iOS 6 vs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean vs Windows Phone 8 Feature Comparison Chart
Regardless of how good or bad a mobile OS it was, Windows Phone 7 failed to make any considerable impact on the mobile market, while both iOS and Android grew to become synonymous with the term “smartphone platforms”. It’d be unfair to label WP7 as entirely insignificant, as its Mango iteration is good enough to hold its own against other major players in many regards. The social network integration, for instance, is quite commendable, and then there is its unique yet simple interface that a lot of users have grown to revere, and a lot of third party apps have tried to replicate. While WP7 wasn’t as bad as some make it out to be, there can be no denying the fact that it has never posed a threat to iOS or Android. Even Microsoft realized that after some time, which is probably what gave birth to Windows Phone 8. The Apollo upgrade has the potential to make Windows Phone relevant in the smartphone market. Almost every feature that was missing until Mango has arrived in Windows Phone with Apollo. It is up to the users to decide whether Windows Phone is good enough to be held up against iOS and Android, but the following comparison may help you reach a conclusion.
This comparison is merely factual, and not analytical, in nature. It must be admitted that there are things about all these platforms that our comparison chart can’t depict. For instance, while Android and iOS have got the same number of apps, there can be no denying the fact that Apple’s iTunes App Store is currently way ahead in terms of app quality. iOS has a great native gaming platform, Android has greater flexibility, while WP8 comes with a great productivity suite and integration with Windows 8. But Windows Phone really come of age, or does it need more time to be able to stand up there with the two head honchos? As stated in the intro, it all boils down to personal choice and your daily needs.
Do let us know which of the three platforms you prefer and what features form your preference, and if there are any features that you think should be added to the chart above. Would you be willing to switch from your favorite platform, and if so, for what features?
Sameed Khan contributed to this article
Read through about 10 rows, then stopped as a lot of features are missing our inaccurate for WP 8.1 (Cyan being the latest release with Denim around the corner). As such, the table doesn’t help much. Shame, as there seems to have been a lot of effort put into this l. I can’t comment on accuracy of the other platforms
Not true for call management, WP8 update added it
This discussion need to update lots of things about Windows Phone 8 such as a Nokia 920. Wireless Charging, NFC, Camera -Stabilize-Low Light, Glove & Finger Touch, etc. Go to Youtube and compare the 920/iphoe5/galaxy s3….Most people rated 920 better.
In the 4.2, where are developer options?? I dont think :'(
They are there, it’s just that they aren’t visible by default. To get them back where they’re supposed to be within the Settings app, you’re required to navigate to the Settings > About phone/tablet screen. Tap the Build number option at the bottom about 10 times, and voila! You may now access the Developer options from the Settings screen itself.
Android > iOS > WP
Can’t go wrong with any phone that has one of these 3 os’s. I personally prefer Android cuz I love me some widgets, google maps, and customization. That said, I wouldn’t mind getting and Iphone 5 or HTC 8x, if the price was right.
Windows Phone 8 all the way!
What I don’t understand is the ‘true multitasking’ part on Android. I have an ipad and an s3 and they multi task similarly. The interface is the only thing that it is different.
True multitasking refers to the fact that you can have active processing in mutiple apps on android. Until iOS which “pauses” the app in the background. If you load a webpage on android and then check your email that page will continue to load in the background. Or you can pause a game and check twitter and then when you return to the game its just as you left it
Yes, that’s the thing. But Android never closes apps; if you press Home they are in the multitask menu, listed as ”recent apps” but they are in fact still running, and in most apps, when you press them, they restart, like you launched them again. Some apps really support multitasking, some just provide shortcuts.
Apple Maps supports offline and 3D buildings. iTunes Music supports Streaming.
Define developer options? Apple allows for WebApps, Native Xcode, as well as third party porting and development platforms.
iOS6 supports image stabilization.
NFC is a feature of the Hardware not the OS.
Good Point
I love my iPhone4s, but its pretty clear that iOS needs to re-invent itself
True that!
Hey there! Maybe I missed it, but 4.2 supports lockscreen widgets and I don’t think you included it in your chart 🙂
Updated! Thanks!
Integration with desktop platform in Android through vendor specific software like Samsung kies for Windows & Mac Platform.
Or there’s Airdroid… A third party app.
Android has a very good integration with GNU/Linux desktop with many open-source solutions!
Another thing about your table there. Cross platform integration. Android says No. You have failed to take into account the native google ecosystem. Everything is cloud based. so youve forgoten about the chromebooks, and the tablets, and phone all which work together sharing and syncing on the fly constantly
You’ve got a point there. To make it clearer, we’ve changed the text in the cell. Cloud integration and sync already has its own row.
When you take into account all the platforms google itself works with MAc, Windows, Linux, Android, iOS, and Windows Phone. Doesnt that make google pretty much omnipresent. IF i have google docs on my Windows Phone and also on my tablet. Of course i can use it from my browser on any OS. But i can also access the same documents across android and windows phone. I think google has both Apple and windows beat on the deapth and breadth of which you can access information stored with google
You can also do that with skydrive
Sure if your talking about core apps from the os developers then this is pretty accurate,but if you add app options from the stores, then your table is off. For instance Android has Plan-B for an Anti-theft solution. Not only is it better, you can actually remote install it from any browser (you know, because some one else has stolen your phone). This means you don’t need it installed till you actually need it.
Dang, now i sound like a fan boy.
Heh. No you don’t. That’s a perfectly valid point. Though, we decided to leave third-party apps out of the equation for the most part as that would’ve resulted in a virtually endless chart. There are third-party solutions for most of the missing features in the Android column.
Hey! Bluetooth file transfer works in WP8. Fix your table please.
Ah, yes. That managed to sneak past us. Thanks for the correction!
Although you are most probably right, Microsoft hasn’t mentioned Bluetooth file transfer anywhere yet (I might be wrong). The presence of File Sharing capabilities over Bluetooth is indicated by the leaked BT profile of WP8, but there is a slim chance that it means you’ll need third-party apps for file transfer (pretty much like iOS).
I’ve read
in so many blogs people saying they can do it already in their WP8 devices,
there are even videos, check them out on youtube
Yeah now that devices have finally started shipping, BT file transfer has been confirmed. It even works quite well with Android and BlackBerry devices.