iOS 9.3 Jailbreak Expected In The Coming Days

One of the great highlights for owners of Apple devices is when the iOS operating system is jailbroken by skilful developers. Yes there has not been a major new jailbreak tool release for any iOS-driven devices since October 2015, which has left many rebellious Apple fans disappointed. It is true that the Pangu Chinese team released such a jailbreak last month, but this was only for devices utilizing iOS 9.1; which would not be considered particularly valuable, and ultimately was viewed as an incremental update.

iOS 9.3 Jailbreak imminent

However, reports are brewing that the latest iOS 9.3 version will be jailbroken in the coming days, with numerous jailbreak enthusiasts apparently nearing a solution to this hallowed grail. 9.2.1 seemed likely to be released a few months ago, but Apple has instead announced a raft of exciting new features for the iOS 9.3 system, with Night Shift, enhanced 3D Touch shortcuts and an improved Notes application high on the list of developments.

It is thought that the Night Shift in particular may have led to jailbreaking teams delaying their particular software releases, but rumors are afoot that breakthroughs will be made in the next week or so. iOS 9.3 includes the largest palette of features that Apple will include in an operating system until iOS 10 is released, and this makes it a worthwhile escapade for jailbreaking crews all over the world.

However, the situation has been complicated by the fact that the latest iOS release has experienced significant teething troubles, and thus there is already an update available for this operating system, namely iOS 9.3.1. This is effectively a window of opportunity for jailbreaking teams, though, as there are early indications that the latest update is free of any major bugs. There is obviously no point in jailbreaking operating systems which then are updated, but it seems that 9.3.1 could be the last iOS released for some time.

Apple aficionados

With this in mind, analysts believe that a major jailbreaking tool is on the horizon in the foreseeable future, and this will be anticipated hugely by Apple aficionados. It is extremely common for people who have grown up with the Apple operating system to indeed jailbreak their iPhones and other iOS-driven devices, with the jailbroken handsets offering significant advantages and freedom over the standard iPhone releases.

Apple has strongly resisted the jailbreaking of its devices, and thus it has been asserted that the golden era of jailbreaking indeed seems to be over. Apple has attempted to neuter this process by offering frequent software updates for the iOS operating system, and this has certainly reduced the effectiveness of jailbreaking teams. While users can sidestep these updates by ensuring that the iPhones are not automatically updated, this does bring with it a host of potential issues, and it does not appeal to all iPhone owners by any means.

Nonetheless, there are massive advantages to jailbreaking iPhones, with the most obvious being that it enables users to customize and personalize the appearance of the operating system. To some degree, one can understand why Apple opposes this; it has built its reputation on a physical ubiquity which attracts people all over the world. But iOS is also frequently criticized for being a considerably more buttoned-down system than the competing Android OS, and many Apple users appreciate the ability that jailbreaking offers to customize the setup of the desktop.

Adding additional features

Jailbreaking also enables Apple users to add several additional features to their smartphone devices, and these can include genuinely useful functionality such as adding protection for any software or Touch ID.

Restrictions eliminated

Another criticism of iOS is that it imposes onerous restrictions on owners of its devices, and jailbreaking helps to mitigate against this issue. Of course, many Apple users never for one second consider such problems, but those who want the sleekness and convenience of the Apple iPhone, while also having a more open system particularly appreciate jailbreaks.

It is usual for links in iOS devices to be automatically opened in the Safari browser, while if you are opening a Maps application, it is not possible to open Maps in other apps. Jailbreaking devicesremoves all such irritating restrictions found in the existing iPhone system, enabling users to utilize and install whatever applications are required and desired. This is probably the number one reason for jailbreaking iOS, and it does remain an attractive proposition even for those concerned about the downside of jailbreaking.

More apps, more hacks

Finally, once a device is jailbroken, it is possible to install many applications that would otherwise be unavailable. Jailbreaking also opens up many hidden features in iPhone devices, and enables users to rummage around for hidden treasures and resources contained within the iPhone. For the technically proficient, jailbreaking literally makes the iPhone into an entirely new smartphone, and thus iOS users will be eagerly awaiting the latest jailbreaking release, which could now be on the cards.

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Build 2016 app for Android and iOS now available

Recently, Microsoft released the Build 2016 app for Windows 10 devices. Today, the company also released the Build 2016 app for Android and iOS. The Android and iOS app for Build 2016 seem to include all the features as the Windows 10 app, which is definitely good news:

• My Schedule: Access and modify the list of sessions, speakers, and exhibitors that you have added as favorites in the app or on the conference website Schedule Builder
• Schedule Builder: View and search the full conference session list. Select a session to favorite it, view details, submit session evaluations, and take notes.
• Showcase: Find the Microsoft groups and partners you want to meet.
• Conference Info: Find important event information and read about key event highlights to enhance your on-site experience.
• Maps: Find your way around the venue.
• Social & News: Follow and join the conversation through our social channels

As you may expect, the apps are available for free on the Google Play Store and App Store. If you want to download the app for your iPhone, head over to this link. And this link to get the app for your Android device.

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Web link bug in iOS 9.3 causes apps to crash, freeze

In what appears to be yet another bug in Apple's latest iOS point release, users running iOS 9.3 are reporting system stability issues when attempting to open hyperlinks in Safari, Mail, and Messages, as well as third party Web browsers like Google Chrome.

It is not clear what iOS mechanic is promoting the software breakdown, though problems seem to have cropped up on Saturday as multiple users took to Apple's Support Communities forums for help.AppleInsider on Sunday received a number of similar reports from device owners running both iOS 9.3 and, to a lesser extent, iOS 9.2.

As described by those affected, tapping on Web links in Mail, Messages, Safari and other Apple titles causes those app to freeze or crash. The issue appears to be app agnostic, as a both first and third party software exhibits crash symptoms, suggesting the issue lies in iOS itself. 

While newer hardware like iPhone 6, 6s and current generation iPad models appear most impacted, scattered reports claim older devices are experiencing the same hangups. An exact distribution of affected devices and iOS versions is not known, though Apple's support forums now contain multiple threads on the topic, one with more than 7,000 views. 

A permanent fix has not yet been discovered, though some have found limited success in disabling JavaScript (accessible in Settings > Safari > Advanced). Others say performing a long press operation on a link in Chrome bypasses the bug, but the solution is hit-or-miss. 

One forum member said an Apple Support representative this weekend confirmed the company is aware of the issue and has engineers working on a fix, which should be released soon. Apple has not made an official statement on the matter. 

The link crash bug comes less than a week after complaints surfaced regarding an iOS 9.3 update issuethat prohibited older iPhones and iPads from completing the activation process, rendering those devices unusable. Apple temporarily pulled the software before issuing a patched version on Thursday.
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WhatsApp for iOS and Android updated: Here’s how you can share documents

After a big update on WhatsApp for iOS that introduced pinch to zoom for videos and sharing from third-party apps, there is a new server side update rolling out to both iOS and Android devices that are updated to the latest versions from their respective app stores. The new server side update will now allow users to share locally stored documents with individuals as well as groups.

For now, users who update to version 2.12.453 for Android and 2.12.14 on iOS will soon see another sharing option that allows users to share documents. For now however, there is this one tiny issue. The receiver (your friend) should also have the updated version installed in order to receive the said document on their device.

On Android, the same appears upon clicking the attach icon where there is now a ‘Document’ icon instead of a ‘Video’ one. Tapping on the same will show you all the locally stored documents on your device, where you can select and send the same.

On iOS, tapping on the ‘Upload’ icon will now show a ‘Share Document’ option among others that will allow you to share documents from other third-party apps (mainly online storage) which is similar to what was revealed in the last update for photo and video sharing.

For now users are reporting that they are only able to share pdf documents. Since this is a server side update, it may take some time till it is available on your smartphone.

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iOS 10 concept video shows off some intriguing new features

With so much buzz surrounding Apple’s upcoming iPhone SE and the highly anticipated iPhone 7, we curiously haven’t heard much about iOS 10, the software that will power Apple’s next-gen lineup of smartphones.

With rumors surrounding iOS 10 few and far in between, visual designer Sam Beckett recently put together a concept video showcasing some intriguing and clever ideas Apple might be smart to incorporate into the upcoming version of its mobile OS.

Most of the ideas in Beckett’s video focuses on improvements Apple can make to iOS’ Control Center. For instance, one idea showcases 3D Touch integration with various Control Center toggles. So imagine, for example, being able to force touch the Wi-Fi toggle as a means to not just turn Wi-Fi on, but to also choose which wireless network to join.

Additionally, another concept shown in the video highlights how users might be able to pick and choose which particular toggles they’d like to appear in iOS’ Control Center in the first place.

As it stands now, the only iOS 10 feature we’ve heard rumblings about centers on a new service dubbed iCloud Voicemail that would use Siri to answer calls and transcribe voice messages.

In the months ahead, it’ll be interesting to see what type of cool new features Apple plans to incorporate into iOS 10, especially given that iOS 9 last year was largely focused on under-the-hood optimizations designed to improve the overall user experience and eliminate pesky bugs and performance issues.

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iOS 9.2.1 jailbreak update, rumors: Jailbreak rumored to be skipped; iOS 9.3 beta 3 jailbroken?

After "Error 53," which plagued iPhone devices earlier this month, Apple released an updated iOS 9.2.1 to remedy the situation. Then more recently, it rolled out the third beta of iOS 9.3 to developers. This has led many to believe that an iOS 9.2.1 jailbreak may not see the light of day anymore.

The iOS jailbreak community believed that an iOS 9.2 jailbreak was in development stage when it was rumored that Pangu was working on it, and they were undoubtedly waiting for its release. During that time period, iOS hacker Luca Todesco claimed that he had a working jailbreak for iOS 9.2.1, and that iOS version was still in beta stage. Todesco did not want to share his knowledge to the rest of the world, so apparently, nobody has used the jailbreak tool apart from him.

Now, iOS 9.3 is the talk of the town, and even while in its beta stage, many now believe that jailbreaking is not limited to the Pangu and TaiG team anymore. Taigjailbreak has reported that Todesco has jailbroken iOS 9.3 beta 1 and even posted a video of it on YouTube. Again, he does not intend to release his tool to the general public.

Neurogadget has reported that a certain Twitter user with the handle enMTW announced that he has already cracked the iOS 9.3 beta 3 and said that he will eventually release the jailbreak tool, which is rumored to be in March. Many followers of enMTW believe that he will share his exploits to the community.

Meanwhile, TaiG is also rumored to be working on an iOS 9.3 jailbreak, but there is currently no information on its availability, whereas Pangu announced to its fans that the latest iOS 9.2.1 is recommended to be downloaded and installed in their iOS devices.

So far, iOS 9.3 is rumored to bring some major performance improvements, new features and of course bug fixes. It is believed that this version will bring sorting ability and password protection on Apple Notes. Improved algorithms, landscape mode and in-line video playback are said to be added on Apple News.

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iOS apps more vulnerable than Android

Applications written for iOS devices have more vulnerabilities than those written for Androids

Applications written for iOS devices have more vulnerabilities than those written for Androids, and this has the potential for security problems in the future as attackers move to application-based threat vectors.

According to a new report from mobile application security vendors Checkmarx and AppSec Labs, the average mobile app has nine vulnerabilities.

Of the iOS vulnerabilities, 40 percent were critical or high severity, compared to 36 percent of the Android vulnerabilities, said Amit Ashbel, product marketing manager at Checkmarx.

MORE ON CSO:Mobile Security Survival Guide

Researchers tested hundreds of applications of all types, including banking, utilities, retail, gaming and security -- and even major banking applications had vulnerabilities such as faulty authentication and data leakage.

"You would expect the financial applications to be a bit more secure, but we're seeing that more or less they're all the same," Ashbel said.

The most common vulnerability, which accounted for 27 percent of all vulnerabilities found, was leakage of personal or sensitive information. Authentication and authorization problems were in second place at 23 percent, followed by configuration management at 16 percent. Other vulnerabilities included availability, cryptography weaknesses, disclosure of technical information such as application logs, and input validation handling.

Authentication and authorization vulnerabilities were also the riskiest, with 60 percent of these vulnerabilities ranked as critical or high severity.

There's a common assumption that iOS devices are more secure than Android devices, Ashbel said.

[ ALSO ON CSO: Mobile security: iOS vs. Android vs. BlackBerry vs. Windows Phone ]

For example, iOS has more restrictive controls over what developers can do, and tight application sandboxing. In addition, iOS applications are vetted before they are allowed into the Apple App Store, and removed quickly if problems are found.

Finally, Apple can easily push security updates out to all iOS users, while on the Android side the updates have to be pushed out by individual carriers or manufacturers.

This may be causing developers to put less effort into security when coding applications for that platform, he said.

That's not so much of a problem today, since attackers aren't -- yet -- focusing on application-based threat vectors.

"We can compare the mobile world to the PC world 15 years ago," Ashbel said. "The types of attacks that were launched on PCs and desktops 15 years ago were similar to the attacks launched on iOS and Android today. They're based on malware and viruses because that was the easiest channel."

Today, however, 80 percent of attacks against PCs come through vulnerable applications, he said.

"The shift that happened on desktops is also possible on mobile," he said.

For example, today, Android doesn't have enough validation on apps uploaded to Android app stores.

As security improves in this area, attackers will look for other channels.

"We're going to see a shift to attacks coming on the application layer," he said. "And we're going to see that iOS is exposed as much as or even more than Android."

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Android Circuit: iOS Smashes Android, Galaxy S6 Fails Samsung, BlackBerry Priv Reviewed

Taking a look back at seven days of news across the Android world, this week’s Android Circuit includes Samsung’s Galaxy J saving the mobile division, Google hunts bugs in the S6 Edge, the monthly security update from Mountain View, Marshmallow’s market share, reviews of the BlackBerry Priv, reasons to buy the Sony Xperia Z5, the best smartwatch for Android users, and the app that asks how high can you throw your phone?

Android Circuit is here to remind you of a few of the many things that have happened around Android in the last week.

Samsung Galaxy S6 vs Galaxy S6 Edge (image: Ewan Spence)

Samsung’s Saviour Is Not The Galaxy S6

Which handset had the most impact in Samsung’s recent results? That the South Korean company arrested the seven-quarter run of falling profits was welcome, but with much of that turnaround coming from the display and semi-conductor business, what did the mobile division bring to the table? It certainly wasn’t the under performing Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge, or the Note 5 or Edge Plus. Instead the big contributions came from a mid-range, mid-specced handset, the Galaxy J:

With weaker sales at the top end of its portfolio, Samsung is having to sell more handsets for less individual return to maintain its place in the market. There are fewer opportunities to lead the conversation and have an impact on the public perception of what a smartphone is if you are reliant on a mid-range handset to make up the numbers.

It also starts a worrying trend. If the flagship sales are falling, what can be done to turn them around? Samsung has spent most of 2015 trying to reverse the trends of 2014 which saw sales, revenue, and profit all slow down.

Calling Out Samsung’s Bugs

That wasn’t the only awkward story for Samsung this week, as Google’s Project Zero team decided to look at the Galaxy S6 Edge to find out how vulnerable it was to attack. Previously the team has looked at the Nexus devices, and now it has focused on an OEM. The results? Eleven vulnerabilities were found, and disclosed privately to Samsung. Eight have already been patched, with the final three expected to be addressed in November:

 A week of investigation showed that there are a number of weak points in the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. Over the course of a week, we found a total of 11 issues with a serious security impact. Several issues were found in device drivers and image processing, and there were also some logic issues in the device that were high impact and easy-to-exploit.

The majority of these issues were fixed on the device we tested via an OTA update within 90 days, though three lower-severity issues remain unfixed. It is promising that the highest severity issues were fixed and updated on-device in a reasonable time frame.

It’s an unusual step to call out a partner publicly, but the ‘happy resolution’ at the end of the blog post leads me to think that this is a ‘look, we can fix everything with monthly updates’ good news story to rebuild confidence in the Android brand.

Nexus 6P (image: Google PR)

Google’s Monthly Bug Hunting Results

Speaking of monthly updates, the latest Android update patches twenty-three bugs in Android. Forbes’ Thomas Fox-Brewster:

There’s another Stagefright vulnerability in town, but it’s not the scariest bug in the latest monthly Android update from Google, announced today. Seven other flaws in different software libraries are the most concerning, all allowing remote control execution, where hackers can send multimedia messages or emails to launch their attacks.

Android partners were alerted on October 5th to include these fixes with haste, while Google’s Nexus line up of developer-focuses smartphones were patched over the air as quickly as possible.

Android’s Internal Market Share

Staying with monthly updates, Google’s Android Developer Dashboard refreshed the current share of Android devices running various versions of the mobile operating system, A month after release, Android Marshmallow showed up with a 0.3% share – an improvement over Lollipop which took three months to appear on the dashboard.

It ask shows that Lollipop has finally broken the one-in-four mark a year after it was first released, with a share of 25.6 percent.

The dashboard is already showing the impact of Android Marshmallow. The 0.3 percent share of the market may be a small figure but the only Marshmallow devices so far are in Google’s own Nexus range of devices. The Nexus 5X and 6P are starting to ship to customers, while Marshmallow images for the Nexus 5, Nexus 6, Nexus 7, Nexus 9 and the Nexus Player were made available on October 5th.

It’s a much stronger roll-out compared to Lollipop. Version five of Android was launched in November last year and it took another three months before it showed up in the developer dashboard. Google discounts any version of Android under 0.1% share from the dashboard, so Marshmallow has broken that barrier three times faster than Lollipop.

And if you want to put those shares in context, Apple posted details on the iOS 9 update rate. That updated operating system is now running on sixty-six percent of all compatible devices, smashing Marshmallow’s 0.3 percent.

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Outlook for iOS and Android gets a subtle redesign as Microsoft moves to unite email apps

Sunrise Calendar will be subsumed into the app in the future.

Screenshots show the redesigned Outlook for iOS

 Credit: Microsoft

Back in January, Microsoft launched Outlook for iOS and Android, designed to help users of the two most popular mobile platforms manage their email and calendars. The new apps, which came about after the acquisition of Accompli, is part of the company’s push to provide productivity tools across platforms—even those it doesn’t own. In the case of Outlook, that seems to be paying off. 

Microsoft announced Wednesday that 30 million people use Outlook for iOS and Android every month. That’s some serious traction for a heavy-duty productivity app, and it also consistently holds a position among the top 20 most downloaded productivity apps in both the Google Play Store and iOS App Store. (In the grand scheme of things, Outlook’s position isn’t nearly as strong as Facebook’s, which reported in July that it had one of the most popular apps with 1.31 billion monthly active users on mobile.) 

Now, the two apps are getting a visual design refresh, thanks to some help the Outlook team got from the people behind Sunrise, which Microsoft acquired and added to the Outlook organization. Long-time users of Outlook on either platform will notice the subtle differences between the past version of the app and the new design, but it’s not a radical shift. 

On iOS, the inbox layout now shows new, colorful icons that denote event invitations, and the attachment and flag icons are more prominently displayed on the right hand side of a message in the list in keeping with the app’s counterpart on Windows. Thanks to the Sunrise collaboration, the calendar is also getting a facelift with fit-and- finish changes like showing the day’s date in its icon, and better displaying multiple calendar events at the same time. 

Android users will find that the app fits better with the overall system design and material design principles that are common across Android apps. There are some other tweaks coming too, like an inbox that shows images of the contact who sent an email if a user’s address book has a picture for that person. While the iOS update is available today, the Android update won’t be rolling out for another couple of weeks. 

Sunrise Calendar fans should also be aware that the team’s contributions to Outlook will soon be more than just working on the design of the Outlook app itself. Javier Soltero, the corporate vice president of Microsoft Outlook, said in a blog post that the end goal is to bring the features of Sunrise into Outlook, and eventually replace the current Sunrise app with Outlook entirely.

Soltero is something of an outsider to the Redmond, Washington-based tech giant. He joined when Microsoft acquired Acompli, the company he co-founded. Now, he’s charged with building out Microsoft’s entire suite of email clients, from the popular Windows desktop app to the email client on iOS and Android. Under his leadership, the Outlook team has changed focus toward building apps that share the same principles, but don’t necessarily look the same.

“Before I got here, the charter for the Outlook team was about consistency, and they believed that things needed to look the same, and what made Outlook, Outlook was a visual thing,” Soltero said in an interview. “And it’s not. Because if you do that, then you’re presuming that I want to see an app inside of [an iPhone] that was really made for [Windows Phone].”

Instead, Soltero said that he’s focused on pushing a coherent vision across platforms for what Outlook does, even if its applications aren’t a pixel-by-pixel match for one another. To that end, people should get ready to see some of the features from Outlook for iOS and Android, like a “Focused” inbox that shows users’ most important emails, on other platforms where it hasn’t appeared before. 

In Soltero’s view, it’s important for the Outlook team to keep pushing forward and rapidly adapting its product to users’ needs, especially given the competetion for users in the mobile applications space.

“So, we have to be able to evolve the product with a higher cadence, and with an eye towards what is going to make that product first and foremost be chosen by people,” Soltero said. “And particularly because the phone ships with another email client. So the discussion for Outlook starts with ‘How is it better than what comes with my iPhone or my Android device?’”

Looking forward, Soltero wants people who are using Outlook to be able to sync their settings across devices, so tweaking a preference in one app will propagate across each application someone is using. All of these changes could prove to be a long-term benefit for Microsoft overall: If people are thrilled by using Outlook on their phones, they may be more likely to pay for it on their PCs or Macs through an Office 365 subscription. 

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6 Reasons You Should Switch From iOS to Android

The differences between Android and iOS have been getting awfully slim lately. With each new software release, the two mobile operating systems look more and more alike, with each of them actively borrowing the best features from the other.

As a result, though I’ve been an unapologetic iPhone user since the iPhone 5 came out in 2012, I’ve recently been casting some glances Android’s way. And with the advent of some cool enhancements in Android 6.0 Marshmallow and rapidly improving hardware (from Google and other vendors), I’ve become convinced that now just might be the perfect time to switch from iPhone to Android.

Now, before you break out the torches and pitchforks, consider these six reasons why I’m thinking of making the switch.

1. Choice of phones

Apple gives you just two choices of smartphones: the 4.7-inch iPhone 6s (or 6) or the 5.5-inch iPhone 6s Plus (or 6 Plus). With Android, you have a huge choice of phones from a wide variety of manufacturers.

For starters, Google itself recently unveiled the Nexus 5X (built by LG) and the Nexus 6P (from Huawei), the company’s answer to the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus, respectively. These devices are comparable in quality to Apple’s high-end phones, but at a fraction of the price.

If those Nexus devices aren’t for you, you can still choose from aseemingly endless selection of phones, ranging from high-end devices like the Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Galaxy S6, Motorola’s Moto X, and the Sony Xperia Z5 to more budget-friendly devices like the super-cheap-but-still-excellent Moto G for $180.

2. Google Now on Tap

One of Android’s best features is Google Now. Google’s virtual personal assistant — yes, the equivalent of Siri — aims to give you the right information at the right time. And with Android 6.0 Marshmallow, that service is even better.

Google announced Google Now on Tap back in May at Google I/O and showed it off again on the new Nexus devices in September. The advantage of Google Now on Tap: It delivers all sorts of contextual information without having to leave the app you’re in.

For example, say you and a friend are chatting in Google Hangouts about going to dinner. Holding down the home button will give you an at-a-glance look at the restaurant’s rating, an option to call the restaurant or even book a table, in addition to creating a calendar event and getting directions to the venue — all without leaving Hangouts.

Google Now on Tap is a killer feature, and it’s one that the iPhone just cannot match (at least, not yet).

3. Standard connectors

While Apple is still using its own proprietary Lightning cables to power its iOS devices, Android phones are embracing more standard technologies such as USB Type-C.

Both of Google’s newest Nexus phones, for example, have USB Type-C ports that provide fast charging. And the USB Type-C cord is reversible so (like iPhone users with their Lightning cables) Android users no longer have to worry about which way they’re plugging in their phones.

Like the current microUSB cords that power most Android devices on the market today, the USB Type-C cables will soon be everywhere and, as a result, they’ll be much cheaper than Apple’s Lightning cables.

4. Improving battery life

One of the biggest gripes I’ve had with Android is how much more quickly the battery seems to drain than the iPhone’s.

If I forget to plug in my iPhone overnight, the battery typically drops only a couple of percentage points. But if I do the same thing with an Android device, it’ll drop 20 to 40 percent overnight. That typically means it’ll die sometime the next morning.

Fortunately, that’s about to change dramatically with Doze, a feature baked into Marshmallow that detects when you’ve left your phone alone for a long period of time. Once your phone is inactive and not moving for a while, the device enters Doze mode, which disables your data network, ignores wake locks, and shuts down all background processing.

It’s basically like going into airplane mode, except it allows a few things like high-priority messages to come through, but for all intents and purposes your phone stops most things from running in exchange for boosting your battery life when your phone is idle for a long period of time.

Then there’s App Standby, a service that basically stops apps you haven’t used in several hours from running processes in the background if your phone isn’t plugged into the charger.

Combined, Doze and App Standby should work wonders on your Android phone’s battery life, which when coupled with the fact that many Android devices include larger batteries than the iPhone, could help your phone last longer than its iOS counterpart.

5. Improving cameras

The new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus devices have amazing cameras that shoot high-quality pictures and HD video. But they aren’t unique in that regard.

Several Android devices take pictures and video just as well as the iPhone, and some might even be better. According to DxOMark, a website that runs cameras and mobile devices through industry-standard image quality tests, several Android phones performed better than the iPhone 6s and 6 Plus. (The 6s Plus has not yet been tested.)

Point being, while the iPhone once had a distinct advantage over Android phones when it came to camera quality, that’s no longer true.

6. Better screens

The iPhone 6s and 6s Plus both have so-called Retina HD displays — but their resolution still lags behind several Android phones. The iPhone 6s Plus, for example, has a full-HD 1080p display. But the new Nexus 6P boasts a 1440p display; some Android phones like Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium actually have 4K Ultra HD displays built in. 

With that kind of resolution, Android phones can be way better than iPhones for games and high-def video. Sure, such high resolutions can be hard to discern on a 5- or 6-inch screen. But the difference is there.

The bottom line

Android has always been a powerful operating system. But with the release of Android 6.0 Marshmallow — the best Android operating system to date — and the latest hardware from Google, Samsung, Sony, and others, now might just be the perfect time for even settled iPhone users to give Android a very serious look.

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