The differences between Android and iOS are getting smaller and smaller, but the latter does not do as well in security and other features

The debate over the iPhone and Android flagships has become less heated over the past few years, largely due to the fact that the two have copied certain features from each other, making the difference between the two less and less. Still, Android flagships still lack certain features of the iPhone, with device security being the most prominent example.

Although the App Store is not perfect, Apple's strict review system and control make it rare for malicious programs and scams to sneak in. According to the latest mobile threat report released by RisKIQ, more than 25,000 malicious programs were uploaded to the Google Play Store in 2019. And there were reports of malware on the Play Store almost every month last year.

According to RiskIQ statistics, the most dangerous application platform in 2019 is "9Game", which mainly provides users with free Android games, which contain a large number of malware. In 2019 alone, 61,669 apps were seized. In addition, Google is also on the list. Due to the large number of apps, Play Store ranks second with 25,467 apps. The 3rd to 5th places are "360 Mobile Assistant", "Feral app store", and "Huawei Vmall" respectively.

Although Google's number seems large, RiskIQ's focus on the Play Store has made amazing progress and has significantly upgraded its security, reducing the number of malicious software by 76.4% compared to 2018, from a maximum of 108,770 to only 25,647.

Update March 2: RiskIQ editors mistakenly understood "Feral App" to be an app store, when in fact it refers to applications that are not distributed through any app store.

In addition to Play Store malware, Android users often fail to receive important security updates in a timely manner. Depending on the phone they use, some Android users will receive security updates months later than others.

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As NordVPN points out, Google’s openness and ubiquity only exacerbates the problem:

• Google makes it nearly impossible for all devices to get updates with the same security level at the same time, and it can't guarantee synchronized update times and frequencies. It's also harder to roll out these updates because they have to be distributed to multiple manufacturers and devices. Not only is the frequency of device updates reduced, but it also affects the support lifecycle of the devices.

Another simple security risk faced by Android users is that most of them are still running outdated Android versions. For example, in May 2019, nearly 25% of Android users were still running Android Lollipop (originally released in 2014) or lower versions of the mobile operating system.

That said, even if Android security updates are released more quickly - and Google is making great strides in this area - the fact remains that many Android users are still running incredibly old versions of Android. In stark contrast, 77% of iPhone users are currently running iOS 13, Apple's latest iOS update. Remarkably, iOS 13's adoption rate reached 77% four months after its initial release.