Notification center comparison: Android vs iPhone vs Windows Phone vs BlackBerry (pick the best one)

99+comments

Android was one of the first smartphone operating systems to ship with a fully functional notification center, and for many years this unified hub was considered one of the big advantages of Google's mobile operating system over its rivals that featured less capable solutions and often didn't have any one hub to aggregate all of your notifications.

With the latest versions of iOS and Windows Phone this was finally fixed, and now all major platforms have a notification center (dropdown) in one form or another. 

The latest Android 5.0 Lollipop, however, takes a new approach to notifications with a notification dropdown that unfolds in two taps - you actually need to tap twice to see the toggles. Windows Phone follows an approach very similar to Android (pre 5.0) with one screen for all notifications and a few toggles on top. Then we have Apple's iOS that follows its own way with a two-panel notification center: the first panel features the pretty unique textual overview of your day, and recent versions have added the capability to add widgets to this panel, while the actual notifications are stacked in the second home panel.

That, however, is not all because we have tens of Android manufacturers that have full control over the appearance of the notification center, and many choose to tweak it to their liking. Samsung's TouchWiz is one of the most visually different approaches, but you also have large tweaks to the notification dropdown in LG's skin, as well as in HTC and many others.

In this article, we ask you to put away your preferences for a particular manufacturer and look at just the notification center and its functionality: which approach looks best for you? Cast your votes right below, and do not hesitate to write down what you think the perfect notification center should look like (it should have a shortcut to the flashlight, shouldn't it?!).

What's your favorite notification center?

Stock Android 5.0 (Nexus)
32.65%
Apple iOS 8.1 (iPhone)
10.05%
Windows Phone 8.1 (Lumia)
16.13%
BlackBerry OS
5.56%
Samsung TouchWiz (Galaxy series)
13.88%
LG Optimus UI (LG G series)
6.02%
HTC Sense (HTC One series)
5.7%
Motorola Moto UI
2.05%
Sony Xperia UI
5.7%
Huawei EMUI (Ascend Mate series)
1.87%
Lenovo Vibe UI
0.4%
Can’t get enough of mobile tech?
Subscribe to access new exclusive content and perks.
You can still enjoy the standard PhoneArena experience for free.
  • In-depth reviews, tests & analyses
  • Expert opinions on the latest trends
  • Live community events and games
  • Ad-free browsing, discounts and more
Start Free Trial See the latest subscriber-only articles

Recommended Stories

Loading Comments...
FCC OKs Cingular\'s purchase of AT&T Wireless