It’s that time of the year, folks, when we have to count which of the new iOS features were available on Android before iOS. Because – drum roll – everybody steals in the mobile business. iOS copies Android and then Android copies iOS. Then Windows Phone then copies both of them.
That said, we’re going to look at some of the new features in iOS 10 that were already available on Android, one way or another.
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These 4 features were not ‘stolen’
Put together by Phandroid, the list includes various features that have already been seen in certain Android versions before Apple adopted them for iOS 10. But the list also includes elements that should not be there. Two of them stand out right away, including the intelligent QuickType keyboard that offers predictive reactions on iOS 10 (and a version of it is also available in watchOS 3) and the overhauled iMessage app that provides a richer mobile messaging experience.
Similar features were introduced in May at Google I/O, but it’s pretty obvious that Apple didn’t just start developing them after Sundar Pichai & Co. unveiled Allo.
Live Photos also supposedly copies a Google feature. Last week, Google unveiled a Motion Stills app that offers similar functionality. We’re not counting this one either though, because Motion Stills turns Live Photos into GIFs and it’s an app that only has an iOS version – you know, cause there aren’t Live Photos on Android.
Finally, split view support for Safari is going to have a counterpart on Android N, but the feature was just unveiled, so we’re not going to count it as a “steal.”
These 9 features were ‘stolen’
There are other iOS 10 features that have been available on Android for quite some time.
The new lock screen user interface features a card-like design for notifications that’s similar to Android. Speaking of notifications, a clear all notifications option is available in iOS 10, but it’s something that’s been available on Android for years.
Raise to Wake is a nifty feature that lets you check notifications on the iPhone’s screen without touching a single button. Google introduced Ambient Display in Android Lollipop.
Siri is now open to developers, which means it’s getting smarter features thanks to the upcoming third-party support. Google opened Google Now to developers last year.
Apple Maps gets a lot of handy new features that were already available in Google Maps, including traffic information, support for additional stops, and third-party integrations.
The Photos app in iOS 10 is using AI to manage your photos. Google’s Photos app has done this since last year.
The iOS 10 Phone app is now smarter than before. It can detect spam calls and it will transcribe voicemails automatically. These are features that were available on Android long before iOS 10 came to town.
Apple kept this one secret, but uninstalling stock apps is possible on iOS 10. A similar feature is also available in Android.
And finally, the collaboration feature in Notes is similar to a feature Google added to Keep all the way back in 2014.
