October was the month of celebration for Android and iPhone users, as these two tech giants unveiled the latest and updated releases for their mobile operating system. While Android 6 or Android M or Marshmallow was announced in October, Apple did it a month before by releasing the iOS 9 in September 2015.
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“iOS 9 is packed with intelligence that makes every experience with iPhone and iPad even more powerful — Siri can do more than ever and new proactive assistance helps you get more done before you ask, all while protecting users’ privacy,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering. “With iOS 9 we focused on strengthening the foundation of iOS with a deep focus on quality, and with the help of more than one million users who participated in our first ever public beta program, we’re excited to release the best version of iOS yet.”
So after hearing about the buzz of these two platforms, some tech-geeks from Fullestop took both gadgets in hands and compared these two on interface, performance, looks and other factors. Here is a detailed comparison between Android M and iOS 9:
From a distance, both of these platforms look identical. They have home screens filled with icons, and they offer you widgets when you scroll the screens. In fact, there aren’t any big changes from the predecessors, except the small tweaks like Marshmallow comes with a refreshed app drawer and new-look clock. Adjustable Quick Settings, rotatable home screen, visual voicemail, RAM manager etc. are placed at the top of screen.
iOS, on the other hand, made some small tweaks, highly focused upon providing better user interface. There is context-based touch to track your usage of phone and your location to offer you more optimized features. And then there is “intelligence”, which performs the tasks according to your common routine. For instance, if you use headphones only when in gym, your phone will automatically switch the workout playlist as soon as you plug headphones in.
Battery Life: Your iPhone or Android device is a Smartphone, or even a phone, as long as its battery is alive. Short battery life has remained a big issue for smartphone users, and both Apple and Google have come-up with a great solution. iOS 9 and Android M comes with Doze and Low Power Mode, respectively.
Low Power Mode allows you to toggle your phone into power-saving mode, manually. Doze is a bit smarter and uses a motion detector to detect whether or not your phone is being used. If not, it automatically switches your phone to power saving mode.
Siri Vs. Google Now: Siri was smart, and now it has become smarter in iOS 9. It tracks your activities and keeps a record of most used apps. Then, it offers you the shortcuts of those apps when it thinks you need it. It has also become smarter in returning relevant results for your searches.
Despite of Siri’s smartness, Google Now has always remained superior to the competitor. Together with all features carried in earlier OSes, Android M comes with Google Now on Tap which understands your questions as per the app you are using, and then returns highly relevant results.
Compatibility: Compatibility is something where iOS 9 beats its competitors with huge margin. The OS is compatible to 8 different models of iPhone, starting to iPhone 4s which was released five years back. On the other hand, Android M won’t support devices older than a couple of years. So if you are an Android user having an older device, you won’t be able to enjoy the astonishing features of Android M.
Privacy: The earlier versions of iOS were secured enough that Apple didn’t bother spending extra pennies to upgrade its privacy features. Your data will remain protected just as in older platforms.
Android, on the other hand, copied tons of privacy features from iOS and added in its expertise to enhance the protection. It forces users to grant eight core permissions to apps like microphone, contacts, medical data etc. This is much better than the earlier ‘all or nothing’ approach.
Mobile Payments: Google Wallet has officially renamed to Android Pay, following the Apple Pay track. From a distance, both payment methods look identical. Android M supports fingerprint scanners, which means users may access Android Pay on more devices. iOS still uses the Touch ID to read fingerprints, with improved speed, and it also supports loyalty cards.
Related: Android Lollipop Vs iOS 8
Final Verdict: Comparing these two platforms is just like comparing Apple with anything which is not Apple. If you have an iPhone and enjoy using it, you won’t give any thought to Android M. And if you have a device with Samsung logo on its back, you won’t bother thinking what iOS 9 is or what Apple is doing. Even after the comparison, declaring a clear winner is not possible. Apple users will love enjoying iOS 9 and Android users will pray they get the Marshmallow update. From a broad view, both platforms look identical and replaceable with each other.
