Apple vs Android – Combat Cancel Culture

What’s best, Apple or Android?
For general use, these are both great options but sorry Apple fans, if you’re looking to ditch big tech and big brother you’re generally going to find Android the better of the two. Please try and keep an open mind while reading this, I’ll explain the pros and cons but at the end of the day it’s your choice, I have nothing to gain by swaying you one way or another and can only advise based on my own experiences and research.

Do I need to get a new phone?
Android users – unlikely.
iPhone users – you may want to seriously consider it.

The purpose of this article isn’t to suggest Android phones are better than Apple, they both have their pros and cons and that debate will continue to go on and on for many more years to come! The purpose of this article is to explain what you can achieve with your device and point you in the right direction based on your needs. As a general rule of thumb, you should be fine if your phone has an operating system which is less than 5 years old, but if you’re using an Apple device you’re unfortunately going to have to be very tech savvy if you want to stay with that platform.

I thought Apple designed their stuff to be user-friendly, why so difficult?

Here’s the kicker, Apple devices are so easy to use because they lock everything down and only allow you to use apps that they deem suitable. All these apps have to meet strict guidelines which makes it a safe eco-system but sadly very limited. This is the choice you make when buying into the Apple eco-system, you’ve decided you want everything to just work beautifully and seamlessly integrate with your other Apple devices, but the trade-off is, you’re dictated to on what you can and can’t install. Take a look at the chart below, which gives a very basic guide on what you can expect on each platform.

Android vs Apple - Side by Side Comparison

	Android	Apple (iOS)
Ease of use	Simple but settings can get confusing as it has much more options available compared to Apple.	Simple, limited amount of options available in settings.
Apps Available	Full range of apps available out of the box. This includes all unofficial ones	Only the apps deemed suitable by Apple can be installed directly from the App Store. No unofficial apps can be installed unless you want to void your warranty and jailbreak
Security	Generally very safe but because you're allowed to install unofficial apps, you could potentially install an app from a rogue developer. The Android system is very secure so unless you've "rooted" the device (not something you'd do by accident!), an app is unlikely to be able to do any serious damage.	Extremely secure. Apple have a strict policy on what's allowed to interact with their eco-system so everything is vetted by them. Of course the flip side of this is you're very limited on what you can do.
Build Quality	There are so many brands and they really do vary in quality. Generally they are all good these days, but you pay for what you get. As a general rule, if you're paying over £100 for a phone it should be good quality	Very good build quality but of course you would expect nothing less given the price!
Cross Compatibility	The vast majority of apps on Googles Play Store are also available on Apples App Store. Android does have a number of Google apps which aren't available on Apple and are often considered superior to the Apple counterparts (Maps and Calendar being prime examples). Android is not able to use the i-based services such as AirDrop, AirPlay etc. and will not seamlessly integrate with Apple devices in your home.	If you have other Apple devices at home, the iPads and iPhones integrate very well. You will NOT get this if you switch to Android, they can integrate with other equipment but not Apple products. Apple and Google (Android) official apps aren't cross compatible but you'll find most of the mainstream 3rd party apps such as Facebook & Twitter are available on both the App Store and the Google Play Store.
Price	A fraction of the cost of an iPhone/iPad. Hundreds of brands available with only the high end Samsung phones coming in at a similar price point to Apple.	Very expensive.
Notes	With so many variants available, make sure to read reviews on the model before purchasing. Things like battery life, camera (there are some great ones and some pretty poor ones) and the current operating system version are things to consider. Some Chinese versions can come in Chinese or Global versions, unless you're Chinese yourself, make sure yours isn't Chinese!	Apple lock down their devices. Even if it's possible to "jailbreak" (hack/mod) your phone, the jailbreak will be wiped in the next system update. This means you'll need to jailbreak again but it might not even be possible in the new update. Jailbreaking is dangerous, you will void the warranty, potentially open security holes and it could only be a temporary solution for installing unofficial apps. Once your system updates you may find the apps you've managed to install no longer work.