The age-old debate of light vs dark, good vs bad, cool vs not cool. Android and iOS have been compared for years, even meme’s have been birthed from this (shout out to the green bubble crew). However, all jokes a-side, there aren’t many differences between the two platforms and it really comes down to personal preference. Let’s look at both and see what we come up with.

Android is the mobile operating system built by Google launched in 2008. The android ecosystem has come a long way since the first iterations. Today it’s a fully fleshed out operating system supporting tablets, and mobile phones. It even has matured to the point of Google launching its own physical device to show off the full capabilities of Android.

Now today in 2018 Apple, iOS and Google Android aren’t that much different. Both have flagship devices, Apple obviously has the iPhone and Google is on its second iteration of the Pixel. You may be thinking ok so what’s all the commotion about? Well I think the decision comes down to freedom vs ease of use.

Apple has brilliantly built an ecosystem where all their devices and software work together, and they do it well. Syncing iTunes, and mobile accounts between your iPhone, MacBook, iPad and AppleTV is easy. Simply log in and things show up, fire up your AppleTV and start watching things, need a wireless monitor? Use AirPlay to display your screen. Need to send files? Use AirDrop. You can see the people at Cupertino have put massive thought into making sure everything is simple. All their devices also have limited cosmetic choices. It really helps take the analysis paralysis out of the decision of what phone or laptop to buy. However, simplicity comes with a price however and that’s freedom. Once you’re locked into the Apple environment, there’s little room for customization or the opportunity to do things differently. That’s ok because Apple’s set up is so easy to use, that anything else is sort of an extreme use case.

Android on the other hand is like the wild wild west. For starters, their ecosystem is not all encompassing. It’s gotten better and with the Google Pixel, Chromecast, Google Home, and Chromebook it’s almost where Apple is now. The difference being that Google makes hardware products like Apple, but other manufacturers also make products that run Android.

Right away you can see that options are available, if you don’t like the look of a certain mobile device you can find one that suits you. For example, I use a pink salmon colored Sony Xperia device. In a sea of black and grey devices it’s hard to find a mobile device that’s offered in a fun color. The android operating system also allows for changes and customizations. Samsung, Sony, HTC, Motorola and others often make variations of Android that include different themes, apps and other little bits. These manufacturers also make their own devices. Within each company you have budget devices and premium devices. You can easily see how this can cause some first world problems when trying to decide what device to use.

Overall, I think it really comes down to personal preference. Do you want to buy a device and have it do everything without issue, do you want simplicity? Or would you rather have more options and flexibility?