Android and iOS are the largest operating systems for mobile devices in 2024. But which one is better? MeinMMO presents the differences and explains where the strengths of Android and iOS lie.
Android or iOS: This is a question that every user must consider when they want to buy a new smartphone or tablet. MeinMMO introduces the differences and explains which operating system offers advantages and what to look out for.
What Makes Apple and iOS Better
Ecosystem
Apple has a whole universe of technical products that are perfectly coordinated with each other. If you already own an iPhone or iPad, you won’t have any problems integrating an Apple Watch into your system.
Apple has developed a number of features that seamlessly transition between devices, saving valuable time and hassle. For example, you can start a text on your iPhone and seamlessly continue it on your Macintosh or iPad.
Apps
iOS has a significant advantage in that devices with iOS are very similar. Updating apps is much easier here, and updates can be distributed more easily.
In contrast, Android developers face the problem that hundreds of devices vary greatly: different aspect ratios, form factors, and various peculiarities of manufacturers for their smartphone models.
Security and Privacy
Apple’s iOS, thanks to its more closed nature, offers better privacy and security. With special privacy features, such as app tracking notifications, iOS offers significantly better data protection against third parties than Android. Additionally, iOS fundamentally restricts which data apps are allowed to analyze and use.
As impressive as that sounds: Apple and iOS also, unsurprisingly, collect a lot of data about their users. Therefore, Apple is not a saint like Google either, but overall, the data is better protected.
Support and Updates
Apple generally offers long software support for many models. While Apple eventually stops supporting very old devices and no longer distributes new iOS versions, it continues to provide important security updates. This is a key difference compared to Android, where many Android phones have to wait a long time for important updates.
Nevertheless, things have also improved in the Android ecosystem: manufacturers like Samsung and Google now provide updates for many devices for at least 5 years. With the Pixel 8 and the S-24 series from Samsung, devices even receive important updates for up to 7 years.
However, this is not a rule for Android. Especially with smaller manufacturers, long-term support is rather rare. If you’re lucky, the purchased device will be supported for 2 or 3 years, and often there won’t be any modern Android updates anymore, just “only” security updates.
With iOS 18, the iPhone is set to receive a feature that is still controversial among some users.
Camera
Apple typically incorporates excellent camera modules into its iPhones and provides suitable software. In the Android space, if there’s any competition, Google with its Pixel series comes close to the image quality of Apple.
The same applies to video: If you need professional video recordings, iPhones are unmatched for video recording.
What Makes Google’s Android Better
Personalization
With Android, there are fundamentally more options and choices if you want to personalize your smartphone or tablet more.
- On the one hand, many manufacturers offer their own interfaces for their models, such as Samsung with OneUI or Xiaomi with MIUI.
- On the other hand, you can freely choose from numerous themes, colors, and options, customizing your phone to your preferences.
- Furthermore, you can buy different models for nearly every situation: From outdoor phones to budget phones costing 80 Euros, Android offers almost everything.
In general, there are few limits on Android when it comes to personalizing or setting up your phone or tablet.
Hardware and Pricing Policy
With iOS, you can only buy your devices from Apple, and the company has more or less a monopoly here. Accordingly, prices are quite high.
Android is more open and “relaxed:” You can buy cheap Android phones for less than 100 Euros, but you will have to forgo many features in this price range.
Nevertheless, you are very flexible with price or how much you ultimately want to spend on Android. There are hundreds of different models from various manufacturers between 100 Euros and 1,000 Euros from which you can freely choose.
Thanks to the multitude of companies producing Android devices, you will find plenty of options for every budget. We tested a particularly affordable phone for you at MeinMMO:
Technical Features
When it comes to new technologies and features, Android is often much faster and more flexible than iOS. From support for 5G networks to wireless charging and 4G LTE to voice commands without touching the device – Android is leading and leaving iOS behind.
Google adapts Android much faster than Apple does iOS, which is also due to the fact that hundreds of new Android models come onto the market each year. A market that changes much faster than iOS, where only Apple provides the devices and the software.
Expandable Storage
Many, especially inexpensive, Android devices usually offer you the option to easily expand your storage with an SD card.
But beware: In expensive models, such as Samsung’s Galaxy series, storage expansion is only possible with the top models (Ultra series). In the budget category, expandable storage is still more common.
Android or iOS: Which is Better Now?
What should I buy? If you have been using a particular ecosystem for years and have owned an Android phone for years, then the decision to choose an Android phone will likely be easier than switching to iOS. If you already own an Apple device, it will be easier for you to stay within the Apple and iOS ecosystem.
Moreover, Apple’s ecosystem is very closed and assumes that you have purchased many devices from Apple. Apple’s devices are usually not compatible with Android either. If you actively use Windows, Android may ultimately be the better choice, as it is simply more flexible than iOS in many respects. iOS, on the other hand, offers better data protection and significantly better camera quality.
Pros of Android:
- Open, highly customizable, and flexible
- Many different hardware manufacturers
- Wide range of prices from 100 to 1,700 Euros
- Regularly new features
Pros of iOS:
- Camera: Outstanding image and video quality
- Security and privacy
- Long support and many security updates
- Perfectly coordinated ecosystem
Both sides offer various advantages and disadvantages and provide arguments for why one should buy a smartphone or device. Ultimately, the question is what is most important to you or the decisive factor when purchasing a device.
An app tip on MeinMMO: MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann has tried several apps to become more economical. And it has really paid off. Because at the end of the month, he always had a few Euros left over because he actually kept an app on his phone: I use a free app on Android and save about 30 Euros every month with it
