Android and iOS both have matured as mobile OSes since they were first announced. Both operating systems now offer a great user experience and have a similar set of features. However, in some areas, iOS still tends to lag behind Android. Below are seven Android features that we want to see Apple add in iOS 15.
Just like Android apps continue to lag behind iPhone apps in terms of quality, iOS also lags behind Android in many ways. Below is a look at some Android features that Apple brings to the iPhone with iOS 15 later this year.
Android Features We Want to See in iOS 15
1. Improved Notification Management
This is a feature that has popped up consistently in our iOS wishlist, and at this point, I wish Apple would outright copy this feature from Android. The Notification Center and notification management on iOS are terrible compared to Android.
There’s no notification grouping, interaction options with notifications are limited, smart replies, etc. The lack of notification grouping on an iPhone is particularly frustrating as they unnecessarily clutter the Notification Center.
Google is further improving the notification experience in Android 12 by giving it a slight UI overhaul, adding notification ranking to prioritize notifications depending on how you interact with apps and more.
At this point, I would be happy if iOS 15 ships with only one major change, and that’s a completely overhauled notification management system with smart replies support.
2. T9 Dialing
Another feature whose absence in iOS puzzles me. The basic use of a smartphone is for making calls which is not as straightforward as it should be on the iPhone. On Android 12 or just about any Android device, you can open the Phone app and use T9 dialing to bring up the contact whom you’d like to call. The Phone app in iOS does not have T9 Dialing functionality, so there are no contact suggestions.
Yes, you can use Spotlight to search for and dial a contact quickly, but that’s still not a replacement for T9 dialing. The latter can also automatically search through unsaved numbers in your call log and show them as suggestions.
While at it, it would also be good if Apple increased the call log limit on iPhones. Right now, iPhones can only have 30 entries in their call log, which is just too limiting in this day and age.
3. Improved Multitasking
Apple has improved the multitasking experience on the iPhone with recent iOS releases. iOS 14 introduced Picture-in-Picture support to the iPhone, which finally allowed one to view documents, read emails, etc., while on a video call or streaming content from Netflix, etc. However, Android devices continue to offer a better multitasking experience as they have split-view multitasking.
iPadOS already offers split-view multitasking, and Apple should consider bringing the feature to iPhones with iOS 15. With iPhone screen sizes increasing over the years, split-view multitasking would make a lot of sense, especially on the 6.7-inch iPhone 12 Pro Max.
4. Interactive Widgets
Apple took its own sweet time, but with iOS 14 last year, it finally added widgets support to the iPhone’s home screen. The home screen widget implementation in iOS 14 is better than that of Android, with the ability to stack widgets on top of each other being a key highlight.
Read: The Best iOS 14 Home Screen Widgets for Your iPhone
However, one major setback here is that the iOS 14’s home screen widgets are non-interactive. This means you can use the widgets to view content but cannot interact with them, thereby greatly limiting their usability.
With iOS 15, I hope that Apple makes one improvement to widgets and that’s making them interactive, which would greatly improve their usefulness and open the gates for more such widgets.
5. Better Google Assistant Integration
Ok, this is a feature that I doubt I am ever going to see on an iPhone, but I wish that really happens. Despite all the improvements that Apple has made to Siri over the years, it lags behind Google Assistant. The latter supports a wide variety of smart home devices, and it is generally smarter and better at voice recognition as well.
One can only wish that, just like Apple allows iPhone users to change the default browser and mail app in iOS 14, it lets them change the default assistant to Google Assistant in iOS 15.
It would be even better if one could trigger Google Assistant on the iPhone by simply saying “Hey, Google” instead of first launching the Google app.
6. Always-On Display
Apple tends to take its own sweet time in adding new features to the iPhone that are already present on Android. Now that Apple has switched its entire iPhone lineup to AMOLED display, it should finally bring Always-On Display support to them. With Always-On Display, one can glance at their iPhone’s display to check the time, date, and if they have any unread notifications.
Android phones with Always-On Display have been around for a few years now. While the feature used to consume a lot of battery initially, things have improved in recent years. You can now use Always-On Display on your Android device with minimal hit to its battery life. Plus, there are plenty of ways to customize them as well.
Here’s hoping Apple gets around to adding Always-On Display or at least Ambient Display to iPhone 12 with the upcoming iOS 15 update.
7. Improved File Management
Ok, this is an area where iOS has improved greatly since Apple first introduced the Files app in iOS 11. The company has been refining the app with every iOS release since then, going as far as to add a download manager to Safari in iOS 13. However, file management on an iPhone or iPad still pales in comparison to an Android device.
There are a plethora of file managers available for Android devices, and they offer far greater control over how to manage documents and files stored on one’s device. In iOS 15, I hope Apple further improves the Files app to make the file managing experience better.
What are some Android features that you’d like Apple to bring to iPhones with iOS 15 later this year? Drop a comment and let us know!
