Android wins by a mile
Disclaimer
I have been a long time Android user. Recently borrowed an IPhone XR temporarily to replace my broken Huawei honor 8x.
Introduction
IOS was always hyped to be the type of OS which the users would never let go once they start using it. My friends who are using IOS made sure they mention IPhone at least once per day.
Android due to cheap price and low battery life (most of them for the past decade), was not popular among peers.
Yet I've always stuck with Android. Mainly cus I couldn't afford an IPhone, but also cus it was exciting to flash different OSes (kinda like distro hopping in linux).
The Result
Android wins ... that too easily.
Why?
1. Keyboard
Yep. Who would've thought that the user needed different keyboard for different operations? Like one keyboard with same layout which helps in creating muscle memory while typing is too simple and non-intuitive.
IOS has separate keyboards for text, email, passwords, etc. Even the Google keyboard which I installed changes layout. The best part is that Passwords can only be input by IOS's default keyboard.
2. Inconsistent Navigation
The back button is very important for navigation in an OS like IOS. The gesture of swiping from left to right is not supported by many apps. Some apps have partial support for it, which makes the experience even worse.
3. The PHONE APP !!!
OMFG. The worst app in history. Guess the app never got its update since IPhone 4.
Take any Android phone running on any skin. Go to the phone app. You are able to dial, search and see recent calls or even search them in one place. No need to navigate between 3-4 tabs.
IOS the greatest OS ever thought that the user doesn't like to search for a number when dialing. Dial when searching, or search the recent calls, or something else. The UI has not evolved at all.
In Android, assistant to call someone when the phone is in your hand is a time consuming process. In IOS, assistant way is faster than opening phone app, go to contacts tab, and search for the name, click on the name, and then click on call option to make a call.
4. Notification Grouping
Texts in between other notification are separated by that notification. So if you get a zomato ad in between 2 texts, you have an uneven notification group.
5. Notification Quick Reply
Long press on the notification to reply. This is the most annoying thing ever. I don't know why they didn't implement the quick reply like Android.
6. Apple Car Play
No words tbh.
Google maps is total bs for Apple Car Play.
WhatsApp messages are read by Siri and it isn't even displayed while reading. Why should it be displayed? cus a sticker received is read as "sticker" by Siri, not "Mr.Bean waiting for the car to arrive sticker".
YT music UI looks so weird.
I get that 2 out of 3 apps above are from Google, but IOS promotes the Apple ecosystem, and if there isn't a competitive alternative available from their end, I'll of course end up using their competitor's products.
7. Low Power Mode
How the hell does Low power mode drains more battery than regular mode.
8. Useless WiFi toggle
Toggling WiFi via Control Centre doesn't turn off the WiFi. It reconnects to the next WiFi away from the current location when available.
The whole point in turning off WiFi or Bluetooth is to TURN IT OFF, not take it into sleep mode for few minutes and turn it back on.
9. Still follows small device UI language
I bet I'm not the only one who accidentally touches some menu in IOS all the time. That's cus most of the main elements are huge and corner elements are tiny AF. Apple is yet to move on from IPhone 4s.
Conclusion
I really like the hardware Apple has to offer. But the software ruins everything. Android usually is criticized for being too complicated, but if you take a closer look, it is tough to understand IOS when compared with Android.