The first iPhone was introduced on January 9, 2007, the first Android device (the HTC Dream) appeared on September 23, 2008—and while it’s impossible to know for sure, I’d guess that the first article about Android and iOS was very soon after that.
It’s a decades-long debate, like Windows vs. macOS or Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi, and it usually draws a lot of interest. Both of these mobile operating systems are also refreshed every year, which means there are always new topics to talk about.
As a tech journalist who writes guides, news and reviews, I’m not a normal phone user: I spend a lot of time using Android (specifically, the Google Pixel 8 at the moment) and iOS (iPhone 15 Pro Max right now). I don’t switch from one to the other — I use both regularly and intensively.
That means I know the ins and outs of both platforms when it comes to day-to-day operations, and the phone I use the most—for personal messaging, social media, web browsing, music, podcasts, and anything else that isn’t work—is the Pixel 8. So I thought to add to the Android vs iOS discussion trying to explain why.
Note that I don’t hate iOS or the iPhone — I’m actually a big fan of the elegant combination of hardware and software that Apple has put together. The iPhone 15 Pro Max is a great smartphone, no doubt. However, I’d rather use Android for my regular device, and here are the reasons why.
Android offers more customization
Rotating home screens is one feature that Android doesn’t have.
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You’ll see this mentioned in every Android vs iOS comparison, and it’s still true. You can still do more with the home screen, lock screen, and app icons on Android—you can even change the skin of the entire interface with tools like Nova Launcher. To some extent, iOS has caught up, but the customization options on the iPhone are still not as comprehensive or easy to use.
Get this: Android home screens actually rotate and work in landscape mode as well. I love having pixel-by-pixel control over the look of my phone, whether it’s a single app on the home screen or stretching widgets in every direction. Rumor has it that we’ll see more home screen customization when iOS 18 becomes available, so Apple clearly agrees with me that it’s lagging behind Google in this area.
I find the current iOS home screen and app library to be laid out rather clumsily. Why can’t I just see a simple list of all the apps I have installed? To find an app that isn’t pinned to the home screen, I have to go all the way to the last of these screens and then figure out what category Apple decided to put the app under.
Google apps work everywhere
Google TV works well in iOS. Apple TV on Android? Not even available.
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To each their own, but I find Google’s suite of apps much more appealing than Apple’s, with a few exceptions. When it comes to Gmail vs. Apple Mail, Google Docs vs. Pages, Google Maps vs. Apple Maps, and Google Photos vs. Apple Photos, I choose Google every time (although I love Apple Music).
There’s not room here to go into all the individual reasons why, but Google’s apps are fast, reliable, and—crucially—available everywhere. If I borrow a movie from Google, I know it will play on almost any device, pretty effortlessly – but have you tried running Apple TV on Android? It’s a bit of a mess.
Admittedly, it’s more about the apps and services offered by Google and Apple than Android and iOS. But if you split your time between Apple and other devices like I do, your life will obviously be easier if you choose Google—and if you choose Google apps, then it follows that they work best and update faster on Android.
Apps get more control on Android
You can change multiple default apps on Android.
Credit: Lifehacker
Speaking of apps, Android allows developers to go deeper into the operating system than iOS does—which Apple would say makes Android less secure. As an app like Tasker, which lets you create all kinds of automation and routines, shows, Android is a better choice for tinkerers and hackers (I’d include myself in that group).
As a result, there are entire categories of apps you can find on Android that don’t exist on iOS—apps to check battery health and usage, apps to run wifi diagnostics, apps to manage files on your phone (except Apple’s options). As with the customization options, it’s fair to say that many users may not want these plugins, but I do.
Besides the individual apps themselves, you can do a lot more with them on Android: you can install multiple instances of the same app, you can run two apps side by side on the screen, and you can change multiple default apps. You can even install a second app to manage your text messages—something I wouldn’t expect to see on iOS for a while (if ever).
Android seems more intuitive
Two things you won’t see on iOS: notifications in the status bar and gaps on the home screen.
Credit: Lifehacker
This may be partly because I’m more used to Android at this point, but some of the key ways to navigate the software work better for me on Google phones than on Apple phones. The universal back gesture is an example of this: go to the previous screen with one swipe. This works in some apps in iOS, but not in every app, and it’s not consistent across the system—on my iPhone, I’m often reaching for the tiny back button or app switcher (or just staring at the screen, confused) .
Then follow the notifications. This is partly personal preference, but I much prefer the Android system—including the way unread notifications stay in the status bar and lock screen on Android, instead of disappearing into the Notification Center on iOS. Expanding and dismissing notifications also feels faster on Android, although there isn’t much cross-platform choice here.
Of course, if you’ve used every iPhone since the first and never tried Android, the switch would likely disorient you and leave you longing for the ways of iOS. However, having used both, I’d say Android makes more sense in quite a few ways—like actually being able to see that you’ve set an alarm on the lock screen, which you need to add a widget for on iOS.