iPhone 5 vs this phone, iPhone 5 vs that phone. Since its release the iPhone 5 has been compared to other phones on the market, both Android and Windows. And while there are a lot of things that each respective phone does better than the others, there are fundamental issues that each need to resolve in order to gain more of an edge over the iPhone 5.
Windows
Windows phones haven’t had the greatest reputation the past couple of years but the Nokia Lumia 920 may be looking to change that. In the ‘iPhone 5 vs Lumia 920’ debate, the Lumia has a clear advantage when it comes to things like camera quality and even screen size and resolution. But there is something that is definitely holding back the Lumia 920 and Windows phones in general. The Windows platform has yet to create a formidable apps market comparable to that of Android or iOS. Maybe Windows 8 will help attract more developers, but Microsoft’s pricing plan for apps may become an issue for consumers as they would be more expensive than current iOS and Android apps.
Android
It’s hard to generalize about Android phones and how they compare to the iPhone because there are so many of them and each has varying screen size, processing power, camera quality and other features. But there is something that the iPhone undoubtedly has over Android and it has to do with the operating systems. Most people turn to preference when looking at iOS or Android but there is something that I think even Android users are annoyed about. When iOS 6 came out, owners of iOS devices everywhere had the option to update. Android fans on the other hand aren’t as lucky. Android updates tend to roll out in a more fragmented sequence with some phones receiving updates sooner than others. Some phones are still running Android 2.3 because updates have not been made available. What Android gains in having an open source approach it loses in being able to easily manage and distribute.
Neither of these problems is permanent and each can definitely be improved upon. And when the Windows platform has strong apps and Android updates have a more streamlined updating process, phones like the Lumia 920 and Galaxy SIII will have a stronger edge in future ‘iPhone 5 vs’ debates.