Android KitKat 4.4 vs Apple iOS 7 head-to-head review
We put core apps including email, maps & browsers to the test to see which OS is the top dog
Email and Calendar
BothiOSand Android have built-in Exchange support so there are no problems if you want to sync upiOS7 orKitKatwith your work email. Setting up an Exchange account oniOS takes seconds, but withKitKatyou'll need to know server and domain names or have to pay a visit to theIT department.
Accepting, rejecting and proposing amendments to Exchange meeting invitations worked fine on both operating systems, as did receiving and sending email.
KitKat, like earlier versions of Android, has separate Gmail and IMAP/POP3/Exchange email apps. This division isstrange as now have identical user interfaces with a right hand sidebar showing your labels/folders which can be hidden, threaded conversations and the ability to select multiple emails for batch deletions and moves.
Apple's mailbox (left) offers the option to unify all accounts, whereas Android (right) has separate apps for Exchange and Gmail
Apple's Mail app has identical features, but with the benefit for an optional unified inbox for all your Gmail, IMAP, POP3 and Exchange accounts. The email apps in bothiOS7 andKitKathave added swipe-based gestures for deleting and archiving emails.
One feature missing from Apple's Mail app, but not from Google's, is group contact support. IniOSyou can't create groups of contacts (such as Accounts, Sales or Marketing) and then send an email to all the addresses in the groupby typing in the name of the group in the To field. It continues to be a bizarre omission from Apple's Mail app.
Both the calendar apps iniOS7 andKitKataresimilar with day, week, month and agenda views, although theiOS7 Calendar apphides the agenda view as a drop-down list that appears when you tap the search icon.
There's little difference between the two calendar apps when creating and managing events, but theiOS7 calendar app looks better and thecolourred used tohighlight the current date and time. If you use Google Calendar, theKitKatcalendar app retains all the correctcolourcodingsfor all your separate calendars, whereas theiOS7 calendar'scolours show different shadings.
There's little to separate the calendar apps - both are offer the same functionality - iOS (left), Android (right)
WINNER: Tie.Android has support for grouped contacts, but the iOS unified inbox is excellent. There's little to separate the calendar apps.
The 3D skills report
Add 3D skills to your creative toolkits and play a sizeable role in the digital future
Free DownloadThe increasing need for environmental intelligence solutions
How sustainability has become a major business priority and is continuing to grow in importance
Free Download2022 State of the multi-cloud report
What are the biggest multi-cloud motivations for decision-makers, and what are the leading challenges
Free DownloadSolve global challenges with machine learning
Tackling our word's hardest problems with ML
Free Download
