We’ve just seen Apple lay out plans for the next generation of iOS, which is a rapid departure from previous updates. But how does iOS 26 stack up against Android 16, which has also yet to be released? Here’s everything you need to know.
Apple isn’t often a follower in the tech space. Credit to the company: It tends to stay in its lane and let others blaze a path. The Cupertino tech giant will then carve its own unique take on things we might have seen before, but that doesn’t stop fumbles or major issues.
Table of contents
In most cases, though, this leads to a more polished experience, and I say that as someone who vastly prefers other platforms, particularly Android for my day-to-day phones. What was announced at WWDC 2025 feels like a very different beast. With iOS 26, Apple is attempting to revive the Aero-era of interfaces, and being polite, the results are very mixed.
Now, with Google set to offer a new take on Android 16, which is called Material 3 Expressive, in the coming months, there are some interesting ways in which the Mountain View firm differentiates itself from the competition just a few miles down the road. Both releases are still previews, but let’s get into a few key areas where things differ and the pros and cons of each design choice:
Glass is glass, and glass breaks
Apple’s take on iOS 26 design with “Liquid Glass” is a strange revisionism of the Windows Vista era Aero design. Material 3 Expressive borrows a little of the glassy style, but efforts have been made to at least frost the clear elements.
Google hasn’t changed every single element. Instead, the changes are evolutionary, and while there are very minor similarities, it’s like Apple has decided that accessibility no longer matters and isn’t a priority. The Quick Settings panels on both phones are obvious areas of divergence.
Functionally, the two sections aren’t a million miles away. However, visually, it’s a whole different story. By default, in iOS 26, this entire quick panel is clear. Almost entirely see-through. If you have a light background wallpaper, the lack of contrast for tiles and toggles is, to put it politely, horrendous. With a bright, light, or white wallpaper, good luck trying to see what you’re doing.
One of the few saving graces is that there is a “Reduce Transparency” toggle, but this added accessibility setting shouldn’t be required to get a palatable experience. I’m sure this will change as the beta program progresses, but as noted by Ben Schoon in his breakdown of the boring initial Android 16 release, it certainly feels like Apple’s often incredible attention to detail has been pointed in the wrong direction this time around.
It screams “change for the sake of change” in a phone’s utility section. Android 16 QPR1 actually addresses many complaints in the Quick Settings panel and improves utility by allowing more quick toggles to be added. For all intents and purposes, both sections work the same.
All of this applies to the lockscreen, too. The glassy style is toned down a little with more frosted panes, but the same problems persist in iOS 26 versus the cleaner Android 16 layout. Too much transparency doesn’t help anyone.
Quality of life differences and changes
We’re Android fans first and foremost, so it’s always funny to see how Apple adds things years after they have existed in the mobile lexicon. For the first time ever, iOS 26 will add estimated charging times to iPhones. It’s mind-boggling that this hasn’t ever been a thing before. It’s something we sort of take for granted on almost every Android phone going back a number of years now.
DeX is nothing new, but it is limited to Samsung phones. Android 16 QPR1 is going to offer its own take on a portable desktop mode using your phone as the base. Apple isn’t ever likely to dilute the juicy iPad market by providing anything similar for iPhones, but iOS does offer basic screen mirroring. It’s fine, but won’t match the utility of a proper desktop mode that’ll kick in when your phone is plugged into an external display.
AI and related features
Gemini will undoubtedly play a bigger part in the future of Android than Siri ever will on iPhone. Still, after iOS 18 added a ton of AI functions, it is shocking to see Apple scale back so drastically, or at least tone down its marketing approach to features powered by AI. The company has decided to look over the fence and nab a few things, though. A different take on Circle to Search is coming, but it’s finicky and requires you to take a screenshot, then access a button that appears to start asking questions or work out what is on screen. Not only is it unintuitive; it isn’t fully working in most cases – including the UK, where I am based.
Other Android features coming to iOS 26 include Call Screening and Hold for Me. We’re not gatekeeping those; they’re nice for just about everyone. Spam Detection is an absolute must for those in the US, where SMS spam is rife. Genmoji and Image Playground are cheap knockoffs of the excellent Emoji Kitchen, while Pixel Studio sticker generation has been around since it was added to the Pixel 9 series last year.
Android 16 QPR1 doesn’t add anything drastic to Gemini or AI features. Because Gemini is practically decoupled from OS updates, we get new features semi-regularly without needing a full Android release. That’s both a blessing and a curse because Google has less to shout about, but it does mean there is a faster rate of progression, and it shows when Astra-powered features are coming thick and fast. IO showcased the future of phone control with Gemini, and while it was a demo, it looks like it’ll be able to do more than anything else we’ve seen before.
Credit where it is due, though, Apple is learning how to tame its overreliance on the Settings menu. Some AI improves the search functionality, and it even steals a little bit of the M3 button design. As noted earlier, whether intentional or not, it certainly feels like Google may have influenced Apple’s design choices more than the company would openly admit.
Customization and controls
Android 16 will always have the edge in overall customization controls versus iOS 26. That said, there are areas where an iPhone has an undoubted edge.
Lockscreen customization and theming need a little more work on Android. On Apple phones, there are some truly stunning options like parallax wallpapers, better integration with lockscreen clocks, and although the widgets are simple, they add extra at-a-glance utility. We technically get 14 lockscreen clocks to choose from in Android 16 QPR1. They are less fluid and marginally less cohesive with your wallpaper.
Due to flexible layouts, you do get more home screen options. The biggest change is Live Effects. This allows you to take photos from your library and add extra effects to them, like shaped cutouts, weather, or even basic 3D motion. It’s not perfect, and dare we say it, a little gimmicky at times.
It’s almost funny that both Android 16 QPR1 and iOS 26 suffer from one customization control foible. They have similar problems with themed icons in that not all apps work or play nicely with system-wide forced theming.
That said, iOS offers more than just a toggle to enable this. You can choose various styles and although the “Clear” icons give 2011-era Glasklart theming vibes, at least you have further options. This tank’s performance in the current iOS beta for what it’s worth. Maybe we could get more options like this on Android, but with more attention paid to the strengths of Material You and Dynamic Color.
Camera UI
It’s surprising how similar the camera experiences are on Pixel and iPhone now. Apple is very invested in reachability, so whether unintentional or not, the layouts have converged. There are two tabs to switch between photo and video modes.
You can slide between various deeper modes and adjust based on the scenario. Being biased for a second, the Google Camera application may not be the most feature-rich, but it is very well laid out, easy to understand, and still doesn’t detract from taking photos or recording video.
On iOS, it’s better than it was, but it isn’t immediately clear in the same way. It’s not immediately obvious that a double tap of each mode can bring up deeper controls. It’s minimal for the sake of being minimal, but at least framerate controls are displayed in the video mode with toggles to change on the fly.
Final thoughts
When comparing iOS 26 to Android 16 in 2025, it’s surprising how many things are arguably similar here. In years gone by, Android and iOS were further apart than ever. That is no longer the case. Functionally, things have converged, and some visuals are practically identical now. It’s just a case of whether you prefer a closed ecosystem or something a little more flexible to your needs.
Let’s just hope that “Liquid Glass” isn’t something that other Android OEMs attempt to replicate in the coming year. That said, I can certainly see it happening.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
Comments