So, I've been now running Lollipop for a while on my Nexus 5 (I got impatient while waiting for the OTA update and flashed a factory image instead), so it's time to check whether the problems I had with KitKat have been addressed and what are the current strengths and downsides on the latest revisions of both platforms I'm actively using.
What comes to changes in Lollipop, I'm liking them in general. Material Design was a welcome refresh and I'm already making use of some of the new features that arrived with Lollipop. Smart Lock is especially nice as I no longer need to type in my passcode if I need to change what's playing in my car. This is also something that makes getting an Android Wear device much more enticing as I'd naturally add that device as a trusted device for smart lock and enjoy a mostly passcode-free life without making any major compromises to my device security.
What comes to Bluetooth, I'm happy to report that so far it's looking quite good. Connection times and reliability are close to iOS and the only complaint I'm having right now is the occasional stutter that's sometimes present in the first half a minute or so. So while iOS is still better in this regard, the gap has narrowed quite a bit and I could actually use my Nexus for podcasts without any showstoppers, so unless there's a major deterioration after a couple of months of use, I can scratch Bluetooth from my list of Android problems. Jury's still out regarding the streaming issue, but to my delight I noticed that Sonera Viihde's app on Android didn't have a block for casting CHL games to Chromecast while the iOS app blocks both AirPlay and HDMI out. While occasional choppiness was present in the stream, it was perfectly watchable and that choppiness was a small price to pay for getting the game on a proper screen instead of watching it on the iPad's small display. I'll have to see whether the regular Liiga games work better now when casting from Lollipop.
With at least the other major gripe seemingly tackled, it's time to look at what I need to do on my mobile devices and how both iOS and Android perform that function.
IRC (irssi on a remote server connected via SSH)
Admittedly IRC as a protocol is far from optimal to smartphone use, but it's still my primary communication channel with quite a lot of people. This category is something where Android wins hands down. I'm using Juice SSH with a pinned shortcut for the actual SSH part and Irssi Notifier for getting informed about highlights and private messages. There are decent iOS SSH clients as well (my current favorite is Prompt), but as connections themselves cannot be pinned to start screen as shortcuts and there's the 10-minute limit for background activity, I hardly ever use SSH+IRC on my iPhone as it's just too clumsy. I can also get the notification functionality via prowlnotify on iOS, but it's much clunkier to set up than Irssi Notifier.
However, I've recently picked up IRCCloud for my mobile IRC needs. With IRCCloud both platforms are served equally well. I just need to have my SSH available as well for times when someone DMs my nick running on Irssi, but even a clumsier solution is sufficient in those cases as it's not needed that often.
Camera
Having a toddler in the house (and knowing he's a child only once) puts quite an emphasis on having a good and quick to use camera readily available most of the time. I don't think it comes as a surprise that my iPhone 6 has a major edge here. While the Nexus 5 packs a decent snapper, it's no match to the iPhone which is surprisingly good even in not-that-well lit situations. However, there are Android devices with a better camera than the one on the Nexus 5 so this is hard to judge in general level. Software-wise I'm somewhat disappointed with iOS 8's changes as the camera roll is now harder and slower to access than it was before, so with better camera hardware I might end up preferring Android here. Because of this, I'm keeping a close eye on Sony Xperia Z4 rumors. I'm skipping the current Z3 generation as I would've preferred wireless charging instead of having to deal with those flaps covering the ports. Some rumors suggest that Z4 has both of those issues addressed, so it might end up being a really interesting device for me.
Exchange
At work we have Exchange in use and especially the calendar is crucial to have available on my phone so that I know where to be and when. At least on KitKat this support was somewhat disappointing and approving meeting requests was rather flaky. Jury's still out for Lollipop, but so far iOS has the edge in this category as it's been working reliably with Exchange for a few years now.
Music Apps
By music apps I refer to apps dealing with making and playing music especially on the guitar. For listening to music both platforms are well covered, but music creation apps have been an iOS show for quite a while. For a long time this was due to the fact that it wasn't simply possible to create apps like AmpKit or others that rely on real-time audio due to the audio latency caused by the Android architecture. However, Google has been tackling that problem and there were additional latency reductions in Lollipop, so technically it should be now feasible to port some of these apps over to Android, but naturally it's up to each developer to determine whether the port is feasible for them. Algoriddim already made the jump with their djay 2 app for Android. It'll be interesting to see whether anyone else will follow. But currently points go to iOS.
Dual SIM
This is something that I don't currently use, but I'd like to use as I don't quite like carrying two phones with me all the time. I'd rather stick both of my sims into one good phone, but so far the dual SIM phones they sell over here have been mostly in the low end or midrange at best, and I'd like a dual SIM flagship with all the flagship goodies. HTC One M8 Dual Sim is actually available here in a dual SIM format, but unfortunately that phone's camera has turned out to be quite lackluster in various camera shootouts I've read. LG seems to have a dual SIM version of their G3 available in Asia. That one looks like something I'd buy in a heartbeat if it was available here, so it seems like I have to hope they make that model available in Europe as well. What comes to iOS, I give better odds to Finland making it to a major tournament in football (soccer to you people over at the other side of the big pond) than Apple ever coming up with a dual SIM device, so this is clearly Android stuff.
Wireless Charging
Another point for Android. My Nexus 5 supports Qi charging and despite it being slower than wired charging, it's convenient as I just have to put my phone down on the charger to give it a quick top-up charge. I have chargers at home, in my car, and at the office, so there are plenty of locations where I can use this fine feature. Back when I had the iPhone 5 I got a Qi charging case for it, and that worked quite OK apart from the fact that the case itself was of poor quality and I ended up returning it after part of it broke off with me just sticking the phone in my pocket. As the Apple Watch supposedly supports some kind of wireless charging, seeing that capability on the iPhone is not quite on the hell freezes over probability level, but I'm not going to hold my breath for seeing it in the 6S generation yet.
Notifications and Notification Center
This one is a complicated one. iOS 8 added actionable notifications which I've already used e.g. for replying to text messages, but the actual notification center in iOS is somewhat underutilized for me as I don't know if there's anything worth looking at there. Android populates the bar at the top of the display with icons related to new notifications, so I can immediately see that there's something for me to look at and I already get an idea about what it might be. However, Today widgets for the notification center in iOS have made it somewhat more useful for me. Especially Authy's widget is surprisingly useful.
NFC and Payments
As a Finn NFC is currently an Android show. I have the NFC hardware in my iPhone 6, but as of the time of writing this it's even more useless than Windows Phone's NFC as it's completely tied to Apple Pay, which is not available in Finland yet. On Android I can use NFC for various automation tasks and e.g. for checking the balance on my travel card for the Helsinki region public transport. However, there are already rumors about Apple Pay coming to Finland in 2015, with the rumors coming from a rather reputable payments processor. This could be a game-changer for me, and I'm also hoping that in iOS 9 Apple does the same for NFC as they did for Touch ID on iOS 8, i.e. introduce the new hardware in ultimately locked-down manner one year and open up the API for external developers the next year. With Apple Pay and the travel card reader I could do quite well without the undeniably nice Android automation capabilities. Currently the score goes to Android hands down, but iOS has some potential according to rumors. Unfortunately there's no information about Google Wallet's possible introduction in Finland. To add insult to injury, my Nexus 5 isn't compatible with the new Elisa Wallet SIM a local operator Saunalahti introduced recently. Nexus 4 would be, but as Nexus 5 opts for the host card emulation instead of utilizing the SWP support it has in the hardware, it can't be used with the Elisa Wallet SIM right now. That's a shame, as I currently have the NFC sticker version of Elisa Wallet in use with my iPhone and that insanely huge and ugly sticker leaves much to be desired, especially when the companion app is equivalently clunky and doesn't even support Touch ID despite being too eager to ask for my password every chance it gets.
Touch ID or Equivalent
This is where Apple shines. Touch ID has been really convenient although with the Finnish climate it's of limited use outdoors for quite a large part of the year. At least Samsung offers fingerprint readers on the Android side of the fence, but based on what I've read about the implementation it's not a match to Touch ID neither in reliability nor in ease of use.
User Interface and Apps
This is a mixed category. The main launcher UI on iOS is getting somewhat stale and unnecessarily restricted. Why exactly still in iOS 8 we're restricted to filling all app positions starting from top left with an early page break as the only customization option? Android is much more flexible here and widgets can be used much more freely. However, when we get off the launcher part into actual apps, a quality gap becomes evident. Even though many Android apps are typically good enough and some of them even great, especially the multi-platform titles often seem to be better on iOS. It'll be interesting to see what happens to the gap now that Android Studio hit 1.0 a little while ago.
Conclusion
While Android offers some highly enticing flexibility for my use, with my current hardware the iPhone is still a better overall package for me especially now that I use IRCCloud for IRC. However, the most annoying failures I've encountered with Android have been more or less eliminated in Lollipop, so with proper hardware I could live with Android just fine although I could be missing my music apps unless Android developers step up with that app category. Another thing that could make me jump to Android full-time is me finally getting too fed up with Apple's douchebaggery related to iOS App Store review system. Marco Arment sums up my thoughts about the App Store quite perfectly with this piece. I hope Apple gets its act together before my patience runs out. At least they've sorted out the Transmit and Drafts issues already, so I hope there's not more to come and developers haven't abandoned the idea of making innovative iOS apps.
Apart from the App Store issue, I think the next major checkpoint for platform selection comes when Sony Xperia Z4 is released. That camera should have a potential to give the iPhone a real run for its money. However, there are rumors of the next iPhone getting a monster Sony camera sensor too. So let's see what happens with Z4 and the 6S generation.
I'd also like to emphasize that the conclusion above applies to me and me only. Your mileage may and is highly likely to vary. Civilized discussion in the comments is welcome regardless of whether you agree with my points or not, but please spare your energy and troll elsewhere.
