On Monday, Apple unveiled iOS 14, and if you’re an Android user, the “new” operating system might have seemed a bit familiar.
The latest update to the iPhone operating system, to be released this fall, promises improvements including a new home screen, smarter navigation, faster apps, and a fresh coat of paint throughout. And it’s clear that many of the best features are inspired, influenced, or just slipped from Android, from the new default email and browser apps to picture-in-picture for videos. You can clearly see the influence in the new compact view for Siri and incoming calls, cycling instructions in Maps, even the new widgets on the home screen.
AppleApple’s iOS features will be very familiar to anyone who has used an Android phone, but also very different.
But while watching Apple unveil the features during the masterful and quick note, I couldn’t help but feel a little envious. Apple has refined Android’s features to the point where they practically make Google’s version look downright inferior. It’s not just Apple’s fancy sales pitch: There are numerous iOS 14 features that I’ve used on Android for years. But somehow they still look cool and at home on the iPhone.
Apple receives a lot of credit for breaking new ground, but the fact is, it rarely does. What Apple does best is build things that work so well and feel so natural that what happened before doesn’t matter. That talent is on full display in iOS 14.
A drawer with any other name
The most obvious feature borrowed from Android is the App Library. Similar in spirit to the old Android app drawer, it finally eliminates the need to keep all the apps you’ve downloaded on your home screen with no way to automatically sort them.
But instead of just moving them to a drawer, Apple has developed a novel feature that allows you to hide pages from the home screen but still access your apps with a swipe. It’s similar to how Android works: apps are collected in the drawer but can also exist on your home screens for quick access, but the iOS 14 version allows you to have it both ways.
Christopher Hebert / IDGOnce you see the App Library in iOS 14, you will never see the app drawer in Android the same way.
Hiding apps so they won’t be seen on iOS is a feature that Android had a long time ago for years, but still feels like new on iOS 14. On Android, you must remove all apps when you want to clear a home screen. Apple’s app library keeps your home screens organized as they were before, but allows you to easily hide and unhide them. Even the app library itself gets an update on the app drawer, with smart tips and folders highlighting your most-used apps.
Winning the widget war
Apple has also done a better job with the iOS widgets. Android has had widgets on the home screen for as long as the iPhone has had a Lightning port, but very few of them are worth using, outside of Google’s search bar and basic weather conditions. Third-party widgets are, to put it mildly, mostly junk, and Google has done nothing to advance the platform apart from a few Pixel first widgets that are installed by default.
AppleApple even stole Android’s compact wizard view.
But the widgets in iOS 14 really look good. They have a unified design that will be extended to third-party applications. The sizes align perfectly with each other and with the icon grid. They look like a natural part of the home screen. Most importantly, they accomplish their primary task – providing information at a glance that reduces the need to start applications.
It’s the same old story: Android comes first, but Apple does it right. I don’t remember the last time I added a widget to my Android home screen. Unless it comes with the phone, like the One UI weather widget or Pixel search bar, they don’t add enough to the experience to bother you. However, when I download iOS 14, one of the first things I will do is visit the app gallery and install some.
Better Android
Those aren’t the only features that are clearly Android based. You can see the influence of Android in App Clips, which are Apple’s version of Instant Apps, as well as the new compact interface for calls and Siri, the Translate app, PIP, the choice of default email and browser apps, not to mention cycling directions and city guides Even conversations anchored in Messages are a feature on Galaxy phones.
Michael Simon / IDGFive bucks says Google changes the widget interface on Android 12.
But in almost all cases, the implementation is smarter on iOS. Apple may take longer to arrive, but most of the time, Apple sets the curve for features and designs on phones, and it’s up to Google to ignore it to modify its own system. We have already seen it with notches, gesture navigation and facial unlocking. I’m willing to bet that Android 12 or 13 will have something very similar to the App Library inside the drawer.
Apple may not be the first, but it generally has the last word. That is much more important in the long term.
