iOS vs Android. Android vs iOS. A war that seems to have no end and that, in 2024, is still more alive than ever. iOS 18 and Android 15 are the latest versions, and it is worth asking what the real differences are today between one operating system and another. Apple’s system is increasingly customizable, Google’s proposal is increasingly stable and continuous.
Is iOS as closed and uncustomizable as ever? Is Android still much freer and richer in options? At Xataka we wanted to review the current photography of both systems, to tell you in detail what differentiates them today.
Let’s talk about technical data
To understand some of the differences between iOS and Android, it is inevitable to talk about how they are built. iOS is an operating system based on XNU, the Darwin kernel. You don’t need to learn the names, but keep in mind that Its architecture is closed, controlled by Applewith a tighter ecosystem and a focus on hardware and software integration. This translates into greater stability, but less flexibility.
Android, for its part, is based on the Linux kernel, adapted with several additional layers. Is a more modular and open systemwhich allows for more customization and adaptability, but can also increase ecosystem fragmentation.
iOS and Android have very different architectures, and this ends up influencing how apps behave on each system
When developing applications, the language used in iOS is usually Swift, along with Objective-C or React. Android apps can be developed in Java, Kotlin, C++, JavaScript and more, so it is also more common to find some extra consistency with applications when we talk about iOS.
Apple designs both the hardware and software for its devices, allowing generally superior optimization to the one we see on Android phones. Mobile phones like the Google Pixel have “own” processors, although for real purposes we are talking about chipsets in collaboration with other manufacturers -Samsung in this case- and not about in-house developments like Apple’s.
The file system itself is also different, using Android ext4 or F2Fs, while Apple uses its own. Apple’s system is somewhat more robust in terms of security, although it barely allows access to system folders. On Android, even without rootwe have access to practically all of them.
In fact, one of the main benefits of Android is being able to install applications in .APK format from any repository, without having to go through application stores or complex processes.
In short, the two systems are still very different on a technical level, and that security and secrecy is maintained in iOS compared to the greater freedom that Android provides.
Is it true that iOS does not have multitasking?
One of the main differences between iOS and Android is in managing background processeswith practically opposite approaches. iOS is much more restrictive in this regard, not only to save power, but also to protect privacy and optimize system efficiency.
This limitation allows apps like Spotify to play music in the background, but makes it difficult for apps like Google Photos or Amazon Photos to upload photos if the screen is off. It’s not that iOS doesn’t allow background processes, but rather that it applies significant restrictions to prevent excessive resource consumption, while maintaining control over which activities can continue running.
On the other hand, one of the advantages – and disadvantages – of Android is that applications can let your seconds run without any problem. There are certain elements of the system that hibernate processes when they have not been used for a while, but if we have many applications installed, management tends to be somewhat chaotic.
This has two readings: the first is that Android allows many more tasks to be executed in the background and we can turn off the screen without problem, it will continue doing what it has to do. The second not so positive reading is that if we have many apps and processes in the background, autonomy and performance may be compromised.
Let’s talk about customization
A few years ago, customizing iOS was seen as heresy. Today, we can take the interface to extremes that we would never have imagined. Even so, Android continues to be a much more customizable systemsince we can change the system launcher itself.
This is an application that is responsible for launching – and displaying – the apps on the desktop, something that on iOS cannot be modified under any circumstances. On Android we can also have more freedom when creating widgets, adding themes to the system and modifying practically the entire interface, without counting on Custom ROMs.
The extreme way to customize Android is to literally change the operating system for another. We can root and have access to the root folders of the system, as well as unlock the boot loader – the element responsible for starting the system – to load new ROMs. There are alternatives such as LineageOS, GrapheneOS and countless third-party ROMs for the most popular mobile phones.
In iOS the alternative is jailbreak, a process that allows us to modify the system more deeply, although never to the extreme of an Android with the ROM changed.
Updates and long-term support
Until not too long ago, buying an Android phone was buying a phone that was updated, hopefully, over a couple of years. So much Google and processor manufacturers have stepped up to the plateand there are already several manufacturers that offer between five and seven years of system updates.
Apple never gives a definitive figure on how many years its phones will be updated, but the average is six years. In these terms, both systems are relatively equal.
The main difference is that when Apple releases a new version, all devices receive it at the same time. It doesn’t matter if you have an iPhone 16 Pro or an iPhone 12: on the launch day of the new version of iOS, they receive it at the same time.
On Android, from when Google releases the new version until the manufacturer optimizes its software, it usually takes at least half a year. We have some guarantees that our phone will be updated, but it’s hard to know when.
Artificial intelligence
One aspect in which Android is, according to Apple itself, two years ahead, is artificial intelligence. The Gemini Nano models are integrated into a good part of the system of the most current mobile phones and, in those that are not, we can replace the Google Assistant with the Gemini .APK.
In addition to Google’s AI, manufacturers themselves, such as Samsung, implement object deletion functions, voice recording with intelligent summaries, call translation… AI applied to day-to-day processes. We may or may not use these features, but they are available and quite polished.
For its part, iOS is taking its first steps with Apple Intelligence. The problem? On iOS we won’t see it until spring. You can try it with an American account by setting the phone to English and with a process that, to be honest, I do not recommend to any average user.
As of today, iOS does not have artificial intelligence available in Europe, while Android manufacturers are making steady progress in this regard.
Neither iOS is so iOS, nor is Android so Android
With the passage of time, both systems have converged into proposals that, although they remain very different, increasingly have greater similarities. Android is an increasingly polished system, far from the instabilities and errors of the step, and completely on par with iOS in support.
iOS, for its part, continues to be a safe bet, very stable, and with a little more customization so that not everything is pure secrecy. The decision remains purely personal.
Image | Xataka
Add Comment