Difference between iOS and Android

Last Updated : 11 Mar, 2024

1. iOS:
iOS is a mobile operating system that is provided by Apple Incorporation. It is mainly designed for Apple mobile devices like iPhone and iPod Touch. It was earlier known as iPhone OS. It is a Unix-like operating system that is based on Darwin’s (BSD) operating system. It is the world’s second most used mobile operating system after Android. It is mainly written in C, C++, Objective-C, assembly language, and Swift. The first version of iOS was launched in 2007.

2. Android:
Android is a mobile operating system that is provided by Google LLC. It is based on the modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software. It is specifically designed for touchscreen mobile devices like smartphones and tablets. It was developed using C, Java, C++, and other languages. The first version of Android was launched by Google in 2008. The latest stable version of Android is Android 14. It is provided totally free of cost. It is the most used operating system overall.

Difference between iOS and Android:

S.No.	IOS	ANDROID
1.	It was developed and is owned by Apple Incorporation.	It was developed by Google and Open Handset Alliance and is owned by Google LLC.
2.	IOS was initially released on July 29, 2007	Google was initially released on 23 September 2008.
3.	when IOS was released its first version is iPhone OS 1 before named IOS.	When Google released its first version of Android 1.0, Alpha.
4.	It was launched in 2007.	It was launched in 2008.
5.	Latest stable release version: iOS 15.3.1 and iPadOS 15.3.1	Latest stable release version: Android 14
6.	Its target system types are smartphones, music players, and tablet computers.	Its target system types are smartphones and tablets.
7.	It is specially designed for Apple iphones and ipads.	It is designed for smartphones of all companies.
8.	Its kernel type is Hybrid.	Its kernel type is Linux-based.
9.	It has preferred license is Proprietary, APSL, and GNU GPL.	It has the preferred license of Apache 2.0 and GNU GPLv2.
10.	It is mainly written in C, C++, Objective-C, assembly language, and Swift.	It is written using C, C++, Java, and other languages.
11.	Its update management is Software Update.	Its update management is Systems Software Update.
12.	Swift is majorly used for iOS application development.	Java and Kotlin are majorly used for Android application development.
13.	IOS has a Commercial Based Source model with open source components.	Android is an Open Source based Source model.
14.	IOS-based Devices have Safari as the default Internet Browser.	Android devices have google chrome but one can install any Internet Browser.
15.	IOS has Siri as Voice Assistant.	Google has Google Assistance.
16.	IOS-based devices have the feature of blocking 3rd party app stores.	But Google doesn’t block 3rd party app stores.
17.	IOS devices are available in 40 languages.	Android Devices are available in 100+ languages.
18.	In IOS customizability is limited unless jailbroken.	In Android, we can change almost anything.
19.	File transfer in android is easier than in IOS.	File transfer in IOS is more difficult than in android.
20.	None on the iPhone 7 and later; lighting 3.5mm no longer comes with the phone after the iPhone XS.	have a headphone jack, but some current Android smartphones lack a headphone jack.