iPhone vs Android: Which Smartphone Should You Buy?

The world is expected to buy over 1 billion smartphones in 2014.
Considering that the first real smartphone - the original iPhone - was launched just six years ago, this figure is all that more remarkable.
For consumers things have never been better. Increased competition and the entry into the UK market of budget smartphone makers like Huawei and ZTE have driven prices down, while quality and choice has increased.
The problem now is choosing the right Cheap Android Phones for you.
While there are other options out there (notably Windows Phone and BlackBerry) most people will end up chosing between Apple's iPhones or one of hundreds of Android-based smartphones from manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony and many more.
Which is best for you? Here we look at the differences each platform offers to see which suits your needs the best:
Apple offers three iPhone options at the moment - the iPhone 4s, the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c (right). All are relatively similar with the iPhone 4s the oldest and smallest of the three. The iPhone 5s is the flagship model with features like its fingerprint scanner and faster processor offering the best performance of any of Apple's phones.
For the fashion conscious, the slightly cheaper iPhone 5c is available in a range of vibrant colours and a unashamedly plastic finish.
But that's it from Apple.
Android is a completely different proposition. There are hundreds - if not thousands - of smartphones available running Google's Android operating system. In the UK we only see a fraction of these, but you still have huge variety available from premium smartphones like the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, to the budget smartphones like the Moto G.
In terms of design most Android smartphones look very much alike (thin, rectangular and black) and at similar prices offer similar features (screen resolution, processor power, storage).
In terms of unique features, Samsung phones integrate eye control and hand gestures; HTC's One smartphone has excellent front-facing speakers; Motorola's Moto X can be controlled using just your voice and LG's G Flex has a curved screen.
iPhone vs Android: Which Smartphone Should You Buy?
By DAVID GILBERT | January 15, 2014 16:59 PM GMT
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iPhone or Android: Which Cheap Android Phone Should You Buy?
The world is expected to buy over 1 billion smartphones in 2014.
Considering that the first real smartphone - the original iPhone - was launched just six years ago, this figure is all that more remarkable.
For consumers things have never been better. Increased competition and the entry into the UK market of budget smartphone makers like Huawei and ZTE have driven prices down, while quality and choice has increased.
The problem now is choosing the right smartphone for you.
While there are other options out there (notably Windows Phone and BlackBerry) most people will end up chosing between Apple's iPhones or one of hundreds of Android-based smartphones from manufacturers like Samsung, HTC, LG, Sony and many more.
Which is best for you? Here we look at the differences each platform offers to see which suits your needs the best:
iPhone or Android: The Phones
Apple's colourful iPhone 5c
Apple offers three iPhone options at the moment - the iPhone 4s, the iPhone 5s and the iPhone 5c (right). All are relatively similar with the iPhone 4s the oldest and smallest of the three. The iPhone 5s is the flagship model with features like its fingerprint scanner and faster processor offering the best performance of any of Apple's phones.
For the fashion conscious, the slightly cheaper iPhone 5c is available in a range of vibrant colours and a unashamedly plastic finish.
But that's it from Apple.
Android is a completely different proposition. There are hundreds - if not thousands - of smartphones available running Google's Android operating system. In the UK we only see a fraction of these, but you still have huge variety available from premium smartphones like the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4, to the budget smartphones like the Moto G.
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In terms of design most Android smartphones look very much alike (thin, rectangular and black) and at similar prices offer similar features (screen resolution, processor power, storage).
In terms of unique features, Samsung phones integrate eye control and hand gestures; HTC's One smartphone has excellent front-facing speakers; Motorola's Moto X can be controlled using just your voice and LG's G Flex has a curved screen.
iPhone or Android: Size
As the smartphone market has matured, Cheap Android Phones have become bigger and bigger, to the point where manufacturers are now blurring the lines between smartphone and tablet.
While most of the premium Android smartphones have screens of between 4.7in and 5in, the rise of the phablet (a horrible conflation of the words phone and tablet) has seen devices like the Galaxy Note, Sony Xperia Z Ultra and HTC One Max push screen sizes up to over 6in.
Despite the increase in screen size however, manufacturers have been able to keep the weight and thickness of the phones down, with almost all major smartphones now less than 10mm thick and most noticeably less than than.
While Apple may have led the smartphone charge, in the last 12 months its iPhones have looked decidedly small in comparison to the Android smartphones out there.
At 4in (or 3.5in for the iPhone 4s) Apple's iPhones are compact but for those looking to watch video or play games on their smartphone, this could be seen as too small.