Comparative Analysis of Different Operating System for Smartphones

Introduction 

A smart phone is a mobile phone with highly advanced features. A smart phone has a High resolution touch screen display, WiFi connectivity, web browsing capabilities and the ability to accept the sophisticated applications.  Today the smart phone world is categorized into two aspects depending upon the mobile operating system which is used in a particular smart phone. These two major mobile operating systems are Android sponsored by Google and iOS from Apple. Technology and features may varies from one type of mobile operating system to another type of mobile operating system.

Android OS

Android is a mobile operating  system based on modified version of the Linux Kernel and other open source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open handset Alliance and commercially sponsored  by Google. The first android device was launched in September 2008. Today, Android has over 2 billion active users. The current stable version of android is android 11, released on September 8, 2020.

iOS OS

iOS is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple. It is the Operating System that Powers many of the companies mobile devices, including the iPhone and iPod Touch. It is the world's second most widely installed mobile operating system, after Android. Major Versions of iOS are released Annually. The current stable version , iOS 14, was released to the public on September 16, 2020.

Architecture of Android

1. Linux Kernel - It is the heart of android architecture that exists at the root of android architecture. Linux kernel is responsible for device drivers, power management, memory management, device management and resource access.

2. Native Libraries - On the top of linux kernel, their are Native libraries such as WebKit, OpenGL, FreeType, SQLite, Media, C runtime library (libc) etc. The WebKit library is responsible for browser support, SQLite is for database, FreeType for font support, Media for playing and recording audio and video formats.

3. Android Runtime - In android runtime, there are core libraries and DVM (Dalvik Virtual Machine) which is responsible to run android application. DVM is like JVM but it is optimized for mobile devices. It consumes less memory and provides fast performance.

4. Application Framework - On the top of Native libraries and android runtime, there is android framework. Android framework includes Android API's such as UI (User Interface), telephony, resources, locations, Content Providers (data) and package managers. It provides a lot of classes and interfaces for android application development.

5. Applications - On the top of android framework, there are applications. All applications such as home, contact, settings, games, browsers are using android framework that uses android runtime and libraries. Android runtime and native libraries are using linux kernel.

Architecture of iOS

1. Core OS Layer - The core OS layer holds the low level features that most other technologies are built upon. For example - Core Bluetooth Framework, Accelerate framework, External Accessory Framework, Security Services Framework, Security Services Framework, Local Authentication Framework.

2. Core Services Layer - Some important frameworks Available in the Core Service Layer are Address Book, Cloud Kit, Core data, core Foundation, core motion , etc. These Services are provided to the Installed Applications in a iDevices.

3. Media Layer - This layer has some standard libraries which are used for 2D, 3D graphics in gaming , recording an audio or video in a particular app. Some of the media layer libraries are OpenGL, GLkit, UIkit, Core Animation framework, Core Graphics framework, etc. 

4. Cocoa Touch - This layer sits at the top of the iPhone OS Stack and contains the framework that are most commonly used by the iPhone Application Developers. These frameworks are Built in Swift Programming Language. Some of the frameworks in this layer are Map kit framework, Message UI Framework, Addressbook UI Framework, UI Kit Framework, etc.

Security system of  Android

At the operating system level, the Android platform provides the security of the Linux kernel, as well as a secure inter-process communication (IPC) facility to enable secure communication between applications running in different processes.

1. App Sandbox

2. App SignIn

3. Authentication

4. Biometric

5. Encryption.

6. Security Enhanced Linux

7. Trusty Trusted Execution Environment

Security system of  iOS

iOS Utilizes many security features in both hardware and software. It provides all the security features that Linux OS gives to a PC. Some of the security features are given below :

1. Face ID

2. Touch ID

3. Encryption

4. App security

5. Network Security

6. Two-factor Authentication

7. Secure Boot.

Survey on Android vs iOS

Android Users were pretty clear that they think the performance rips and their phones were highly usable. Giving further credence to our suspicion of why android was more popular platform, many users mentioned being cheaper and a variety of choices as features they most appreciated.

Apple has created a private island for themselves where third-party developers can only come party by invitation and within very strict guidelines. This and an inability to customize an iPhone without jailbreaking it rub many Apple users the wrong way.

 

Conclusion

Both the operating system have a high user base today in the market. Each OS has it's Pros and Cons. For example - iOS has two factor Authentication System which is absent in android OS but Android Devices are cheaper as compared to iOS devices. At the end it depends upon the users budget and the purpose of usages of the device.