14 DAY TRIAL // Apple announced iOS 11 with much fanfare last week, and iUsers rushed to install it even though it’s still in developer preview stage.
Just like it happens with every new iOS release, the world is now split into two different parts: one made of Apple fans who are super-excited with what the company has implemented in iOS 11, and the second one that represents the Android community and which is laughing its head off because most of the new iOS features have been on Android for years.
A video posted on YouTube shows just 6 of the features that Apple copied from Samsung and Android, and since it’s all based on a side-by-side comparison between the Samsung Galaxy S8 and an iPhone, it becomes even clearer that there are indeed some similarities.
iOS features copied from Android
The first of the features that are said to be inspired from Android is the one-handed keyboard update that’s part of iOS 11. As uploader XEETECHCARE shows, both iPhone and Samsung users are provided with almost the same look and features and, you’ve guessed it right, Apple was the second to offer them.
The second iOS 11 feature that looks a lot like its Android sibling is the advanced screenshot tool, which not only shows an identical thumbnail of the screenshot at the bottom of the screen but also provides editing tools similar to those on Samsung’s devices.
Then, there’s the new Control Center, which can be further customized by iOS 11 with shortcuts to the features users access the most. On Samsung, these shortcuts are called quick actions and have been there since like forever, though iOS users are only now discovering them.
Notifications are also getting options in iOS 11 that are inspired from Android, with users now allowed to hide previews on the lock screen. Of course, these settings have already been around for a long time on Android and on Samsung phones, but Apple users are only getting them in 2017.
Furthermore, iOS 11 is getting a new feature called “Offload Apps,” which frees up storage used by a specific app, but keeps its documents and data. Of course, this looks just like the cache option available on Android, though users here are provided with bonus options to free up space, manage the app, and clear all data from the same menu.
And last but not least, there’s a screen recording tool super-similar to Samsung’s, allowing you to capture what happens on the screen and then save the video to the gallery. The Samsung Galaxy S8 already comes with such a feature that offers quick recording and screenshots.
While it’s pretty clear that these iOS features have been inspired from Android, the good thing this time is that Apple hasn’t actually bragged about being the first to introduce them, though it announced them all as pretty major innovations. And they certainly are, but only in the walled garden called iOS.
UPDATE: A video posted on the EverythingApplePro YouTube channel also shows a number of features that Apple borrowed from jailbreak tweaks and Android.
For example, the new iPhone Control Center, which the first video says it comes from Android, is also based on some jailbreak tweaks, especially because it’s based on a single-page approach.
There are also several new toggles, such as the low-power button mode, which has been on jailbroken devices for ages. Screen recording and the companion toggle also come from jailbreak tweaks, the video claims, and so does the screenshot tool that’s available on Samsung’s devices as well.
One particular change that indeed seems to be borrowed from jailbroken iPhones is the possibility of moving multiple apps at once. Furthermore, Apple has also removed the icon labels in the dock, which provide a cleaner look just like on a device running a jailbreak.
Pinning notes is also a new feature, and so is GIF support, a thing that Apple users have been drooling after for ages, but which debuted on jailbroken models a long time ago.
Without a doubt, there are lots of similarities between iOS 11, Android, and jailbroken iPhones, and since Apple is only now making these features available to its users, it’s pretty clear that iOS is not by any means the first to introduce them. Apple used both Android and jailbreak software as source of inspiration for these features, so it appears that the innovator has finally become the follower.
