Apple system "iOS" is available on iPhone or iPad only, while the Google Android system is available on many models (German)
Google Android and Apple (iOS) dominate the world of mobile devices, with almost all smartphones and tablets running these two systems, but Google's system has become more widespread recently.
Steffen Hergit of the German magazine CT answers why the user prefers one system over the other or switches between them: "The biggest advantage of Apple's iOS operating system is that the software and hardware components come from a single source, and Apple has developed the iOS operating system itself, and its work is limited to the iPhone smartphone and the iPad tablet."
Higher security
Hergate added: "This has led to the smartphone and operating system being well compatible with each other, so that the user does not have the problem that the software offers a function that the device does not support, and vice versa, and it has a higher level of security due to the fact that Apple's system is considered a closed system."
This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that apps can only be downloaded and installed from the Apple App Store. The German expert stressed that these applications can be verified accurately, and therefore there are fewer problems with software compared to Google's system, in addition to that the Google Android operating system is more vulnerable to hacker attacks due to its large market share and greater spread.
Large freedom range
Hergate pointed out that the advantages of the Google Android system are the large range of freedom represented by the operating system compared to Apple's "iOS" system. The German expert added: "The Apple iOS operating system is available on the iPhone smartphone or iPad tablet only, so the range of models, which can be chosen from is limited, unlike the Google Android system, which is available on many models from various international companies."
Google Android users have more freedom when it comes to customizing the appearance of the operating system. "The user can install new interfaces either to give a new look or simplify the look for older users, while it is not easy for the user to make such modifications with the Apple iOS operating system," Hergate explained.
Updates in Apple's iOS operating system are less complicated than Google's Android system (Apple)
Hitch Updates
Updates represent the biggest obstacle for the Google Android operating system, and the German expert states that "there is a large fragmentation with Android versions, which makes the user wait to months sometimes to get new updates to the operating system."
This is primarily due to the many models of Android devices and the great effort needed to adapt updates to suit these individual devices, but with Apple's iOS operating system, updates are less complicated than that, as everything comes from one source, so the user is supposed to get updates quickly and easily.
However, this culture has begun to change with Google Android devices, as Verfone announced the launch of 8-year operating system updates for the fifth version of its smartphone that relies on the sustainability feature. Google itself, the developer of the Android operating system, also announced an increase in the update period for 7 years for its Pixel 8 smartphone models.
Google Android users are more free when it comes to customizing the appearance of the operating system (Getty Images)
Change the operating system
Sebastian Kloss of the German Association for Communications and Information Technology (Bitkom) pointed out that changing the operating system is not done consciously, but rather happens by chance when the user likes a particular smartphone.
"Switching between the two operating systems can be useful when there are a lot of devices in the house that rely on one of the two operating systems, and then it's easy to sync data and content within the household," Hergate added.
It is also useful to switch to an iPhone when switching from a Microsoft Windows computer to a Mac, he said.
Regarding the difficulty of switching from one operating system to another, Kloss explained that this process is very smooth, as data is transferred via cable or Wi-Fi network. But the most important thing is that the data transfer is done when you first set up the device, and when the user is asked to do so, and if he skips this step, the data can be transferred manually later.
He added: "If the user transfers data when setting up the device for the first time, they will be guided through the next steps, so private files, photos, videos, contacts, calendar entries, email accounts, bookmarks in browsers and free applications will be transferred to the new device, so that at the moment messages are transferred from instant messaging applications automatically."
Some restrictions may appear on paid content, such as purchased e-books or paid applications, and the user usually has to repurchase the applications when switching to a new operating system.
Hergate added that the process of switching from Google Android to Apple iOS is usually less complicated compared to the process of switching from Apple iOS to Google Android, because some applications are present on Android devices such as the Google Apps package, which can also be installed on the iPhone, but it needs to be re-logged in.
The German expert pointed out that it is not possible to use Apple services, such as the iMessage application on Android devices, and switching from Apple "iOS" to Google Android requires more manual procedures.
Source: German