Android L vs iOS 8: The Battle of Smartphone OS

The dynamics of the market are bound to change with two major platforms releasing new versions of their respective operating systems.

The latest versions of Google and Apple operating systems named Android L and iOS 8 have debuted at developer conferences. Here we have tried to draw a comparison and work out whether Apple and Google are treading their own paths or starting to converge.

UI – Minimalism is in

Android L is a big departure from the earlier designs as Google looks to unleash “Material Design”, a new look that’s consistent across Android, Chrome OS, the Chrome browser, and Android Wear.

There are lots more animations for touch feedback and transitions between apps, there’s more of a 3D feel with shadows, and a nested scrolling effect that slots UI elements out of the way when you don’t need them.

Apple had nailed it with iOS 7, so major overhaul wasn’t necessary for iOS 8 and it retains the same clean and uncluttered look

Under the surface

Android L has made a killing with its SDK offering more than 5,000 APIs vis-à -vis 4000 APIs for iOS 8. However, it remains to be seen what those APIs have to offer. Matching iOS 7, Android L now supports 64-bit processors.

General performance and battery life will get much needed boost as Google has finally dumped Dalvik and made ART (Android RunTime) the new engine, which should offer a significant speed boost. It uses AOT (Ahead-of-Time) instead of JIT (Just-in-Time) compiling.

Apple switched to the Swift programming language for iOS 8 and OS X development, which is intended to safeguard against errors and offer improved performance for developers when coding for iPhones and iPads.

These platforms will enable developers to make apps with reduced bugs and hence should be lapped up by them. We await the verdict on the platform with the best changes.

Smartwatch compatibility

Apps on your Android device will automatically download and update themselves on any Android Wear device that you link. Google plans at rolling out Android Wear apps which appeared briefly on the play store, this goes to show that Google believes that wearables is the future.

Apple has had the updated Health app and the HealthKit API for iOS 8 to track fitness and health data to show you just how fit and healthy you are. However, they are still to announce an iWatch,

Battery saving

As mentioned in the earlier brief, Android L provides greater control over battery life with new enhancements and modes to fine tune battery consumption by various apps.

This is where Apple has caught up with Google. iOS 8 will finally provide a Battery Usage screen to monitor and control apps which consume most power when running and on standby.

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