iOS Vs. Android: 6 Key Differences from a Design Perspective

Android & iOS have a complete stranglehold on the mobile OS market. But how different are these two OS ecosystems? Here are some design insights for a better perspective.

1. Screen Resolutions

While the image processing capability is better on iOS due to hardware uniformity, Android offers better overall pixel densities & device fragmentation.

2. Typography

Both Android and iOS offer great typographic freedom to its developers to create what they want. Nonetheless, using the native typographical conventions is advised.

3. UI Navigation

iOS has a primarily gesture-based navigation interface, while Android offers both gesture and button-centric navigation.

4. User Menus

iOS, in keeping with its minimalist approach to design, has a simple user action menu format.Android is far less homogeneous due to differences in manufacturers.

5. Dialogue Notifications

Critically, both the operating systems have extremely similar dialogue notifications albeit with a few differences:

• iOS – Both Dialogue text and action button are located centrally within the field of vision of the user.
• Android – Dialogue text at the center of the user’s field of vision while the action button is located at the bottom right.

6. UI Spacing

The fundamental difference between iOS & Android in spacing are the divider sizes, element size, and contract between foreground & background.