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iPhone 4s vs. Android
Which smartphone OS is best for you
You know your smartphone is doing well when
4 million people buy it in the first weekend
and it temporarily sells out on all three of your
carrier partners. The overwhelming demand for the
iPhone 4S is understandable, given the much-talkedabout
Siri voice-controlled assistant (see p. 14),
as well as the device’s faster dual-core processor
and fantastic 8-megapixel camera. But today’s top
Android phones—such as the Samsung Galaxy S
II—offer plenty of features you won’t find on Apple’s
blockbuster sequel. How do you know which OS to
choose Here’s my breakdown.
by Mark Spoonauer
Interface
I would never call the
row-of-icons interface
on the iPhone 4S
fresh, but its ease
of use means a lot,
especially to first-time
smartphone owners.
I can’t tell you how
many times I’ve shown
Android phones to
people only for them
to ask how to get to
the apps. At the same time, iOS 5 catches up to
Android with its Notifications area, which is cleanly
designed and dynamic (thanks to the addition of
weather and stock info).
However, some Android phones let you do more
from the notification area. On the Samsung Galaxy
S II, for example, you can toggle the wireless radios
on and off. And on HTC Sense phones, you can
switch between apps from this menu as well as
tweak several settings.
The other edge Android has in the interface department
is widgets, which allow you to access all sorts
of info at a glance. Provided you put in a little effort,
Android is more customizable. The problem with
Google’s OS is that it’s so customizable for phone
makers that the user experience can vary drastically
from one phone to the next.
Winner: iPhone 4S While Android is more flexible,
it can also be more confusing. Simplicity wins
this round.
Multitasking
You just double-press the home button and swipe to
either side to switch apps on the iPhone 4S. To shut
down apps, you press and hold the screen and then
tap the X next to
an app’s icon.
On Android,
you must longpress
the home
button, but you
might only see a subset of all of your running
apps—and you can’t close programs from this
view. Android Ice Cream Sandwich (see p. 20)
will offer a better user experience, with a Recent
Apps button that displays live thumbnails of your
running apps. And you’ll be able to dismiss apps
with a swipe.
Winner: iPhone 4S (for now) But it looks like Android
4.0 will put Google’s phones ahead.
Screen Size and Quality
One of the chief complaints people have about the
iPhone 4S’ screen is that it’s the same size of the
original iPhone’s: 3.5 inches. But what many don’t
realize is that this LCD’s resolution is higher than
the vast majority of screens on Android phones. The
display is not only crisper but brighter than most of
the Android competition.
On the other hand, bigger screens are just easier
on the eyes, and they don’t force you to zoom in as
much to read text. And although they’re not as bright,
the Super AMOLED displays on phones such as the
Galaxy S II and the Droid RAZR offer better contrast
and more vibrant colors.
Winner: Draw The iPhone 4S has the superior
display right now in terms of detail and brightness,
but some shoppers just prefer a larger screen.
Keyboard/Typing
Amazingly, Apple’s multitouch keyboard remains
second to none, despite the fact that in most cases
you’re typing on a smaller display. Both in portrait
and landscape mode, I can type quickly and accurately.
I’ll certainly make more errors than when
using a physical keyboard, but overall the iPhone 4S
keyboard just works.
With Android phones, keyboards vary quite a
bit from one phone maker to the next, with HTC,
LG, Motorola, and Samsung all putting their own
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