As customers, we must know the difference between Android 5 Lollipop and Apple iOS 8.1 before we make a choice between Android phones and iPhones as they are the latest versions of the operating systems that run on these devices respectively. Android 5 (a.k.a. Lollipop) is the latest Android operating system released by Google. iOS 8.1 is the latest of the iOS operating system series by Apple. A significant difference between Android 5 (or Lollipop) and iOS 8.1 is that Android is open source and iOS is not. Due to that reason iOS is limited to Apple devices while Android is used by many phone manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony, HTC, LG, Motorolam and Asus. Android allows many customizations, but that compromises the simplicity and stability. iOS, on the other hand, does not allow many customizations at all, but is very simple, clean and stable.
Android 5.0 (Lollipop) Review – Features of Android 5 (Lollipop)
Android is a renowned mobile operating system designed by Google. It is based on Linux and as any other modern system Android supports multitasking, where users can enjoy several applications simultaneously. Android, that is usually an operating system designed especially for touch screen devices, it has multi-touch support. Voice based features allow calling, texting and navigation through voice commands. While android has support for a large number of languages, it has many accessibility features as well. Inbuilt applications are available for calling, messaging and web browsing while the Google Play store acts as the central place for managing and installing applications. Android also has a very special feature for screen capturing that can be used by pressing power button together with volume down buttons for few seconds. While a large number of connectivity technologies such as GSM, EDGE, 3G, LTE, CDMA, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, WiMAX and NFC are supported, special features such as hotspots and tethering capabilities are notably important to mention. While many media formats are supported Android supports streaming media as well. Android provides support for a variety of hardware including sophisticated sensors. The virtual machine called Dalvik in Android is the layer that is responsible for running java applications while providing necessary security features.
Android 5.0 Lollipop is the currently latest Android operating system which is the immediate successor of Android 4,4 (KitKat). While it inherits almost all the features of its predecessors, a considerable number of new features and improvements are available. The design has been greatly improved with vivid new colors, typography and real time natural animations and shadows. Notifications can be controlled as necessary, to get interrupted only when it is really necessary, while it has the capability to prioritize the notifications intelligently. A new battery saver feature increases the battery usage even more. With encryption auto enabled on devices, the security level has become much more enhanced. Also sharing features have become easier with multiple user account support and the new “guest” user makes it is possible to lend your smartphone or tablet to someone else without exposing your private data. While media features such as photos, videos, music and camera have been greatly improved, now users can connect even USB microphones to an Android device.
iOS 8.1 Review – Features of iOS 8.1
Apple iOS 8.1 is the latest iOS operating system by Apple, that came as a major update to its predecessor iOS 8. This is a mobile operating designed especially for touch devices such as phones and tablets. In iPhone series, a device must be iPhone 4s or higher to support this new operating system. If it is an iPad then, it must be iPad 2 or higher. Apart from that devices such as iPad mini or later and iPod touch (5 th generation) or later also support iOS 8.1.
First let’s look at general features of iOS. The springboard is the application that consists of basic graphical user interface elements such as home screen, spotlight search and folders. Notification center is the central place that sends alerts about the device status and application status to the user. iOS also has the most important feature of a modern operating system which is multitasking, where a user can launch and work in several applications at the same time. Moreover,facilities to switch between applications in a very convenient fashion and ability to end tasks forcibly, has been provided. App store is the central location where the users can buy iOS apps. Game center is a feature that allows playing of multiplayer online games. Another notable feature is the one called Siri that acts as a personal voice assistant which provides voice dictation. Phone, Mail, Safari, Music, and Videos can be considered the most primary applications found of Apple iOS. Mail is the email client and Safari is the web browser. Messages, Contacts, Calendar, Photos and Camera are also widely used apps. iOS also has the FaceTime application that allows taking video calls over Wi-Fi or cellular networks. ITunes is the famous music player in iOS that also provide access to the iTunes music store. Applications such as stocks, weather, maps, notes, reminders, voice memos, calculator and clock are also worth mentioning.
Now let’s discuss new features in iOS 8.1 when compared to its previous versions. This contains many improvements, new features and bug fixes to existing features and applications. In this version new features, improvements and bug fixes were introduced to applications such as photos, messages and safari. Also, issues with regard to Wi-Fi performance and Bluetooth connections that were found in the previous version of iOS have been fixed. More importantly a bug that caused problems in screen rotation has been addressed. An interesting option to select 2G or 3G or LTE for data connections has been introduced. Further several improvements over accessibility features such as VoiceOver, handwriting, Mi-fi and Guided Access have been introduced. For United States only, the Apple Pay service was launched for iPhone 6 and 6 Plus.
What is the difference between Android 5.0 Lollipop and Apple iOS 8.1?
• Android Lollipop is developed by Google while iOS 8.1 is developed by Apple.
• Android Lollipop is open source, but iOS 8.1 is not open source.
• Android Lollipop allows lot of customizations, but iOS 8.1 does not provide many customizations as Android allows. That makes iOS have a very simple interface than Android.
• The default browser in Android is Google Chrome. In iOS 8.1, the default browser is safari.
• The cloud service in Android is Google drive while the cloud service in iOS 8.1 is called iCloud.
• The applications for Android can be managed via Google Play while in iOS it is the Apple App store.
• The map service in Android is called Google Maps while it is Apple Maps that is found on Apple.
• Android Lollipop has a voice command feature called Google Now. iOS has a similar feature as well called Siri.
• The messaging app in Android is called Google Hangouts while it is iMessage in iOS.
• Android Lollipop allows multiple accounts on a single device and enabling of a guest account, but this feature is not available in iOS 8.1.
• Android is the operating system of devices designed by many companies such as Sony, Samsung, HTC, LG, Asus, Motorola, but iOS is found on devices made by Apple only.
Summary:
Android 5.0 Lollipop vs Apple iOS 8.1
iOS fans only a have a few Apple devices to select from while Android fans have a large range of devices with different hardware features by different companies to select from. This is because of the reason that Apple iOS being proprietary limits its usage to Apple devices while Android being open source lets anyone customize it and use it. Both have all features that are expected from a mobile operating system, but a major difference is that Android is more customizable than iOS. However, that tradeoffs with the simplicity and stability where iOS is simpler and stable than Android.