Android vs. iOS: each design philosophy explained in simple lines
Contrasting differences between the two ecosystems boiled down to slogans.
This article was originally published on my Substack, Big Tech.
Apple and Google are the two leaders of the smartphone marketplace and besides the few similarities, both of them share differing views on design. Their design principles are adopted by designers and developers all over the world, especially for Android and iOS.
While there are plenty of in-depth articles on the contrasting philosophies between the two ecosystems, I decided to boil it down to short lines.
On the design systems
According to us, users should interact with content as if they’re holding it in their hands. Material design is the name of our design concept.
Apple
We believe in making minimalistic user interfaces that are consistent, intuitive, and approachable. Hence we call it human interface guidelines.
On navigation
We love hamburgers and recommend the drawer menu for navigation. But, you can also use Bottom Navigation Bar or Tabs at the top.
Apple
We’ve stuck with only one navigation design which is the tab bar at the bottom of the screen. It’s in sync with the right-hand thumb rule and proven to be better.
On animations
Animations help breathe life into the user interface. We recommend drop shadows, elevation, depth, light sources, and motion as key properties to demonstrate the interaction between components in the user interface.
Apple
We embrace gradients and flat design. But an animation that distracts the user is too much for our liking. We’d prefer subtle changes and a realistic motion design that directs the user’s focus to the important content.
On customers
We know what our customers want. And design accordingly.
Apple
We know that our customers don’t really know what they want. And create designs accordingly.
On design priorities
Consistency over clarity.
Apple
Coherency over consistency.
On innovation and evolution
We rely on our huge data to experiment with design trends and refine them regularly. We are also the first movers and release features years ahead of our competition.
Apple
We believe in slow, gradual, and incremental changes instead of rushing into the market. Besides, we are more than happy to catch-up while ensuring that the finer details are right. Also, we do a more polished job of integrating features into our ecosystem.
On customizations
We enforce fewer rules for customization and provide more flexibility to our designers, developers, and users.
Apple
We believe privacy and security are the central focus of any design. Hence we hand over only a limited set of options for customization.
On product releases
Rapid and multiple releases every year. Some of them might not be supported for long.
Apple
Annual releases that stand the test of time.
On their rival products
Chrome app provides a far better UX experience than Safari, across desktop and apps.
Apple
Possibly true. Yet the G-Suite apps including Gmail look so much better on iOS than Android.
I hope the above quirky lines helped explain the design philosophies adopted by Google and Apple. Knowing the difference would certainly help you adhere to their guidelines either as a designer or developer working on native mobile apps.
That’s it for this one. Thanks for reading.
