Apple vs Android: Battle of the Top Contender

Introduction

It would almost seem abnormal for a person to not own a cell phone nowadays, but for others, choosing the phone that will best suit their needs and their lifestyle could seem rather difficult. With a wide variety of options to choose from: one may not know where to begin. When people are deciding to buy a smart phone a lot of questions are raised in their head before choosing one. Should I get an Android or an Iphone? How much do I want to spend on a smart phone? Which phone has features that are beneficial to me? What specifications does each phone have? Some people would say Iphones are better than Androids, while others say that Androids are better than Iphones. Apple and Samsung are currently the two biggest companies in the electronic-based company market with various different models. There are three main factors that consumers look for in the devices they buy; hardware, features, and cost.

Hardware

The major component in a cellphone is the OS (Operating System) or in other words the hardware. The iPhone has the biggest advantage with its closed operating system which allows Apple engineers to know exactly what sort of hardware is running on the operating system which allows them to tweak the system as they see fit, allowing it to run efficiently and effectively as possible, and the developers do not have to meet any requirements from other companies. This benefits consumers because it allows for more simplicity and ease of use devices. The learning curve for new users is fairly low and its commands and functions are easy to pick up. While on the other side; it suffers from its reputation of big a tad confusing to navigate yourself through the interface, but this offers much more customization. Android has an open system that allows a large number of consumers and companies to be able to collaborate with the operating system, which gives them the opportunity to modify and operate the software without having to pay a licensing fee. This feature in androids allows users to have a widely varying user interface, unlike the iPhone where you are might have to jailbreak the device. For example: if the user does not like the android keyboard, they can choose from a variety of third-party keyboards.

Features

Features on a cell phone are one of the most vital and most sought after for any cell phone company and some of these features are: screen size, camera, resolution, storage capacity, and one major similarity between the iPhone and Android phones is the shapes, for example, all the models of the iPhone have been similar in shape and curvy corners. This similar shape can also be found in the android phones. Both iPhones and Android phones also have similar large screens that take up the majority of the front of the phone. Both phones have many similarities, however, consumers have noticed that they have more differences now than features they had in common. For example, android has over thirty phone manufacturers, there are currently seventy-seven different models of Android, on the other hand, Apple does not let manufacturers use their IOS software, which in turn leaves only 18 models of the iPhone available to consumers.

Cost

One of the most considered factors, when consumers have come across a time when they are looking to purchase a new device, is the cost. Cost plays a big factor when comes to what device they choose, both iPhone and android being rather expensive, it will come down to what the consumer can afford. The newest iPhone, the iPhone 11 is currently selling for $1,003, while the Samsung Galaxy S10 is $1,125 Overall the prices are quite similar but that that $122 can be a game changer for some consumers. Both the iPhone and Android are popular in demand and both have stability in the market with apple having “588 million Apple users worldwide and 1.4 billion Apple devices (and counting) currently in active use across the globe.” According to macflypro and according to Google’s press conference in May 2019, “There are currently 2.5 billion active android devices.”

Conclusions

Android has millions of users around the world as it’s a powerful and versatile operating system with heaps of functions. Over time it offered a smoother user experience and a more aesthetically pleasing interface. However, the iPhone is a slick, easy to use phone with its stellar security and privacy features. While both phones are not without its flaws, they both provide the many of the same features but it is its differences that set the two phones apart from its hardware, cost, and features. Thus it falls upon the user to compare the similarities and difference between both of them. Moreover it also depends on the needs of the user and their lifestyle.