Apple's iOS 11 looks great, but Android O may keep Google in lead
Kicking a hornet's nest isn't always a good idea, but, what the heck. Apple's iOS 11 looks great, but, Google's Android O seems even better. This is strictly based on what Apple and Google have shown to us at their respective developer-centric conferences. An official roll-out - that would set the tone for how the two tech giants actually match vis-a-vis software would come later -- is expected sometime around September-October. Google's Android O already has a public beta out, while, Apple's iOS 11 just got its first developer preview up and running.
Apple had a lot to say about iOS 11 at WWDC. A lot of new features that would apparently make the iPhone and iPad (and the iPod) a lot more user-friendly were announced. Of course, a lot of them were kept under the wraps as well. But, iOS 11 seemingly has enough fire-power under the hood to make it look like Apple's biggest iOS update to date. More importantly, iPhones dating back to the good-old iPhone 5S would be updated to iOS 11, an effort that deserves applause even from the most dedicated of Android fans.
Google, on the contrary, had very little to say about Android O at I/O because in the words of vice-president of engineering for Android, Dave Burke, himself one keynote wouldn't suffice to put forth each and every feature that Android O would be bringing to the table.
Google's Android has been there, done that
If Android were a super-car and Google a Ferrari, at this point of time, it's simply fine-tuning the internals to make a car so good even better. It has, after all, everything that one would want at this point of time from an operating system, and then some more.
If that wasn't enough, Android O is clearly shaping to be a bigger deal than last year's Android N which was simply an incremental upgrade to 2015's Android M. Ever since M, Google has been slowly and steadily, upping the ante against battery draining apps. With version O, it seems, Google is looking to hit an all-time crescendo.
If Android were a super-car and Google a Ferrari, at this point of time, it's simply fine-tuning the internals to make a car so good even better
The most salient feature of Android O is said to be 'Background Execution Limits' or 'Wise Limits.' "Whenever an app runs in the background, it consumes some of the device's limited resources, like RAM. This can result in an impaired user experience, especially if the user is using a resource-intensive app, such as playing a game or watching video," Google says. "To improve the user experience, Android O imposes limitations on what apps can do while running in the background," it adds.
It's an extension of Doze (introduced in M), only a lot more forthright (and imposing) in approach. Just like Doze, you wouldn't know that it is silently working in the background though.
"If additional apps or services are running in the background, this places additional loads on the system, which could result in a poor user experience; for example, the music app might be suddenly shut down," Google says. Not to mention, simultaneously draining battery life as well. Android O's 'Wise Limits' feature will place restrictions on background apps to an extent that background apps that haven't been used for a long time will go in idle state "while users aren't directly interacting with them." And it will apparently be smart enough to recognize which apps deserve such a treatment. Since location services drain the most battery, chances are apps that have permission to use GPS will most frequently be put on idle when not in use. That's just one instance.
"Building on the work we began in Nougat, Android O puts a big priority on improving a user's battery life and the device's interactive performance. To make this possible, we've put additional automatic limits on what apps can do in the background, in three main areas: implicit broadcasts, background services, and location updates. These changes will make it easier to create apps that have minimal impact on a user's device and battery," Google had said while announcing the first Developer Preview of O in March earlier this year.
Apps will be restricted in two ways, according to Google:
Background Service Limitations: While an app is idle, there are limits to its use of background services. Location services for instance.Broadcast Limitations: With limited exceptions, apps cannot use their manifest to register for implicit broadcasts. Which means they wouldn't be able to send signals out for other apps or activities to act upon.
A couple of more additions to Android O that seem worthwhile include: granular notification controls and adaptive icons. "Channels let developers give users fine-grained control over different kinds of notifications - users can block or change the behavior of each channel individually, rather than managing all of the app's notifications together." Adaptive icons, meanwhile, are customisable icons that also have an animated angle to them.
In addition, Android O would bring picture-in-picture to phones that would let users continue to view a YouTube video in floating pint-sized format while continuing to their own stuff. Another handy addition would be Notification that would appear on the top right corner of an app with the ability previewing incoming emails, messages and more by simply long-pressing the corresponding app.Google's growing strides with machine learning and computer vision would meanwhile enable in intelligent recognition of context in applications, thereby making it easier to copy and paste. A feature called Google Lens would meanwhile, enable users to identify objects by simply pointing their phone cameras at them.
Apple's iOS has a lot of catching up to do, but, it's getting there
The iOS 11 update is a giant step for the iPhone and a monumental leap for the iPad, according to Apple. It brings along slurry of new features -- largely to the iPad -- that build upon the incumbent release creating a user experience that is supposedly a lot better for the end-user than last year's iOS 10. At the same time, iOS 11 lays ground work for the future, in that it "opens up to amazing possibilities for augmented reality in games and apps." That's right, Apple is finally embracing Augmented Reality, which is also said to be a major headlining feature of the special edition iPhone 8. Google, meanwhile, already has Tango for AR, and Daydream for VR.
Here are a few other notable additions:
-- At WWDC last year, Apple previewed the new messaging features -- stickers and apps -- for iMessage. This year, it has worked to somewhat redesign the interface, so everything is available in one place without adding to clutter. The new iMessage comes with a redesigned app drawer for apps and stickers, as also the ability to sync better with the iCloud so you can access it across the full range of Apple devices. Apple Pay -- Apple's mobile payments app - will meanwhile support person-to-person payments/transactions in iOS 11. Apple Pay will be integrated in the iMessage app itself, and, would be a one stop shop for sending and receiving money by a mere authentication of the users' fingerprint. Also, iMessage will intelligently notify users to make a transaction within the app itself. Google's Android already supports peer-to-peer transactions via Google Wallet, but then again, iMessage has been Apple's poster child since last year. It's getting even more attention from Apple, and should get some more, in the days to come.
-- The Control Centre in iOS 11 will see a complete overhaul in that it will be a single page affair as opposed to spanning multiple home screens in the incumbent iteration. The redesigned Control Centre will put all the controls you need in one place, and not three, as also provide more granular controls to them with Apple's 3D Touch functionality. Also, the lock screen and notification center will become a single entity in iOS 11. "To get to all your notifications, just pull it down like a cover sheet from the top of the screen. At a glance, you can see both your recent and missed notifications in one place," according to Apple. Google's notification setup, is any day, more though-out and easier to use than iOS, and by the looks of it Apple still has a lot to catch up to in this regard.
Apple is finally embracing Augmented Reality, which is also said to be a major headlining feature of the special edition iPhone 8. Google, meanwhile, already has Tango for AR, and Daydream for VR
-- Siri -- Apple's virtual assistant -- will be more useful in iOS 11, according to Apple, thanks to machine learning and artificial intelligence. It will be able to translate languages -- English to Chinese, French, German, Italian and Spanish to begin with -- and will be able to suggest topics based on user behavior. It will be able to learn words from articles you read online or offline, and suggest them when you type or make a calendar appointment based on what you searched on the web. Google's Assistant, is meanwhile, available on the App store for iPhone/iPad users to download and try out. Siri may be getting a better voice - with a male option to be available - in the new update, but, the level of detail that Assistant brings to the table would be hard to catch up. -- iOS 11 will finally bring a file manager to the iPad, but not the iPhone. The file manager app, called simply the Files, will be able to better organise how things are inside your iPad. "Not just the ones on your iPad, but also those in apps, on your other iOS devices, in iCloud Drive and across other services like Box and Dropbox," according to Apple. Android, on the other hand, has had a file manager for as long as one could remember.
-- iOS 11 in the iPad Pro will support Instant Markup. "Now you can mark up a PDF or screenshot faster and more easily. Step one, pick up your Apple Pencil. Step two, touch it to the screen. Step three, start writing," according to Apple. Also, it will bring in the ability to take notes directly from the lock screen by simply tapping on it with the Apple Pencil. Samsung's Note line-up of phones - that also run Android - introduced this feature in the Note 5.
-- Apple has also redesigned the App Store from ground up -- for the iOS 11 update -- so that apps are easily discoverable. The redesigned App Store will come with separate tabs for apps, games and today's featured apps. Also, there will be a separate slot for in-app purchases. Android already has a pretty well-stacked and very functional Play Store, and is now working on minimising malicious apps with the Google Play Project, which is basically a virus scanner for all apps on the Play Store.
-- And finally, ARKit. "ARKit is a new framework that brings augmented reality to hundreds of millions of iOS devices by allowing developers to easily build unparalleled AR experiences," according to Apple. Pretty soon, users will be able to engage in AR-experiences on their iOS 11 running devices because Apple has just rolled out a developer's kit for ARKit for them to design apps around the new platform. That's Apple finally embracing the future with arms wide open. But then again, Google has already been there, done that.
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