What is the best smartphone OS out there?
We rated some smartphone operating systems based on their features, battery back-up, speed and performance, reliability, and software updates
In the realm of modern smartphones, multiple manufacturers have saturated the market.
Furthermore, with the swift rise of brands like Xiaomi and Realme who succeed in providing excellent hardware often at only half of the asking price, the comparisons become more difficult.
It draws the consumers' attention away from an important factor: The operating system (OS) the phone will be running on.
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If the OS is not good or well-optimised, it does not matter how good the phone's hardware is.
Let us dive into some of the popular smartphone operating systems out in the market right now and rate them according to their merits and demerits.
This list contains the most popular smartphones out in the Bangladeshi market officially, except for iPhones.
But I just had to include it since a sizable percentage of consumers use iPhones.
For this article, reference to stock android will mean the android operating systems developed by Google and how Google intends the android operating systems to be like.
Some brands adopting this are Google's Pixel phones, Nokia, and Motorola. Unfortunately, there are not enough users of this platform in Bangladesh for it to be considered a popular operating system .
1.Xiaomi (MIUI)
Pros:
● If you are looking for a feature-packed phone, MIUI will be perfect for you regardless of your budget.
● All major MIUI features are available on all budgets to high-end Xiaomi phones.
● Long term software support makes MIUI a good OS if you want to use your phone for a few years.
● More emphasis on MIUI updates instead of android version updates.
● Excellent theming support.
● Feature-packed camera UI.
● One of the best dark mode implementations by any android OEM.
● Xiaomi might be late, but MIUI version updates are provided eventually for a long time.
● Excellent battery life
Cons:
● Heavy UI makes the user experience slow at times.
● Aggressive background app killing results in missed notifications from apps.
● MIUI is far from stock android which Google intended android phones to run on.
● New updates often drain the battery faster.
● Not a very user-friendly interface for people looking for an easy-to-navigate phone as some basic settings are hidden away and require some extra swipes or navigation to discover them, for example, the date and time and region settings are hidden away in the settings app inside additional settings.
● Sudden advertisements popping up suddenly may be a hindrance to your smartphone experience as sometimes, some ads are questionable.
Ratings:
Reliability: 3.5/5
Features: 5/5
Performance: 3.5/5
Software update timing: 3/5
Software support duration after purchase: 5/5
2. Samsung (One UI)
Pros:
● Three years of major Android version updates.
● Five years of a security patch and optimisation updates.
● One UI 3.0+ is reliable for day-to-day usage.
● Cleaner UI than it used to be.
● Software optimisation is improving steadily.
● Ideal for long term usage for three plus years.
● Somewhat easier UI to navigate on in comparison to the competing Chinese brands.
● User-friendly interface for people looking for an easy way to navigate the phone.
Cons:
● The three years of major android version updates are only for more expensive Samsung devices.
● The five years of security patch updates are mostly for the higher end Samsung devices.
● Consumers have a lot of complaints regarding how updating Samsung devices end up making their phones lag a lot and drain the battery faster. In addition, their Exynos variants tend to heat up more after a bad software update. All these reasons have given rise to the Bangladeshi saying that after a few updates, Samsung becomes 'Hangsung'.
Ratings:
Reliability: 4/5
Features: 4/5
Performance: 4/5
Software update timing: 2.5/5
Software support duration after purchase: 5/5
3. iOS (Apple)
Pros:
● Undisputedly has the most reliable smartphone operating system.
● Excellent software optimisation with hardware.
● Long term software updates.
● Every new feature added over time is tested extensively resulting in a good user experience and no fear of the device being crippled after an update.
● Even with smaller batteries than its android rivals, battery life is excellent.
● Relatively quick iOS version updates.
● User-friendly interface for people looking for an easy-to-navigate phone.
● Generally hard to find any significant bugs.
Cons:
● A limited number of features.
● Fails to provide basic features which Android phones have had for many years now such as split-screen mode to use two apps at once on the same screen or the ability to use third party launchers for a more customisable experience.
Ratings:
Reliability: 5/5
Features: 2/5
Performance: 5/5
Software update timing: 4.5/5
Software support duration after purchase: 5/5
(Color OS) Oppo
Pros:
● Highly customisable.
● Somewhat easier to navigate now compared to past Color OS iterations.
● Excellent lock screen personalisation options.
● UI layout is much closer to stock android now but still heavily customised UI.
● Camera optimisation in auto mode performs the best compared to other android offerings (Except Pixel by Google).
Cons:
● Heavy UI consumes more resources to do tasks.
● Highly customised UI, far from stock android, making consumers question if they are even using an Android phone or not.
● Not a very user-friendly interface for people looking for an easy-to-navigate phone.
Ratings:
Reliability: 3.5/5
Features: 5/5
Performance: 3.5/5
Software update timing: 3.5/5
Software support duration after purchase: 3/5
5. Realme UI (Realme)
Pros:
● Cleanest software user interface among the Chinese phone brands.
● Software is the closest to stock in comparison to other Chinese phone brands.
● The recent Realme UI 2.0 is feature-packed yet does not feel like using a heavy UI.
● Android security patch updates are provided quite fast for a brand focusing on budget devices.
● Generally manages to provide good battery life.
Cons:
● Notoriously late in providing android version updates.
● Realme UI feels like it is suffering from an identity crisis as it seems like Realme cannot decide if they want to be like Oneplus's excellent Oxygen OS or Oppo's Color OS, resulting in a mixed user experience of a close to stock Android UI yet with many elements borrowed from Chinese OEM's. This may intrigue some, you will either love it or hate it, more likely to dislike it if you are switching to Realme from Oneplus though as Realme UI just can not provide the same level of Oneplus's Oxygen OS's speed or fluidity.
● Lack of a dedicated theme store.
Ratings:
Reliability: 4/5
Features: 4/5
Performance: 4.5/5
Software update timing: 1.5/5
Software support duration after purchase: 3/5
