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iOS 14 vs Android 11: Preliminary comparison
Now both iOS 14 and Android 11 are out, it's time to compare these two and see how they fare against one another. iOS 14 will hits eligible devices this autumn, but it will take Android 11 a bit longer before it would be available on the majority of the popular devices out there. Still, it's worth comparing the two, even though they are still in early stages of development and certain aspects and features are certainly bound to change with subsequent builds.
iOS 14 was announced last week with lots of new quality-of-life improvements and new features that have been a long time coming. There's still a long time until iOS 14 arrives to the list of supported devices, but the wait will be worth it. Meanwhile, Android 11 is all about quality-of-life updates to the world's most popular operating system. There's no new design language or any major new features that overhaul the whole system; instead, Google has focused on fine-tuning notifications, improving the messaging experience, toning down visual clutter, improving permission management, and so on.
For a deeper look at both iOS 14 and Android 11, feel free to read our dedicated previews to both operating systems, but have in mind that they are in their early development cycles.
iOS 14 vs Android 11: Home screen
Android 11's home screen is pretty much unchanged aside from the new dock which shows some recent and suggested apps you might want to use at that exact time. With iOS 14, the home screen is pretty much reinvented with the introduction of widgets on the home screens.
iOS 14 vs Android 11: Widgets
Yes, widgets are quite possibly the highlight feature of iOS 14, but let's not forget that Android 11 was the first OS to implement these. Yet, due to one reason or another, Android widgets have certainly fell out of fashion with time.
iOS 14 vs Android 11: Recent apps
iOS 14 is still utilizing the same recent apps setup that has been around for a few versions of the OS. Meanwhile, Android employs a recent apps' view that's not that informative and only displays one app at a time, with only a slight hint of the more recent app to the left.
iOS 14 vs Android 11: Quick Settings
The big change in Android 11 is the music player widget in the quick settings menu, which not only saves some visual free estate, but also looks swell. iOS 14, on the other hand, is unchanged, apart from the new toggles that are available.
