The rivalry between Android and iOS is one of the oldest and most storied in tech history. Over the years, the two have borrowed so much from each other that the gap between them is more like a hairline crack than a deep divide. Apple has finally leaned into home screen customization and RCS messaging, while Google has tightened its privacy controls and smoothed out its animations to a mirror finish.
However, as we move through 2026, there are still a handful of hilltops where Android stands alone. So let’s dig into five Android features that iPhones still haven’t matched — and if you’re using an iPhone, I’m really curious whether you agree with me by the end. Really, there are plenty of ideas Apple could afford to borrow from Android.
True split-screen multitasking
Because your brain can handle two things, why can’t your screen?
Ever since Android 7.0 was released in 2016, Android users have had split-screen multitasking on their phones. I mean true multitasking. Two apps running at the same time, either side by side or stacked vertically, with a divider you can drag around as needed. You can glance at a spreadsheet while writing an email, jot notes while following a tutorial, or compare products across shopping apps without endlessly bouncing between screens.
What makes this extra strange is that Apple clearly knows how to do this. The iPad has had Split View since 2015, so the concept isn’t new or unproven in Apple’s world. Nearly a decade later, however, iPhones still lack true split-screen support, even at the very top of the lineup, including the $1,200 iPhone 17 Pro Max. The closest alternative on iOS is picture-in-picture for video, which offers a floating window but stops well short of real multitasking.
Samsung has expanded on this concept with DeX mode, which turns compatible phones into desktop-like experiences. Can an iPhone do that? No, I don’t think so.
Multiple users and guest mode
Sharing without oversharing your entire phone
Imagine you’re traveling with family and your child wants to play games on your phone, or a colleague needs to look something up during a meeting. On an iPhone, your options aren’t great. You either hand over full access to your phone, or wrestle with Guided Access, which is really meant to lock the phone to a single app — not to create a separate, self-contained space.
Android figured this out a long time ago. Back in 2014, Android 5.0 introduced the ability to add multiple user profiles and use Guest Mode on your phone. Each profile gets its own apps, data, passwords, and settings, completely separate from yours. Guest mode goes a step further by spinning up a temporary sandbox that wipes itself clean once you’re done.
While stock Android and Galaxy tablets (which make sense since tablets are often shared around the house) support Guest Mode and multiple user profiles, Samsung Galaxy phones, however, usually don’t ship with Guest Mode. Instead, Samsung leans on Secure Folder, a feature similar in spirit to the hidden apps feature introduced in iOS 18. It’s not a shared mode for other people, but it does let you lock specific apps and files behind a separate password. If you hand your phone to someone, those apps and files might as well not exist.
8 Secure Folder Tips Every Samsung Galaxy User Should Know
Do more with your Secure Folder.
One long image beats ten stitched-together attempts
Few things are as irritating as trying to capture a long chat thread or a detailed receipt on an iPhone. In many apps, the process still means taking a series of screenshots and manually stitching them together, an awkward workaround for something people do every day.
Yes, iPhones technically have a “Full Page” screenshot option, but it’s oddly picky about where it shows up. It works great in web browsers, Mail, and Notes, then disappears in the apps where it would actually be useful — iMessage, WhatsApp, other chat apps, and most social feeds. In those cases, the button just never appears, pushing you back toward third-party stitching apps for iPhone or awkward screen recordings.
Android handles this far more gracefully. Scrolling screenshots have been a native feature for years, and after capturing a screen, you can take a scrolling screenshot on a Pixel or other devices by tapping Capture more. On Samsung devices, use the Scroll Capture feature (the double-down arrow) to automatically extend the image downward.
Turning your phone into a power hub
Sharing power without sharing cables
Hardware features often get dismissed as gimmicks until the moment you actually need them. Reverse wireless charging, marketed as Wireless PowerShare on Samsung phones and Battery Share on Pixel devices, is a good example. It lets an Android phone double as a Qi charging pad, turning your handset into a shared lifeline for a friend’s dying phone, earbuds, or smartwatch. Flip your phone face down, place the device on the back, and the charging animation does the rest.
Despite years of speculation, Apple has yet to make this leap. As of 2026, you still cannot turn an iPhone into a wireless power source for another device. The irony is that the hardware is largely in place. iPhones already support wireless charging and MagSafe accessories; however, bidirectional wireless charging remains disabled.
Apple has instead leaned on a more limited alternative. With the switch to USB-C starting on the iPhone 15, wired reverse charging became possible. With the right cable, an iPhone can automatically power accessories like AirPods or an Apple Watch. It is undeniably useful, but it comes with strings attached. You need the correct cable, and the experience stays tethered to exactly the kind of friction wireless charging was meant to free you from.
Freedom of apps
Sideloading, F-Droid, and the apps Apple won’t allow
If you’ve spent even a short time following our work, you’ve probably noticed a pattern. We recommend a lot of really great open-source apps for Android. If you’re on an iPhone, though, that well runs dry. Not because we are unwilling, but because we simply cannot. Many of those apps don’t exist on iOS, and even when developers want to bring them over, Apple’s walled garden makes the process painfully restrictive.
That difference comes down to philosophy. Android is unapologetically open to alternative app sources. Want to install something from F-Droid? Grab an APK straight from a developer’s website? Test a beta your friend built over the weekend? Android lets you do all of that. You enable installation from unknown sources for a specific app, acknowledge the risks, and move on.
This freedom allows for a category of software that Apple simply won’t permit. You can find privacy-first browsers that block trackers more aggressively than Apple allows. There are modified YouTube clients that cut ads and add features Google would never sign off on, and emulators for classic games that have lived in a legal gray area for years.
Even basic utilities feel more capable; for instance, you can use a powerful open-source file manager to access root directories or manage network storage in ways the iOS Files app cannot. There are also automation tools that tap into system functions Apple considers off-limits. While recent changes have sparked debate over whether Google’s new sideloading rules are anti-consumer, the platform still remains significantly more open than its rival. Once you get used to that level of autonomy, it’s hard to move to an iPhone.
The walled garden is nice, but some of us prefer the wild
None of these differences suddenly make Android “better” than iOS, and they certainly don’t take away from the iPhone’s real strengths—features like tight ecosystem integration, strong privacy controls, and that unmistakable polish Apple does so well. What they do show is why real competition between platforms is such a good thing.
Android brought widgets into the mainstream, and Apple eventually followed. Apple proved people would pay more for premium hardware, and Android manufacturers responded by significantly improving their build quality. That back-and-forth keeps both sides moving forward, even if a few features stay locked to one platform or the other.
At the end of the day, what matters isn’t picking a winner. The best smartphone is the one that matches your priorities, whether that means iOS’s tightly integrated ecosystem or Android’s deeper levels of control.
