The everlasting rivalry between iOS and Android users grows with every new iteration as more and more features are introduced, some brand-new and others inspired by one another’s innovations. Android usually goes first, followed by Apple, which, more often than not, takes its sweet time to implement features in better and more practical ways. Truth be told, many Android OEMs implement changes in their custom interfaces by blatantly copying Apple, so we can’t pinpoint one as being wrong. Ultimately, it benefits the user, which is all we want.

iOS 18 features borrowed from Android

The same storyline followed as Apple announced the latest iteration of its iPhone operating system on Day 1 of WWDC24 – iOS 18. It was followed by tvOS 18, watchOS 11, iPadOS 18, macOS 15 Sequoia, visionOS 2, and the talk of the town, Apple Intelligence. This article jots down 18 newly-announced iOS 18 and iPadOS 18 features already present on Android.

Search Through Call History

As elementary of a feature as it sounds, searching through your call history is now possible in iOS 18. Until now, the only place you could search for a specific contact was via the contacts page in the phone app. iOS 18 adds a handy search button in the call history page for reduced touches. Android has never missed out on such an essential feature for such a long time.

T9 Dialer

T9 dialing is another crucial feature iOS users have missed for years. It’s a predictive text technology that essentially allows you to search for contacts through numerical input from the dialer itself. For instance, if you have to call John, instead of searching through the contacts or entering the phone number, you can dial 5646 and see the contact magically appear. It works by interpreting the numerical combination and suggesting the closest contact. Trust us, there’s no going back once you get used to it. Android has had this feature since Android 4.3, which was announced in 2013.

Game Mode

While most mobile gamers prefer gaming on an iPhone since it runs games at stable frame rates without throttling performance, it’s surprising Apple took this long to introduce a dedicated gaming mode. All Game Mode can currently do is limit background activity for sustained performance and reduce latency between connected controllers and AirPods. Android users enjoy a lot more, including virtual triggers, visual and audio enhancements, 4D game vibration, and whatnot. Game Mode is also a part of the newly announced iPadOS 18.

RCS Support

RCS stands for rich communication services, a worthy replacement for the outdated SMS protocol. iPhones and Android phones have always communicated using the older SMS protocol, which came with many shortcomings, such as shortened messages, low-quality media, no end-to-end encryption, and more. Apple’s implementation of the newer RCS protocol in iOS 18, which Android phones have entirely shifted to, will enable quality-of-life features, such as typing indicators, read receipts, end-to-end encryption, higher-quality media, and longer messages. Unfortunately, Apple still doesn’t care about fixing the green-blue bubble fiasco.

Call Recording

Yes, you heard it right! iOS 18 brings the long-awaited call recording feature to iPhones. You can now record calls using your iPhone, which will take place after an announcement, such as a beep or voice prompt. If you have an iPhone 15 Pro/Pro Max, you can transcribe and summarize your calls in text form using Apple Intelligence. Since this feature isn’t available in the current developer build, we will have to wait to see it in action. Needless to say, Android users have been recording calls for years.

Scheduled Messages

Scheduling messages can sometimes prove highly beneficial, especially if you often forget to wish others on their birthdays. In that case, you can schedule a message to be sent later, on a particular day and at a specific time. iOS 18 brings a new feature called Send Later, which lets you schedule a message for the future. This feature has been on Android for a long time.

iPhone Mirroring

iPhone Mirroring is a helpful addition to the already fantastic suite of Continuity features between an iPhone and a Mac. As the name states, it allows you to wirelessly mirror your iPhone’s screen on your Mac and control it remotely. Moreover, you can share files between your iPhone and Mac using the drag-and-drop functionality. While Android, more specifically Samsung Dex, Samsung Flow, and Motorola Ready For, allows you to share your phone’s screen on your PC, the experience is far from ideal. We expect Apple’s implementation to be a lot better.

Moreover, your iPhone stays locked during the process so no one can access it in your absence. Also, the connected iPhone’s notifications get mirrored to your Mac so you won’t miss any crucial updates. We know this is a macOS Sequoia feature, but we have included it since it requires an iPhone.

Separate App Settings Page

While it’s not a groundbreaking change, having a separate app settings page within the system settings makes it much easier to navigate and visualize. This means you don’t have to scroll through the list of apps on the front page of system settings; instead, it’s a separate section altogether. Android devices have always had it this way.

Proper Homescreen Customization

iOS 18’s starlight feature allows you to place icons on the home screen wherever you like. You can now place your icons and widgets anywhere on the home screen, be it for better reachability or wallpaper visibility. This means you can also leave blank spaces on the home screen if you wish, something which was previously undoable. This is considered basic in the books of Android and has been available for over a decade.

Enlarged App Icons and Hidden App Labels

Enlarged app icons and hidden app labels might not be something most Android users use but insist that you give it a try on your iPhone. Enlarged icons make it easier for your thumb to locate an icon, whereas hidden app labels enable a cleaner look. Unfortunately, both these features are linked in iOS 18, meaning app labels will automatically hide if you opt for enlarged icons. There’s no such restriction on Android, though.

Themed Icons

Android 12 introduced Material You – a feature that allows color-matching icons with colors chosen from the wallpaper. Many Android skins also allow setting a custom color, too. iOS 18 takes it to a whole new level by letting you set a custom color using a color slider or from the wallpaper. There’s icon tinting, wallpaper dimming, and more to make your home screen even more personal. It all depends on your creativity and color coordination, as thanks to themed icons, we have seen some pretty crap home screen setups. Judging by the default looks, Android does it way better.

Revamped Control Center

Let us get this right: iOS 18’s control center has surpassed Android’s by a mile. While an average notification panel on Android would only allow interchanging toggles and adding new ones from a set of predefined ones, iOS does a lot more. In iOS 18, you can not only edit and replace existing toggles and resize them but also add multiple control center pages, each unique and purposeful. Control Center on iOS has become supremely customizable now.

Lockscreen Shortcuts

It’s funny that Apple took this long to edit the only lockscreen functionality – shortcuts (widgets), which have always been limited to the camera icon on the bottom right and torch on the bottom left corner. Thankfully, Apple went all out and showered the shortcuts with many actions to choose from, such as scanning a QR code, jotting a quick note, and many more. Android phones have had this for long, although they haven’t been this customizable.

Battery Charge Limiter

Charge limiter is a relatively new feature on the Android side of things, but it is undoubtedly helpful. Charge limiter allows you to limit battery charging to a specified percentage, ranging between 80% and 100%. Indeed, this is somewhat related to the optimized charging feature. Charge limiter is crucial to maintain your iPhone’s battery health; hence, we recommend setting the charge limit between 80%-90%.

Locked Apps

Locking apps is a primary privacy feature Android phones have had for years. However, since not all Android OEMs include app lock in the custom interfaces, users often rely on third-party apps for the same. One could hide apps on iPhones before, but iOS 18 makes it more seamless than before, as all you need to do to lock an app is long-press its icon and select Require Face ID. That’s it! Any of the app’s incoming notifications, spotlight suggestions, related Siri suggestions, and more won’t show up anymore.

Hidden Apps

As a direct extension to locking apps on the home screen, iOS 18 allows hiding apps altogether. Once you hide an app, it will be placed in a dedicated hidden apps folder in the app library, which can only be unlocked using Face ID. The app won’t show in search suggestions, and its notifications will be hidden. Again, Android users have been enjoying hiding apps for quite some time.

Dedicated Power-Off Option in Control Center

Ever since Apple did away with dedicated power button on iPhones and iPads, the preferred way to shut down an iPhone was by long-pressing the volume and power button together. Surprisingly, many people don’t know how to shut down their iPhones, a blame worth putting on Apple for not making it easy enough. Like on most Android phones, iOS 18 has a much-needed power-off button in the control center, making it the fastest way to shut down an iPhone.

Last but Not the Least: A calculator app for iPad

Saving the best till the last, the iPad now has an official calculator app! As funny as it sounds, iPadOS 18 finally introduces a dedicated calculator app for the iPad and, quite frankly, the best calculator to ever exist. The wait was worth it only because of Math Notes, which solves equations and arithmetic problems as you write them, almost like a magic wand.

From its looks, the iPad calculator app is merely a stretched version of the iPhone calculator app, which has also received an update that adds unit conversions, Math Notes, and a new scientific mode in landscape orientation.

There’s Still a Long Way To Go

We all love it when Apple introduces features that bring meaningful improvements to how we use our iPhones. Even though many of them are Android-firsts, it’s always refreshing to see Apple’s version and the magic they have put in. As for what’s next, we would love to see split-screen functionality, floating windows, cloned apps, third-party app installations, and more introduced on iPhones sooner or later.

Was this article helpful?
YesNo