My quad-core’s better than yours.
No it isn’t.
Yes, it is!
It’s already coming down to this. With rumours abound about the iPhone 5 and its suspected A6 quad-core processor, Android’s upcoming devices are getting a fair bit of stick, with one website describing them as “impoverished relatives of the next-gen Apple smartphone”. In the minds of many an Apple advocate, the Android platform is suggested to be sorely lacking in the performance and usability stakes despite rocking some meaty processors and comparable cores in some upcoming phones. But is that fair?
Apple’s quad-core will reign supreme. End of.
It is fair to say, if indeed the rumours at Macerkopf.de are correct and Apple does include the quad-core A6 processor in its upcoming iPhone 5, the mere fact that its an Apple processor made for the Apple iPhone 5 by the Apple iPhone technical team is a huge advantage when compared to, say, an HTC phone powered by a Qualcomm chip running Google’s OS.
Android is also based on legacy code originally designed to support a BlackBerry-style experience, rather than a touch-focused interface. This hinders the user experience in terms of touch interaction. With finger swiping processed in realtime on an iOS device for example, on an Android device, touch input is ‘only’ given normal priority. What this means is that even with comparable cores, the iPhone will still likely deliver the smoother experience. This, in turn, hammers the final nail in Android’s inferior coffin.
But is that fair?
What about the innovation Android has nurtured. Sure, with iPhone, if you have a need / want, “there’s [probably] an app for that”, but when it comes to Android – chances are there’s an entire phone for that – at almost any price-point between £49 – £499. Swiping may not be as buttery-smooth or high grade, but it will cost a fraction of the price and offer the end-user more extensive hardware choice should they want it as well as incredible functionality.
Taking a look at the Android rumour mill, some great innovation is predicted from some of the top Android manufacturers in 2012. Take the Samsung Galaxy S3 and HTC Edge, suggested to have 1.5GHz Tegra 3 quad core processors, we’ve already seen its processing power in action on an Asus Transformer Prime – pretty smooth. As for cameras, the Sony Ericsson Nozomi will apparently be packing in a 12-megapixel sensor and HD resolution on its 4.3-inch display. Add to that some markedly different design choices across these handsets and you give the consumer something priceless – high-end choice.
So while it’s easy to cast Android off as an OS plagued by inferior, less fit-for-purpose code, the reality is, Android has ‘gone viral’, if you will, and has become something far greater than the sum of its parts.
Rumour Roundup
We’ll leave you with a rumour roundup comparison of the next-gen phones from Apple, Sony Ericsson, HTC and Samsung.
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