Android Alternatives : Everything you need to know

Android is the most popular Smartphone Operating System in the world. It runs almost 80% of all smartphones in this world. Android is well-known for its simple UI (User Interface), new technologies in every new update (versions), Simplicity, etc. 

But some times, you might think is there any alternatives to this favorite operating system, Android?

So I am giving you this list of the best Android alternatives that might show some challenges to replace Android.

Android Alternatives: Some of the Best 

1) iOS (Best Android alternative)

No question, iOS is the best Android Alternative. But, unlike Android, which runs on almost any smartphone, iOS only runs on Apple Devices.

iOS is the second major operating system created and developed by Apple after Mac OS, exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that presently runs on much of the company's handheld devices, including the iPhone, and the iPod Touch.

It also powered the iPad prior to the introduction of iPadOS in 2019. It is the second most popular mobile operating system globally after Android. 

Main versions (updates) of iOS are released annually. The current version (check the date of this post), iOS 13 was released to the public on 19 September 2019, introducing user interface tweaks and a dark mode, along with features such as a redesigned Reminders app, a swipe keyboard, and an enhanced Photos app.

iOS 13 is exclusively for the iPhone and iPod touch as the iPad variant is now called iPadOS.

2) Tizen OS (not-that-popular Android alternative)

 

 

Ok, Tizen Os, this name is not that popular. But people, maybe like you, who have used some of Samsung's not-to-the-front smartphones may have used this operating system.

Tizen is a Linux-based mobile operating system backed by the Linux Foundation but developed and used primarily by Samsung Electronics. 

The project was originally conceived as an HTML5-based platform for mobile devices to succeed MeeGo. Samsung merged its previous Linux-based OS effort, Bada, into Tizen.

But for as much as I know, Tizen failed to be a good smartphone OS as Android made up its majority in the field. 

Now, the operating system is trying to make a rebirth through Samsung's smartwatches and Smart TVs. Who knows, it will be once more developed to rival Android?

maybe Samsung.

3) Kai OS (Yes, you might argue.)

You may say this is not an Android Alternative. But I have a reason to write so;

KaiOS is a mobile operating system based on Linux, developed by KaiOS Technologies, a US-based company. It is used to power comparatively lightweight mobile devices or in other words 'keypad phones'.

But on the other hand, Android is a Smartphone Operating System. It is run on smartphones! Yes, one would probably argue that 

But, if you don't know, Android once targeted the low budget device section, ruled by the so-called keypad phones and feeble smartphones.

Android Go, released in 2018, was meant to power these devices.

But, unfortunately, or fortunately, Android was simply defeated by kai OS phones, like Nokia 8810 and banana(above image), Jio-phone, etc.

So, I thought Kai OS should have a place in the list of the best Android alternatives.

 4) Ubuntu touch (FOSS)

 

Ubuntu Touch or Ubuntu Phone is a mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system.  It is designed mainly for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, but the original goal was to bring Ubuntu Touch to laptops, desktops, IoT devices, TVs and smartwatches for a complete unified user experience. 

Users can access the entire system by swiping from the edges of the screen. A quick swipe from the left edge allows for instant access to applications pinned to the launcher while swiping all the way across reveals the home scope, which can be set by the user. This menu is available from the home screen and any running app.

Ubuntu Touch's multitasking is accessed by swiping the finger from the right edge of the screen to the left, which switches to the previous application (short swipe) or shows all open apps (long swipe). 

Swiping up from the bottom is used to show or hide tools specific to the app being used, which gives Ubuntu Phone the ability to run applications with a large, uncluttered canvas by default.

All of the Ubuntu touch's Ui is of swipes. this makes it very easy to use. But the most awesome feature is; it is a FOSS.

5) Harmony OS (expected)

Harmony OS  is an upcoming free, microkernel-based distributed operating system being developed by Huawei. This platform is designed primarily for the Internet of things (IoT) devices. 

Huawei boasts that this Operating system can run seamlessly on different platforms like wearable, Smart TVs, in-Car entertainment systems, etc. 

Prior to its unveiling, it was originally speculated to be a mobile operating system that could replace Android on future Huawei devices (in response to financial sanctions imposed on Huawei by the United States government in May 2019). 

But by July 2019, some Huawei executives were describing Harmony as being an "industrial" embedded operating system designed for IoT hardware, discarding the previous statements for it to be a mobile operating system.

"Huawei described Harmony as a free, microkernel-based distributed operating system for various types of hardware, with faster inter-process communication than QNX or Google's "Fuchsia" microkernel, and real-time resource allocation. The ARK compiler can be used to port Android APK packages to the OS." Wikipedia

This made me think that it can be an Android alternative, So I added this to the list. 

 6) Fucshia OS (Expected)

Fuchsia is an open-source capability-based operating system currently being developed by Google. Unlike other Google-developed operating systems such as Chrome OS and Android, which are based on the Linux kernel, Fuchsia is based on a new microkernel called Zircon, named after the mineral. 

Fuchsia's user interface and apps are written with Flutter, a software development kit allowing cross-platform development abilities for Fuchsia, Android, and iOS. 

Flutter produces apps based on Dart, offering apps with high performance that run at 120 frames per second. Fuchsia also offers a Vulkan-based graphics rendering engine called Escher.

 If you want to know how Fuchsia OS looks like, click here for a demo. This demo works on all platforms; meaning you can view it on your pc, smartphone or even on your smartwatch

Conclusion 

So, that's all in this post on Android Alternatives.

Hope you enjoyed this post. And what do you think about this list? Will Android be replaced? By which operating system? 

Don't forget to share your thoughts in the comment section.

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