Android is a family with many variations, not a single thing like iOS.
Behavior you see on one make doesn't necessarily equate to all Android.
App developers are free to add or not add features as they choose. Many will write an app as they see fit.
The biggest problem you'll have transitioning to Android is in believing the popular press, especially that favorable to Apple, comparing features between the two.
The entire user interface, and all of its components, are replaceable on Android - that doesn't mean the same thing with a different skin (iOS web browsers are an excellent example of faux choice).
Before Apple had any sort of widget or method to gain fast access to music controls, I added it with QuickDesk - 5 years ago. Yet when the latest Android came out the press congratulated Android users for finally getting some form of that important Apple feature.
Modifying the UI is not just about widgets - it's about the entire experience.
My wife and I have *identical* model phones - without looking at the hardware off-screen, you would never know it. We selected different looks and feels - and operating choices.
My music players have a pull-down notification presence for controls. I like that, so I chose that. (Notification widgets are something else I enjoyed for years before Apple included it and the press declared that it was a breakthrough feature new and exclusive to Apple - because they don't look outside the box that an Android came in.)
You can replace the entire desktop (called the launcher) - there are ones like Nova (I use that) that are highly customizable (without rooting, and some more options with root) and that's worth looking into - as is a lock screen replacement. The possibilities there range from me-too copycats to some really interesting choices. If your use is call-centric, check out the Yandex launcher that integrates the desktop and dialer, just for one example. Others exist for weather freaks.
The power of choice in Android extends far beyond the eye candy - if you've seen one Android, you haven't seen them all, and you haven't seen the possible variations on the one you're looking at. (Not a personal criticism - it can take a while to ferret out things that you like when you don't know what's possible - we've all been there, sometimes often lol.)
You don't have to wait for Google to introduce a new major feature for anything UI related - indeed, all of their significant UI elements have been adopted by noting popular acclaim among users already enjoying the feature via manufacturer add-ons or additional apps.
Will you find areas where an Apple capability exists that Android can't match due to an app or app family?
Absolutely - there's some good stuff out there.
But it's not nearly as widespread as the press would have you believe nor as focused as the differences that you're encountering where you haven't had time to explore your full range of feature choices.
I watched the thread on jailbreaking vs rooting that you had with interest. I guess I'll toss in the point missed.
We don't jailbreak, it's not a matter of semantics. When you root an Android, you simply gain access to the admin (aka the superuser) account - named "root" on all *nix systems (such as Linux and OS X).
This means that we get more choices than we begin with, yes, for installing and changing, but we weren't in jail to begin with.
First, we don't need root just to install apps that Google doesn't know about - and second and most importantly - rooting an Android does not kick you out of the app ecosystem or Play Store.
Rooting augments - it's the same thing as having admin access on your pc - it does not kick you out of the protection of the ecosystem nor free you from jail.
