How to Make Android And iOS Play Nicely Together

Even if you love Android, you can’t totally ignore iOS. You probably have plenty of family members or friends who use iPhones. Or you may dabble with the other side on your own with an iPad, which isn’t a bad option considering the Android tablet space could use a new Nexus flagship. As you’re probably aware, you can forget about using most Apple services on Android. Apple Music is a rare exception, though much like iTunes on Windows. You get the feeling it will always be a second-class citizen compared to the iOS version. So when you think of sharing music, photos, messaging, and location updates. You have to go outside the walls of Cupertino. This is where the app ecosystem comes in. There are plenty of good services that work well on Android and iOS, but they’re often better. If you do it right, you’ll quickly move from one screen to another, regardless of platform. And you’ll be better connected to those in your life who can’t part with their iPhones.

Go Over the Top for Messaging

Let’s start simple; the ski slopes will probably open up in the infernal regions before Apple ports iMessage to Android. It’s regrettable because iMessage is perhaps the one thing. I miss the most when I used an iPhone every day. Real-time typing notifications, sync to the desktop. The social pressure of not being one of those dreaded green bubbles are all nice.

You can’t argue with Facebook’s userbase, when it comes to picking a good messaging client.

Android is trying to create an iMessage for all with its support for Rich Communication Services. We’re not there yet; if you want a better texting experience, synced messages. And other neat features, you should look elsewhere.

Your best options for mass appeal are Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp, also owned by Facebook. With the former, the advantage is that everybody is on Facebook. It defeats the usual issue of getting everybody to agree on a messaging platform. And WhatsApp just rolled out a desktop client for Mac. You now get the full advantage of responding to messages on any device.

These services offer enhancements like video calling even for WhatsApp, cool stickers, and more customization than a stock texting app. Facebook is also trying to make Messenger a whole-blown commerce platform with its support for bots.

Also, don’t rule out Slack. Several people have begun to use the work-focused chat program in everyday life. Setting up channels for family members, groups of friends, or common causes. Its support for app integrations makes it way more flexible than your typical IM program. I predict that Slack will eventually embrace this and use the case as more people use it this way. This could let the company pitch the service as the one messaging app to rule them all.

Keep Tabs on Everybody

Another iOS-only app that you have to live without is Find My Friends. Again, Apple has crafted a seamless approach for keeping tabs on family members. This is especially helpful if you have children that aren’t very good at reporting their whereabouts.

But here’s another case where third-party developers have one-upped Apple. Familonet is my current favorite, better than Find My Friends. Because it allows you many more options to customize the group and get regular alerts about others’ locations. And, of course, it’s perfect for this scenario because there are apps for Android and iOS.

With Familonet Glympse, you won’t miss Apple’s Find My Friends at all.

Familonet gives many additional details. Such as location history and customized alerts; it supports Android Wear, and iOS users also get Apple Watch support.

On the other hand, if you want a quick look at where everyone is, go with Glympse. This is ideal if you have friends hanging out for the weekend or just a night. And you want to temporarily share each other’s whereabouts. Glympse lets you select how long to share your location, which makes it ideal for short-term get-togethers.

Share Photos with Ease

Keeping a photo collection in sync or just sharing images can be a pain. When trying to do this across mobile platforms.

I firmly believe in Photos, particularly with the recent enhancements to sharing. You can only beat free, unlimited storage if you’re willing to put up with some image compression. If you have enough Drive storage, you can save everything at full quality; that’s the best option. The iOS app is also on par with the features of the Android version.

Photos makes sharing pictures to your contacts or the public very easy.

If you’re not sold on Photos, particularly if the image recognition creeps you out, you can always go another route. Facebook’s Moments is pretty good at sharing a batch of recent with those in your friend list. However, it’s pretty aggressive with the notifications. You can always use Dropbox, Drive, OneDrive, or another cloud service. Share a link to a batch of photos to save on broadband usage.

A Few Small Tips

Finally, here are a few minor recommendations to keep your stuff synced across platforms.

One is contacts; if you use it for your contacts, the desktop contacts manager is pretty good. You can keep them in sync across an iOS device quickly. It gets tricky if you use two-step authentication. You’ll need to create a one-time use password from your account. But once you do this, you don’t need to worry about any changes in iCloud also being reflected on Android.

Using for Google your contacts is an easy way to keep them in sync.

Also, now that Android offers better notification controls, you should adjust how often you get alerted by all apps. You also may not want the whole room to light up when you say, Ok, so check out the voice comms.

The beauty of our current app situation is that there is a ton of choice. To keep everything for yourself and others in sync. We’re in a multi-platform, multi-device world, and the services that are worth our time. Are the ones that navigate this the best. The hardest part is convincing iOS users to stray from Apple’s convenient defaults even if third-party app services are better.