAh battery or 5000 mAh battery. You can buy a phone according to your need. You can buy a phone for its camera, performance or battery performance. But in iOS, you can only buy iPhone. Even some Android phones also come with physical QWETY keypad. Few rugged Android phones are also available which can survive inside water and drop. Yes, iPhone can also survive but it is not official and you will not get replacement if you do some harm to phone by submerging underwater.
Not just these, modular devices will also be available in coming days.
4: Universal sharing
In Android, it lets you share photos, videos, content or web page in app you have installed in your device. But in iOS, you are not very much free in this section. You can share only to the apps that the browser, photo gallery or other apps specifically support.
5: Freedom to install any app you want
Apple may get some apps first but it restrict users from installing various apps and restrict few features of an app. It helps Apple in preventing spam and fraud but it also creates controversies. You only have an option Apple’s own App store to install the apps. But Google also allows you to install apps from other legitimate Android apps stores including Amazon App store. You can also even install an APK directly in your Android device. Sometimes when apps are in beta, you can still join the beta program and use the app before it hits the Play store.
6: No Bluetooth sharing with phones on other OS
This is the biggest complaint of iOS users. Although increasing use of cloud services has reduced the usage of Bluetooth, but still Bluetooth is an important feature which we generally use. On iPhone, you can not share files to phones running on software platform other than iOS.
7: Interface customization
Although in recent iOS version, few customization options are available but it is still far behind the Android. In Android, you can customize most of the things including icons, color schemes and other things. Various launchers are available to have different look on your Android device. Few manufacturers also load their devices with custom skins on Android to offer customized experience.
8: Back button
Android’s back button is still a better and simple way to return to a previous screen. In recent iOS version, Apple has added a back link at the top side of any app to return to previous app but for returning to previous screen we are still bound to use app specific navigation. In Android, we get a back button which works across apps.
9: Easier file management and working file system
If you want to copy a file to your Android device from system, you can plug it with system via USB cable and then open the Android device via file explorer and copy data from device to system or system to device. But for iOS, this is not possible. You need to install iTunes to copy data to or from device.
10: Notifications
With the increasing development of iOS, Apple is trying to improve its notifications. But Android is still much better in this area.
11. Better use of NFC
With iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, Apple added NFC support to iOS devices but use is still very limited. On other hand, Android devices are coming with NFC for past few years and it works in all the ways NFC was meant to.
There are various other reasons in favour of Android. Now, iPhone users will complain about user satisfaction and other things. But trust me, I am very much satisfied with Android even if my primary device is iPhone 6 Plus. Only thing I like in Apple is their smooth iOS upgrade which does not affect the performance of the device. But on Android, every Android upgrade affects the performance heavily.
Read also: 3 Best Android Apps to Lock Apps using Fingerprint Scanner
