Apple has a long history of taking features from Android, that weren’t implemented very well, and doing it much better than Google ever realized was possible. A great example of this is FaceID.
Using your face as a password so you didn’t need to type anything actually came to Google’s Pixel phones before it was available on any iPhone. But the problem was, it wasn’t very secure. Not only was it unreliable but it was easily fooled by someone simply holding up a photo of you. It wasn’t until Apple implemented their 3D lasers and infrared data did FaceID become truly reliable and secure. Then the whole world wanted to copy it.
We’re seeing this play out again with the release last week of Apple’s iOS 14. New features like picture-in-picture (PiP) and widgets are now widely available to iPhone users. Android users were quick to point out that these came to Android years ago. But Apple didn’t simply copy what Android did, they leapfrogged them entirely. The PiP and widgets in iOS 14 go beyond what Android has ever done.
Picture-in-Picture
Apple made PiP so that you could easily move the picture around or place it out of view entirely. The great part is that when it’s out of view, it keeps playing so that you can still hear the audio. Plus, there’s a little handle so that you can drag it back into view. You can’t do that in Android.
So in the iOS version, if you are using PiP, and all of a sudden you need to see the whole screen it’s no problem. You simply push your video to the side and do what you need to do and your video keeps playing. Then when you’re done you easily drag your video back. I love it! In Android you’d have to kill the video because there is no temporary push off-screen option.
Widgets
Apple’s Smart Stack of widgets are also awesome. Yeah, Android lets you put widgets on your home screen too, but not like Apple does.
The problem with smartphones compared to larger screens like iPads or laptops is the lack of space. In Android if want 3 widgets on your screen you have to give up the space to display these 3 widgets simultaneously. But Apple gives you the option of stacking the widgets. This means that you can stack three widgets in the space of one. They are on top of each in a rotating carousel.
With widget stacks, you can flip through your widgets and quickly get to the one that you want. But with the “smart” stacks, you often don’t even need to do that. Apple’s Smart Stack predicts what you’ll want to see and puts that widget on top. So I’ll see the weather on top in the morning and the music widget when I’m about to work out. It’s amazing.
We’re seeing this play out again with the release last week of Apple’s iOS 14. New features like picture-in-picture (PiP) and widgets are now widely available to iPhone users. Android users were quick to point out that these came to Android years ago. But Apple didn’t simply copy what Android did, they leapfrogged them entirely. The PiP and widgets in iOS 14 go beyond what Android has ever done.
Picture-in-Picture
Apple made PiP so that you could easily move the picture around or place it out of view entirely. The great part is that when it’s out of view, it keeps playing so that you can still hear the audio. Plus, there’s a little handle so that you can drag it back into view. You can’t do that in Android.
So in the iOS version, if you are using PiP, and all of a sudden you need to see the whole screen it’s no problem. You simply push your video to the side and do what you need to do and your video keeps playing. Then when you’re done you easily drag your video back. I love it! In Android you’d have to kill the video because there is no temporary push off-screen option.
Widgets
Apple’s Smart Stack of widgets are also awesome. Yeah, Android lets you put widgets on your home screen too, but not like Apple does.
The problem with smartphones compared to larger screens like iPads or laptops is the lack of space. In Android if want 3 widgets on your screen you have to give up the space to display these 3 widgets simultaneously. But Apple gives you the option of stacking the widgets. This means that you can stack three widgets in the space of one. They are on top of each in a rotating carousel.
With widget stacks, you can flip through your widgets and quickly get to the one that you want. But with the “smart” stacks, you often don’t even need to do that. Apple’s Smart Stack predicts what you’ll want to see and puts that widget on top. So I’ll see the weather on top in the morning and the music widget when I’m about to work out. It’s amazing.
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