Some people are firmly in one camp or the other when it comes to their cell phone. People are either Apple iPhone users or Android users. People become lifelong fans of one product or the other. Every once and awhile, someone will cross enemy lines to convert or sometimes their lifestyle changes and they have to change their phone.
Smartphones have become a way of life. You can run your entire life off of your phone so when it comes to picking a phone, there should be a lot of research done ahead of time to see what best fits a particular lifestyle. Both products have a ton of great features but in order to make a good decision, one must research those certain features to make an educated decision.
Typically, when debating between two phones, most people are actually debating between the Apple iPhone or Google’s Android. Those two are two of the more popular phones on the market. Apple iPhones were once the most popular phone on the market but since the passing of Apple’s popular founder, Steve Jobs, the demand for Apple products has died down a bit. Google saw the chance to compete and started to focus on creating a more user-friendly Android phone. But with the introduction of the iPhone X, that favor seems to have shifted back towards Apple.
So let’s break it down. Is one truly better than the other? Here are the comparisons between the major features of the two phones.
Hardware: Currently, Apple has complete control over control over the production of the iPhone from start to finish. It has complete control over how the hardware and the software work together. Google, on the other hand, offers the Android software to many phone companies, like Samsung, LG, and Motorola. What this means is that Android phones will vary depending on the company. They will vary in size, quality, weight, features, and appearance. Each company has their own brand and model. Typically, because of this, there is a difference in quality amongst the different companies as to how the hardware in the Android will perform. The more expensive Android phones usually perform just as well as the iPhone but the cheaper Androids have a wide variety of issues.
Updates: Right now, Andriod falls behind when it comes to making sure that they are updated with the latest operating system. Apple is very good about making sure that the latest OS supports not only the newest devices but also the older devices as well. It goes without saying that eventually, all older devices will not be able to be supported by the latest OS. Android struggles with supporting their older devices through the latest OS. Apple also gives control of the updates to the user whereas Android gives that to the control to the makers of the phone, and they can be notoriously slow to update.
Camera: According to DXOMark, the Apple iPhone X has the best camera on the market hands down. There are a series of test done on multiple phones that proved that the iPhone was the best performing camera. According to the test summary report on the iPhone X, “The Apple iPhone X achieves the best results so far for still images, edging out the Huawei Mate 10 Pro and the Samsung Galaxy Note 8, the previous joint leaders in the Photo ranking, by one point. Compared to its cousin iPhone 8 Plus, the X improves noticeably on Zoom performance, but also does better in terms of Exposure, Color, Texture, Noise and Artifacts. Other key strengths in still image mode include very good exposures and HDR images, accurate color rendering, good detail with low noise, as well as a natural-looking bokeh effect in Portrait mode.”
Integration: People want their phones to seamlessly synch with all their devices in order to make the transition between each device as easy as possible. Because Apple makes computers, tablets, phones and watches and each of them syncs seamlessly with the other. All your data is updated accordingly to each device. Google also makes the Chrome Book and Andriod Wear so the Android does integrate with these devices but these other devices have yet to gain the same popularity. Only Apple provides a unified experience between devices.
Tech and Customer Service Support: With Apple products, you have two options when it comes to tech support depending on the issue with the phone. One can either go to their wireless carrier or head on over to the Apple store. Sometimes, the wait times to see an Apple genius employee can be astronomical but they typically can help solve any tech issue with the phone. Apple also has a convenient chat feature on their website that makes it easy to contact tech support if you need immediate troubleshooting. Currently, Android does not offer a stand-alone store, the only way someone is able to get tech support is to go into the store and hope they can fix the problem.
Siri vs. Google Assistant: Both smartphones have an intelligent assistant available for use. The iPhone has Siri and Android has Google Assistant. Siri consistently scores low when it comes to being helpful or user-friendly. Siri might have a sense of humor but can only perform basic tasks. Most questions posed to Siri are answered by pulling up a Google search. Google Assistant is definitely the better option. Because Google Assistant has the powerful backing of the Google platform, it can answer questions and intelligently predict what one might need based on their calendar, search history and much more.
Overall, if you wish to have a phone that is more akin to a personal assistant then an Android is the better option. Android phones have access to the Google platform so the phone is able to perform more complex tasks. Siri is improving but still can only perform basic tasks on the phone. For a person looking for phone that takes amazing pictures, then the iPhone X is the phone for you. Also for people who want to have more accessible customer service, then the iPhone is your best bet.
Katherine has an obsession with yoga and meditation. She spent years working as a
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