I came across this article that I thought the entire Tech board could benefit from reading. I've seen a lot of comments from the android folks on how "Android came out with it first and there's 50 ways to customize the feature" while all Apple does is "create and iOS that can barely do anything without zero customization." While some of those statements may have some truth to them...when that's all that's said it's incredibly misleading. I think this article also helps differentiate for those looking to make an honest decision between the two.

Here's some highlights:

quote:
Home screen widgets and third party keyboards (which replace the default system keyboard) have been associated with Android for the last five years as something iOS has lacked. Given that Apple created the concept of Desk Accessories as mini apps for the Mac desktop back in 1981, and that OS X Tiger promoted more recent Dashboard Widgets back in 2005 (before Google even acquired Android), it might make you wonder why Apple is only now introducing standalone widgets for iOS. Custom Keyboards pose a similar quandary: iPhone presented a virtual onscreen keyboard when it debuted in 2007 as one of its primary differentiating features. Additionally, among the first iOS App Store titles in 2008 was ShapeWriter, a non-traditional keyboard app that input text via gestures using technology developed at IBM and LinkÃ¶ping University, similar to Swype (both of which have since been acquired by Nuance, which has already announced support for Swype as a Custom Keyboard Extension for iOS 8).

quote:
Android didn't even debut until nearly a year after ShapeWriter, in part because Google's original concept for Android was a Java Mobile button phone, just like everyone else had been selling. Android eventually showed up without a working virtual keyboard because Google focused on user input via physical mini keyboards and an LED lit trackball, failing to grasp the value of reconfigurable keyboards that Steve Jobs had touted as a core design concept for the original iPhone in stark contrast to the rest of the industry (below).

quote:
Apple's focus on performance, privacy and security in iOS have trumped Android's widgets and custom keyboard features in the market for premium phones, keeping Apple sustainably profitable as other hardware makers using Android have gone out of business or regularly lost money (including Google's own Motorola, which lost hundreds of millions of dollars in quarter after quarter).

quote:
That's not to say that there's no value in widgets or custom keyboards. Android's promotion of both has highlighted a variety of interesting abilities. And of course, Apple's iOS has also incorporated system-supplied widgets (like Stocks and Weather) and app-specific custom keyboards (again, as in Apple's own Numbers). What Apple hasn't done is fling iOS wide open to unrestricted hobbyist experimentation without considering the consequences. Google's decision to do just that with Android has manifested the problems associated with rushing poorly conceived, half baked solutions to market. Widgets on Android are commonly associated with battery drain and can help contribute to the noticeable performance lag that still affects the system.

Whether you read all that or not, this article to me really points out well the main difference between the two. Android may have 100 ways to do the same thing, but when you really look at it, 90% of those are rushed, half brained attempts just rushing something out to the market. If you like having all those options, then Android may be for you.
On the other hand, Apple takes great care and measure to make sure they anything and everything they add to their ecosystem works flawlessly and does not deteriorate from the overall experience and connectedness of iOS. If you like that aspect of your OS, then Apple may be for you.

This post was edited on 7/6/14 at 11:34 am