For
Apple, the launch of iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus is a big deal.
Literally. The iPhones were starting to look tiny in front of flagship
Android phones. But with the iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus, which have
bigger screens, Apple is back in the game.
On the software side,
with the iOS 8, which is the latest version of the software that powers
iPhones and iPads, Apple has tried to close the feature gap with
Android.
The unique Android features and a large screen were two
main reasons why a lot of people were buying Android devices.
So,
should you give up your Android phablet? Or should you buy the iPhone 6
or the iPhone 6 Plus because it has the large screen?
We think
no. There are still a lot of things that an Android phone does best. We
tell you about some areas where good Android phones still beat iPhones.
Android phones have sharper screens
While
Apple has matched the screen size that flagship Android phones have, it
hasn't yet topped or even matched the high resolution that we find on
screens of Android phones. Flagship Android phones like Samsung Galaxy
S5, LG Nexus 5 and HTC One (M8) all have screens with 1080P aka FullHD
resolution. On phones like the Nexus 5, this means screens have a pixel
density of 445PPI, making them extraordinarily sharp. In comparison, the
iPhone 6 has a screen size of 4.6-inch and an odd resolution of 1334 x
750 pixels. This gives it a pixel density of 326PPI.
iPhone 6 Plus
is somewhat better with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a pixel density
of 401PPI. But even this pales in comparison to LG G3, which has a
5.5-inch screen but with a resolution of 1440 x 2560 and pixel density
of 534PPI.
Now, it is true that there is more to a screen than
just the resolution. But in high-end Android phones, we get screens that
are really good. They have high resolution and ability to show punchy
colours. For example, the screen in the HTC One M8 is a real treat to
eyes. Then, there is the upcoming Note 4, which has been judged to have by DisplayMate, a firm that specialises in testing screens.
Android Phones have more RAM
It
is year 2014 but the latest iPhones, which will be among the expensive
smartphones in India once they launch here, still come with 1GB RAM.
This is the same amount of RAM that Android One phones, launched a few
days ago with a price of around
Rs.6,000, have. Even phones like Micromax Canvas Nitro that cost around
Rs.12,000 have 2GB RAM.
But
the argument is that amount of RAM doesn't matter in an iPhone. The iOS
doesn't require a lot of RAM, unlike Android which is incredibly memory
hungry. And this argument is somewhat correct.
iOS is much better
and efficient at utilising RAM. But that is until you are not pushing
the phone. Once you open 12 tabs in the Chrome for iOS, it starts
running out of memory. Have you seen an iPhone refresh an opened tab in a
browser as soon as you start juggling between a few open apps or tabs?
This happens because iPhones have just 1GB RAM. Irrespective of how
efficient an OS is, there are instances, especially when a user is
multitasking, when it needs more RAM.
Multi-tab web browsing is better on high-end Android phones because they have at least 2GB RAM.
Android phones are cheaper
When the iPhones launch in the coming weeks in India, in all probability they are going to sport a price tag of more than
Rs.50,000. In comparison, you can pick the Nexus 5 or Galaxy S5 for less than
Rs.35,000
and get a fantastic user experience which is in some way slightly
better and in some ways slightly inferior to the iPhone experience. It
is win some and lose some scenario. With the remaining
Rs.20,000,
you can book a ticket to goa and have a 4-day holiday on a sea beach.
Don't you think a Nexus 5 plus a 4-day holiday in Goa is a better deal
than the iPhone 6?
Choices, many choices
With
iPhones, you get everything in one package. It does many things very
well, but what if you have special needs? Want a high-end phone that can
last 20 hours a day? Get the LG G2 that sells for around
Rs.30,000.
Want a phone that has really solid set of speakers? Get the HTC One
(M8). Want a phone that has fantastic integration with a stylus? Get the
Samsung Galaxy Note 3. (Or rather don't get the Note 3. Wait for the
Note 4 that should be in India in the coming few weeks. It will be even
more awesome).
Want a phone that has a removable battery or
supports microSD cards? Get an Android phone. Want a phone that can use
Bluetooth or NFC for file transfer? Get an Android phone.
Android KitKat (and upcoming Android L) are awesome
In
many ways, iOS 8 is sort of a catch up release for Android. The
software that powers iPhones had fallen so much behind in terms of
functionality that Apple had no option but to open up the iOS and add
more functionality to it. Hence, iOS 8 allows users to install
third-party keyboards. Or has 'extensibility' that app developers can
use to make their apps more functional. It even has widgets but they
don't match the functionality of widgets found on Android phones.
Yet,
Android KitKat still does so many things in a better way. Some of these
really affect user experience in a big way. These are:
-- Sharing feature:
On
an Android phone, you can share content and data within apps with ease.
That is why you can share a tweet from a Twitter app using WhatsApp
easily. In iOS 8 Apple has provided a limited sharing functionality that
app developers can use but so far it is not clear how well it will work
and how many app developers are going to use it. Android is still
better in this aspect.
-- (Almost) Open File System:
Want
to control how files are arranged on your phone, install an app like ES
File Explorer on your Android phone and enjoy the ability to copy and
paste any file almost anywhere. You can also create folders, arrange
content the way you want and manually assign different apps to handle
different kind of files.
-- Drag and drop your content from your computer into phone:
On
the iPhones, you can only drag and drop photos clicked with the iPhone
camera. For everything else you have to deal with iTunes, which is a
cumbersome way of doing things. On an Android phone, connect your device
to a computer and you can drag and drop documents, photos, songs and
music with ease. Plain and simple.
-- Google apps rock in Android:
If you use Google apps a lot, Android phones provide the best Google
experience on mobile phones. This is especially true of the Nexus 5 that
comes with the Google Now launcher, which puts a lot of relevant
information just a swipe away. Even the Gmail, Google Maps and Photos
experience is better on a flagship Android phone.
-- Customise, customise, customise:
You can't customise an iPhone. Well, you can change the wallpaper, but
that is hardly a big deal. Android phones can be customized in tens of
different ways. Don't like the shape and colour of app icons? Change
them. Don't like how notifications show up on the lockscreen? Change it
using a third-party app? Want widgets? Get the fancy ones from the play
store. Want fancy user interface animations, install a different
launcher. You can use one theme on an Android phone for one week and
then once you are bored of it, change it to something else.
If you
are a user who likes to tinker with the theme and software of his or
her phone, you can't go wrong with Android. The iPhone, even the one
running iOS 8, doesn't even come close.
Let's summarise
The
iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are pretty good smartphones. The iPhone
experience costs a lot of money but it is also pretty good experience.
Camera in an iPhone is always fantastic. Performance is mostly nice.
Apps are plenty and good looking. But the real beneficiaries of the
iPhone 6 and the iPhone 6 Plus are the existing iPhone users. Now they
have a choice to get a big-screen phone running an OS they like.
But
if you already have a flagship Android phone and like it, there is not
much new in the iPhone 6 or the iPhone 6 Plus for you. Your Android
phone is still great and Android OS is still a more dynamic, flexible
and useful operating system.