Some features are so basic that you just expect them to not appear on a brand new device or app. But after a decade of using Android, switching to an iPhone is both refreshing and frustrating—because despite its many advantages, iOS still lacks some incredibly basic features.
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Unlike computers, our phones rarely shut down. This usually only happens during an update or when the battery is unexpectedly low. Since neither is common, open apps just keep piling up. To keep things tidy, get in the habit of clearing out open apps periodically. On Android, this is as simple as swiping up to see recent apps, then tapping Clear all .
Note: On Android 15, you now have to press and hold then swipe up to close all open apps.
On iPhone, swiping up shows your open apps, but there's no Close All button. There's also no tap-and-hold trick. You have to close each app one by one.
Tip : The only "trick" to closing multiple apps on iOS is to swipe the apps... with multiple fingers.
On iPhone, you can never really close an app. On Android, if an app starts misbehaving, you can put it where it belongs—go straight to Settings and select Force stop . Problem solved.
There’s no such option on iOS. If your Instagram Story gets stuck uploading, you’re out of luck. You can pretend you closed it by swiping it away in the app switcher, but did you really? Reopen the app and it’ll be right where you left it, as if nothing happened.
After all that trouble, it turns out you can’t easily clear app caches on an iPhone. On Android, it’s simple: Go to the app’s settings, tap Clear cache , and the app will restart without the old cache clogging things up.
There's no way to clear an app's cache without completely deleting the app on iOS. If an app starts acting weird, the only way to get it back up and running is to uninstall it completely, go to the App Store, and reinstall it.
Both Windows and Android have built-in clipboard managers that let you access a history of copied text. You can use this feature continuously, copying multiple things at once without worrying about overwriting them.
On the iPhone, however, as soon as you copy something new, the last thing you copied is gone forever. Sure, third-party apps exist, but clipboard managers need to run in the background 24/7. With the iPhone’s fragile battery life, no one wants to risk that.
Every day, you have to copy and paste a lot of information - confirmation codes, addresses, messages. You'd think this would be a seamless process, but on the iPhone, it's not.
On Android, copying a message will show a preview at the bottom of the screen, allowing you to easily select the exact part you need. It even automatically recognizes codes and numbers, so you can instantly paste them wherever you need them.
If iOS recognizes a number or code as important, it will underline it with a dotted line. Tap that and you can copy it. Otherwise, seeing the Select All option is pretty much luck.
If you need to copy part of a message, you have to copy everything, paste it somewhere else (like Notes), then select the part you actually want, copy that, and finally paste it where you need it. Too many unnecessary steps for such a simple task.
If you need to change an app's settings, you can do it from within the app. That's how it works on Android, and it makes perfect sense. Need camera settings, open the camera app. Need browser settings, just open the browser.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case on the iPhone. For some reason, Apple decided that all app settings should be buried in the system-wide Settings app. If you want to change Safari settings, you have to go to Settings > Apps > Safari . There’s not even a shortcut inside the app to get you there.
You're waiting for an important call while studying in a quiet library. You want the ringer volume to be at its maximum so you don't miss the call, but you don't want your phone to constantly vibrate with notification sounds.
On Android, this is easy. There are separate sliders for ringtones, media, notifications, and alarms. You can mute notifications while keeping your ringtone at maximum volume.
On the iPhone, you're forced to turn up the volume all the way or mute it completely. You can't fine-tune individual sound levels without digging through confusing settings menus that offer little to no customization.
This isn't a complicated feature, and many consider it an Android feature that iOS should copy. It's a feature that should have become standard years ago.
Things would be more acceptable if you were using an iPhone 5S, but things are different with the iPhone 16 Pro - one of the most expensive and advanced smartphones on the market. At this point, there's no reason for Apple to fall behind on these basic features.
The iPhone has its strengths, but when it comes to basic quality of life features, Apple has a long way to go.
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Depending on your needs, you'll likely get a set of Pixel-exclusive features running on your existing Android device.
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When you compare smartphones from nearly two decades ago and today, you can't help but notice that they've gotten worse in a variety of ways.
Through your purchase history on the App Store, you will know when you downloaded that app or game, and how much you paid for the paid app.
iPhone mutes iPhone from unknown callers and on iOS 26, iPhone automatically receives incoming calls from an unknown number and asks for the reason for the call. If you want to receive unknown calls on iPhone, follow the instructions below.
Apple makes it easy to find out if a WiFi network is safe before you connect. You don't need any software or other tools to help, just use the built-in settings on your iPhone.
iPhone has a speaker volume limit setting to control the sound. However, in some situations you need to increase the volume on your iPhone to be able to hear the content.
ADB is a powerful set of tools that give you more control over your Android device. Although ADB is intended for Android developers, you don't need any programming knowledge to uninstall Android apps with it.
You might think you know how to get the most out of your phone time, but chances are you don't know how big a difference this common setting makes.
The Android System Key Verifier app comes pre-installed as a system app on Android devices running version 8.0 or later.
Despite Apple's tight ecosystem, some people have turned their Android phones into reliable remote controls for their Apple TV.
There are many reasons why your Android phone cannot connect to mobile data, such as incorrect configuration errors causing the problem. Here is a guide to fix mobile data connection errors on Android.
For years, Android gamers have dreamed of running PS3 titles on their phones – now it's a reality. aPS3e, the first PS3 emulator for Android, is now available on the Google Play Store.
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