I can sum up why Android beats iOS (for me) with one example.
On my iPad, when I install a new app, it gets put into a folder on the app page based on some unknown criteria. iOS categorizes it for me (or maybe the app tells the OS what it’s category is, I’m not sure). I’m not allowed to move it to a different folder. Yes, I can pin it to the home screen or the app bar, but it’s stuck in that folder whether I like it or not. And, some apps even wind up in MULTIPLE folders. So if I don’t agree with the categorization, it will forever be an annoyance to find that app but cause iOS is creating a mental model that doesn’t match my own.
Apple always thinks they know what’s best for their users. And you know what? For a lot of users, they probably do, or at least the users don’t care that decisions are being made for them for better or worse.
So you have to ask a basic question: do you want a device that thinks for you and forces you to do things the way the designers of it decide for you, or do you want a greater level of flexibility and control?
To be clear, not everyone needs or wants to tailor their experience. Some are perfectly happy to never have to think about how they want things to be. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that mindset necessarily, so if that’s you then you’ll probably get along just fine with iOS.
For the rest of us, we wind up feeling like our device is actively working AGAINST us, and that’s the crux of why I prefer Android. It always feels like my device is working FOR me and WITH me, never against me. It adapts to my mental model, I don’t have to adapt to its mental model. To me, it’s a more effective tool that way.
Yes, correct, thank you for clarifying on my behalf.