iOS 10 vs. Android Nougat: New Features & Tweaks Compared

The beta’s face off! How does Apple's iOS 10 compare to Google's Android Nougat?

iOS 10 and Android Nougat (7.0) aren't out yet, but due to the way both Apple and Google conduct their OS development both have been released as beta builds for long enough now that there is plenty of official information and details out in the ether, picked and catalogued from the beta programs by hordes of eager developers. Both platform updates are due to go live later in 2016, appearing more or less around the same time as new hardware; Apple's iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus/Pro, and Google's HTC Nexus models (Sailfish and Marlin).

It’s often been noted that as the operating systems have matured, both iOS and Android have “borrowed” key features from one another, with the end result being the two different OSes becoming more similar.

The availability of Android Nougat for current Android phones is a hot topic of debate on account of the platform’s fragmented nature. Update cycles are typically terrible, for the most part, in the macro Android space with newer, flagship handsets often being the only phones to receive the update. Older handsets — i.e. anything over 18 months old — tends to get left out in the cold.

This isn’t Google’s problem, per se, as it rests with the manufacturers to push out updates to their hardware. And because Android OEMs are hellbent on selling new hardware, they often neglect older handsets and this, of course, leaves the vast majority of Android users — like 90% — languishing on older software.

Basically, to get access to the latest and greatest version of Android you either A) have to update your hardware once a year, B) install custom ROMs on your phone, or C) get a Nexus phone. For the vast majority of users, none of these options are considered and this is why the newest builds of Android, more often than not, take longer than a year to hit 10% adoption in the wider Android ecosystem.

Apple, of course, runs its phone business very differently. Having complete, top-down management of everything in its ecosystem enables Apple to control the flow of new software onto its hardware. Similarly, iPhone/iPad users are accustomed to getting access to new builds of iOS as soon as they’re available. This is why adoption of new iOS builds is always so high.

But could either one become more distinct? Do the latest betas suggest one might come out on top (at least for this year)? That’s what we’re here to decide. Now let's take a look at all the major differences—if any—between iOS 10 and Android N.

iOS 10 vs. Android N: UI and notifications

While it’s fair to say that iOS and Android have been moving towards missile ground as far as a design aesthetic goes, both iOS 10 and Android N sees them taking slightly different approaches to achieve the same design aesthetics as the other. For starts with Android N, notifications have now been redesigned. They are much easier to read, have minimalistic borders, occupy the width of the screen, have smaller fonts, and can be tacked together based on app. In other words, they resemble iOS notifications more.

But iOS 10 is taking cues from the Android design department as well. It’s no bringing widgets to the home screen, although implementing them differently. Thanks to 3D Touch, now when pressing on an app’s icon a widget will appear—such as the current temp for the weather widget. This allows iOS 10 to gain home screen widgets, while also lets it keep them out of sight most of the time.

iOS 10 vs. Android N: deleting stock apps

Both iOS 10 and Android N allows you to now delete some stock apps. “Delete” is a little misleading, because you are actually just hiding the apps, not truly removing them from your device. And both iOS 10 and Android N doesn’t allow you to hide all the stock apps—just some, those that Apple and Android’s handset manufacturers allow you to.

iOS 10 vs. Android N: photo app

In iOS 10 the Photos app got a major improvement. It now uses machine learning to identify people, places, and objects inside your pictures and allows you to sort and search photos by those parameters. For example, Photos now knows which of your pictures have water in them. Search “lake” or “ocean” and it will return pictures of lakes and oceans. The app also now creates automatic slideshows and videos of your best pictures. If all this sounds familiar it's because it's what Google’s Photo app has been doing for almost a year. As you can see, now the Photos apps on both Android and iOS are tied feature-for-feature.

iOS 10 vs. Android N: music app

Apple’s new Music app in iOS 10 has gotten  HUGE makeover. It’s now got a more simplified, easier to navigate interface. This is primarily so more people will give its Apple Music streaming service a try. But the music app on on Android, called Play Music, is still better. Why? Because Play Music is built around both streaming and individually downloaded songs, meaning it really cares about music fans no matter how they like to get their tunes.

iOS 10 vs. Android N: updates

Though not really a feature, it’s worth noting that Android seems to get more updates pushed to it  faster, than iOS does. This has been true for a while now since Android has been untethered for longer from its stock apps than iOS has been. Most stock apps have long been available on the Google Play store meaning Google could concentrate on just releasing updates for the main OS, instead of having to update every default app at the same time. It’ll be interesting to see if updates to iOS 10 speed up now that you can delete/hide stock apps from the OS.

iOS 10 vs. Android N: personal assistants

Perhaps the biggest feature in iOS 10 is Siri is massively improved. Not only is the personal assistant getting improved features, it’s now being opened up to third-party developers so they can link into Siri—making her usefulness grow exponentially. Siri’s big competitor on Android is Google Now. for years Now has been better at Siri thanks to Google's algorithms. But with iOS 10 it’s possible Siri could overtake Now as the best personal assistant out there yet.

iOS 10 vs. Android N: verdict

It’s never an easy call when comparing to mobile operating systems. Who wins this time? It’s safe to say that iOS 10 has more big features and improvements than Android N. However, taken as a whole, both operating systems are closer in features to each other than ever before. So what we’re going to do is wait until each of these OSes get out of beta to judge which is truly the best. Stay tuned!