Quote:
Originally Posted by HotHotHeat
Honestly what features does Android have that iOS doesn't?
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Well, less now with iOS 7 but even the ones they've copied aren't as refined or well done as their Android counterparts.
So the ones flat out missing?
The ability to choose your keyboard
-This is a big one, a big one. Stock Android has a fine keyboard and it got better with 4.2 but just imagine the iPhone with Swiftkey. It would be a massive addition.
Widgets
-Even though Android is moving away from this in terms of settings (a more robust active settings menu) these are still a functionally great thing and a beautifully great thing. I love my battery widget on one of my home screens. It blends in great with my background and goes down and changes colour as it approaches and does the same on a charge.
-An app like weather widget with active spots to engage for maps, calendar, time, alarm etc. It can't be beat.
More options
-Look at an app like Zedge, an app that lets you pick and choose seemingly any ringtone or wall paper you want. Tried doing this with iOS? It just can't be done. IIRC Zedge is in iOS with only Wallpapers but getting around the OS to actually use those wallpapers is such a hassle. I remember doing this for my girlfriend and her iPhone and it was such a pain in the butt.
Multiple user support
-This was really added in Android 4.3 and it's great for tablets. Putting a guest account on your tablet is awesome! It's not needed for some but I really like it when I go visit with my brother and his family, give my niece my Nexus 7 and let her use the guest account and I have the peace of mind knowing I don't have to watch over her to make any account purchases. Many practical reasons to have this.
Much more robust notifications
-Apple is still playing catch up here, big time. The notification menu for Android is honestly a killer app for me. The ability to swipe down and see a robust full notification system is great... then if you can continue to swipe down and see even more info for a specific notification.
You have a lot of notifications? Well less details will be shown when you first pull down the menu but if you wish to see more without going into the App just hold on that notification and swipe down just a little and it opens up more. Want to keep it there? Swipe back up and it will go to the smaller version again.
Application filing system
-In Android it's the the App drawer, in iOS it's, nothing. Every App you have is on your home screen, all of them. You can manage this somewhat by filling up folders (some you can't, won't even touch that) or by hiding an App you don't want far away 5 home screens away.. but what a nasty solution that is. An app drawer gives you the ability to have access to all your Apps but only put the ones you want on your home screens. It's much more elegant.
Choosing the default Apps
you want
-When I click a link in my gmail I was given the options of which web browser to open it in. I can click Firefox, Chrome or any others. At this point I can decide if I want to use this App as my default from now on or just use Chrome this time. If I choose Chrome as my default that menu won't appear again and the link will always open in Chrome, if I want to change that later on I can no problem. That is just one explain of the default App picking.
In iOS if there is an Apple App for that, guess what your default App choice will be?
This problem is only exacerbated with Siri. It defaults to Apple apps and systems when you use it. Doesn't it use Bing now instead of Google for it's searches? That's a major misstep. Allowing your programs to choose what App you want it to use is a big thing for me.
Bigger more robust sharing options.
-This is one of those things that iOS has caught up with but isn't even close to being on the same level. Take a picture and click the sharing options and see how flipping easy it is to send to Facebook, add to Dropbox, send to kik, Snapchat, Gmail, twitter, Flickr, Instagram, Google+, Keep, etc etc etc. It's beyond simple with Android and beyond direct. Share the picture and choose what App to share it with.
Simple and robust... and light years beyond what iOS can do.
It's a little funny to ask this immediately after a big release but I'll give you the timing because while they've played catch up a bit they're still not there. Even the things they have lifted, they haven't done as well. The notification system is still light years behind what's in Android, ditto for that pull up system menu.
I hope that's decent, I've got to get running so if I think of more I'll add them if you want and I'm sure others will chime in as well.