Which OS offers better MS experience - android or iOS?

[Andreas Lagos]

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm exploring all mobile options leading up to black friday. Specifically, iPhone 7 or newer and Pixel 2 XL. I'm wondering if anyone that has both android and iOS devices can shed some light on the MS experience on both. I am particularly interested in outlook/calendar, groove, onenote, skype, cortana (i.e. UI and UX and feature parity).

If someone is able to provide an answer that would be huge. Thanks in advance fam!

 

[Wolfjt]

Never thought I'd say this, but I'm exploring all mobile options leading up to black friday. Specifically, iPhone 7 or newer and Pixel 2 XL. I'm wondering if anyone that has both android and iOS devices can shed some light on the MS experience on both. I am particularly interested in outlook/calendar, groove, onenote, skype, cortana (i.e. UI and UX and feature parity).

If someone is able to provide an answer that would be huge. Thanks in advance fam!

I think it all depends on what you want as a user. Both OS's are stable. Do you want a locked down good hardware experience of iOS? iOS is a stable experience but you can't default mail or browsers and the like. Android is an adaptable OS that will allow you to change default apps, and launch screens and the like. One thing about Android is you have your choice of low, mid and high range phones. So, thats one thing to consider as well.

 

[Andreas Lagos]

I think it all depends on what you want as a user. Both OS's are stable. Do you want a locked down good hardware experience of iOS? iOS is a stable experience but you can't default mail or browsers and the like. Android is an adaptable OS that will allow you to change default apps, and launch screens and the like. One thing about Android is you have your choice of low, mid and high range phones. So, thats one thing to consider as well.

That makes complete sense, I was more asking about the ported MS experience that now exists on both platforms and that compares. I'm aware that the user experience will more than likely be more stable/smooth on either one as WM10 was a complete mess... Thank you for your input though

 

[Wolfjt]

That makes complete sense, I was more asking about the ported MS experience that now exists on both platforms and that compares. I'm aware that the user experience will more than likely be more stable/smooth on either one as WM10 was a complete mess... Thank you for your input though

I think the MS experience is the same for Office apps, where you'll see a difference is with Cortana. Cortana is a second fiddle on Android but you can make use of it though. I don't think Cortana is on iOS.

 

[PerfectReign]

I use both. I find the MS experience is the same on both Android devices and Iphones. I chose to use Iphone as my daily driver just because it seems more smooth than Android is now. I actually like KitKat better than the more recent versions.

Sent from mTalk on my 950xl

 

[Andreas Lagos]

I use both. I find the MS experience is the same on both Android devices and Iphones. I chose to use Iphone as my daily driver just because it seems more smooth than Android is now. I actually like KitKat better than the more recent versions.

Sent from mTalk on my 950xl

Good to hear. If I went the Android route, it would only be under the premise that I was going with Pixel or OnePlus with no skins, bloat, etc. I'm just really trying to avoid getting locked into any ecosystem (i.e. Apple services). I want the flexibility to be able to hop around platforms until I find the one that best suits me.

 

[libra89]

Good to hear. If I went the Android route, it would only be under the premise that I was going with Pixel or OnePlus with no skins, bloat, etc. I'm just really trying to avoid getting locked into any ecosystem (i.e. Apple services). I want the flexibility to be able to hop around platforms until I find the one that best suits me.

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it yet. Since you use Outlook, I need to enlighten you about an important difference on iOS and Android for the calendar. The Outlook app on iOS is connected to the phone calendar. For years, this was not the case on Android, only contact syncing was there. The only way to make it happen was adding your Outlook account as an Exchange account.

What you wish to do is what I currently do without issues. On the iOS side, it should add your outlook account as exchange accounts automatically. Android, you will still add as an exchange account. Thurrott has great references on how to do this for both Android and iOS. (To add to my experience, I use Nine on Android, which works excellent but is a paid app.)

https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/ios/80461/iphone-windows-guy-minimize-apples-grip-device
https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/ios/63362/iphone-for-the-windows-guy-use-your-microsoft-accounts
https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/ios/63337/iphone-for-the-windows-guy-getting-started (the last link is a little outdated but the steps still generally work)

https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/android/106828/android-windows-guy-redmondize-smartphone

(Arrow is now Microsoft launcher, but the info holds well)

OneNote allows you to add a widget to your home screen for a new note. It's cool. I have no idea about Groove, sorry.

I have both Android and iOS devices and I use OneDrive for camera roll backup on both, and Outlook still hosts my contacts and calendar events (old and new).

 

[tgp]

If I went the Android route, it would only be under the premise that I was going with Pixel or OnePlus with no skins, bloat, etc.

Those are nice, but "bloat" isn't all bad. Android as an OS is actually somewhat basic in some ways. The manufacturers add some features that make it more capable. That's how Android is designed to be.

Since Samsung has slimmed down TouchWiz, it IMO makes Samsung devices very nice to use. They don't feel bloated, and yet have as many features as anything on the market. They are also very smooth and capable. FWIW, I just checked the uptime on my S8+ and it's at 962 hours. It's running as fresh as it was 961 hours ago.

I went from several years of Nexus devices, starting with a used Samsung Galaxy Nexus in 2012 and pretty much every model from there through the Nexus 6P, to an S7 Edge and now an S8+. I have no regrets.

 

[Andreas Lagos]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned it yet. Since you use Outlook, I need to enlighten you about an important difference on iOS and Android for the calendar. The Outlook app on iOS is connected to the phone calendar. For years, this was not the case on Android, only contact syncing was there. The only way to make it happen was adding your Outlook account as an Exchange account.

What you wish to do is what I currently do without issues. On the iOS side, it should add your outlook account as exchange accounts automatically. Android, you will still add as an exchange account. Thurrott has great references on how to do this for both Android and iOS. (To add to my experience, I use Nine on Android, which works excellent but is a paid app.)

https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/ios/80461/iphone-windows-guy-minimize-apples-grip-device
https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/ios/63362/iphone-for-the-windows-guy-use-your-microsoft-accounts
https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/ios/63337/iphone-for-the-windows-guy-getting-started (the last link is a little outdated but the steps still generally work)

https://www.thurrott.com/mobile/android/106828/android-windows-guy-redmondize-smartphone

(Arrow is now Microsoft launcher, but the info holds well)

OneNote allows you to add a widget to your home screen for a new note. It's cool. I have no idea about Groove, sorry.

I have both Android and iOS devices and I use OneDrive for camera roll backup on both, and Outlook still hosts my contacts and calendar events (old and new).

Super helpful, thanks! Only question would be around Outlook calendar for both - are you able to make it the default? Specifically, if i click on a hyperlink for an appointment in an email/text or use cortana to make an appointment it defaults to outlook and not ical/googcal?

 

[Andreas Lagos]

Those are nice, but "bloat" isn't all bad. Android as an OS is actually somewhat basic in some ways. The manufacturers add some features that make it more capable. That's how Android is designed to be.

Since Samsung has slimmed down TouchWiz, it IMO makes Samsung devices very nice to use. They don't feel bloated, and yet have as many features as anything on the market. They are also very smooth and capable. FWIW, I just checked the uptime on my S8+ and it's at 962 hours. It's running as fresh as it was 961 hours ago.

I went from several years of Nexus devices, starting with a used Samsung Galaxy Nexus in 2012 and pretty much every model from there through the Nexus 6P, to an S7 Edge and now an S8+. I have no regrets.

Sound logic, thanks! Curious, if you've been on android for the last 5 years why are you on windows central? have a windows phone, or for xbox/win 10 news?

 

[tgp]

Curious, if you've been on android for the last 5 years why are you on windows central?

I am, or rather was, a dual user. I had a Windows phone until last week when I sold the last one I had. My primary device has been Android for the last 6 years or so except for a couple brief stints with Windows phone or iPhone.

If you've read other posts, you'll see that I live and breathe Microsoft. I work for a Microsoft partner, and I have several MCP certifications. But over the last several years most of us here have migrated away from Windows mobile to Android. I'm still interested however!

 

[libra89]

Super helpful, thanks! Only question would be around Outlook calendar for both - are you able to make it the default? Specifically, if i click on a hyperlink for an appointment in an email/text or use cortana to make an appointment it defaults to outlook and not ical/googcal?

On iOS, yes. When you set up your phone, you'll add your Outlook/Microsoft account there as an exchange account. In Calendar under Settings, you'll set your account as the default account for new events. Even if you click it and it opens in the Apple Calendar, you can create the event there and it will sync back to your Outlook calendar.

For Android, I'm not sure. I think this could be phone dependent. I usually just go into the app itself to create an event and then have that sync to my phone's calendar.

 

[PerfectReign]

. I work for a Microsoft partner, and I have several MCP certifications.

I used to have a signature line, NCMAA - No Microsoft Certification At All

Here’s the link: https://groups.google.com/d/msg/alt.2600/U36qhYBzwDI/v38HmOtSqPYJ

 

[tgp]

I used to have a signature line, NCMAA - No Microsoft Certification At All

Yes, granted my certifications don't have a lot of value. But they are plaques on the wall with Steve Ballmer's signature on them!