Main Difference – Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow vs iOS 9.3
The main difference between Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and iOS 9.3 is that Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow comes with a new tablet UI and new additional emojis whereas iOS 9.3 comes with features like passwords for notes app, night shift feature, new classroom app and health app that has third party support.
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow may not seem to be a significant upgrade when compared with its predecessor. This update has retained the features that worked well in the past and put an end to some inefficient features.There are some new features that no one would have expected. These include Now on Tap, improvements made to permissions, storage improvements, etc., Although some features have not yet been perfected, they provide a glimpse of what is yet to come.
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow Review
When the Android Lollipop was first released, the design of the interface was different with many new features; it could be easily differentiated when compared with any other operating system. The new Android Marshmallow 6.0 is very similar to the Android Lollipop operating system, which has a smarter, smoother and battery friendly design.
Design
As mentioned earlier, the new Android Marshmallow operating system is very much similar to its predecessor in the design aspect. The design of the operating system has been polished further to make it look more prominent.
The app pages have been replaced with vertical scrolling panes which have four of the most used apps on top of it. There is a search bar on the top of the screen to make searching for apps easy. The lock screen font on the screen has also become bolder.
The new OS is more customizable too. There is an option known as the System UI tuner which can be used to rearrange the icons found on the quick settings menu, add some extra designs to the interface and also add a battery icon to keep track of the battery life. But Google recommends not to use this feature too much as many of the essential features are on the OS itself. The copy and paste features have also seen an improvement here.
Now on tap
This is one of the key features that come with the new OS. With the long-press of the home button, Google tries to analyze the screen and get further information about what the user is looking for. This is a great feature as there is no need to leave the screen and type what you are looking for into a search engine. The accuracy of the Now on Tap feature is not yet up to mark. It is worthy to note that these are still the early days of this feature, and we can hope for improvement in the future.
Permissions
In the Android Lollipop operating system, the software used to display a list of permissions that the user has to agree to, even before using an app. In this edition, the user will be alerted when the app wants to use a resource. The user will be able to allow or deny that resource to the app, which will increase the security of the operating systems as well as limit the app from using unauthorized resources. The setting is also able to reveal what applications are connected to which part of the device. Inside the setting, the user will be able to limit access to the device anytime if it seems suspicious. This feature will also enable the users to know what their apps are doing and will decrease the security risks caused by them.
Fingerprint
The Android Marshmallow is very concerned about using fingerprints for authentication as it is a more secure way. The recent Nexus devices use this feature in setting up the device. The fingerprint will be scanned by the operating system multiple times until it becomes very familiar with it. Even the Google store encourages the user to use fingerprints for authentication and purchasing.
Micro SD card
The micro SD card is fast disappearing from smartphone of today due to users being more reliant on cloud storage. This is further being encouraged by the smartphone manufacturers as well. Android Marshmallow-supported devices that come with a slot for microSD can be formatted as if they are a part of an internal storage. This time, apps and data can be supported by the card without any issue. Although a feature called Flex Storage will show the total memory count, there is still an option which shows the internal and external memory count separately. The OS will also alert the user if the micro SD card being used in the device is too slow. It will be a wise choice to find a micro SD card that is able to support fast data rates. The operating system will not show any difference when using both storages or installing apps or moving data. The same micro SD card can also be used as a portable storage which may turn out to be useful.
Auto backup
Auto backup is also a cool feature which backs up app data to a corner of the Google Drive. This backed up data can be drawn back when reinstalling the app.
Additional features
Doze is a new feature that disables almost all the background apps that are running and shutdown the network connection if the device is not active. This will enable the device to run for long periods of time. Even though the doze feature will keep the operating system at an optimum power saving mode, priority messages will be displayed. The new OS also comes with a feature called app standby which selects programs that have not been used for a while and put them into an inactive state. This further increases the battery time on the device. If an app is not used for a while, Marshmallow will disable the app. It can be restored by the user easily.
New emojis
Google has added over 200 emojis with the latest update provided by Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow. This will bring joy to hangout users who uses emojis and stickers a lot.
Camera shortcut
The camera can be launched with the help of a double tap on the power button of the device. This feature is now exclusively available with Nexus devices.
Tablet UI
On many Android devices, the back, Home, and multitasking buttons are placed on the center bottom of the screen. This location is hard to reach for large screen tablet users; these buttons have been shifted to the bottom corners of the device for easy reach.
Do not Disturb
This feature is capable of muting all notification until the next alarm that is set on the device. This was removed earlier but has been reinstated with the new update provided by Google.
Security
Security updates are to be provided on a monthly basis, which will secure the device even further.
iOS 9 Review
When compared with the iOS 8 operating system, the iOS 9 does not seem to be much different. The main target of this operating system is to get everyday things done in a faster and an efficient manner. The new operating system can be considered to be a continuation of the iOS 8 which has seen a refinement and an upgrade.
Font
The first difference that would be immediately evident is the difference in the typeface. The Helvetica Neue has been replaced by the San Francisco typeface.
Home screen
The home screen has not seen a radical design change as with the iOS 7 operating system. There are some minor changes like alert boxes, and action boxes having smoother corners than before. The notifications are also displayed in reverse chronological order. A battery widget, which lets the user know how much battery is left on the device, is also available with the screen. All these alterations are minor but they enable the user to find information in an easy manner.
Double tapping the home button will bring up an app switcher. These apps are stacked one upon the other in a layered format for easy viewing. When closely viewed, a maximum of four apps can be viewed at the same time. If the user is using an app and switches to another app, a small button will appear on the top left corner. The user can easily revert to the app that he was using earlier by tapping on this button.
Keyboard
The shift key can be effectively used to toggle between caps and lower case. The keys use different colors when toggling in-between.
OS update capacity
Although the iOS 8 took up a large space of 4.6 GB which made users free up space and delete apps in order to cater to the new update, there is no such problem with the new iOS 9 update which has a capacity of only 1.3 GB. There is also a new feature known as App slicing which will only install the part of an app.
Siri
Siri is smarter than ever and can assist the user in many ways. Siri is capable of assisting the user in tasks like finding photos taken in the past as well as finding photos that are location-based. Siri is now also able to sense the user’s behavior and proactively suggest apps and contacts.
Search options
The Apple’s search option, known as spotlight, is now equipped to answer a variety of queries as well as answer simple math problems. Although Siri maybe a bit faster than spotlight, this is a nice feature to have on the smartphone.
News
The News app provided by apple will forward the news according to the preference of the user; User preference will be selected at the start of using the app. The news is accompanied by text and visual graphics which will make the user experience more vibrant.
Notes
The Notes application that comes with the iOS 9 has many tools which can even add a checklist if needed. It can also support the addition of web links as well as images with ease. There are also three pens which can support up to eight colors and an on-screen ruler is also available for precision on straight lines.
Maps
Apple Maps can now support transit directions which is closing the gap with Google Maps.
Multitasking
The new iOS9 comes with a feature called slide over which run a tiny applet over the app that you have been working on. This enables the user to open up the applet without closing the app he is working on. This will be especially useful in large iPads and iPhones, which are available in the market. The iPad Air 2 and the iPad Mini 4 also are able to support split view with the help of this operating system. This will enable the user to run two apps simultaneously side by side which is an efficient and productive feature.
Picture in picture
A video that is being viewed can be shrunk to a smaller size and placed on the right corner of the screen. This can be also placed on top of another app where something has to be done. After the work is completed on the app, the video can be viewed again in full screen without any pause on the movie.
Screen color at night
The screen color will change at night so that the user will get a better sleep quality. The screen will turn to colors like red, orange or yellow to stimulate the user into falling asleep naturally during the night. This is known as Nightshift by Apple. This is a feature that has been built into the new update.
Notes Lock
Now the user’s important notes can be password locked with the new iOS 9.3 update. This increases the security of the information. Notes can be also sorted according to title and time.
Health app
Apple now recommends third party apps that can analyze the user’s workouts, sleep, and weight. This data can also be viewed on the Apple watch.
Classroom app
This app helps teachers plan lessons and track the progress of students at the same time. Apple is also introducing Apple ID for educational purposes which can be used by administrators.
Other features
The new update comes with 3D touch shortcuts like weather, App store, compass and many more. Photos can be now duplicated in order to save the original when editing. Siri is also able to support additional languages like Hebrew this time.
Difference Between Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow and iOS 9.3
Although a one to one comparison cannot be made between the two updates, there are significant differences between the two operating systems and their features. Let us take a look at the key differences and list them in the following section.
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow
There are more options with the addition of more emojis. With this update, Android is able to be on par with iOS 9 when it comes to emojis. Android has also used the same Unicode 8.0 which was used by Apple iOS 9.1 in the development of their emojis.
Double tapping the power button enables the camera to launch with ease. This feature has made its way into Nexus devices which come with the new update.
The Do Not Disturb feature enables the user to mute all notifications until the scheduled next alarm. This is a great feature which was removed in the previous update.
iOS 9.3
A new but cool feature which is known as the night shift changes the tint of the screen to a warmer color allowing the user to fall naturally to sleep when using the device on the bed.
3D Touch has been developed to support a variety of stock apps which are used by most Apple devices.
Apple Notes app can now be made more secure with the help of password protection.
Touch ID can be implemented for single notes.
There are also additional features which help the user to organize notes.
Android 6.0.1 Marshmallow vs iOS 9.3 – Summary
The interface of the new Android operating system is very much similar to its predecessor, but it addresses many problems that came with the Android Lollipop operating system. There are many additional features like Now on Tap, and new permission features.
The iOS 9 is a faster operating system which is easier to use. There are new features that come with the operating system, but the small design changes are the ones to look out for. This makes the new operating system smarter although it may not be perfect as yet. The iOS 9 is an update which is available in any iDevice. This update can be considered as adapted updates specifically targeting the needs of the user. The small refinements that have been done to the new iOS 9 are key features to elevate the user experience.
