Apple vs. Android

Megan Poczos, Staff Reporter

There is a lot of speculation about which phone brand is better: Apple or Android? It seems that most people are for one or the other, never both. I have had an Apple phone since I first was granted use of a cell phone, so I would say I’m slightly biased toward this particular brand. However, with new phones and features coming out from Android (such as the new Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge), the lines are becoming somewhat blurred and it is getting more and more difficult to choose a side. So let’s take a look at some of the best and worst features of both brands and see if we can come to a consensus once and for all on which brand is better.

Apple has had “smart” phones out since 2007, when technology legend Steve Jobs announced his unveiling of a new tablet with a phone function. The IPhone. This revolutionary smartphone included features such as an IPod, applications, and touch technology for the first time. Since then, the IPhone has evolved into the slim, easy-to-use and minimalistic device so many have come to know and love. Unique to Apple, the IPhone uses the iOS/OS operating system, which gives Apple the advantage of operating almost completely independently. However, there are also some huge disadvantages to owning an Apple phone. It is necessary to buy music solely from the Apple Store, meaning you have to pay for almost every song you want to listen to without using your data. There have also been some major issues when updating each new version of iOS, including phones not being able to restart or even complete loss of data. This proves difficult for many Apple users because there are many applications on the phone that will no longer work until you upgrade to the next version of the operating system.

The alternative to Apple phones is Android. Android phones made their debut not much later than Apple phones, in October of 2008. This short gap in between releases of the brands created a huge gap in popularity between the IPhone and the Android phones, but Android has a lot to offer that Apple does not. Firstly, there are many different options of Android phones to choose from when purchasing a new phone. With Apple, you generally have to opt for the newest version Apple has available at the time. It is also much easier to get free music for an Android phone, a feature that is considered very important for lots of smartphone users. Many would argue that the Android system is less likely to crash than an IPhone. There are also setbacks to having an Android, too. Android’s main focus, alternatively to the IPhone, is not simplicity. This makes it much more difficult for consumers who have a more novice knowledge of technology to operate these phones. If one is not particularly familiar with Google applications and systems, this is not the phone brand for you.

So have we been able to identify which phone is dominant over the other? They both have their pros and cons, but ultimately, the decision of which phone is better is a very personal opinion, and a decision one must make for themselves.