My (Mostly) Unbiased Overview of Android and Apple’s iOS – Part 2

Feel free to check out part one of this post, in which I covered some pros and cons on Apple’s iOS.

On to Android, which now owns the majority of the mobile phone market share in the world due to the many manufacturers who choose this open-source, free operating system for their phones. Much like iOS, there are plenty of pros and cons to cover for this OS; I’ll touch on the ones I’ve found to be most important during my software testing experience.

Pro - The first thing that comes to mind is the customization of the system itself. Many carriers and manufacturers have adapted Android due to the “re-skinning” they can perform on this OS–they can essentially make it their own by adding a unique look and feel and pre-loaded software. Unlike Apple, which has its own developers working on the OS in-house, Android is open-source, allowing any developer to enhance, limit, or customize the software; there are literally millions of Android developers around the globe, allowing the OS to stay ahead of the curve.

Pro - Android allows for different layouts on user homepages. This includes folders, shortcuts, and, most importantly, widgets. Widgets allow a user to directly access a particular program right from the homepage itself, without having to launch the application. There are widgets available for media players, living calendars and task checklists, and live feeds for social networking, email, and current affairs from around the globe.

Pro - Other great features of the Android OS are the keyboard layouts and text prediction. These include “swipe” style keyboards, where the user literally swipes past each letter in a word and the keyboard chooses the word it assumes the user wants to use. This feature can make typing out long messages or emails a breeze and can help keep spelling errors to a minimum. Many keyboards also have voice-to-text options which are amazingly accurate, “learning” how the user talks. Use of features like these is obviously a personal preference, but the options available in Android really can be quite useful in many applications.

Pro -  The final pro on my list is the new implementation of Google Now, included in all newer versions of Android. Google Now gives you the ability to perform instant searches by speaking into the mic of your mobile device. You can search for the definitions of words, facts about well-known people, and a huge variety of other items instantly. Google Now also has the ability to learn information you either look up or have expressed interested in – things like weather, sports updates, popular tourism spots, commuter traffic, and flight reservations and itineraries. It will also reminder users about tasks and pending calendar items, placing all of this information front and center on the device for users to view quickly and easily.

Of course, Android has its setbacks as well.

Con - One of the biggest faults I can think of is Android Fragmentation. Fragmentation is caused by manufacturers and mobile carriers holding back new versions of software and thereby creating many different versions of Android out in the wild. The Fragmentation can causes issues while developing software for use on Android because, unlike Apple, Android developers have to understand that most devices are not updated to the latest version (currently 4.2.2 “Jellybean”) and have to worry about testing their software on different OS versions in order to fulfill the needs of customers. All this extra testing can, in turn, cause delays in software releases.

Con - Another Android con would have to be the lack of security and stability in the OS. Although developers have made great strides to limit the threats of viruses and other malware, the Android App eco-system is still filled with unwanted security holes and issues. Because, as I mentioned in my point above, there’s no guarantee that all Android devices are running the newest version of the operating system (over half of the devices currently running the Android OS globally are running on Version 2.3 “Gingerbread”, which is far inferior to Jellybean), users and their devices are very vulnerable to security issues.

I’ve learned a lot working with these two operating systems–both Android and Apple have their advantages and disadvantages, many of which depend on the goals of the user. Now that I’ve spent time working with both platforms, I have a better appreciation for the good in both and a better understanding about the bad but, when push comes to shove and people ask me why I prefer one over the other, my simple answer is personal preference. What works for me certainly won’t work for everyone; doing your own research will help determine which OS is right for you.