iOS

Creator – Apple
Initial Release - 2007
Current Version – 5.0.1
Australian Market Share – Estimated to be running on 35% of smartphones, all of them variations of the iPhone. This makes the iPhone by far the most widely used individual handset.
Available Apps – 500,000+
License – Apple Proprietary
Tablets – Yes
Flagship Model – Apple iPhone 4S

Pro

iPhone OS dropped the “Phone” from its moniker last year with the introduction of the iPad. Apple’s new operating system for their Mac line of personal computers, OSX 10.7 “Lion” shares a lot of DNA with iOS, and it’s clear that Apple will continue the march to merge mobile and desktop computing for some time to come. iOS’ major advantage over everyone else is niceness. It only runs on Apple’s hardware, and it’s safe to assume it always will. Likewise, Apple’s hardware will only ever run Apple software. Everything is done in-house, with real integration between every component of hardware and every component of the software. So everything plays nice. Even apps developed by other people are developed using Apple’s SDK (software development kit), and must be approved by Apple before release into the App Store. Apple checks to make sure that whatever the app does, it plays nice with the hardware and other apps. When you buy an app from the App Store, you can be secure in the knowledge that it has been scrubbed and bent into shape to fit the phone or tablet you’re holding. No viruses, no hidden trickery, no inexplicable failures. Software that just works on a piece of hardware that just works.

Cons

Well, most of the time. Apple’s tight control slips from time to time, but compared to Android, Apple is indeed a beautiful walled garden. But even a beautiful garden with walls is still a prison for some. Some users chafe at the very idea of an item they’ve purchased not being theirs to alter however they feel – it would be like BMW saying you can’t adjust your visor a certain way, because BMW doesn’t like the way it looks. Others don’t like the trade-off for this integrated approach – iPhones usually boast far fewer features than their competitors, getting rid of items they deem unimportant. So while you may want an AM/FM radio transmitter in your phone, Apple don’t want to take up space installing it. So that user won’t be able to take advantage of the other benefits of iOS.

A lot of this is nitpicking, but there may also be legal issues at hand. With the iPhone being so popular, most developers will develop strictly for iOS, cutting out everyone who can’t or won’t purchase an expensive Apple product. Governments can step in on this sort of thing. It happened to Microsoft, and it can happen to Apple – a government might decide that iOS is simply too dominant not to be made widely available, and force Apple to either make it open license, or stop them from selling iPhones in their country.

Overall

iOS is still the benchmark when it comes to ease of use, both in day-to-day usage and in updating software. Android is learning and becoming better every day, but still has some way to go to match iOS’ blue-ribbon status. Windows Phone might represent more of a challenge, relying on the still-strong Microsoft brand, and using a more unique look – for the most part, Android still looks like an off-brand iOS. But with a big rollout of Windows Phone still to come, don’t expect Apple to be sitting still. Bigger and better revisions are never too far away in this rapidly moving industry.