Five Android features that we want to see on iPhone in 2023

Features like an improved file manager, app sideloading, and split-screen mode have been available for Android users for many years.

Five features that Apple should immediately copy from Android (Image credit: Anuj Bhatia/Indian Express)

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Apple iPhones have their own charm, however, they also have a few drawbacks. If you ask an Android user, they will probably have a list of things that are missing on iPhones, which has made them stick to Android devices. When it comes to the adaptation of new technologies, Apple does hold back when compared to Android, which is an open platform.

Here are the five features that Apple should immediately copy from Android to make iPhone and iOS even more practical.

Do note that, these are mostly software-centric features, which Apple could enable with just a software update. This means, not just for the newer models, but Apple can introduce these features on the older iPhone models via iOS 17.

Most Android smartphones now have a magic eraser tool (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Magic eraser

This is now a common feature on Android devices from Samsung, Google, and Vivo smartphones. The ability to remove unwanted objects or even humans from a picture with just a few steps will make your images social media ready in no time. Do note that, with iOS 16, iPhones can clearly remove the complete background, but it does not have an object eraser as of now.

Split screen allows users to access two apps at the same time (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Split screen for apps

Android smartphones hands down have better multitasking when compared to iPhones. While there is some amount of multitasking improvement on the iPhone 14 Pro with a Dynamic Island, Apple still does not allow users to open two apps in split screen mode at the same time. Apple should allow split-screen multitasking at least on the large screen iPhones like the iPhone 14 Plus and the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

You can uninstall some system apps on Android smartphones (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Uninstall system apps

This is a controversial statement to an extent, given modern Android smartphones do not allow users to uninstall several Google apps and you cannot even uninstall third-party apps on some of the phones running on the custom Android version. Apple allows users to remove some of the system apps, and starting with the iOS 17, it should deliver more power to users by allowing them to remove all the system apps and replace them with a third-party version.

Android users can easily sideload apps (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

App sideloading

This is another feature that users have been requesting, and Apple has denied it stating that it could affect the security aspect of the iPhones. Allowing users to sideload an app will also give them more freedom for users to enjoy apps and games from the outside app store, and will make the iPhone even more open.

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Android phones have better file manager (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar / Indian Express)

Better file manager

The files app on iPhone have very limited capabilities when compared to the Android counterpart. Not just that, users cannot access all the stored content on an iPhone from a PC or a laptop. A better file manager will make it easy for users to share content between devices.