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Apple or Android?

Joined
Jun 7, 2017
Not directed at anyone in particular here ... but I see enough comments about how some iOS users have tried android phones and "can't figure out how to use them". I don't know how long it's been since any of those people have tried to use an android phone, but honestly it's about the same as using an iOS device. The main differences from a UI standpoint are as follows:

1. Instead of having a gazillion pages to thumb through for apps (aka: iphone), there is an "app drawer" on the android phones. So you can just have a couple of scrollable main screens with your most commonly used apps out in front of you, but then go into the app drawer for all the other stuff. It's a subtle difference, and many may ask why it's even necessary, but I like it. It just feels better to me.
2. The android OS phones don't lock you down to having your app icons auto-arrange favoring the top of a given page. You can literally place them anywhere on a page just like you can place an app/shortcut on your computer desktop. That is a huge plus, seeing as how you can have apps toward the bottom of the screen where they are more "thumb accessible".
3. Android has actual, real, interactive widgets you can place on your home screen. I have one that shows my calendar agenda, and I can touch an event and it brings me to my calendar with that even pulled up. I can scroll through my agenda right there on my screen. No need to pull down a window and find my agenda like in iOS. I have another custom-made widget that has the time, date and weather on it. It also has hot-spots so I can touch the time and it opens up my alarm. I can touch the date and it opens my calendar. I can touch on the temperature/weather info and it opens up my weather app. Point is, the UI is simply more intuitive and user friendly vs. iOS.
4. Android doesn't inherently have those little red dots for notifications per app. It's got a notification bar at the top with the time and all the other stuff across the very top of the phone. There are apps that add in the notification "dots" on apps, but they are not really necessary once you get used to the way android notifies you of things.

All in all - not to be too repetitive - they work almost identically. The difference is really no more than the difference between a PC and a MAC.

Also, there are so many other things about android OS that are better than apple's ecosystem ... but it would take a while to explain them all ... so here's a couple easy ones.

When I pull down my "shade" on my android phone, it reveals some toggles for stuff like wifi, bluetooth, etc. Apple does this too. However, they are not just toggles. If I tap the wifi icon, it turns wifi on/off. However if I long-press the wifi icon, it brings up the wifi settings for the phone. Apple's OS does not do this. If you want to go into your wifi settings on an iphone, you have to go into settings, then find wherever networking/wifi is, so on and so forth.

Also, I like that android's main "settings" are about the phone/and OS ... NOT the apps. If you want to make changes to how the phone deals with the OS, or how the OS handles global things about apps, those settings are in there, and easy to find. However, if you want to make changes to the settings of a particular app, you open that app and go to the settings in there. I much prefer that over iOS having ALL settings inside the main settings "thing" in the phone. I don't have to go looking for in-app settings because I open up the app in question, then settings, then it's all right there. Simple, easy, elegant.

anyway, I'm an android fan for sure, but don't hate apple products. I just like how i can make my phone work how I want it to ... and as others have mentioned, things like being able to use my phone as a USB storage device, or drag/drop anything I want on the phone (pictures, songs, ringtones, working files, etc) and have my phone recognize them immediately for use ... that's something that I just can't give up. I can go to YOUR house, plug my phone into YOUR computer, and copy songs off your computer to my phone. No iTunes required ... no "handcuffs" at all. I could also drag songs, pictures, etc. off my phone onto your computer.

yes, android is more like a PC in your pocket ... but the main interface and functions of the device from an everyday user standpoint are basically the same as iOS.
 

misskitten

Hello Sweetie!
Joined
Jun 18, 2011
Location
Norway
To each their own, but I'm going to address the comparisons you listed.

1. Instead of having a gazillion pages to thumb through for apps (aka: iphone), there is an "app drawer" on the android phones. So you can just have a couple of scrollable main screens with your most commonly used apps out in front of you, but then go into the app drawer for all the other stuff. It's a subtle difference, and many may ask why it's even necessary, but I like it. It just feels better to me.
Apps on IOS can easily be sorted into folders, so there is no need to thumb through pages to find the app you need. You can even put a folder into your hotbar if you want fast access to more apps than there are slots. The "app drawer" sounds good, but honestly it's dead easy to keep everything organized in IOS as well. Less useful things can be disabled/hidden if you want them out of the way, or you can just piled them into a "never used" folder like I do and place it on a separate page from everything else. Out of sight, out of mind.

2. The android OS phones don't lock you down to having your app icons auto-arrange favoring the top of a given page. You can literally place them anywhere on a page just like you can place an app/shortcut on your computer desktop. That is a huge plus, seeing as how you can have apps toward the bottom of the screen where they are more "thumb accessible".
You have a point about the auto-arrange, but there is always the option of swapping out what's in the hotbar, so if there are things that are important to you to have thumb accessible, you can just put them there.

3. Android has actual, real, interactive widgets you can place on your home screen. I have one that shows my calendar agenda, and I can touch an event and it brings me to my calendar with that even pulled up. I can scroll through my agenda right there on my screen. No need to pull down a window and find my agenda like in iOS. I have another custom-made widget that has the time, date and weather on it. It also has hot-spots so I can touch the time and it opens up my alarm. I can touch the date and it opens my calendar. I can touch on the temperature/weather info and it opens up my weather app. Point is, the UI is simply more intuitive and user friendly vs. iOS.
Swipe left and you can find your widgets in IOS as well. I have my agenda and calendar right there, same with the weather. The differences sound more subtle than anything else.

4. Android doesn't inherently have those little red dots for notifications per app. It's got a notification bar at the top with the time and all the other stuff across the very top of the phone. There are apps that add in the notification "dots" on apps, but they are not really necessary once you get used to the way android notifies you of things.
It's up to you how you want an app to notify you. If the dots bother you, you can easily disable them or change how you are notified.
 

Bowsette Plus-Ultra

wah
ZD Legend
Joined
Mar 23, 2013
Location
Iowa
Gender
Lizard
Android. It isn't a perfect OS and big daddy Google looms in the background with its "don't be evil" mantra, but better Google than someone like Apple telling me I'm not allowed to side-load the apps I want.
 

Spiritual Mask Salesman

CHIMer Dragonborn
Staff member
Comm. Coordinator
Site Staff
I have an Android. If I had a Macbook and Ipad I'd buy an Iphone just for the same ecosystem. That wasn't the route I went though. I have a laptop running Windows, a Galaxy phone, and a Galaxy Tablet. It just makes sense to stick with Andriod.

As others have said, Android OS gives way more freedom. Unless you jailbreak your Iphone, you're stuck only in the Apple Store.

Probably the only benefit of an Iphone is if something breaks, I've heard that generally Iphones are easier to take apart and repair than Android devices. Not sure how true that is, but I have definitely heard it before.

I was going to buy an Ipad because the Apppe Pencil is so hyped up as a stylus, and Procreate looks like a cool painting software. I just went with my Galaxy Tablet instead, and I love it. I have Krita on it, and Clip Studio Paint. Both works just like their PC versions which I love.
 

Dizzi

magical internet cat....
ZD Legend
Joined
Jun 22, 2016
samsung!! my family are tryna get me to get apples but nope i dont waana be a cyberman!!!
 

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