Comparison: Apple iOS 5 vs. Android 4.0 ice cream sandwich

We compare two just-unveiled mobile operating systems, Apple iOS 5 and Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in this article. The new OS upgrades are with many interesting features and capabilities. Let us see what are the new features on iOS 5 and Android 4.0 here.

Apple iOS 5 vs. Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich

The challenge

Operating system battle between the technology archrivals Apple and Google is to enter into a new level with the fresh OS upgrades from them. Apple’s much-frenzied iOS 5 has just gone official two weeks back on its brand new iPhone 4S. Google’s Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich has just had official release on Samsung Galaxy Nexus. Both OS upgrades are known for complete overhauls and a host of innovative features. Android 4 is the first unified version of the OS, and it is with improved voice commands, and facial recognition features. Apple iOS 5, in the meanwhile, is up with lots of cutting-edge features like iCloud, iMessage, and countless others. Here is an analytical comparison between these two mobile OS upgrades. Get through the article and find which one is better for your phones and tablets.

Comparison attributes

Some identical features of iOS 5 and Android 4 are grabbed for a comparison between the platforms here.

Voice commands

Both iOS 5 and Android 4 have the much-coveted voice commands feature. On ICS, you have an enhanced Voice Actions for voice recognition. But it is nothing in front of iOS 5’s ground-shattering Siri voice recognition app. Siri, taken over by Apple in April 2010, is the landmark attribute of iOS 5. It is an intelligent personal assistant and can understand your natural language and reply to you by voice.

Winner: Apple iOS 5

Web browser

New versions of operating systems often bundle up revamped web browsers. Ice Cream Sandwich has a refurbished Google Chrome browser with many stunning features. Google Chrome bookmark sync and offline reading capability are two key qualities of ICS’ default web browser. Apple iOS 5 has also received a much-hyped Safari overhaul. As the former Apple CEO Steve Jobs noted in his keynote at WWDC 2011 in June, a new Safari browser is one of the biggest modifications iOS 5 has.

Winner: Google Android 4.0; because it has Google Chrome, one of world’s favorite web browsers.

Multitasking and notifications

Apple iOS is recognized for its renovated Notification Center and multitasking capability. The new Notification Center shows all your phone notifications including SMSs, emails, friend requests, and others in a single place. The software even has some multitouch gestures exclusively for iPad 2 to get into the multitasking bar. Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich, though having some notable multitasking and notification enhancements, is not as proficient as iOS 5.

Winner: Apple iOS 5

Hardware choices

Apple iOS 5 has just surfaced on iPhone 4S and the new version of iPod touch. The software is compatible with the older Apple products like iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPad 2, iPad original, the recent versions of iPod touch. Android 4 has appeared on Samsung Galaxy Nexus, a.k.a. Google Nexus III. But what makes Android 4 ICS different from iOS 5 is that it is an open source OS, and so will run on any third party phones and tablets. It is not the case with iOS 5, which will only run on Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch.

Winner: Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich

Cloud backup

Both Android 4 Ice Cream Sandwich and Apple iOS 5 have advanced options to store contents on cloud. The battle between the operating systems is also the clash between iCloud and Google Music. Google has been in cloud computing for several years. Apple has just initiated its iCloud media service on iOS 5. But on a race, iCloud is certainly the champion. If you have activated iCloud, it will send contents to cloud servers automatically.

Winner: Apple iOS 5

Verdict

The long-anticipated Apple iOS 5 Vs Google Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich battle has just started off. It looks like that by the end of 2011 there will be a turning point in the mobile OS industry. Besides Apple and Google, the PC operating system giant Microsoft is also to float up a completely reworked version of its famous Windows Phone, dubbed Windows 8. Of course, with iOS 5, Ice Cream Sandwich, and Windows 8, the mobile technology will get a fresh start from this fall, analysts predict. Nevertheless, the most impressive battle will be in between iOS 5 and Android 4.