Apple and Google live in a constant battle to outdo one another via their mobile OS offerings, and the former has pulled ahead.
The latest version of iOS, the operating system that runs on iPhones, is out now with iOS 17, and it’s one of the biggest updates the popular mobile software has received in quite some time. A slew of new features on iOS 17 make it far more robust than previous versions, and those with Android phones will no doubt be eying them with envy.
As the manufacturers of the two most popular mobile operating systems in the world, Apple and Google have been locked in a constant battle to one-up the other with each new release of iOS and Android, respectively. Android users love to point out when iOS gets a „new“ feature they’ve already had for years, and vice versa, but that competition is what incentivizes both companies to innovate.
With that said, there are plenty of new features in iOS 17 that would be equally great on Android phones, some totally original and some that Android used to have but abandoned. Here are the iOS 17 features we’d most like to see a version of on Android.Contact Posters
iOS 17 allows each user to customize their own stylized incoming call screen that will show up whenever they call or FaceTime another iPhone. This eliminates the need for users to add photos for all of their primary contacts, though you can design your own for contacts who deign to make one, or for friends without iPhones.
We’d love to see this implemented on Android in some capacity. However, with so many different Android skins and forks on the market, many with their own custom call screens, it would likely be limited to a single manufacturer and would need to be a Pixel or Galaxy exclusive. Samsung currently has a custom call screen feature that allows you to customize the background for specific contacts, but unlike Contact Posters on iOS, it does not let you propagate them to your friends.
However, if Google baked a Contact Posters-like functionality into the open-source build of Android, it would likely see mass adoption, assuming OEMs like Samsung choose to implement it in their skins.Live Voicemail
One of iOS 17’s best features is so simple, it’s a wonder it wasn’t implemented years ago. Live Voicemail replicates the functionality of an old-school answering machine, allowing users to listen to incoming voicemails as they’re being recorded and even answer in the middle. It’s a wonder we gave that functionality up when, as a society, we made the jump to mobile phones, but Apple is leading the charge in bringing it back. Additionally, Live Voicemail provides a transcript of the message.
Google should take a page from Apple’s book on this one. As with some other iOS 17 features we’d like to see cloned for Android, it would largely be up to manufacturers to implement (assuming Google doesn’t hoard it as a Pixel exclusive). At the time of writing, there are a few apps in the Play Store that replicate some of Live Voicemail’s functionality, but none that appear to allow the mid-voicemail answering that makes Apple’s implementation stand out. It’s high time we stepped back into the 2000s when it comes to voicemail features, no matter which mobile OS you favor.Auto-delete for SMS 2FA codes
Two-factor authentication, often abbreviated as 2FA, is a vital security measure in today’s digital world. Most people are probably familiar with 2FA codes by now, as they usually arrive in the form of a text message containing a 5 or 6-digit code that must be copy-pasted into an app or website before you can fully log in. However, unless you’re diligent about clearing them from your inbox, they can quickly clutter up your messages, making it harder to find the conversations that matter to you.
iOS 17 has finally solved that problem by giving users the option to automatically delete 2FA codes after they’ve expired. It’s a simple fix with massive quality of life implications, and Google should absolutely bring it to Android. Presumably, Apple’s implementation looks for messages that have the hallmarks of a 2FA message, then deletes them, which shouldn’t be difficult to replicate on Google’s own platforms.
