I've been an Android user for almost 4 years now. My first Android phone was an HTC Desire Z. I then got an ASUS Eee Pad Tranformer and now am using a Samsung Galaxy S3. In the past few months, I started actually using some iOS devices. My work phone go upgraded from a BlackBerry to an iPhone 5S and recently, I decided to start using my wife's iPad Mini (which she doesn't use because she prefers using her iPhone).
I've already did a post on my experience with the iPhone 5S. This post will focus more on the iPad Mini. When doing comparisons with Android, I will primarily compare it with the Samsung Galaxy S3. My usage on these two devices are most similar to each other. (My iPhone 5S is primarily for work and my usage is different on that.) Also, these two devices were released within months of each other. Even though they have different form factors, I think that they are the best devices I have at my disposal for a good comparison of iOS and Android. Occasionally, I will make comparisons between other devices.
First of all, I really like the size of the iPad Mini. I have the Transformer tablet and got it mainly for its keyboard dock. When not using the dock, I found it to be rather big and heavy to comfortably use. As long as it was docked, it was fine resting on a table or on my lap. When I didn't want to use the dock or can't (because the stupid app does not support landscape), it felt rather heavy after a while. The iPad Mini was nice and light and I never felt my hands got tired holding it. It had a larger display than my phone and was easier on eye to read and view when mobility was not required. Even without a keyboard dock, typing on the iPad Mini was rather pleasant. I use the split keyboard. Even though I don't like the iOS keyboard on the iPhone, the keyboard was pretty good on the iPad both in landscape and portrait.
The one thing that I found the iPad Mini blows away my Galaxy S3 is in web browsing. When viewing complex web pages, the iPad Mini was more responsive when I wanted to zoom or scroll down. On the Galaxy S3, more complex web pages had a longer load time. Before it finished loading, I could not scroll down. Watching videos on web pages on the iPad Mini was a much better experience than on the Galaxy S3. On the iPad Mini, it was easy to just pinch zoom to view the video in full screen mode. On the GS3, I had to hit the little full screen button on the corner of the video. There is one thing that I found a little annoying when web browsing that happens not very often, but more so on iOS.
There are other places where the iPad is noticeably smoother and more respoinsive than the GS3. When downloading and installing an app from the App Store, it is rather smooth when I start to browse other apps within the App Store. On the GS3, downloading and installing an app makes navigating Google Play slow and stuttery. For all of the multitasking capabilities that Android touts, this is one case where the overall experience does not match that of iOS. My understanding of the design of iOS is that it seems to place a high emphasis on the UI experience. The web browsing and situation where an app is installing in the background highlights this.
Other than web browsing and while an app is installing in the background, I found both the iPad and GS3 to be just as smooth. Both are not smooth all the time. I have experienced the odd jerkiness in on both the iPad and the GS3 from time to time. Overall, both are about as smooth when scrolling most of the time.
Both iOS and Android have most of the apps I use. There are a few where the selection of apps don't overlap. I've found that some apps on Android (not counting widget only apps) are not available on the Apple App Store and some I use on iOS not on Google Play. Of the apps I use on both platforms, both perform more or less just as well. Some apps look better than others and that is the case on both platforms. Consistency between apps isn't always there either. It is more so on Android because I find that there are still some Android apps that feel like a lazy port from its iOS version. I couldn't figure out why the Android app behaved in such an unusual manner until I started using iOS more. Then I realised it was behaving like the iOS app instead of an Android app.
I have noticed that some apps have features on one platform, but not the other. I found this to be rather frustrating. There doesn't seem to be any reason for many of these features to appear on one platform and not on the other. For instance, GasBuddy has a favourites list on Android, but not on iOS. Yahoo! Weather has a time lapse of the radar map on iOS, but only a still image on Android. I just cannot see why these and other features are not available on both platforms.
The one thing that I still haven't gotten used to is how iOS apps go back to the previous screen. On Android, there is the back button. The lack of a back button I find is really annoying. iOS apps do have a button to go back to the previous screen only, it isn't called the back button. It's called something different every time and it's in a different location depending on the app. Most of the time it is on the upper left which is pretty much the most difficult part of the screen to reach with my right thumb. Some iOS apps have a swipe in from the left edge to go back. I find this gesture to be difficult to use as I sometimes don't swipe horizontally enough. If my swipe is at too much of an angle, the screen scrolls up or down instead of going back to the previous screen. Of all the Android features I don't have on iOS, this is actually the one feature I miss the most.
The battery life on the iPad Mini is excellent. It takes me a few heavy days of use before I need to charge it. My Transformer tablet had a good battery life as well, but the difference between the iPad and Transformer is that the iPad battery doesn't drain much when not used. My Transformer drains a lot faster when not used and I have to recharge it after a few days of not using it. The iPad Mini has lasted weeks while not used. My wife last used her iPad Mini on a cruise we were on. When we came back she never used it. Even weeks after she last used it, I still heard the chimes when it gets an email.
Both the iPad Mini and GS3 are just as stable. I have had the odd crash/hang on both devices. These are very rare occurrences. I think it only happened once or twice in the past few months from what I can remember.
Overally, I am very happy with my iPad Mini. I use it exclusively at home. While I'm out, I use my GS3 as the iPad Mini is still too bulky to carry around and my GS3 still functionally does pretty much everything my iPad Mini can and more. I do use the iPad Mini more than the GS3 at home because of the larger screen and strong battery life. I also have some games on it that isn't available on Android. As my iPad Mini is WiFi only, I still use my GS3 for much of my messaging use. There are some things I'd rather do on my GS3 or PC instead of the iPad Mini due to the lack of functionality in certain iOS apps or the app is not available on iOS.
I do find that the combo of the iPad Mini and a GS3 to work quite well for me. After using both devices, I do appreciate the strenghts of each platform. iOS had the edge in the web browsing user experience. Android has the edge in overall functionality.
I've already did a post on my experience with the iPhone 5S. This post will focus more on the iPad Mini. When doing comparisons with Android, I will primarily compare it with the Samsung Galaxy S3. My usage on these two devices are most similar to each other. (My iPhone 5S is primarily for work and my usage is different on that.) Also, these two devices were released within months of each other. Even though they have different form factors, I think that they are the best devices I have at my disposal for a good comparison of iOS and Android. Occasionally, I will make comparisons between other devices.
First of all, I really like the size of the iPad Mini. I have the Transformer tablet and got it mainly for its keyboard dock. When not using the dock, I found it to be rather big and heavy to comfortably use. As long as it was docked, it was fine resting on a table or on my lap. When I didn't want to use the dock or can't (because the stupid app does not support landscape), it felt rather heavy after a while. The iPad Mini was nice and light and I never felt my hands got tired holding it. It had a larger display than my phone and was easier on eye to read and view when mobility was not required. Even without a keyboard dock, typing on the iPad Mini was rather pleasant. I use the split keyboard. Even though I don't like the iOS keyboard on the iPhone, the keyboard was pretty good on the iPad both in landscape and portrait.
The one thing that I found the iPad Mini blows away my Galaxy S3 is in web browsing. When viewing complex web pages, the iPad Mini was more responsive when I wanted to zoom or scroll down. On the Galaxy S3, more complex web pages had a longer load time. Before it finished loading, I could not scroll down. Watching videos on web pages on the iPad Mini was a much better experience than on the Galaxy S3. On the iPad Mini, it was easy to just pinch zoom to view the video in full screen mode. On the GS3, I had to hit the little full screen button on the corner of the video. There is one thing that I found a little annoying when web browsing that happens not very often, but more so on iOS.
There are other places where the iPad is noticeably smoother and more respoinsive than the GS3. When downloading and installing an app from the App Store, it is rather smooth when I start to browse other apps within the App Store. On the GS3, downloading and installing an app makes navigating Google Play slow and stuttery. For all of the multitasking capabilities that Android touts, this is one case where the overall experience does not match that of iOS. My understanding of the design of iOS is that it seems to place a high emphasis on the UI experience. The web browsing and situation where an app is installing in the background highlights this.
Other than web browsing and while an app is installing in the background, I found both the iPad and GS3 to be just as smooth. Both are not smooth all the time. I have experienced the odd jerkiness in on both the iPad and the GS3 from time to time. Overall, both are about as smooth when scrolling most of the time.
Both iOS and Android have most of the apps I use. There are a few where the selection of apps don't overlap. I've found that some apps on Android (not counting widget only apps) are not available on the Apple App Store and some I use on iOS not on Google Play. Of the apps I use on both platforms, both perform more or less just as well. Some apps look better than others and that is the case on both platforms. Consistency between apps isn't always there either. It is more so on Android because I find that there are still some Android apps that feel like a lazy port from its iOS version. I couldn't figure out why the Android app behaved in such an unusual manner until I started using iOS more. Then I realised it was behaving like the iOS app instead of an Android app.
I have noticed that some apps have features on one platform, but not the other. I found this to be rather frustrating. There doesn't seem to be any reason for many of these features to appear on one platform and not on the other. For instance, GasBuddy has a favourites list on Android, but not on iOS. Yahoo! Weather has a time lapse of the radar map on iOS, but only a still image on Android. I just cannot see why these and other features are not available on both platforms.
The one thing that I still haven't gotten used to is how iOS apps go back to the previous screen. On Android, there is the back button. The lack of a back button I find is really annoying. iOS apps do have a button to go back to the previous screen only, it isn't called the back button. It's called something different every time and it's in a different location depending on the app. Most of the time it is on the upper left which is pretty much the most difficult part of the screen to reach with my right thumb. Some iOS apps have a swipe in from the left edge to go back. I find this gesture to be difficult to use as I sometimes don't swipe horizontally enough. If my swipe is at too much of an angle, the screen scrolls up or down instead of going back to the previous screen. Of all the Android features I don't have on iOS, this is actually the one feature I miss the most.
The battery life on the iPad Mini is excellent. It takes me a few heavy days of use before I need to charge it. My Transformer tablet had a good battery life as well, but the difference between the iPad and Transformer is that the iPad battery doesn't drain much when not used. My Transformer drains a lot faster when not used and I have to recharge it after a few days of not using it. The iPad Mini has lasted weeks while not used. My wife last used her iPad Mini on a cruise we were on. When we came back she never used it. Even weeks after she last used it, I still heard the chimes when it gets an email.
Both the iPad Mini and GS3 are just as stable. I have had the odd crash/hang on both devices. These are very rare occurrences. I think it only happened once or twice in the past few months from what I can remember.
Overally, I am very happy with my iPad Mini. I use it exclusively at home. While I'm out, I use my GS3 as the iPad Mini is still too bulky to carry around and my GS3 still functionally does pretty much everything my iPad Mini can and more. I do use the iPad Mini more than the GS3 at home because of the larger screen and strong battery life. I also have some games on it that isn't available on Android. As my iPad Mini is WiFi only, I still use my GS3 for much of my messaging use. There are some things I'd rather do on my GS3 or PC instead of the iPad Mini due to the lack of functionality in certain iOS apps or the app is not available on iOS.
I do find that the combo of the iPad Mini and a GS3 to work quite well for me. After using both devices, I do appreciate the strenghts of each platform. iOS had the edge in the web browsing user experience. Android has the edge in overall functionality.
