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- Overview
- Android vs iPhone entry-level: $100-350 / £100-350
- Android vs iPhone mid-range: $400-650 / £400-650
- Android vs iPhone high-end: $700+ / £700+
- Android vs iPhone apps: we’re all app-rich, but iPhone owners are the super-rich
- Android vs iPhone software: iOS continues to borrow from Android
- Android vs iPhone updates: iPhones are miles ahead
- Android vs iPhone resale value: iPhones in first place, Samsung in second
- Android vs iPhone: takeaway
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Versus
By Andrew Williams
last updated 5 May 2022
Should you buy an iPhone or Android phone?
(Image credit: Apple / Samsung)
The iPhone vs Android debate raged hard in the early days of smartphones. We’ve all grown up a bit since then, so let’s leave the term ‘Apple sheep’ back in 2009, okay?
It’s time for a little backtrack. Yes, iPhones are more accessible than before, and many top Androids are now expensive enough to make your eyes water. However, the cheapest great phones are still Androids.
The best ones to buy get depend on where you live, but our favorite budget manufacturers include Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo and Motorola. Spot the trend? They are all Chinese. Motorola used to be an American brand, but it is now owned by Lenovo, which is - you guessed it - Chinese.
Apple doesn’t come into the picture until your budget reaches $399 / £419 / AU$749. That nets you Apple’s tiny iPhone SE (2020). It’s cute, it’s pocketable, and it is as powerful as plenty of four-figure Androids.
However, if you play games or stream video a lot then you're probably better off with the larger (if less powerful) iPhone XR, at $499 / £499 / AU$849. Its battery lasts longer too.
Top Android options at around this price include the OnePlus 8T, Xiaomi Mi 10T and - a little lower end - Google’s Pixel 4a.
Our advice? Don’t be too put off by the fact the iPhone XR is now a little old. It came out in 2018 but Apple phones are supported for a lot longer than Androids and it still compares well with new mid-range processors.
The big ‘but’ is Apple doesn’t offer any affordable 5G phones yet. Androids offer this faster, more advanced mobile internet for as little as around $299 / £249 / AU$500.
Don’t buy into the idea that Androids offer you stacks more tech in every area, though. There is a pernicious trend of filling Android phones with cameras, usually four on the back and at least one on the front. Unless you’re paying big bucks it’s highly likely only one of the rear cameras is any good.
Spend big and you can get an iPhone 12-series mobile, or a top Android. These include models like the Galaxy S21 Ultra, Oppo Find X2 Pro, Sony Xperia 1 II and OnePlus 8 Pro.
In previous years we would also have recommended Huawei’s phones. But we can’t now they don’t have Google apps.
At this level you get expensive features like zoom cameras, night modes that make near-pitch-black scenes look clear, and ultra-high-resolution screens. Apple’s iPhone, finally, gains 5G at this price point too, with all iPhone 12 range models packing the tech.
You may notice Apple’s iPhones don’t tend to look quite as slick as some Androids, though. Samsung, Oppo, and OnePlus all try hard to minimize screen borders, and use curved glass on the front and back to further trim down their appearance.
This design style looks, and feels, great. The iPhone 12 Pro Max still has relatively significantly black bars at each side of the display, and a big notch that holds all the tech to make Apple’s face recognition software work.
Even Apple’s most expensive phone doesn’t have the same camera zoom capability as the Oppo Find X2 Pro or Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra either. And both Samsung’s and OnePlus’s top ultra-wide cameras are better than Apple’s.
Look at the statistics alone and you would believe Android’s Google Play offers a better app library than the iPhone’s App Store. There were around 2.87 million apps on Google Play in late 2020 according to Statista, and 1.96 million on the Apple App Store.
However, we find that the App Store has a greater share of top-quality apps and games. There are a few reasons for this.
It is easier and cheaper for developers to get apps on Google Play. But the total revenue made on the App Store is far greater, giving publishers a greater incentive to create ultra-high-quality iPhone apps.
Optimizing for iPhone is also simpler, in one sense at least. There have been 17 iPhone models since 2016, and hundreds of Android phones, all with different hardware and software. That is a development headache.
This, and iPhone fans’ greater willingness to actually pay for apps, means we end up with more high-end productions like XCOM 2, Alba: A Wildlife Adventure, and Slay the Spire on iPhone. These may come to Android, but games like this tend to come to iOS first.
Apple also offers a Netflix-like service for games called Apple Arcade. It costs $4.99 / £4.99 / AU$7.99 a month and is intended to let you get away from the endless ‘free to play’ games that eventually ask you to pay to make any meaningful progress. Such apps dominate both app stores.
How any new Android phone looks and feels is largely determined by the custom interface it uses. Almost every Android has one, because it’s the way manufacturers make sure their phones don’t seem exactly like those of their competitors.
Some of these interfaces add significant new features too, but all are based on a core version of Android. In 2021 most new phones are likely to use Android 11.
This 2020 update to the system isn’t going to change your life. But it did tweak some parts under the surface. For example, in some phones you’ll see a panel of smart home controls when you long-press the power button.
Apple’s recent changes are more dramatic. iOS 14 brought widgets to iPhones. These have been in Androids since day one, in 2008. It also adds an App Library section at the end of your home screens, which arranges all your apps into folders. Again, we might compare this to the dedicated app page that has always been present in the majority of Android phones.
However, if you use a MacBook you will likely appreciate Apple’s AirDrop feature, a fast and easy way to share files between your phone and laptop.
Comparing the software experience of Android and iOS is a little like comparing Windows 10 and Mac OS. Android, like Windows, used to be criticized as buggy, flaky, and unreliable. That is not the case anymore.
Apple phones are also far better for software updates. Let’s take the last iOS release, iOS 14, as an example.
The oldest devices supported are the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus. These phones were released in 2015, the year of the Samsung Galaxy S6.
That Samsung phone is one of the best-supported Androids of the year, but it dropped off Samsung’s official support list in 2018.
Two years of software updates and three years of security updates is the best-case scenario for most Androids (though Samsung has now started offering three years of software updates for some phones).
iPhones tend to get five major updates, or five years’ worth from their original launch, plus additional security patches afterwards. Even the iPhone 5S from 2013 received a security update just a week before this piece was written in January 2021.
Tech companies have risen to greatness and crumbled to nothing in the time the iPhone 5S has received support.
This update issue and the ultra-long support cycle are two reasons iPhones tend to seem ‘current’ a lot longer than Androids. And it also feeds into their resale value.
Here’s how much you could trade-in the ‘good’ condition flagship phones of 2018 in at MusicMagpie, one of the UK’s most popular tech resale companies:
•iPhone XS - £250 (original cost £999)
•Samsung Galaxy S9 - £125 (original cost £739)
•LG G7 - £70 (original cost £749)
•Sony XZ2 - £90 (original cost £799)
The lazy conclusion of the old Android versus Apple debate largely no longer applies. You can’t claim iPhones are overpriced and Androids are great value when the corresponding Samsung models sell at a similar price, or more in some cases. Here are some of the key reasons to buy into each platform.
Buy an Android if you want cheap 5G
Android makers adopted 5G much more quickly than Apple, largely because companies like Qualcomm and MediaTek were fast to provide chipsets that support the standard, at a low cost. Forget the behind-the-scenes stuff and it means 5G Androids are available for $300/£300 or less if you know how to shop.
Buy an iPhone if you want to keep a phone for years (and years)
No Android manufacturer supports its phones like Apple. You can expect five years of software updates, and important security updates after it’s locked out of new iOS versions. Even from the top Android makers, two years of software updates and three years of security patches is the best you can typically ask for.
Buy an Android for the best hardware value per dollar
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related to: android vs ios phonesIt's easy to switch from Android to iPhone. Learn more and switch now. AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile deals for as low as $0. Right here at Apple. Terms Apply.
Galaxy AI Is Here. Save Up to $535 With Enhanced Trade In When You Buy The New Galaxy S24. Capture Epic Memories & Reactions On The New Samsung Galaxy S24. Order Today For $799.99.
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