5 Features Android Users Love That iOS Doesn’t Have

Android versus iOS. It’s the technological equivalent of the Montagues and the Capulets. Both sides are loyal to their operating systems and their devices. And while there is much to be said about the technology behind both, for this post, we are going to look at Android phones and a few of the features that take a bite out of the big “Apple.”

Here are 5 features that Android users love that iOS doesn’t offer.

1. Google Photos

The Google Photos feature on Android devices acts like your own personalized photo librarian…organizing your photos and allowing you to search them by simply typing in a person’s name or a location. It also will create themed slideshows and videos of your photo collections that are easy to share on social media. Plus, the automatic backup of your images to the Google Photos storage cloud means you can free up space on your Android device.

2. Record phone calls

Android allows users to record their phone calls while they are in session. This feature is especially handy for reporters and recruiters, who may want to record their interviews on-the-go so they can play them back at a later time. One thing to remember when recording phone calls is to let the other party know up front, as there are specific legalities in different states that protect people from being recorded without their knowledge.

3. Widgets

Widgets allow Android users the ability to personalize their home screens, and many Android developers take advantage of that with their customization apps. You can display the time, weather, preselected news updates, calendar, social media feeds, and even updates from your health & fitness tracker.

And since the widget area is completely customizable, you can add, delete or change your widgets at any time.

4. Multi-user mode

The multi-user mode in Android devices was introduced with the 5.0 Lollipop update. It works in pretty much the same way as logging into a computer as either the “owner” or a “guest.” This feature helps the mobile device owner protect private information while letting someone else utilize their phone. For example, a parent can let a child play games on their phone without having to worry about them sending some type of inappropriate text or social media update to the parent’s contacts.

5. Simple file transfers

One of the biggest advantages Android devices have over iOS is that they can act as an external hard drive. When you plug your Android device into a computer or laptop (or even another external hard drive) you can simply drag and drop files over for easy transfer. With iOS devices, you must use iTunes and then can really only transfer over media files.

Of course, for every advantage mentioned above, an iOS user could also point out specific Apple features that they believe are better. The fact that both sides are continually playing catch-up with each other only means one thing for all of us users: more features and better features are yet to come.