The battle between iPhone users and Android users is ongoing, intense, and downright vicious. Entire wars have been fought over less. Anyone thinking of entering an online “iPhone vs. Android” discussion thread should only do so armed with a cup of coffee and some morale-boosting pictures of adorable kittens. Any brave iPhone users out there looking to jump into the fray as a foot soldier in the Phone Wars should be prepared to mention these unique features of the iPhone:
Siri
She looks like a little purple microphone and sounds like Stephen Hawking’s long-lost twin sister, but ever since her introduction on the iPhone 4S, Siri has become one of the iPhone’s most popular features. For those peasant-folk still Googling things by hand, Siri is an artificially intelligent virtual assistant who can do everything from recommending a great local restaurant, to sending your mother a text, to helping you find a place to stash a body, (That was not a joke. She can really do that.) all with the power of voice command. Android developers have desperately tried to produce a Siri clone, with fairly dismal results; several semi-functioning alternatives do exist, but most of them mainly function as verbal Google search tools, which will helpfully present you with search results for “a full plight rest of three” instead of “apple pie recipes”.
Find My iPhone
Human thieves, like their bird counterparts, are hopelessly attracted to shiny objects, making smartphones a popular target. Find my iPhone is a free service that allows you to track down your $600 toy, whether it was accidentally forgotten on a bus seat or snatched by an elusive criminal mastermind. On more than one occasion, the service has helped to apprehend a petty iPhone-stealing thief. Android have tried to offer similar services, but none have been nearly as reliable – or nearly as free – as the one offered by Apple.
Apple Airplay
Tired of tripping over cables, fishing flash drives out of the dog’s mouth and throwing full-on temper tantrums at the electronics store when you realize there is no simple cable to connect port X to port Y? Apple’s solution is, as usual, incredibly convenient and minimalist. Apple Airplay lets you stream any kind of content on your Apple device – including your iPhone – onto other devices. Save yourself the embarrassment of admitting you’re developing age-related vision loss by playing Angry Birds on your wide screen TV! Install AirPlay enabled speakers in your home and allow the whole family to enjoy your little sister’s Justin Beiber albums. The possibilities are endless. You don’t even have to empty your bank account to buy all-Apple products either; AirPlay is enabled of products of several makes, and many pieces of equipment can be easily adapted to support AirPlay. Android, true to form, have attempted to come up with their own AirPlay equivalent, but the immense amount of variation between the multiple companies manufacturing Android devices has made the creation of a reliable alternative something of a pipe dream.
