If there’s one debate that everyone seems to have an opinion on, it’s Apple vs. Android. And it’s not hard to see why this is such a huge debate. iPhones are one of the biggest phones on the planet, securing large followings in countries around the world. That being said, Apple’s market share has slowly been decreasing over the past few years, especially in markets where they used to have a huge edge. With this in mind, it is time to decide, once and for all, which is better, IOS or Android?

Round 1: Software

One of the biggest arguments in the debate on which is better, IOS vs. Android, is the software. Many prefer the simplicity of IOS, an operating system known for ease of use and familiarity.  What makes Android so well-liked is one’s ability to customize,  which Apple is notorious for restricting. On Android phones, if you want simple, there’s an easy-mode setting. If you don’t care what your OS Operating System (OS) looks like, just download your apps and arrange them on your home screen or even add widgets, however and wherever you want. If you want fancy icons and bold font, in the Play Store there are countless themes you could try. Or you can just use the ones built in the phone. The options are endless. With IOS, you get the same row of icons that you have gotten since the original iPhone and, while the general look and feel is the same, Apple does make viewing information easy. Where IOS really shines is in updates. The problem with Android is updates are not guaranteed. With so many devices to support, Android updates on phones can range from regularly to seldomly. So who’s the winner? The win goes to Android, by a slim margin. While IOS’ clean and sleek design is nice, it’s simplicity is starting to become dull. Android offers more options to customize and more features, while also not being in your face.

Winner: Android
Round 2: Hardware

Most people think of Android as slow and clunky, riddled with lag and cumbersome to use, but that isn’t true, as IOS has it’s fair share of lag too. The thing that makes or breaks a high-end Android phone is the specs. Consumers expect the latest and greatest when it comes to specs, and for the most part all high end Android phones offer that. Apple, on the other hand, is another story. Every iPhone comes with Apple’s latest chipset, currently the A10 chip. But this hardware is pretty subpar compared to the latest and greatest chipsets that come on Android phones. Apples has also skimped out on RAM for years, only recently adding more than 1 gigabyte of RAM to their phones, which every phone manufacturer had done years before. Of course, the consumer would never notice this, because Apple knows how to perfectly optimize their software to their hardware. With Android, so many OEM’s make Android phones, and the Android OS can’t be perfectly optimized for every phone. Android phones are fast, and so are iPhones. So while Android may have the newest and greatest hardware, Apple doesn’t need to.

Winner:Apple

Round 3: Price

This category, like the last one, is hard to pinpoint. Once again, Android is a broadly used system that covers phones that start at $99 and can run as high as $900. Apple, conversely, releases one to three – at the most –  phones a year, and they usually range from a little under $650 to well over $1000. Android phones like the LG V20 or the Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge has pricing that is  definitely between these prices, but then phones like the OnePlus 3 or the Axon 7 cost half as much as the iPhone 7 Plus and offer better specs and more features. You’ll  be hard pressed to find those phones at your local Verizon store, though,  since they’re not sold on any U.S. carrier. This is where this clear win for Android gets murky. So who’s the winner of this category? Well, all things considered, the crown has to go to Android. While Android’s high end cheaper options are really available only off carrier, the iPhone is definitely a high price to pay, especially if you want the best of the best.

Winner:Android

Round 4: Features

The  about iPhones is that they are seldom innovative. That has been true of iPhones since the beginning. Every iPhone heavily focuses on the new and better features that no other iPhone has had. But most of the features have been on Android before, sometimes even years before the iPhone (for example, fingerprint sensors, water resistance, dual cameras, etc). Android, no matter what company, is always trying to innovate. Whether it’s companies like Samsung, which is always introducing new and different explosive features, or LG, which was one of the first companies to introduce modularity to smartphones, a concept where the user is able to swap different parts of his or her phone to give it new features, Android companies are always introducing new and exciting features to their smartphones. So this battle is really Innovation vs. Implementation. And for that reason, the winner has to go to innovation. It’s always better to be a leader than a follower and, while Apple may have better implementation with some ideas, in some areas it will never catch up with Android.

Winner:Android

Round 5: Customer Support

This is where Apple is the clear winner, which is the one of the categories people don’t realize is just as important as the specs or features. Everyone knows the joke about how delicate iPhones are, and while they’re certainly not the delicate little snowflakes they used to be, they definitely are easy to break. Apple has you covered, with Apple Stores in pretty much any mall you go to, and a reliable insurance policy. Even third-party phone repair companies allow for  you to take your broken iPhone and  find a replacement anywhere. Android just can’t compete with that. Sure companies like HTC have stellar replacement options, that can’t be said for every other Android manufacturer.

Winner: Apple

So with a solid victory of 3-2, Android is the winner. That being said, everything about smartphones is subjective. Even the existence of them is a heavily debated topic. So while you might like how customizable an Android is, other’s might like simplicity, so iPhone is for them. It’s all a matter of opinion. And the sheer popularity of the iPhone is more than enough for some people. But overall, Android does a lot of things better and, just because everyone seems to have an iPhone, doesn’t mean it’s the best.