Your business: the iPhone or Android challenge
Smartphones are now as much part of day-to-day business life as laptops and endless meetings. But which operating system is the best for the modern worker – Apple’s IOS or Google’s Android?
While we’re by no means tech experts, we are a small business expert and know both iPhones and Android phones are used consistently throughout many businesses, but which is best? We’ve dug deep to uncover pros and cons for both, so you can decide which is best for you and your business.
Enter the trials!
Ease of use
While most smartphones are fairly intuitive to use these days, there’s just something about the iPhone that even a toddler can understand. People never seem to struggle when finding what they need while using an iPhone. However, with Androids, there can often be too many options and choices that, especially for business use, can end up getting in the way.
Winner: iPhone
Adaptability
What the iPhone gains in ease of use, it loses in adaptability. For everyday business people, ease of use might be a high priority. But people who work in tech - or tech adjacent – these industries simply love the fact that you can change pretty much every aspect of the Android to suit your needs.
Winner: Android
Security
This is a big issue for business users. In the past, the iPhone was always seen as the more secure of the two thanks to the fact that only Apple approved (and screened) apps were available. Whereas Android, with its ability for people to develop their own apps, was open to attack. But recently the Google Pixel phone has shown that it is as secure as any other phone on the market, and Google is really focusing on making security a top priority.
Winner: Tie
Syncing
Smartphones aren’t a standalone device. Most of us use phone for a number of tasks, from checking emails to taking notes – and having these all sync with other devices such as a desktop computer is crucial. Especially with having employees who travel a lot with work, syncing capabilities is vital for business on the move. While both phones have apps that connect across devices, if you buy into the Apple ecosystem you really start to see the benefits of this feature. Android users often complain that, as the hardware is different, sometimes things don’t sync as smoothly as they should.
Winner: iPhone
Apps
In the beginning… a time many can hardly remember, there were apps that were only available on one device or the other. These days, the gap between the two has shrunk with pretty much all the major apps you’d need as a business available on both. However, because they’re more open for people to develop their own apps Android has a slight edge over iPhones on this one.
Winner: Android
Cost
We couldn’t mention business phones without bringing money into it, could we? Most businesses like to make sure that all their staff are on the same operating system with their business phone. And the reality is that there are more budget options running Android than iPhones. In fact, you can pretty much get any budget phone for Android. Especially now with the $1000 price tag on the upcoming “iPhone X”, this one is a clear one.
Winner: Android
Overall Outcome…
Honestly, with the variance of what small businesses need from tech, it’s difficult to come down on one side. From the scores, Android wins 4 to 3, but they’re so close these days that it doesn’t matter. The best idea is to talk with your staff – if they have a preference or are all currently using one operating system then there’s your true winner!
Know what your team needs, and empower them. It always seems to boil down to that, and the tech you chose is just a part of the equation. Good luck with your choice of phones!
The companies mentioned or linked to in this post are just examples that we thought might be useful, but don’t endorse them or their services. We have no affiliation with them and make no representation about their services.