• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

What can the iphone do that android can't?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted User
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
I'll give Apple one thing, it's a LOT easier to upgrade the OS on an iPhone or iPad over an Android phone or tablet. just getting Android 4.4 onto my Galaxy S3 was a pain in the butt. shouldn't need to root my device and install unofficial custom ROMs just to upgrade the OS. an iPhone can do it for years without a hitch. i'd be happy when Google starts laying down the law to Samsung and Motorola or anyone who loves holding folks back in Gingerbread or ICS.

KitKat is the first step of a total overhaul of Android. people can hate it or claim it's copying iOS or becoming 'too Apple' but Android needed this. it needed ART long ago. at least now my device makes me feel worthy of using it, instead of rebooting itself or lagging behind making me curse at it and consider getting a replacement iPhone. i was concerned that Google was going in the wrong direction when i saw their 'new' Play Store and other app UI, but now i'm liking where it's going and hope it goes farther.
 
I'm not sure it's fair to compare the ease of an official update (pretty simple with Android too) and flashing a custom ROM. You could instead wait for Samsung to release 4.4 officially.

So the point that remains is the word "wait". But we've often discussed that that's a consequence of letting other companies manufacture Android phones (manufacturer and operator customisation is also a factor). And it's clear that Google are trying to work around that by making that actual OS upgrade less important (though I'm not convinced that is all win, unless you are really into Google integration).

I've also helped a couple of people with iOS updates that were being problematic, and which without the intervention of someone who was prepared to locate where iTunes kept its backup and copy the folder would have resulted, by simply following the prompts, in a wiped device with no backup. I've seen this a couple of times - iOS updates are not not always simple and reliable. Commonly, but not always.
 
I have used iphone 4s and a few android phones.

Iphone, at times, does reboot itself if you somehow accidentally saw that happened, which I did.

Android, if you're using heavily, running more than 4 apps will make it very slow to respond, unless if you willing to spend about $250.00 (lenovo s920) which I did and have good results so far.
 
nickdalzell said:
I'll give Apple one thing, it's a LOT easier to upgrade the OS on an iPhone or iPad over an Android phone or tablet. just getting Android 4.4 onto my Galaxy S3 was a pain in the butt. shouldn't need to root my device and install unofficial custom ROMs just to upgrade the OS. an iPhone can do it for years without a hitch. i'd be happy when Google starts laying down the law to Samsung and Motorola or anyone who loves holding folks back in Gingerbread or ICS.

KitKat is the first step of a total overhaul of Android. people can hate it or claim it's copying iOS or becoming 'too Apple' but Android needed this. it needed ART long ago. at least now my device makes me feel worthy of using it, instead of rebooting itself or lagging behind making me curse at it and consider getting a replacement iPhone. i was concerned that Google was going in the wrong direction when i saw their 'new' Play Store and other app UI, but now i'm liking where it's going and hope it goes farther.
Click to expand...

Uh, that's not a fair comparison. Comparing the difficulty of rooting and flashing to an official update. An official update from Samsung is just plug to computer and click update, just like Apple. You're better of comparing rooting and flashing to jailbreaking.
 
IOWA said:
Swappable batteries isn't just for quick swaps. It's for complete replacement. I don't care who you are, or what you do, all batteries eventually get run down, and hold less and less of a charge. Being able to completely replace a battery pack seems pretty fundamental to me. Some of us (not me lol) like to keep our electronic devices as daily use items for 2-3-4 years. So being able to keep a top shape battery, and even being able to upgrade the capacity of the battery, is a very very nice thing to have. In fact, all of Apple's products, since the batteries are locked in, are destined for death. Why? Over time LiOn cells degrade, and being to leak. I think we all know what happens when battery junk hits electronic circuits.. right?
Click to expand...

I've never seen an issue with Cell Batteries to warrant a Need for a replacement due to the above. Our household still has a 2007 iPhone a 3G, a 3Gs and a 4s all of which hold charges and work just fine....outside being slow :o

That said, I do think it's ridiculous Apple locks the back of their devices to prevent added memory or access to the battery.
 
Iphone does have a lot of apps I want. I just can't buy into the hype. If BB got smart, or Nokia did with Symbian and had the apps I want, It would be bye-bye Android. I really liked the BB organization.

My requirements are different than most. The voice calling has to be good, I need to strip the screen of most of the crap, and it has to run my nature and reference apps.
And have the development for more informational apps. It also has to play MID files. Otherwise, I don't care how it sounds, or how it can play video. It also needs to be able to turn off network data and do wifi only.

As for updates, usually fixing bugs or security. I don't care what else an update does.
If my stuff runs, that's all that matters. I pick the phone around the apps I want. If I need speed and memory, I'll upgrade. I won't upgrade for social, or media uses.
 
nickdalzell said:
I'll give Apple one thing, it's a LOT easier to upgrade the OS on an iPhone or iPad over an Android phone or tablet. just getting Android 4.4 onto my Galaxy S3 was a pain in the butt. shouldn't need to root my device and install unofficial custom ROMs just to upgrade the OS. an iPhone can do it for years without a hitch. i'd be happy when Google starts laying down the law to Samsung and Motorola or anyone who loves holding folks back in Gingerbread or ICS.
Click to expand...

Up until quite recently there was companies still making devices with Gingerbread 2.3, including Samsung, and carriers like China Mobile still have stocks of them. These are really budget low specced devices, that most likely can't run anything more recent, not without lagging horribly or whatever. Google can't force manufacturers into offering Kitkat for these devices, might not be a good experience due to poor performance from underspecced devices, or it's just impossible for them to use the latest versions of Android. From my end and what I see where I am, Google doesn't really have much to do with Android anyway.

Microsoft basically did this by forcing PC makers to install Vista onto budget low specced PCs that could only run XP properly. And it wasn't a good experience.
 
But with Vista, it was not designed to be a resource-light OS. It was known for being a hungry SOB.

KitKat's main deal is that it is supposed to be super light weight for low-end devices. It's definitely reduced RAM useage on my Nexus 4. I would expect it to do the same for a device running Gingerbread. Of course, there's no way in hell the manufacturers will spend any time trying to update obsolete phones like the Galaxy S or the OG Droid. But this will hopefully put an end to manufacturers still putting Gingerbread on phones today.
 
SiempreTuna said:
You should take a look at some BB10 devices, then as they now run Android apps pretty well.

(Looks like good threads never die - though this one was in intensive care for 2 years!)
Click to expand...


Have a list of which apps? In the reference line please.

Like Audubon, Astronomy, Meteorology?
 
Furious1 said:
I have used android for several years I have used several different android phones from lg Motorola htc samsung zte and have yet to find one that would not freeze or lock up if you tried to do more than use it as a paper weight I have broken many phones or tossed em out the window driving down the freeway cause the phones are junk I have yet to have an iPhone lock up on me do I miss some of the droid features yes but I much rather have a phone I can use as opposed to have 1 with a lot of features that you can't use
Click to expand...
My experience with Android phones couldn't be more opposite from yours. I have yet to have one lock up on me, and I've never been unable to use any of their features. Sorry your luck has been so bad! But isn't it wonderful that there are so many choices out there for phone users? :)
 
I think Dalvik is the main reason for the 'freezes and locking up/random reboots' that most of the more cheaper Android handsets have. Flagships minimize it and hardly happens but it does happen, less, but it does happen. once you look into the logcats and such you can often find the culprit that caused it (on my Samsung Galaxy S3 it has a faulty SD card slot and the media scanner causes a kernel panic aka random reboot) but having a flagship doesn't make you crash proof. i'm hoping with the introduction of ART in KitKat that the days of Android being laggy and crash-happy are numbered.
 
nickdalzell said:
I think Dalvik is the main reason for the 'freezes and locking up/random reboots' that most of the more cheaper Android handsets have. Flagships minimize it and hardly happens but it does happen, less, but it does happen.
Click to expand...

Flagships and mid-range devices are usually better specced, and are usually able to run the later versions of Android without problem. They're more costly of course. I know there's definitely been quality issues with the really cheapos, and also where manufacturers have put ICS or JB onto phones that were only really suitable for Gingerbread, things like 256MB-512MB RAM etc. If the Dalvik VM doesn't have enough RAM to do its stuff, there will be problems.

nickdalzell said:
once you look into the logcats and such you can often find the culprit that caused it (on my Samsung Galaxy S3 it has a faulty SD card slot and the media scanner causes a kernel panic aka random reboot) but having a flagship doesn't make you crash proof.
Click to expand...

Well TBH you can't really blame Android for defective hardware. Any more than blaming Windows or Linux for crashing because of a duff DIMM or graphic card or something.

nickdalzell said:
i'm hoping with the introduction of ART in KitKat that the days of Android being laggy and crash-happy are numbered.
Click to expand...

Apparently Kitkat is supposed to be lighter on resources, plus technology improves and specs get better, things like minimal RAM and slow single core CPUs will go away. Although manufacturing quality may not improve though, which will still lead to problems and instability of course, like crashes, freezing, reboots, etc. If the specs are not really upto it or there's poor quality, even with Kitkat, you'll still have problems
 
Medion said:
Let's see; only one post, bumps a 2.5 year old thread, and makes statements that were exaggerations a few years ago and almost irrelevant today.

Seems like astroturfing to me (though I highly doubt commissioned by Apple).
Click to expand...

That's what I pointed out, but my post got deleted.
 
I've had one device that constantly froze/locked up/rebooted and I spent 30USd on it. It was a Kyocera Rise.

I've bought $70 phones, $120 phones, $190 phones, and one $250 phone. I've had two tablets. I'll list them here. All ran perfectly (the Acer a500 even ran well w/ Android 4.2.2 on it, relatively, despite the last factory update being 4.0.3).
In order of ownership:
Acer Iconia a500 (Good)
LG Optimus V (Decent)
HTC Wildfire S (Decent)
PCD Chaser (Decent)
Kyocera Rise (Bad)
Samsung Nexus 10 (Great)
Samsung Galaxy Victory (Great)
 
For the record, I wasn't comparing flashing a ROM with a software upgrade. I was comparing an OS upgrade (OTA) for an iPhone with an Android phone. Android phones tend to be stuck with the OS it came with unless you root and flash a Custom ROM. Even flagships like Samsung Galaxy S3 and S4 often get left behind. In iOS, you get upgrades OTA as they are released for at least two years. That is a lot easier than finding a way to get Android 4.4 onto a Galaxy S3, which is more than capable of running it.
 
I don't prefer one over the other. They both have great quality's and they both have flaws. Sell me a perfect OS and I'll sell you some ocean front property in North Dakota.
 
nickdalzell said:
Android phones tend to be stuck with the OS it came with unless you root and flash a Custom ROM.
Click to expand...

True if by OS you mean Android. Otherwse, it's rubbish.

My Galaxy S2 shipped with 2.3.5 and has received an update to 4.1.2.
My Xperia Z shipped with 4.1.2 and has already had two 4.2.2. updates, with 4.3 due next month.

In iOS, you get upgrades OTA as they are released for at least two years.
Click to expand...

1. You know perfectly well that iOS only has to support a single hardware ecosystem completely controlled by Apple. Are you seriously advocating that model over the choice offered to Android users due to multiple OEMs?

2. Samsung supported the S2 for over two years. That bodes well for the S3, and no doubt the S4 also.

That is a lot easier than finding a way to get Android 4.4 onto a Galaxy S3, which is more than capable of running it.
Click to expand...

You'll easily be able to run 4.4. on the S3 when it's released by Samsung. Considering that they haven't yet released 4.4 for the stock Galaxy S4, I find your complaint mystifying.
 
S3 is getting 4.4 KitKat. That's been confirmed. Probably around March/April.

I will agree that Samsung is being left in the dust by HTC and Motorola right now. I hope they're embarrassed, but more likely they just don't give a damn. Like Apple, they assume that we are all just iDiots. They may be correct. At least as far as tech goes. Most of my friends had no idea an update existed for their Nexus 4's until either I told them or their phone told them to update. They were perfectly happy beforehand.

You'll find that those of us who care about getting timely updates are in the minority.
 
Let's face it, Most android folks will defend android to the bitter end. You can't bring up valid points because if you do your just an apple fanboy as they say......

The same is true with IOS, if you bring up a valid issue with it all the apple folk just explain it away as you being one of those little android users.

Part of the problem with Android is the manufacturers. There are so many and they all add there own skin and twists to it.

Part of the problem with IOS is that Apple and only Apple get to use it.

Android allows lots of customization,
IOS doesn't.
It all comes down to preference and since this is an Android forum, more folks are gonna prefer Android here.

I don't understand the hatred toward Apple though. That seems childish, but that's another conversation.
 
The principle is that in any choice in life, there are trade-offs. Choice is never easy. There are always pros and cons. There is always an opportunity cost to any decision. The choice to have an open source, diverse operating environment means decentralization. That means less control from the head honcho. 100% unavoidable in technology, business organization, or any other aspect of life.
 
bjacks12 said:
That's what I pointed out, but my post got deleted.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, then the moderator(s) likely had a good reason for it, as in it violated the forum rules. AS such, I've edited my post and request that you edit out my quote in your post.

bjacks12 said:
S3 is getting 4.4 KitKat. That's been confirmed. Probably around March/April.

I will agree that Samsung is being left in the dust by HTC and Motorola right now. I hope they're embarrassed, but more likely they just don't give a damn. Like Apple, they assume that we are all just iDiots. They may be correct. At least as far as tech goes. Most of my friends had no idea an update existed for their Nexus 4's until either I told them or their phone told them to update. They were perfectly happy beforehand.

You'll find that those of us who care about getting timely updates are in the minority.
Click to expand...

Motorola? Sort of. Moto's near-stock device got Kit-Kat extremely fast, but that's because of many factors, most of which being that Google let the carriers test 4.4 ahead of release, so updates that are devoid of OEM customizations will go more quickly through the carrier certification process.

HTC? Tell that to One X owners, who are stuck on 4.2 as Galaxy S3 owners get 4.3 and eventually 4.4. The HTC One carrier variants are supposed to get 4.4 by late January, same time as the Galaxy S4. So other than announcing a specific window, HTC hasn't blown past Samsung yet.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom