I like to compare the biggest software updates from these two tech giants, Google and Apple. And this year in 2023 we’ve got iOS 17 vs Android 14.
Now both of these updates are still in beta so they’re not completely finished and features could be added, removed or modified but we still got a good idea of how each will pan out and which major features are here to stay. So I’ll review the biggest changes that each OS has that the other doesn’t and talk about any similarities which provided the better update overall and just give my overall thoughts.
Let’s start off with iOS 17 by going over every major change that Android has yet to adopt.
Contact Poster:
The first biggest is that Apple released a new feature called Contact Poster. This is really cool because it lets you customize your call background. You know the one that shows up on your friend’s phone whenever you try to reach them. You can choose your own picture, change the font or even hide behind your emoji, making it way more apparent to know who’s calling you. In advantage, it doesn’t let you do this. I mean some OEMs like Samsung let you customize the call background but these changes are only local on your device, not updated on anyone else’s.
Standby Mode:
Another cool feature on iOS 17 is standby mode. Basically whenever you turn your iPhone on its side while charging and leave it stationary, the phone will automatically turn into this clock-style dock showing you the time, date and weather. You can also change the clock if you’d like from different presets and you can swipe to the left to see your past photo memories in a neat slideshow and swipe once more to access your iOS widgets for even more information. I think it’s perfect for the night because it adapts to the light and feels like a futuristic alarm clock. On the Android side, some smartphones have something similar, for example the Pixel phones when they’re placed on the proprietary Pixel stand, they’ll give you quick access to the smart home controls, your music and even let you see the time but it’s not as good as how Apple implements theirs. Plus there’s no native Android feature like this.
AirDrop:
Regarding file sharing, AirDrop on iOS is still far better than nearby share on Android and with iOS 17, they took it to the next level. For instance, now they have Name Drop which lets you bring two iPhones together to instantly share your contact information with the other person, including your phone number and email address. Hell you can even do this with an Apple Watch if you’d like. And of course, androids are left out of the loop. To top it off, this seamless sharing of just putting two iPhones next to each other also works with pictures, videos or even share play, where you can kick off a shared activity like listening to the same song, watching the same video, or even doing other things within various apps, just by putting your phone next to someone else’s. Androids used to have something similar called Android Beam. It let you share content between devices by simply tapping the phones together, but they discontinued this feature a few years back and now Android resorts to just nearby share. Oh, and there’s nothing similar to share play on native Android. You have to download apps for that. When it comes to typing, iOS 17 also introduced inline predictions. So whatever you type something out, iOS can finish the word or even the whole sentence for you. And all you need to do to accept these suggestions is hit the spacebar. On the Android side, most of us stick with Gboard and to be honest, it already has fantastic autocorrect capabilities, but it would be nice if we could also get automatic sentence predictions.
Safety App:
As of now, we only get them within Gmail. Of course, iMessage also got many updates pushing it even further past our CS messaging. For example, they implemented a new check and feature that basically lets your loved ones know that you made it home safely. And hopefully this never happens to you, but if you encounter any problem on the way home and aren’t moving any closer to your destination, iOS 17 will check in to see if you’re okay. And if you don’t respond, your location will be shared along with your battery level and cell service status. It’s the perfect option for anyone who has kids, or if you want to check up on any of your drinking buddies to see if they made it home safely, it could be a lifesaver for some. Most androids don’t have this feature within the Messages app, but they have something similar within the Safety app. It’s called Safety Check. Basically, when you’re walking alone, going for a run, etc, you can set a timer, and after the timer is up, it’ll check up on you to see if you’re okay. If you don’t confirm that you are, your location will be shared with your emergency contacts. It’s not as practical as app was checking feature though, because I don’t even think most people know that the Safety app even exists on Android. I also thought it was pretty cool that if your friend send to you their location in real time, it will be updated within the chat itself without needing to open up the Maps app. And whenever you’re in a group chat and get bombarded with Messages, a new arrow will let you jump to the first message you haven’t seen within the group chat. It’s like Telegram or Discord. But my favorite new iMessage feature of them all is that you can react to any message with stickers. Peeling and sticking them onto any part of the message, it’s pretty satisfying and fun to do. I can even stick any custom stickers I created for my pictures. The live ones are the best because you can really get creative with them and they’re pretty funny too. iOS 17 also introduced a new app called Journal, expected to roll out sometime next month. And as you can guess, it’s a great way to jot down your thoughts.
Now I know this may sound pretty boring, but when you learn that the app actually uses AI to tie in your photos, videos, location, podcast, music and more within your writings, things start to get pretty interesting. I mean, if I want to journal about a trip I took in the past, this app will recommend photos, songs I’d listen to, contacts I made and more while I was on that trip. Pretty mind-blowing. Now I personally don’t do any journaling, but if this were a native app on Android, then I think it would motivate me to start. When it comes to Siri, Apple also made some huge improvements. They made it easier to activate Siri since you can now just say Siri instead of using this two-word phrase. But you can still use both terms if you’d like. With Android, you still need to say these two words for Google Assistant. But there are some workarounds to drop the pay or okay. It’s just not as plain and straightforward as iOS lets you do it. Or on some phones like the Google Pixels, you can use quick braces to quickly turn off certain actions like alarms or timers that go off, but that’s about it. On top of that, Siri finally lets you make back-to-back requests without needing to activate it each time. Something that Google Assistant has been able to do for a while now. As most of you know, iOS 17 wasn’t the only thing Apple revealed at WWDC this year. It seems like everyone is talking about their new Vision Pro headset. Our take? It doesn’t look like something I want to wear in public, and at $3,500, it’s out of reach for most people. What we have here is another game-changing wearable tech product that happens to look way cooler and is way more affordable. These are dust sunglasses by Ampere. With a simple cleave of a button on the side of the frame, I can adjust the tint of the lenses from completely dark to crystal clear. It’s seriously jaw-dropping. The lenses are made from this electrochromic smart glass which allows you to instantly change the opacity by changing the electrical current. So next level tech right here. Oh, and that’s not all. Dust sunglasses come with built-in speakers and microphones, bringing your favorite tunes, podcasts, calls, and even your voice assistants right to your ears. Tony Stark style. Unlike other smart glasses, these look like a great pair of premium glasses. Despite all the tech inside, they don’t have any oversized arms or ports. Unless you were looking carefully, you won’t even notice the buttons or speakers. And as you’d expect, there’s an app to complete the package. The Ampere app is compatible with both iOS and Android. Using the app, you can make the lenses even darker than what’s available on the frame, set an alarm if you misplace the glasses, and so much more. So with the summer fast approaching, you need to pick up the dust from Ampere to save your eyes from sunny days and even see clearly on cloudy days. Plus, if you click my link in the description and use the code HTM20, you’ll get an extra 20% discount. So don’t wait because these do not go on sale very often. Anyway, let’s flip the script and see what we get with Android 14. Some of the biggest changes in Android 14, as of now with beta 3, are already on iOS. I mean, we just got the ability to customize the lock screen, while iOS got that last year. I can already hear all the Samsung users typing it right now in the comments. I’m talking about native Android.
Synabatic Wallpaper:
I’m well aware that 1 UI has let you change the look of the lock screen for years. But for AOSP, that’s not been the case. Still, these clock styles that Google gave us are way more exciting than what comes with iOS. They feel a lot more groovy, fun, and just out there. Plus, I love that they still follow the colors of your chosen wallpaper. And you can change the bottom shortcuts on the lock screen to some other useful actions. Something that iOS doesn’t let you do. To top it off, Android 14 will let you create custom wallpapers. It’s not live on beta 3 just yet, but Google did announce at Google I.O. that they’re releasing a few new wallpaper picker apps arriving to the Google pixels first. There’s one called emoji wallpaper that lets you create backgrounds made out of emojis. Sounds pretty dumb, but when you actually see it in action, it looks pretty cool. You get to choose the emojis you want to use, and then you can customize the size, patterns, and colors. Plus, the coolest part is that the emojis react when you tap them. It’s really satisfying. iOS also lets you do this within the lock screen, but it’s not as customizable as what Google gave us. Plus, there’s no interaction when tapping on the emojis. A more exciting wallpaper picker is called Synabatic Wallpaper, which lets you turn a regular photo into a 3D image to use as your background. I actually got to see this feature in person since I got to go to Google I.O. this year, and it really trips your eyes into thinking that the person is really popping out of the screen. It’s really the coolest thing. But my favorite is this one that uses Google’s generated AI to create custom backgrounds that fit perfectly with your favorite art style and topic. So if you want a landscape in a San Francisco Bay and a post-impressionist style, you can have that. From there, you can swipe right to get different options. It’s pretty cool, because these are all original pictures that the AI created. And I haven’t tried it out yet, but from the looks of it, the possibilities are endless. You should also check out these Google inspired wallpapers that we created on our Patreon. They look stunning, not just on the Android, but on iPhones as well. Or even your computer, we also have some tasty widgets to go along with it. I’ll leave that link right below the like button. Now stepping away from customization, Google also improved the back gesture within Android 14. Unlike iOS, you get an arrow when you swipe to go back. And with the latest Android 14 update, this arrow got a redesign, which I think looks beautiful. Plus, it now follows the amount of theming, which I thought was a nice touch. Where Google did copy Apple though is with this new predicted back gesture. Meaning that whenever you swipe to go back, you get a preview of what you’re jumping back to. Yeah, iOS has had this for years. But I’m glad it’s finally coming to Android. When it comes to installing apps outside the Play Store, Google is super lenient with this. And with Android 14, it’s getting way better. Third party app stores like F-Droid will get way more privileges to compete with the Play Store. Like they’ll be able to provide better automatic updates, and even become the exclusive source for future automatic updates to any app. iOS still doesn’t make it easy to install apps outside the app store. You either got to sideload them or jump right your iPhone. On top of that, iOS doesn’t let you add multiple users to the same iPhone. Meaning that if you like to share an iPhone with someone else, you both have to stick with the same apps, profiles, and settings. It’s only on iPad where you can have multiple people use the same iPad. On Android, it’s a different story. They let you add multiple users to your device, and with Android 14, it’s getting even better. You’ll be able to grant secondary users admin privileges. Meaning that they’ll be able to modify device settings, manage other users, and even factor reset the device. Pretty cool.
Magic Editor:
The next feature could be exclusive to the Pixel phones at first, it’s still something that was announced alongside Android 14 at Google IEL. And I was still blown away by it. It’s called Magic Editor, and it’s a photo editing tool that lets you completely revamp a photo with a few taps. For example, just like before, you can magically erase unwanted objects or people, but you can also improve the lighting, change the weather, like going from cloudy to sunny. And the most mind-boggling of them all is that you can move the subject in a photo just in case you don’t like their position. The AI is even smart enough to fill in the other objects in the shot left outside the photo. It’s really mind-blowing, but how well this will work in the real world is still anyone’s guess. Android 14 will also enforce a new video codec called AV1, which is more efficient than other video formats and will save way more bandwidth without losing video quality. iOS still doesn’t support it.
There are also some features that aren’t live yet, but we could see them in a future Android 14 release. Thanks to some developers and Android experts, most of them have been discovered within Android 14’s code. But that doesn’t mean that we will definitely see these live in the next beta update. The first one is that Google might include a new menu within the settings that makes it easier to track all the apps installed by your device manufacturer or carrier, so basically any bloatware on your phone, and it will let you easily remove any of them. iOS doesn’t have anything like this, but it doesn’t really need it because Apple doesn’t allow carriers to install any apps before you get your phone. Android 14 could also implement an option to let you clone applications. It comes in handy for social apps that don’t let you sign into multiple accounts simultaneously, like Snapchat or WhatsApp. And some Android phones like Samsung and OnePlus already let you do this. But it would be great to have this on the system level instead of just using Work phone. iOS doesn’t natively let you do this, but just like Android, you can use third party apps to accomplish this. You may also be able to convert your physical sim to an e-sim, saving you an annoying phone call with your carrier. The newest iPhones don’t let you do this because… well, they no longer have sim trays. And there are a lot more rumors where that came from. If you’d like to learn about all of them, I’ll leave my detailed review of the Android 14 and the cards where I went over a lot of them, including some about turning your Android into a webcam, and even satellite connectivity.
Live Voice Mail:
Finally, let’s talk about all the new features that each OS grabbed from one another, or just straight up copied. Live voicemail on iOS 17 is a big one. It works just like Google’s call screen feature, letting you see a live transcription of anyone who tried calling you, but you didn’t want to talk to. And it even lets you answer the phone while the person leaves a voice message. Andrew takes it above and beyond though, because you can ask the person specific questions to get more information out of them. Or even on the latest Samsung phones, you can just straight up write whatever you’d like to have Bixby talk for you.
FaceTime Voice Mail:
Another iOS feature that Apple just copied from the competition is FaceTime voicemail. Basically, whenever you try to call someone on FaceTime and they don’t answer, you can finally leave a voice or video message. It’s something that Google Meet has been able to do for a while. For Maps, iOS 17 finally lets you download Regents on the map for offline usage. Yeah, Google Maps has been able to do this since 2012. As for Android 14, it copied over a certain media permission from iOS. Basically, whenever an app wants to access your photos or videos, Android 14 now lets you choose which media they get to access instead of letting them see everything. iOS did it first though.
Another big thing I’m glad that Android crap from iOS is notifying you when an unknown tracking tag is moving with you. So even if it’s an Apple AirTag, you’ll get a notification to locate it. Plus, Android 14 is finally only supporting 64-bit apps, so any apps that are still 32-bit will not work anymore on this update. Basically getting rid of older apps that haven’t been updated in years. iOS has faced app 32-bit apps since 2017. Overall, it’s pretty obvious which is the better software update. It’s iOS 17.
Apple just provided way more features that are just a lot more practical and useful for every day use. Like I know that I would use name drop all the time to quickly transfer my contact information while I’m at an event or if I meet someone new. Having all of my voice notes transcribed with an iMessage will finally relieve me from being unable to respond to them in a quiet place. Apple’s keyboard predictions will save me so much time since it finishes sentences for me. And of course, contact poster is going to stop so many headaches on who the hell is calling you if you can’t remember who that safe contact is.
Android 14 on the other hand, just seems like a mediocre update with features that are appreciated, but overall it seems that most of these changes are minor or under the hood. The only real big thing that excited me about Android 14 were the customizable lock screen and magic editor. Other than that, everything else is just meh. Either way, click on this video right here for a detailed comparison of last year’s iOS 16 and Android 13 updates. That one is the next link in comparison. Thanks for reading and I’ll catch you guys in the next one.