9 Interaction Differences Between iOS and Android That Even Experts Can Easily Overlook

Nowadays, most PMs/interaction/UI designers use iOS as the benchmark when designing products to consider the various functional logics and interaction states of the product, but they easily overlook the fact that some functions cannot be "adapted to both ends" in Android, and some product differences are different on Android.

So this article will talk about the 9 major product/interaction differences between Android and iOS. I hope you can consider more knowledge points in future product design.

Differences in virtual goods, payment rules and methods

Payment Rules

Regarding the payment of some virtual goods, such as VIP membership, xx coins, and xx beans, iOS and Android have different payment rules: Android has basically no restrictions and no commission. However, iOS has more restrictions and charges a handling fee of about 30%.

For example, if you top up 30 yuan, you will get 300 gold coins on Android, but only 210 gold coins on iOS. It is precisely because of the different commission rules (there is no way, this is a hard rule set by Apple) that virtual currencies on various platforms appear, and the top-up ratios on Android and iOS are different, such as Kuaishou:

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Therefore, the commission rules for virtual goods on iOS must be considered clearly when designing the product, because this is related to the product's business and profit model. There are usually two solutions:

A. Let users bear 30% commission:

• For the same price, iOS users get less
• For example, if you top up 30 yuan, you will get 300 coins on Android, but only 210 coins on iOS. You can top up in various currencies such as Kuaishou, Momo, etc.

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iOS users pay more for the same product

For example, a 3-month VIP membership is priced at 58 yuan on Android and 68 yuan on iOS. This is the price of VIP membership on Youku and Tencent Video.

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B. The company itself bears 30% of the commission:

For example, if you top up 30 yuan on the iOS side, the company actually collects 21 yuan, but iOS users can get the same 300 gold coins as Android users. (In theory, there is such a solution, but in reality, few companies implement it, after all, the commission cost is there)

Another thing to note is that due to different commission rules, the account balance of the same ID cannot be used universally on Android and iOS. Therefore, users need to be informed of this when designing the product to prevent users from making mistakes and maliciously swiping coins.

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Payment Methods

Android is open source, so it connects to third-party payment platforms, such as WeChat Pay, Alipay, UnionPay, etc. However, due to the closedness and security of the system, iOS can only call Apple's own payment system: log in to Apple ID, and then use the authorized payment method (Alipay, UnionPay card) to make payment.

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Differences in Status Bar Interactions

The "status bar" is the battery bar at the top of our mobile phone interface. In addition to being able to switch colors in different backgrounds, the triggering of interactions is also different in Android and iOS.

iOS: When the user scrolls a long content on the Y axis, they can quickly return to the initial position by clicking the status bar.

Android: No matter how far the user scrolls, tapping has no effect.

Although this interaction difference is iOS-specific, it inspires us to have a new design idea: when necessary, the status bar can carry new interaction states for the product. For example, in NetEase's LOFTER (iOS), when the user leaves the music playback interface, the status bar is used to display music information and operation portals, allowing users to quickly turn off music while browsing other content, greatly improving user operation efficiency.

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Differences in downloading methods and status

This is mostly used in the "new user acquisition" scenario of operations. In order to allow new users to get benefits (red envelopes, coupons, better content, etc.), new users are usually asked to download the product APP to receive it. However, due to the different download methods of Android and iOS, different interaction states and product logic will be brought about.

Android: You can download on the current page (background) or in the app store; the progress can be displayed during the process, and the user can pause the download; after the download is complete, the installation page will be opened, and the user can cancel the installation or install it automatically... Because of the convenience of Android downloading software, there are various interactive states: not downloaded, downloading, paused, downloaded but not installed, installed. These are all things that interaction designers need to pay special attention to, and different product logic will be behind each different state.

iOS: You can only jump to the App Store to download. All download processes and status are completed there, and you can leave the activity page. Compared with Android, the download method is much simpler. The jump method can be full screen or half screen.

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Differences in software update methods

Android: Due to the open source nature of Android, users will be prompted to update when a new version is available, and each product has a "version update" entry. There are two ways to update:

• Guide update: A pop-up prompt will appear to let users update the APP. Users click the "Update" button to go to the App Store to update, or update the current page and display the download progress.
• Forced update: The user is also prompted to update first, but when the user clicks the "Update" button, the software installation page is called up. (The premise is that the product is in wifi mode and the installation package has been downloaded)

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iOS: For the sake of user experience, iOS prohibits prompting users for version update information. This is why most iOS products do not have a "version update" entry (such as QQ, Alipay, Baidu Netdisk and other major products).

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Even if there is, you will be redirected to the App Store to check the version status after clicking it. And the download channel is fixed in the App Store. As a matter of course, the software can only be updated in the App Store, and it cannot be downloaded and updated in the background like Android.

Different locations for text sending instructions

When inputting text on the mobile phone keyboard, due to system limitations of iOS, the sending instructions of text can only be completed on the keyboard, so the interactive operations of iOS users are all concentrated in the lower right corner of the keyboard.

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The Android version is much more flexible. Not only can you execute send commands on the keyboard, but you can also add new operation entries around the input bar/search bar.

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Differences in exiting the floating list

After long pressing a picture, a list pops up. Because iOS phones only have one "Home button", a "Cancel" entrance is added to facilitate users to exit the pop-up layer.

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Android phones already have a "Return" virtual key, and Android users are accustomed to triggering the exit/return behavior through the virtual key, so there is not much significance in adding an additional "Cancel" key.

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Different ways to delete

iOS has always taught users to use "swipe left" to delete list information, and all deletion functions support "swipe left".

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Most Android systems can only trigger the editing state through "long press", which includes the delete function.

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However, there are a few products that are gradually breaking the "deletion" boundary between the two ends. For example, NetEase Mail (Android) has achieved the function of deleting messages by swiping left.

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Differences in message push mechanisms

When we open the product for the first time and allow permission to obtain message notifications, all information transmission will be pushed based on the server. The push mechanisms on both ends are different:

iOS: All new messages will be pushed to your phone in real time. Even if you close the app, you will still receive a notification. Even if you are offline, the messages will be stored on Apple servers first, and will be pushed to you all at once when you are online. This frees up phone memory and prevents users from missing new messages.

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Android: Android is different. If you exit the product, data push will not notify you of new information until you open the product again. Although it reduces the interference to users, it also increases the pressure on server data storage and easily delays users from receiving new messages.

Different clipboard states after copying text

That is, the Sogou input method keyboard on our mobile phones, after copying a piece of content in WeChat chat or mobile phone text messages, due to the differences in platform characteristics between Android and iOS, it will bring different interaction differences to users on both ends.

iOS: After copying the text, opening the input method keyboard will display the text content from the clipboard. Users only need to click to copy the text to the search bar, input bar, and other operation areas that require text to be filled in, without triggering the "paste" operation.

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Android: On some Android devices (such as Xiaomi/Hammer/LeTV, etc.), no matter what information you copy (text, numbers, URLs, etc.), it is difficult to implement the "clipboard" function in the input method. Users need to trigger the "paste" function to input the copied content.

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As for specific information types, such as URLs, users often copy URLs with strong purpose and search. Some browser products will predict the user's operation behavior and display the copied URL in front to offset the system restrictions on text copying on the Android side. For example, QQ Browser (Android) has two solutions:

• Method 1: Utilize the message permission of the Android system to pop up a URL bar prompt at the top of the mobile phone interface. Whether in WeChat or text messages, you can quickly reach the target after copying the URL.
• Method 2: After copying the URL, open the search function, the URL will be automatically located and pasted into the search bar for user convenience.

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UC and Baidu also have similar solutions: embed the copied broad information (text/numbers/URL/email address, etc.) below the search box, and users can search with just a click.

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This is also a proper solution, because the types of information that users can copy are very wide and the goals are not very clear. It is impossible to accurately judge that users will definitely have search demands. Therefore, the copied information is placed below the search box instead of automatically pasting it into the search box, which takes into account both the user's goals and the operational efficiency.

Summarize

The above is a summary of the differences between Android and iOS. Please feel free to point out any inappropriate descriptions! Below is the summary file.

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