Which smartphone OS is the perfect?

Google launched Android 13 in August, however it isn’t the one huge cellular OS replace in 2022. Apple’s iOS 16 made is debut in early September. Whereas Google packed the largest modifications in years into Android 12 and has thus solely smaller refinements left for Android 13, Apple has just a few extra fascinating modifications in iOS 16. There’s a brand-new lock display screen design, auto-updating notifications holding you within the loop about deliveries, sensible drag and drop, and extra. Regardless of Android 13 specializing in iterative enhancements, there are nonetheless fairly just a few considerate enhancements, so Google doesn’t must draw back from the comparability to iOS 16 altogether. There are per-app languages, considerate Materials You theming enhancements, higher privateness safety, and rather more.

With all that in thoughts, let’s dive into the important thing options of Android 13 and iOS 16.

Android 13 vs. iOS 16: Lock display screen and residential display screen customization

Android 12 and, to a lesser extent, Android 13, stepped up the interface design recreation with Materials You, the wallpaper based mostly theming engine that applies a becoming shade palette to supported apps. Whereas Apple hasn’t made any such elementary modifications to its platform since iOS 7 in 2013 and has centered on iterative enhancements ever since, the corporate has some neat and surprising upgrades in retailer for iOS 16. Amongst them is a brand-new lock display screen that comes with widgets, fast change choices, and focus mode compatibility.

Apple’s iOS 16 lock display screen is leaps and bounds higher than Android 13’s at this level. Whereas Android used to assist widgets a very long time in the past (eliminated with Android 5 Lollipop in 2014, to be actual), Google has misplaced curiosity within the idea, doubtless as widgets had been increasingly handled as an afterthought. Apple modified how builders take into consideration widgets when it launched them to iOS in 2020, and two years later, the corporate is including a collection of them to the lock display screen. To do that in a chic manner, Apple leverages the work builders made to create Apple Watch compilations. That’s proper — Apple’s lock display screen widgets aren’t a lot widgets as they’re watch compilations. This strategy lets you add a number of info to a comparatively small house beneath the clock, and I’m all right here for it.

Apple hasn’t solely launched widgets to the lock display screen, the corporate has additionally made it attainable for the clock to be hid by topics or objects within the wallpaper. This makes for a extra immersive, three-dimensional expertise. Mix that with the choice to vary your most well-liked font and the wallpaper, and lock screens have by no means been as private as they’re on iOS 16. You possibly can even robotically have your iPhone shuffle by way of totally different lock screens and wallpapers utilizing Apple’s Focus Mode. You possibly can arrange this up so that you solely get notifications from work apps when you’re at work and solely private apps once you’re house or out and about.

All these flashy new additions can’t conceal the truth that some persons are not followers of Apple’s notification choices. Persistent notifications aren’t turned on by default, and making iOS notifcations work to your actual liking is usually a little bit of a problem.

Apple can also’t examine with Android 12’s and Android 13’s Materials You theming. Whereas theming your lock display screen with customized fonts and widgets is enjoyable, it could possibly get tedious for many who simply wish to set it and neglect it. Google’s theming engine is nice for folks like this. Materials You takes the heavy theming work from you by simply making use of colours based mostly in your wallpaper to app interfaces, making for a extremely customized expertise in lots of components of the cellphone — together with the lock display screen.

Android 13 vs. iOS 16: Per-app language choices

Android 13 is the primary launch on Google’s facet to introduce official assist for per-app language choices. This makes it attainable to make use of any app in your cellphone within the language you favor, unbiased of your system language or the one set for different apps. The choice is an absolute boon for many who communicate a couple of language, which is estimated to be round half of the world’s inhabitants.

Google provides you two intuitive methods to modify an app to a different language. On Pixel telephones and lots of others, you’ll be able to long-press the app in query on your private home display screen, then faucet the app data button (typically simply displayed as a small i in a circle) on the prime of the popup. Within the display screen that opens, scroll down somewhat till you see a Language menu possibility. Faucet it, and you’ll choose no matter you favor. That is the quickest option to go about once you wish to rapidly alter languages on the fly.

In case you simply wish to undergo an inventory as soon as and set all of your apps to your most well-liked languages, you are able to do that too. Simply go to your system settings, search for System with the Languages & enter menu inside it, after which the App languages entry. In there, you will note an inventory of all supported apps and which languages you’ve assigned to them. You possibly can then faucet one in every of them to vary your preferences.

As properly as Google thought out this technique, the corporate has nonetheless thrown in an enormous roadblock. Even when an app already helps a number of languages, builders must decide into per-app languages manually with just a few traces of code. Proper now, you may solely have a small collection of supported apps for this characteristic in your cellphone working Android 13.

You possibly can work round this with an ADB command found by Mishaal Rahman, which loses the opt-in requirement and simply makes particular person language switches attainable for all apps. I haven’t run into any points with this setup on my Pixel 6 and revel in lots of my apps in both English or German proper now, however your mileage might differ as this ADB command unlocks an experimental possibility. You may even expertise app crashes.

In the meantime, per-app language choices aren’t new to iOS 16. Apple has supported the characteristic since 2019’s iOS 13. The corporate has made the method a lot simpler for its builders than Google, too. If an app is localized into a couple of language already, a developer doesn’t want so as to add any further code to their venture for the per-app language switching possibility to point out up in system settings.

On iPhones, altering the language is barely extra difficult than on Android 13, and you’ll want to know the place to search for the choice. You possibly can’t merely long-press the house display screen icon and head to the language settings from there. As an alternative, you need to go to system settings and must search for the app in query within the listing in the direction of the tip there. Faucet that, and solely then you definitely’ll discover the choice to modify the language. On iOS, there additionally isn’t a grasp listing exhibiting you which ones languages you’ve assigned to which apps like on Android 13. That is one thing that Apple hasn’t modified for iOS 16, both.

As you’ll be able to see, neither of those options is ideal, although I might say that Apple’s strategy is arguably nonetheless higher, as builders don’t must manually make any modifications to assist per-app languages.

Android 13 vs. iOS 16: Keyboard, dictation, and clipboard

Earlier than we dive into keyboard comparability, it deserves mentioning that pitting Apple and Google in opposition to one another right here isn’t fully truthful. The iOS keyboard is a part of the system within the Apple ecosystem whereas Google’s Gboard is an app that may be up to date by way of the Play Retailer at any time. This permits Google to iterate on options a lot sooner than Apple, because it doesn’t must push out a system replace — to not point out that Gboard is obtainable on nearly each Android gadget, not simply Pixel telephones.

With that out of the best way, we will nonetheless see some huge modifications coming to each Google and Apple’s keyboards as a part of system replace bulletins. For instance, Gboard acquired highly effective on-device dictation choices as a part of the Pixel 6 collection launch and Android 12, and Apple has solely now tried to observe go well with with iOS 16. The way in which dictation works on each platforms is thus now fairly related, however there are nonetheless some key variations. Punctuation is added robotically on each platforms, and it’s attainable to seamlessly change between voice enter and typing when you’ll want to make corrections or just wish to tweak what you mentioned. You possibly can even dictate a collection of widespread emoji on each platforms.

Apple’s iOS 16 dictation is a superb step ahead for the corporate and has thus develop into rather more dependable, however the Cupertino firm nonetheless can’t meet up with Google in that regard. With Gboard on the Pixel 6 and 6 Professional, it’s attainable to make use of dictation to ship and clear messages, undo your final little bit of dictation. All that is achieved with voice instructions like “ship,” “clear,” “clear all,” or “cease.” If you wish to, you’ll be able to even maintain the microphone energetic indefinitely, permitting you to only maintain speaking as you chat with somebody with out ever touching your cellphone.

One other matter tangential to the keyboard is the clipboard, and right here, Google can be clearly profitable with Android 13. Gboard has all the time been in a position to retailer and maintain the previous couple of objects you’ve copied for later use, together with screenshots, however now, Android 13 has a clipboard editor of its personal within the system. Everytime you copy a textual content or a picture, a small popup will seem within the backside left nook. You possibly can both share your clipboard proper from there with apps or you’ll be able to edit the contents. That is useful once you wish to share solely particular components of one thing you copied, like a road in an tackle. That mentioned, Common Clipboard on iOS makes it simple to repeat and paste between your iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Final however not least, Apple has lastly added one thing to its iOS keyboard that we’ve had on Android since what appears like without end. If you wish to, you’ll be able to allow haptic suggestions for each key press.

The media participant hasn’t seen large modifications on both platform with their respective upgrades, however there are some issues price highlighting.

The Android 13 media participant is much more visually interesting than its predecessor. As an alternative of merely pulling colours out of your wallpaper like the remainder of the interface does, the participant now comes with the album artwork of the tune you’re enjoying as a background. The play/pause button and different interface parts on the participant pull their colours from the album cowl, too, relatively than the system shade theme. On prime of that, the progress bar now squiggles once you play music, making it seen at a look that audio is at present enjoying. Whilst you might discover the design clashing along with your common system theme at occasions, it’s an effective way to showcase music and different media.

Apple’s redesign is way smaller, however the firm has shuffled issues round a bit, too. As an alternative of showing on the prime of the lock display screen when music is enjoying, the media notification now exhibits up on the backside — identical to another notification does on iOS 16. You possibly can then faucet the album artwork to see a much bigger model of it proper in the course of your lock display screen, full with a background that pulls its colours from the album cowl. Identical to Android 13, iOS 16 additionally gives somewhat visualization when music is enjoying.

This new visible element actually solely shines when you take a look at the brand new iPhone 14 Professional and Professional Max. When music is enjoying within the background, you’ll be able to see the visualization and components of the management interface on the prime of the display screen, rounding up the “Magic Island” interface that Apple has constructed round its new pill-shaped entrance digicam cutout.

Android 13 vs. iOS 16: Sensible drag-and-drop

Pretty much as good as Google is with picture recognition due to the entire pioneering work it might obtain in Google Pictures, Apple is enjoying greater than catch-up in iOS 16. Apple’s new sensible drag and drop Visible Look Up software really looks like it’s out of this world, and it’s one thing that we already wished to have on Android the second Apple launched it. The characteristic lets you decide a random topic or object from any photograph in your display screen, faucet and maintain it, after which drag it into one other app as a standalone object.

From our testing, the characteristic works surprisingly nicely. Apple’s algorithms are good at recognizing the place an object ends and the place the background begins, and the lower out areas are proper on level more often than not. Whereas one thing like guide work in Photoshop is clearly nonetheless going to get you significantly better outcomes, the method on iOS 16 is as seamless as it could possibly get. It’s principally a shortcut to ship your family and friends customized stickers, which you’d normally must create in a tedious course of on WhatsApp or Telegram.

Apple has additionally launched the choice to repeat dwell textual content in movies. This lets you maintain and choose textual content in paused video frames so you’ll be able to copy or share the textual content you see in it.

Whereas Google hasn’t launched any new options like these in Android 13, the corporate already gives related capabilities, at the very least in terms of textual content. While you enter the Recents overview, you’ll be able to both faucet and maintain no matter textual content you wish to extract or faucet the Choose possibility within the backside proper nook. Whereas Google was first right here, its characteristic isn’t as dependable as Apple’s, although. It is going to typically acknowledge Instagram images with textual content in them as images you’ll be able to’t extract textual content from however relatively share as cropped screenshots solely, and it doesn’t allow you to extract textual content from YouTube movies. DRM-protected apps like Netflix, Disney+, and Amazon Prime Video are disregarded of the equation within the first place as you’ll be able to’t correctly see their movies’ contents from the Recents display screen (or relatively, you’ll be able to’t make screenshot of the content material, which is what must be carried out for Google’s textual content recognition to work).

Android 13 vs. iOS 16: Digital Wellbeing and Focus

Apple first introduced Focus Mode to iOS 15, and with iOS 16, the corporate is stepping issues up significantly. The characteristic makes it attainable to cease sure apps and folks from reaching you and your notification shade at sure occasions of the day, so that you could keep centered at work and relaxed at night time, solely speaking to family and friends. Nonetheless, the boundaries will not be so clear for all apps on the market. You may use the identical Calendar and Mail app for each private and enterprise functions, and a number of the looking in your cellphone is perhaps work-related whereas others isn’t. That’s the place iOS 16’s Focus filters are available.

Focus filters assist you to set boundaries inside particular person apps just like the aforementioned calendar, mail, or browser apps. This makes it attainable to make use of Focus Mode to cover sure components of the apps out of your eyes, like your work tab group once you’re out and about or your small business appointments once you’re winding down at night time. Third-party apps are additionally in a position to faucet into the filters with a brand new API. Apple has moreover revamped the setup course of for Focus Mode with the brand new iOS launch, promising to make issues less complicated.

All that mentioned, Apple’s resolution feels extremely advanced and convoluted once you first set it up. You will want to suppose actually laborious about which apps you’ll want to use for work and which you utilize in your freetime, and which persons are allowed to contact you beneath which circumstances. As highly effective and easy as Focus filters can get when you’ve set them up, it is a characteristic that feels so geared in the direction of energy customers that you’d relatively anticipate it on Android than on iOS.

On Android 13, Google hasn’t modified issues in terms of its personal focus and winding down featureset, all collected beneath the Digital Wellbeing umbrella. Google doesn’t hassle with totally different focus modes for various events within the first place. It has one other strategy to the problem that’s a lot less complicated to understand. The corporate solely gives a single Focus Mode accessible beneath Digital Wellbeing in system settings. It lets you choose distracting apps and switch them off based mostly on a schedule or manually. Throughout that point, you’ll be able to’t entry blocked apps in any respect (except you enable your self a 5 minute break). For all the things else, you’re inspired to make use of Do Not Disturb, which silences all notifications and calls apart from exceptions you’ve arrange. This resolution will not be as granular as Apple’s, however it has the benefit that it’s much less overwhelming and complex.

These two Android options are comparatively unchanged since 2020, so in the event that they aren’t information to you, that’s the rationale why.

Android 13 vs. iOS 16: Good concepts on each fronts

Android and iOS was once vastly totally different beasts, however the extra each platforms mature, the extra related they get. Ultimately, they each have their benefits and drawbacks, and through the years, they’ve checked out one another and copied what they appreciated. Android 13 and iOS 16 make this mature state further apparent. Each new releases solely deliver alternative enhancements to the desk, and so they intention to reinforce the underlying working programs with choose quality-of-life enhancements that aren’t precisely core to the cellular expertise anymore. There are just a few issues that one can actually want for on both platform, like higher notifications on iOS or prettier apps constructed with extra consideration to element on Android.