The Other Side – Episode 02 – iOS vs Android

It’s a debate as old as time, iOS or Android? We sit Timothy Go and Charlotte Mei down to listen to both their opinions.

Tim has been using an Android phone for over a decade while Charlotte is predominantly an Apple user, but recently tried out the Google Pixel 3 XL and Huawei P30 Pro.

Tim agrees that there are some things that iPhones can do better than any Android phone, in the creative sphere. Video editing and some photos are better on an iPhone, but productivity-wise, Android phones still take the cake.

Charlotte prefers the user interface of the Google Pixel because it’s the most similar to iOS, and Tim is on the same page, preferring to use his Samsung Galaxy Note phone because it has a better keyboard than both the P30 Pro and Apple phones. Both conclude that the cameras on the P30 Pro are great, however.

A feature of the Google Pixel that Charlotte loves is the real-time translation, which isn’t available on iPhones. Typing in a phrase with a foreign language selected allows Google Translate to kick in and automatically convert what you’ve typed into the language you’ve selected.

There’s also a similar feature on the Samsung Galaxy phones where paragraphs of text in foreign languages can be translated into English or whatever other language the user prefers. Tim loves this feature and says that it’s allowed him to connect with people who don’t speak the same language when he’s travelling abroad.

Apps

The biggest thing that stopped Charlotte from switching to an Android phone was Instagram, and how Instagram for Android doesn’t work as well as Instagram for iOS. Instagram videos on an Android phone are more fast-paced and Charlotte finds it a bit hard to keep up because it makes her dizzy due to the jerky movements that the camera makes.

Charlotte threw the question to her followers on Instagram as well, asking if they noticed a difference between Android and iPhone instagram videos and posts. Most of the common answers were video quality, picture quality and ugly emoji and fonts from Android phones.

There were plenty of other quibbles from Charlotte about how Instagram on Android isn’t as good as iPhone, but the underlying point was that maybe it’s not Android’s fault. If it’s the case across all Android phones, perhaps Instagram is the one who should be looking at how it can better improve the experience for users on Android phones.

Tim concurred, using Facebook as an example, stating that there are occasions where he is unable to share content to pages that he’s an admin of. Sharing photos from the iPhone’s gallery to Instagram is also worse than Android, since you’re unable to edit the photo before sending it out. For users who are big Instagram fans, Tim shared a tip that you can even take a photo using your phone’s camera and get it sent directly to Instagram Stories.

Cameras

Charlotte is absolutely amazed by the Night Mode on the Google Pixel 3 XL, and for good reason. It’s one of the best on the market right now, if not the best.

Tim carries around a whole bunch of phones for different needs, with the Huawei P30 Pro for night scenes, the iPhone X for backlit shots and for general shots, he’s using his Galaxy S10.

Video quality on the Pixel isn’t as great as the photo quality however, according to Charlotte. Tim agrees that the video on iPhones is much better, with more sophisticated video editing options as well.

AppleCare

The one thing that Apple has that other phone brands don’t offer is AppleCare. Charlotte recounts her own personal incident, where she dropped her phone and the screen cracked. She went down to the Apple service centre to get the screen repaired and found that her AppleCare plan was expiring the next day, so she managed to get the phone fixed for a smaller charge than it would have been if she was using an Android phone.

Samsung has something similar, the Samsung Concierge, where 1 to 1 device exchanges can be done within 30 days of purchase and out of warranty repairs have a 50% discount. That being said though, it’s not quite on par with what Apple offers.

Some telcos also offer monthly subscriptions where you can get replacement phones if you happen to lose yours or damage yours, but it does cost money.

Plug & Play

Tim ended things off by talking about how easy it is to connect his Samsung Galaxy S10 with TVs, monitors and the likes by just connecting his phone with a cable to the screen. There’s also screen mirroring for Android phones with TVs that support it, and Apple is also able to support it if an Apple TV box is connected.

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So what do you think? iOS or Android? Check out the video above for full talking points and let us know your opinion in the comments section!