Clash of the titans: iOS 7 vs Android 4.3 comparison

Lock and home screens
The lock screen (if enabled) is the very first thing a user sees upon turning their smartphone on, which is why its flawless execution is of utmost importance. And it is hard to decide which one we like more – the one on iOS 7 or on Android 4.3, but we're pretty sure they both leave room for improvement. The iOS 7 lock screen is minimalist, providing instant access to the camera, the Control Center, or the pending notifications. However, it would have been better if one could slide either way to unlock it; only a swipe to the right takes you to the home screen. The Android 4.3 lock screen is flexible when it comes to customization, with its widgets and all, and it doesn't matter which way you swipe to unlock it. However, the selection of widgets one can place there isn't as broad as we wish it was. Overall, both lock screens are great, although they could have been better.
Quick controls and notifications
Control Center adds functionality that iOS sorely needed. Simply put, swiping up from the bottom of an iOS 7 home screen brings up a list of toggle buttons for turning things like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and off, controlling music playback, adjusting the screen's brightness, even using the camera's LED as a flashlight. But Control Center isn't really a groundbreaking feature. Options like these have been available on custom Android UIs for a long time, and the stock Android 4.3 interface has many of them as well out of the box, located in a menu accessible from the notification bar. Furthermore, Control Center might be triggered accidentally if one is scrolling on a page or trying to launch the camera from its lock screen shortcut, located in the lower right-hand corner. Yet nevertheless, Apple's solution to adding toggles in iOS 7 is still pretty elegant and it is at least as good as Android's approach.
The Notification Center in iOS 7 has been overhauled and now takes the user straight to their agenda. That's very convenient for people who actually use the Calendar app. Those who find it too crowded in there are free to pick what notifications are to be displayed there – stocks information, unread email, Game Center alerts, reminders, and more. Android's notification bar is a bit different for it doesn't display much if there aren't any pending notifications. But on the other hand, the user does get updates via Google Now.
A noteworthy advantage for iOS 7 versus Android is that both the Notification Center and the Control Center can be accessed from any screen, even when they are hidden. Yup, even if you're playing a game or watching a movie. However, a double-slide is required in order to do that, which prevents the user from accidentally pulling out either of them. In Android, the notification panel is often not visible if a full-screen application is running, which renders it inaccessible.
Customization features
When it comes to customization, Android is still king with its widgets, live wallpapers, and custom launchers. Tons of them are available for download from the Play Store for anyone bored of their Android device's interface. However, Apple has done some progress and is now catching up, without making things too complicated for iOS 7 users. The latest version of the platform features the so-called parallax effect, which shifts the background image depending on the angle, at which the handset is being held. That creates an illusion of depth and the effect is really nice in our opinion – pretty, yet unobtrusive.
In addition, we have Apple's dynamic wallpapers (yup, they are just like Android's live wallpapers) – these can be set on both the home and the lock screens. Unfortunately, all you get out of the box is a single dynamic wallpaper in several different colors, and the wallpaper is suspiciously similar to Android's stock Phase Beam live wallpaper. We hope that someday, more dynamic wallpapers will be released for iOS 7, but this could be just wishful thinking.
130 Comments
1. Yubnub
Posts: 100; Member since: May 23, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 3:34 PM 87
19. AnTuTu
Posts: 1621; Member since: Oct 14, 2012
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 4:08 PM 51
41. ardent1
Posts: 2000; Member since: Apr 16, 2011
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 5:40 PM 6
60. Striker13084
Posts: 128; Member since: Mar 30, 2009
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 8:08 PM 23
126. pilfro
Posts: 1; Member since: Sep 30, 2013
posted on Sep 30, 2013, 2:56 PM 0
62. Long1
Posts: 399; Member since: May 18, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 8:23 PM 5
71. tman123
Posts: 1; Member since: Sep 19, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 10:02 PM 2
45. taikucing unregistered
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 6:22 PM 9
58. Tre-Nitty
Posts: 470; Member since: Nov 16, 2010
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 7:52 PM 0
111. JC557
Posts: 1925; Member since: Dec 07, 2011
posted on Sep 24, 2013, 8:11 PM 1
54. PootisMan
Posts: 266; Member since: Aug 02, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 7:36 PM 20
63. akki20892
Posts: 3902; Member since: Feb 04, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 8:25 PM 27
93. designerfx
Posts: 76; Member since: Mar 26, 2013
posted on Sep 20, 2013, 7:40 AM 8
96. SuperAndroidEvo
Posts: 4888; Member since: Apr 15, 2011
posted on Sep 20, 2013, 9:53 AM 10
2. apple4never
Posts: 1064; Member since: May 08, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 3:43 PM 7
3. apple4never
Posts: 1064; Member since: May 08, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 3:44 PM 3
4. Naruto_Uzumaki
Posts: 26; Member since: Mar 22, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 3:45 PM 9
27. Gdrye
Posts: 111; Member since: Jan 02, 2012
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 4:39 PM 1
5. Zero0
Posts: 592; Member since: Jul 05, 2012
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 3:47 PM 15
9. Sauce unregistered
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 3:55 PM 0
15. protozeloz
Posts: 5396; Member since: Sep 16, 2010
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 3:59 PM 8
37. Zero0
Posts: 592; Member since: Jul 05, 2012
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 5:16 PM 7
48. 14545
Posts: 1835; Member since: Nov 22, 2011
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 6:53 PM 0
103. Jillxz
Posts: 149; Member since: Jun 04, 2012
posted on Sep 21, 2013, 4:19 PM 0
130. RebelwithoutaClue unregistered
posted on Oct 04, 2013, 3:45 AM 0
28. Gdrye
Posts: 111; Member since: Jan 02, 2012
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 4:47 PM 2
35. reckless562
Posts: 1153; Member since: Sep 09, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 5:13 PM 5
36. Zero0
Posts: 592; Member since: Jul 05, 2012
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 5:14 PM 2
40. Napalm_3nema
Posts: 2236; Member since: Jun 14, 2013
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 5:32 PM 0
46. Zero0
Posts: 592; Member since: Jul 05, 2012
posted on Sep 19, 2013, 6:40 PM 0
* Some comments have been hidden, because they don't meet the discussions rules.
PhoneArena Comments Rules
A discussion is a place, where people can voice their opinion, no matter if it is positive, neutral or negative. However, when posting, one must stay true to the topic, and not just share some random thoughts, which are not directly related to the matter.
Things that are NOT allowed:
Moderation is done by humans. We try to be as objective as possible and moderate with zero bias. If you think a post should be moderated - please, report it.
Have a question about the rules or why you have been moderated/limited/banned? Please, contact us.
Comments Options
Report Post
Send a warning to post author
Send a warning to Selected user. The user has 0 warnings currently.
Ban user and delete all posts
Message to PhoneArena moderator (optional):