Android vs macOS

There are about 18000 released devices that run on Android. This means that a user familiar with Android can have a large variety of devices from which they can choose.

Android gives users the ability to define which apps perform which action. For example, if an Android device has several browsers installed, the user can choose a default one which will start every time a link is for example opened from another app.

The AOSP (Android Open Source Project) is the software stack for the Android OS. It is led by the open handset alliance which includes firms like Google, Acer, NXP, Motorola and many others.

The fact that Android is an open source software has led to many custom Android variants. It also is a big assurance of Android's safety in terms of privacy.

For those that already use Google's services, like Google Maps and GMail, Android offers tighter integration with those services than any of the alternatives, and saves users the need to create extra accounts.

One of the massive benefits of Android being open-sourced are all the modifications you can make to the phone to customise pretty much anything. Some of the cooler things you can do are:

• Replace the entire operating system with a custom ROM.
• Replace the keyboard.
• Change the home screen launcher.
• Change the lock screen.

Android phones can cost little as $100.

Desktop widgets provide quick access to the information you need quickly and access the most. These are available out of the box, and can be developed by anyone. Widgets on the lockscreen have been removed since the Lollipop update, but is available on 3rd party lockscreens such as AC Display and KK Locker.

Google Now is an intelligent personal assistant available within the Google Search mobile application for the Android and iOS operating systems. It's software that makes your life more convenient by giving you all the information you need at any moment.

Built in text to speech is provided by TalkBack for people with low or no vision. Enhancements for people with hearing disabilities are available as are other aids.

Android 5.0.+ supports screen recording via a new api.
Android 4.4 KitKat supports screen recording accessible via an ADB command on unrooted devices.

Can customize the home screens with widgets (not just a grid of apps like iOS).

Since Android is written by a worldwide community of developers it is very unlikly that backdoorss exist for any local governments.

Android does frequent updates to keep users secure.

You can root your phone to get full access.

You can sideload apps.

It is fully working without the play store or the Google play services.

Since Android is open source and developed worldwide, anyone can read the code and there are no government forced backdoors.

You can use external displays with MHL, HDMI, DP or miracast. It supports external storage devices like microSD cards or USB OTG devices. You can also use almost any kind of USB or Bluetooth input devices like keyboards, mice or game controllers.

Since Android 10 you can use gestures to control the OS.

There are major versions of android however the most important components are modular and get frequently updated.

You can do anything you want with YOUR phone.

The UI of Mac OS is rather unrivaled. The smooth, responsive, and cohesive UI makes the system quite joyous to use.

There's a large selection of great development tools available for OSX. The operating system itself comes bundled with a powerful terminal emulator, called Terminal. Additionally, Apple provides tools, like Xcode, an IDE that contains a comprehensive collection of tools for developing OSX and iOS software, for free.

macOS being a UNIX certified system means that you can install a lot more stuff with a lot fewer headaches than if you were on Windows.

It's very similar to a Linux terminal.

Adobe CC, MS Office, Steam games.

Has support for multiple IDEs.

Because it's Unix under the fancy GUI, most open source ports easily to it.

Next to no custom configuration is necessary.

Tower, Kaleidoscope, SourceTree.

For example, Sketch.

Because this is an Apple product, there is a streamlined workflow between your computer and all mobile devices. For example, if you type an a Pages document, once you save, you can open the updated document just moments later on your iPad, and vice versa. The same goes for iMessage, (yes, you can text people with your phone number from your computer. Actually, you can text other people with apple devices with just your Apple ID, with or without a phone number, for free!) Numbers, Notes, Reminders, Contacts, and just about any other Apple workflow application.

This is useful for testing and some development tools that are Windows-only (XML Spy, MapForce).