Apple vs. Android – Does it really matter anymore?

iOS vs. Android OS…a never-ending battle between fanboys from both sides. One thinking their device is better than the other. But is it really?

When Apple released its iPhone initially, everyone and their moms flocked to the Apple Store to get one. It was fresh, innovative, revolutionary. At that time, we never thought our phones could be our own personal handheld computer. It wasn’t done before and it allowed users to experience the technology that we had never thought possible. A phone that was also a web browser, a video game system, an iPod..it literally was everything we could ever ask for. Its closed ecosystem allowed Apple to manage every aspect of the device, which made the iPhone such a smooth experience that users loved.

Then came its competitor, the Android line. The little engine that could. In its early stage, Android tried the best it could to compete with Apple, but it seemed mismatched against the giant of the tech industry. What lured many users to the Android line was the fact that its open ecosystem allowed users to “hack” their phones with relative ease, allowing them to customize their phones ’til their hearts content.

Fast forward to today. Many many years later…and many many updates later. I have been fortunate enough to own both an iPhone 6 Plus and the Nexus 6P. Let me just say, having been able to play with both devices, I honestly have not seen much difference from either ecosystems anymore. The bar is now even between both devices. What you can do with one OS, you are able to do with the either. From a stock operating system perspective, changing wallpapers, ringtone adjustment, notifications, games, toggles, fingerprint support, camera…all customizable on both. Sure, there might be some subtle differences between both, but it’s not enough to say one is better than the other at this point.

Unfortunately for me (and let me say that this is only my opinion), the innovation of either OS has stalled to the point that I don’t see anything revolutionary happening in the mobile tech industry unless someone else comes in to change things up. I hope I’m wrong, as I have loved seeing the evolution of both, but that’s the thing…the updates have only been evolutionary and not revolutionary. I do hope that either (or both) OS find that “spark” to make things revolutionary again, but for now, evolutionary will have to do.