How many times has it happened to us not to be able to use some iPhone functions on Android (and vice versa) due to the different nature of the two operating systems? Even when we are in the company of friends and family, having two phones that do not “talk to each other” can make it very difficult to share features and content.Fortunately, it is possible to take advantage of some apps to completely cancel the differences between iPhone and Android, so that we can always share the content we like and take advantage of the features usually found only on a particular type of phone.In the following guide we will show you in fact how to “symbolically” cancel any difference between iPhone and Android, by installing some apps on both devices and thus integrating the exclusive functions present on Apple devices and Android phones.
READ ALSO -> Switch to Android, guide to changing mobile phones
Use FaceTime on Android
Video calls on iPhone are almost always done with FaceTime, a service integrated in all iPhones and other Mac devices and so far incompatible with Android devices. In the latest version of FaceTime it is possible though share browser links for live video calls, so you can initiate FaceTime calls directly from the Android browser.
If a friend or relative of ours has an iPhone but we have an Android device and we want to quickly start a video call, just ask for the link for FaceTime; once we get the code, paste it into any modern browser, provide camera and microphone permissions and we will immediately be ready to use FaceTime on our Android device as well.
Using Google Duo on iPhone
And what if we want to use a single app for video calling, which works on both Android and iPhone? Google’s answer to FaceTime is Google Duo, integrated in many Android devices but downloadable separately from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
The quality of Google Duo video calls is very high and it is possible to add up to 32 people in a video conference, so you can communicate with all your friends regardless of the phone they have. Being also available for iPhone it becomes in effect the best alternative to FaceTime, especially if we are the only ones to have an iPhone among friends (all Android).
Using Telegram
For messages many iPhone users use iMessage, but it cannot be used on Android (it will send simple SMS to Android users). We can also use WhatsApp as a universal messaging app, but it still has limitations on the size of the files and the number of devices it can be started on at the same time.
To standardize the functionality between Android and iPhone is therefore worthwhile immediately focus on Telegram, a complete messaging app available from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
This app supports channels, groups and super groups, stickers (also animated), allows you to send voice notes, supports GIFs (with dedicated search engine), allows you to send unlimited videos and photos, offers a system very simple file and document sharing, supports private chats, can be installed on any device and used simultaneously.
Transfer files nearby
In a group of friends it can be very useful to use the transfer systems in proximity, but AirDrop di Apple e Nearby di Google they do not get along. To make all phone models visible regardless of the operating system they adopt, we can use an app such as Xender, available for free download for Android and iPhone.
By installing the app on all the devices of the group it will be possible to quickly exchange photos, videos and any other type of file simply by opening the app and pressing on the name of the phone (which will appear in a sort of radar).
After the first association we can quickly share other contents using the button Share of our system and pressing directly on the name of the Xender contact present in our vicinity, as well as being able to share the same file with multiple Xender contacts present in the vicinity.
Share business documents
If we all use different phones in the office, it is worth sharing work documents and PDF files in one common cloud space like the one offered by Google Drive, available free for Android and iPhone.
Using Drive we will have 15 GB of space to keep our documents online, with the ability to share access to the folder or individual files with Android users (by directly typing the name of the Android contact or Gmail address) or by sharing the direct access link (for iPhone users).
The app also allows you to edit the most common office documents (Word, Excel and PowerPoint), allows you to download offline files to the phone’s memory, offers a permission management system for added users and can also be used for work multiple hands on the same document, so as to completely cancel the productivity differences between Android and iPhone.
Take photos on Android compatible iPhones
On new iPhones, photos are taken in the format HEIC, optimized to make the most of the iPhone’s camera features and to reduce the space taken up by each shot. This image format is not compatible with all Android devices, which must have an updated version of the operating system (as we will see in the next chapter).
If we want to take more compatible photos on the iPhone, all we have to do is open the app Settings, take us to the menu Camera, then on Formats and finally select the item More compatible.
Now the photos taken with iPhone will be saved in JPEG format, compatible with all Android phones on the market and easily also transferable to a PC, where it is possible to modify them or share them on social networks.
Read HEIC photos on Android
For those who own an Android phone and receive photos in the format HEIC, you can open them with the Gallery app already on your device only if Android 9.0 is installed as an operating system. If we have an older version of Android or the HEIC photos still do not open, we recommend that you install the Google Files app on your phone.
Using the Google management software, we will be able to open any image format, without having to convert the file. If we want to proceed with the conversion of HEIC files we can download the XnConvert app on the Android phone, a famous app capable of converting any image format.
Use only USB Type-C chargers
The chargers for iPhone still have a USB Type-A port and a USB-A / Lightning cable, making it the de facto incompatible with modern USB Type-C chargers supplied with many Android smartphones. If we want to use the charger of a modern Android phone for iPhone as well, just get a USB-C to Lightning cable (€ 14).
Using this cable we can also use an Android phone charger for the iPhone, also taking advantage of fast charging (if the charger supports Power Delivery). If we want to charge an iPhone and an Android phone together we can also use a 36W Double USB-C charger (€ 22) and connect the iPhone cable seen above and the Android phone charging cable.
Conclusions
As we have seen, the two worlds iPhone and Android are much closer than they seem: it takes very little to cancel the differences and difficulties encountered when the two worlds come into contact for one reason or another. We follow the advice given to the letter and we will never have problems again when we meet a friend with an iPhone or an Android and we own a phone with an operating system different from yours.
Finally, do not forget that it is always possible turn android cellphone into iphone with the look of ios, through some apps.
In another guide we have seen how send files on Android and iPhone, so you can always exchange important files. If, on the other hand, the problem concerns the photos we can always use some app to exchange photos, compatible with both systems.