Androids versus iPhones: the ongoing battle

Androids and iPhones have been battling their way to top the charts with each new update.

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The comparisons between Android and iPhones are more than just physical appearance.

Abbie Paquette, Co-Sports Editor

Androids and iPhones have become a staple to a teenager’s lifestyle; whether it be utilizing apps such as Twitter, Instagram and even the weather. Androids and iPhones have been battling back and forth to top the charts since 2008, when the first Android came out. The iPhone had already been launched in 2007 and had had a huge success rate.

Nowadays, the rivalry between Androids and iPhones is everlasting, with anything from waterproof phones to new software updates, the neck-and-neck competition to be the best and most used phone among people.

Whether you are an iPhone maniac or an Android junkie, both phones have their pluses and minuses, making the competition to be the best even that much more intense and even more integrated into our everyday lives. Smartphones are very much involved in our lives, and even though the comparisons may be considered small, it’s all about personal preference.

iPhones can be seen everywhere, as well as Androids. Their features and sleek look have been admired by many. They have become a fundamental part of teenagers’ existences, using apps and “Siri” to combat almost any problem and complete any aspiration they want.

Androids can be used in any situation, without a case because of its new indestructibility feature. iPhones can be used as a credit card, too. With features and ideas and the peak of the technology field, it is inevitable that the competition between these two phones gets heated, and heated fast.

Senior Reed Gordon recently purchased the iPhone 6 Plus, and enjoys the phone for various reasons.

“I didn’t just choose the iPhone 6 Plus for the larger screen,” said Gordon. “I chose the iPhone 6 Plus for many reasons including the larger screen, the gyroscopic camera (which better stabilizes your images captured) and added abilities such as the ability to change my screen orientation.”

Along with Gordon, another iPhone user and past android user Senior Jordan Bilodeau, who recently purchased the iPhone 6, likes the new features as well.

“I got the 6 because it was supposedly the best thing on the market, not just for the size,” said Bilodeau. “It’s so easy to use and buy music, and the camera is one of the greatest cameras in a mobile device.”

On the other side of the competition, Senior Kyle Levasseur recently changed his iPhone for the new Samsung Galaxy S5.

“It had better specs, and it can do anything the iPhone can,” Levasseur said.

While the iPhone 6 Plus seems great, there are a few downsides to the new phone. For Gordon, it was the lack of data for the app “Health Book;” and the screen has become more prone to scratches. As for Bilodeau, he didn’t like that the body of the phone was so easy to bend and break.

On the brighter side of things, the iPhone 6 and 6 plus isn’t so significantly different than the still-new 5s, 5c, and 5 models.

“It’s just the size that is different,” Bilodeau said.

For iPhone obsessors like Reed, he can spot the differences between iPhone generations.

“The headphone jack has been moved to the bottom of the phone,” said Gordon. “The iPhone 6 Plus has the lock button on the right side of the phone; the iPhone 6 Plus also features an A8 and M8 chip which gives it superior speed and graphics…and something never been seen in any phone until now is the NFC strip that is at the top of the phone, allowing you to use your phone as a credit or debit card.”

As for androids, the only downside for Levasseur was deleting his iMessage account, which is a way Apple phones send messages to one another, with emojis and read recipients as well.

Although the iPhones don’t seem to differ that much, iPhones and Androids (such a Galaxy) seem to have differing views, whether it be design, software or even the most basic set up of the phone.

“You can do a lot of ‘techy’ stuff with the Galaxy,” said Bilodeau, a past Android user. “But I haven’t found anything the Apple couldn’t do.”

“The iPhone has a sleeker, cleaner and sharper design (than Androids),” said Gordon. “One of, if not the biggest, differences between iPhones and Androids has less to do with hardware and more to do with the software. iOS 8 (iPhone’s software) has a more translucent look and a definite design style that flows the entire system, while the operating system Androids run (called KitKat) is choppier and features a tile-like design with definite edges and borders.”

On the other hand, Levasseur thinks about the same of iPhones and Androids, except Androids have some perks that the iPhone doesn’t.

“This is my first Galaxy,” said Levasseur. “It runs faster than my old iPhone and I have more control over everything on the phone… the battery life is amazing even without the battery saving mode.”

While Androids and iPhones have their differences, they both have seemed to take teenager’s lives by storm. These portable devices have greatly impacted lives of millions, giving way to new ideas for apps, music, and anything the population can put their mind to.

“iPhones are important to people because they are integrated into our lives, they are not just a way of communicating but rather a way of self expression,” said Gordon. “By owning another phone other than the iPhone, users would lose this connection between technology and themselves.”

And even though iPhone and Android users may have differing views, they can all conclude to one thing: smartphones are the base of teenagers existences.

“Smartphones are important to teenagers because they give us access to all of our friends,” said Levasseur. “We have any information we need at our fingertips.”

“All teenagers are on social media,” said Bilodeau. “All of us are connected with one another through social media contents. With smartphones these social medias are at our fingertips; and that’s why so many of us have them.”