Last updated on September 4th, 2023
When it comes to designing mobile app UI, the two most popular mobile domains – Android and iOS – are also rivals.
The mobile UI design field has been flooded with curiosity about Android vs iOS, including their market share, popularity, and demographics.
We now have a plate full of design differences between iOS and Android.
This infographic examines and analyses the differences between the applications for each platform. This will allow us to see how each platform is different. This will help us to understand the Android app developer cost and iOS company USA cost.
Android vs iOS Design Differences
Difference between android and apple
Flat Interface Design or Human Interface Guidelines is based primarily on three principles: Clarity and Deference. The approach promotes minimalism and uses simple elements. It also focuses on typography as well as flat colors.
The Flat Design guidelines are the design rules for iOS. Apple uses a flat design with less shadowing, which gives elements an added layer effect.
Android Material design is, in short, a modified version of Flat design that includes skeuomorphism. The material Design language is the best UI design for Android. Material Design for Android focuses on shadows, motions, and elements for easy navigation.
Matias Duarte, Google’s Vice President for Design, said it best:
Android Material design components can also be considered an enhanced version of flat design with a touch skeuomorphism. This is a design concept that makes items look like their real-world counterparts.
Let’s get the basics out of the way. Now let’s dive deeper into the differences between iOS UI and Android UI design apps. UI/UX design is crucial in an app.
iOS vs Android Comparison
1. Navigation
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Top-of-screen navigation
Android applications display the title in the top left corner, after either a drawer or back button. This is a design rule. You can find an action item, such as a search icon (can have more than one), and then the overflow menu.
The name of the previous tab in iOS apps is always listed in the top-left corner, right next to the back option. The name of the current tab can be found in the middle. In some cases, you will also find the option to “Edit” (Control button) in the extreme right corner.
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Primary navigation
The primary navigation patterns in iOS apps follow the foreground. The hamburger menu is used to store frequently used functions. Comparing Android vs iOS UI design will show that the primary navigation is in the hamburger menu, or spread throughout the interface through the form of floating action buttons and the search bar.
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Secondary navigation
Once the hamburger menu icon has been pressed, a navigation drawer opens. It is a menu that can be accessed from the left or right. The screen title is where all the tabs are located. This allows the user to toggle between views, data sets, and functional aspects of the app.
Apple Human Interface Guidelines state that there is no standard navigation control comparable to the drawer navigation menu. You will instead find global navigation in an iOS app’s tab bar. This allows you to quickly switch between the main sections of the app. The secondary navigations will be found under the “More” tab.
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Back navigation
You can use the “back” action in iOS Apps in four different ways
- To go to the previous screen, swipe left-to-right in the applications
- Just press “back” as if you were doing something.
- For non-editing modal views, press the “Done” button
- Scroll down to see fullscreen and modal views
Sometimes, you can use the android app design to return to the previous tab. The simplest and most popular way to do this is to use Material design’s back button in your navigation bar.
2. Buttons
For button styles, the most important difference between iOS and Android apps is that iOS buttons follow a flat design pattern. They also support the title case. Material Design is the best Android app design. They have shadow buttons and uppercase characters.
The Floating action button, which works as a call-to-action button and is used by both Android (and iOS) is another trendy button. You can see the compose button in Gmail on Android and the button for new posts in social media apps on iOS.
3. Screen resolution and App icons
The screen structures are built using an 8dp grid. However, the most common margin used in both systems is 16dp.
This table displays the size of icons for iOS apps at different resolutions.
Although these tables can seem overwhelming at first glance, once you have a good understanding of the base size and can check and export at multiple larger multiples, it becomes much easier.
App icons are unique images that each app has. They can be found on both iOS and Android. The app icon allows the user to choose if they need to learn more about the application. An attractive icon is a strong indicator of interest. It is often the main reason why an individual downloads/buys an app.
Every iOS icon is made in a square shape. They are then rounded at the corners. Apple uses flat images without transparency and a simple background to avoid redundant components such as words and images.
Android icons can be transparent in the background and can take any shape that is appropriate for the area.
4. Typography
Apple used to love Helvetica Neue for years. However, made a change in 2015. It switched to San Francisco which is more space efficient and is ideal for desktops and mobile phones.
Android has used Roboto for years as its standard typeface. Google has no plans to alter this beloved element shortly.
Although the basic sizes of both texts are identical, the material design of android vs iOS is vastly different in terms of font sizes and layout. Android has more white space between text, whereas iOS uses bold fonts to create the text hierarchy.
5. Control Design
Search
Search functionality is crucial for both platforms. This is evident in the recent addition of the “Search bar” to iMessage by Apple.
There are two types in Apple’s search engine: hidden and prominent. The search icon will usually be displayed on the upper tab. However, sometimes the screen can be dragged from the top to the bottom to reveal the search bar. You can also cancel your search query by pressing ‘Cancel’. To clear it, press “X”.
Android has no hidden search bars. You can find one in the upper tab. You can cancel the search by clicking on the “-” symbol. To clear the query, it’s the same in iOS.
The primary call to action
FAB, or floating action button, is an Android primary call-to-action button that can be found on the top of certain components and at the edges. The primary call-to-action button for iOS apps is always located in the upper-right corner.
However, there are some exceptions. Some iOS apps might display CTA in the lower toolbar and Android apps may appear in the upper toolbar.
Selection controls
A picker control is an iOS feature that allows you to display several options. Pickers can be anchored at the bottom, as shown in the infographic Android vs iOS app design.
A dropdown menu or a dialog is used to list the options.
Tabs
It has been noticed that iOS doesn’t have a control visually similar to “tabs”. Instead, it requires you to use a segmented but. Android, on the other hand, uses a more “flat” design approach to the same display as the infographic about the Android vs iOS App Design.
Action menu
The Action menu allows you to take immediate action on the relevant content. You can, for example. You can archive, mark unread as read, delete, and so forth while you are viewing messages.
iOS action menus can be triggered by any button that attempts to perform any action. As long as the menu is accessible by thumb, it slides up from its bottom. A context menu is the latest iOS trend. It shows related actions when the content or element is tapped and held. When the context menu is displayed, the background blurred is shown.
The menu in Android appears when you tap on the three-dot icon. This icon is located mostly on the right side of content that’s known for more options. You will see a small box pop up when you click on the option.
iOS and Android Cards
Cards can be a combination of images, text, and movies. They also include buttons and comments.
The cards in iOS have no shadows, full width, and no corners. Android cards have shadows, gutters, and round corners, while Android apps are better designed for cards.
iOS vs Android: UX Design
Different elements are key to the android vs iOS experience design. Take LinkedIn as an example. There is a display difference between iOS and Android.
To manage your network and access important elements, you can use components such as contacts, new contact and nearby you to quickly and easily access them. In android, they are located at the top of your screen. On iOS, there is a box that can be clicked upon to take us to the next screen. In iOS, there is a floating button that allows us to quickly add contacts.
Content Scroll
Scrolling through iOS content causes the Navigation Bar to shrink in width and the Toolbar to disappear. However, iOS developers can align any behavior for content or bars while scrolling.
iOS and android: Alerts
Android alerts use flat button styles. The dimensions are available in the material design guidelines. The action buttons are located at the bottom of the alert. Users will find it easier to understand the “buttons” because they are all text-based (all caps).
iOS alerts have dividers that separate the actions. They are in the sentence or title case and get their structure from the separate blocks. They can be found at the beginning and end of the popup.
Important Article: iOS vs. Android: Which is the Best Mobile App Development Platform?
Do You want to know more Differences between Android vs iOS?
This blog comparing iOS and Android app design has all the necessary information to help you get started with Product Designing services. We found all the differences between iOS app UI Design and Android UI Design. This will be helpful when designing a mobile app for iOS or Android. You can always make changes to the guidelines by iTechnolabs to ensure that your app is selected for these platforms.
It all comes down to the product we want to offer our customers. Each platform has its design language which allows iOS and android users interface designers to create similar functionality for both platforms. Each has its advantages and will work best for a specific group of users. It’s difficult to choose one.
FAQ’s
Which platform is best for app development: iOS vs Android?
In Android vs. iOS debate, the differences have been mentioned below –
- iOS development has been speedier than the Android development
- Android offers flexibility in terms of design as compared to iOS apps
- The cost of developing an iOS app is more expensive than android app
- In terms of security, iOS apps are better than android apps
- iOS apps have a closed-source code, whereas android code is open-sourced
What are android human interface guidelines?
Android human interface guidelines are a set of recommendations that determine how you design your android apps
- The guidelines ensure that the design of the android apps are consistent across all the devices in the android ecosystem
- The guidelines can help UI designers to build app designs in accordance with the expectations of the users
- With UI guidelines for apps, the UI developers avoid any glitches in making of the Android app designs
