Comparison of mobile operating systems

This is a comparison of mobile operating systems. Only the latest versions are shown in the table below, even though older versions may still be marketed.

Feature	Android	iOS	HarmonyOS	GrapheneOS	Tizen	KaiOS	Sailfish OS Aurora OS	Ubuntu Touch	Mobian^[1]	Plasma Mobile	PureOS	PostmarketOS
Developed by	Google, Open Handset Alliance	Apple Inc.	Huawei	GrapheneOS Foundation	Linux Foundation, Tizen Association, Samsung, Intel	KaiOS Technologies Inc.(TCL)	Sailfish Alliance, Mer, Jolla and Sailfish community contributors	UBports and Ubuntu community contributors (previously Canonical Ltd.)	Debian on Mobile Team	KDE and Blue Systems	Purism	PostmarketOS community
Market share^[2]	77%	19%	4%		0.22%	0.14%	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
License	Partial; base system is open source, but many devices use proprietary drivers for hardware support, and most Android operating systems include Proprietary apps (such as Google Play and other Google apps). ^[3]^[4]	Proprietary, open source kernel and core	Proprietary except for open-source components	Free and open-source except for proprietary drivers	Partial; both proprietary and open-source components, assorted licenses	Proprietary except for open source kernel patches (formerly the MPL 2.0 B2G OS)	Partial free and open-source, but the UI and the SDK are proprietary and closed source	FreeFree and open-source, mainly the GPL^[5]	Free Free and open-source, mainly the GPL	Free Free and open-source, mainly the GPL	Free Free and open-source, mainly the GPL	Free Free and open-source, GPL
Current version	15	18.3.2	5.0.0.102(SP3C00E73R4P17) - Release	2025-05-07- 00	9.0 M2	3.1	4.5.0.24	20.04 OTA-4	20210516	5.24.3	10.0	21.12 Service Pack 3
Development version	16 Beta 1	18.4 Beta 4	5.0.0.103 - Release (Beta)	2025-05-07-00		3.2	Unknown	Unknown	20220612	Unknown	Unknown	N/A
Current version release dates	September 3, 2024; 8 months ago (2024-09-03)	May 20, 2024; 11 months ago (2024-05-20)	October 23, 2024; 6 months ago (2024-10-23)	May 7, 2025; 2 days ago	May 30, 2020; 4 years ago (2020-05-30)^[6]	?	September 12, 2023; 19 months ago (2023-09-12)^[7]	February 18, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-02-18)	May 16, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-05-16)	March 8, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-03-08)	October 2, 2021; 3 years ago (2021-10-02)	March 13, 2022; 3 years ago (2022-03-13)
OS family	Modified Linux kernel based	Darwin	OpenHarmony	Modified Linux kernel based	Linux (based on a combination of Linux MeeGo and Samsung Bada)	Firefox OS / Open Web (based on Linux kernel)	Linux	Linux (based on Ubuntu)	Linux (based on Debian)	Linux (mainly based on KDE neon )	Linux (based on Debian)	Linux (based on Alpine Linux)
Supported CPU architecture	ARM (32-bit ARMv7-A and 64-bit ARMv8-A only), x86, x86-64^[8]	64-bit ARMv8-A only	64-bit ARM, RISC-V, x86, x64	ARM (32-bit ARMv7-A and 64-bit ARMv8-A only), x86, x86-64^[8]	ARM, x86, x86-64	ARM	ARM, x86-64	ARM, x86-64	64-bit ARM, RISC-V, x86, x86-64 and LoongArch	ARM	ARM, ?	Convergence operating system
Programmed in	C, C++, Java, Kotlin	C, C++, Objective-C, Swift	C, C++, JS, ArkTS, Cangjie	C, C++, Java, Kotlin	C++, Xamarin.Forms (.NET C#, F#, VB^[9])	HTML5, JavaScript	C++, QML, Python	Apps: HTML5, QML, Go, JavaScript, C++ System: C, C++, QML	C, C++	C++, QML	?	Python install tool and shell script packages
Public issues list	Yes^[10]	3rd party^[11]	Yes^[12]	Yes^[13]	Yes^[14]	No^[15]	Yes^[16]	Yes^[17]	Yes^[18]	Yes^[19]	Yes^[20]	Yes^[21]
DRM-free^[22]	No^[23] since Android 4.1^[24] and Android 4.3^[25] and more restrictions on Android 4.4^[26]	No – FairPlay	No – Huawei WisePlay^[27]	No - Widevine	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes^{[citation needed]}	Yes^{[citation needed]}	Yes
Device independent system updates	Partial system updates since Oreo^[28] 3rd party software like LineageOS^[29]	Yes^[30]	Yes^[31]	?	No	For feature phones, not smart phones	Yes	Yes^[32]	?	?	?	Yes.^[33] Intended for use on old mobile devices
Wireless system updates	Yes	5+^[34]	Yes	Yes	No	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
GPU accelerated GUI	3+^[35]	Yes	Yes. Since 3.0^[36]	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	?
Feature	Android	iOS	HarmonyOS		Tizen	KaiOS	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	Mobian^[1]	Plasma Mobile	PureOS	PostmarketOS

Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
While-in-use permissions	10+	11+: Location only^[37]	No	No	Yes	3.0+
Per-app Internet access	No,^[38] 3rd party software^[39]	7+: Cellular only;^[40] 3rd party software on jailbroken devices^[41]	No	No	No	No
Per-app identity access	8+^[42]	6+^[43]^[44]	No	No	Yes	2.0+
Per-app user data access	6+^[45]	6+^[46]	No	No	Yes	3.0+
Per-app background execution	No,^[47] 3rd party apps available^[48]	7+^[49]	No	No	Background execution not allowed	2.0+
Per-app notifications	4.1+^[50]	5+^[51]^[52]	No	No	Yes	2.0+
Per-app location access	6+^[45]	4+^[53]	No	No	Yes	2.0+
Per-app camera access	6+^[45]	8+^[54]	No	No	Yes	Yes
Per-app microphone access	6+^[45]	7+^[55]	No	No	Yes	Yes
Per-app shared files access	6+^[45]	8+^[56]	No	No	Yes	Yes
Per-app network data usage auditing	4+^[57]	Yes^[58]	?	No^[59]	No	Yes
Fine grained storage usage	Yes^[60]	5+^[61]	?	No	Yes	Yes
Parental controls	4.3+ or 3rd party software^[62]	Yes^[63]	?	No	No	2.0+
Screen orientation lock	Yes^[64]	Yes^[65]	?	1.0.4+^[66]	Yes	2.0+
File manager	6.0+^[67]	11+^[68]	3rd party software^[69]	Yes^[70]	Yes	Yes
File manager write access to external storage	6+ Or 3rd party software like LineageOS	13+	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-user	4.2+, including phones 5+^[71]^[72]	9.3+: Education use only on iPad^[73]	No	3.4.0+	No	Yes
Guest mode	5+^[74]	6+^[75]	No	3.4.0+	No	Yes
Guided Access	Yes^[76]	Yes^[77]	No	No	No	3.0+^[78]
Do not disturb mode	5+^[79]	6+^[80]	No	No	No	2.0+
App groups	Yes	4+^[81]	?	1.0.7+^[82]	Yes	Yes

Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
System wide base text size	Yes	Yes^[83]^[84]^[85]	?	2.1.0+: Set text size^[86]	3rd party software^[87]	Yes
Monaural output	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes
Always visible scrollbar	No	No	No	No	No	No
Reduced Animations	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	Yes

Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
Official app store	Google Play	App Store	Tizen Store	Jolla Store	OpenStore	AppGallery
Non-discriminatory stores	No, Some apps like Ad blockers are censored on Google Play^[88]^[89] but developers can distribute apps from their own sources	No, Apple discriminates based on country^[90] and own Apple policies^[91]	?	Openrepos.^[92] Developers can distribute apps from their own sources, supports multiple app stores	Yes	No, Huawei discriminates based on country and own Huawei AppGallery policies for native based HarmonyOS apps. But OpenHarmony developers can distribute apps from their own sources^[93]
Common APIs for smartphones, tablets, and PCs	Yes^[94]	Smartphone and tablet only^[95]	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Official SDK platform(s)	Linux, macOS and Windows^[96]	macOS using iOS SDK	Linux, Windows, macOS^[97]	Windows, macOS and Linux^[98]	Yes	macOS and Windows^[99]
Cost to develop for the mobile OS	Free	No, Requires Apple hardware.^[100]	Free	Free	Free	Free
Cost to publish app to official store	US$25 once to register to offer on Google Play^[101]	US$99/year	Free	Free^[102]	Free	Free

Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
Default web browser/engine	Blink	WebKit	WebKit	Gecko^[103]	Qt WebEngine (based on Blink)	Blink (Servo - OniroOS/OpenHarmony)
Major web browsers available^[104]	Chrome for Android, Opera, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Samsung Internet	Safari, Chrome for iOS, Opera, Firefox, Microsoft Edge	Tizen Browser (Based on UC Browser)	Sailfish Browser (Gecko), Webcat (WebKit), Web Pirate (WebKit), others via Android (Firefox, Chrome, Opera)	Morph Browser	Huawei Browser, Microsoft Edge (Blink), UC Browser (Blink, V8), Opera browser (Blink, V8), Yandex Browser (Blink), Vivaldi Browser (Blink, V8)
Browser can use its own engine	Yes	17.4+: Only users living in European Union countries^[105]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browser extensions	No^[106] 3rd party software^[107]	Yes on Safari^[108]	No	No	No	No
Browser direct Internet connection (increased resilience to outages)	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	?	Yes
Browser undo close tab	Google Chrome for Android^[109]	8+^[110]	No	No	No	No^[111]
Browser keeps windows open on shutdown or crash	2.3+ Google Chrome^[112] but not on the deprecated AOSP browser^[113]	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browser keeps windows open when cleaning cookies	Yes	3rd party software^[114]	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browser search engine options	Many^[115]	Bing, Google, Yahoo! Search, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia	Bing, Google, Yahoo! Search	Bing, Google, Yahoo, Yandex. Baidu, DuckDuckGo, StartPage, Searx, ixquick, Swisscows, Qwant, Seznam, Hulbee via openrepos^{[citation needed]}	Baidu, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, Google, lilo, Peekier, Qwant, Wikipedia, Yahoo^[116]	Bing, Google, Yahoo! Search, Baidu, DuckDuckGo
Browser find on page	1.5+^[117]	Yes^[118]	Yes	1.1.2+^[119]	Yes	Yes
Browser–email save images	Yes	Yes^[120]	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browser–email save PDFs	Yes	Yes^[65]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browser save audio/video	Yes, but only links, not embedded media	13+;^[121] 5+: 3rd party software^[122]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browser save page	Yes, Google Chrome 55+^[123]	6+: Offline Reading List;^[124] 3rd party software^[125]	Yes	4.0.1.48+	Yes	Yes
Browser save any file	Yes, Chrome for Android.	13+;^[121] 5+: When an app that can handle/open the filetype is installed (excluding audio/video – requires 3rd party software^[126]);^[127]	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Browser force enable zoom	Yes, Chrome for Android	Yes^[128]	?	?	?	No
Browser text reflow^[129]	No, removed on Android 4.4^[130]^[131]	5+: Only on pages with reader mode available^[132]^[133] 3rd party browsers on prior versions^[134]	No	No	No	No
Browser Reader Mode	No,^[135] 3rd party software^[136]^[137]	5+^[132]^[133]	Yes	No^[138]	No	No
Browser open PDFs without storing	No	Yes	No	No	No	No
Browser file upload	2.2+^[139]	9+; 6–8: Limited	Yes	1.0.7+^[140]	Yes	Yes
Browser form navigation	Next button^[141]	Previous, Next, AutoFill, and Done buttons^[142]	?	?	?	Yes
Browser private browsing mode	3.0+ with AOSP browser^[143] or with Chrome for Android	5+^[144]	Yes	1.1.6+^[145]	Yes	Yes
Offline web apps	Yes^[146]	Yes^[147]^[148]^[149]	No	?	Yes	Yes
HTTP Live Streaming	3+^[150]	3+^[151]	No	?^[152]	Yes	Yes
WebRTC	Yes^[153]	11+^[154]	No	No	Yes	Yes

Comparison of mobile operating systems

About OS

Advanced controls

Accessibility features

App ecosystem

Browser

Basic features

Communication and connectivity

Language and inputs

Maps and navigation

Media playback and controls

Peripheral support

Photo and video

Productivity

Ringtones and alerts

Security and privacy

Sound and voice

Other features

See also

External links

References

Wikiwand - on

Basic features
Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
Cut, copy, and paste	Yes^[155]	3+^[156]	Yes^[157]	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multi-Device clipboard	ChromeOS^[158]	10+^[159]	No	No	No	Yes
Undo	No^[160]	3+^[161]	No	No^[162]	Yes	Yes^[163]
Custom home and lock screen wallpaper	Yes	4+^[65]	Yes	Yes (incl. Ambience)	Yes	Yes
Desktop sync	No,^[164] but available using the vendor's companion/PC suite application such as Samsung Smart Switch & HTC Sense^[165]	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes^[166]
Local full backup	Yes, via external computer^[167]	Yes, using external computer or iCloud^[168]	No^[169]	Yes	Yes	Yes, using external computer via HiSuite or Huawei Mobile Cloud^[170]
Core data missing sync	Bookmarks^[171] (before 4), SMSs and Settings^[172]		?	?	?
Notification center	Yes	5+^[173]	2+^[174]	Yes	Yes	2.0+
Push notifications	Yes^[175]	Yes (Apple Push Notification Service)	2+^[176]	Yes	Yes	Yes
Screenshot	4+ also available on earlier versions with customized firmware, such as Cyanogen Mod and on older Samsung Galaxy smartphones^[177]	Yes^[65]^[178]	Yes	2.0.2+^[179]	Yes	Yes
Unrestricted Screenshot	No, apps can restrict screenshots^[180]^[181]	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
iCalendar import	No,^[182] but 3rd party app available^[183]	Yes^[184]	?	1.1.6+^[185]	No	Yes
Text/document support (read only; creating using third-party apps)	Microsoft Office, PDF, TXT/RTF	Microsoft Office,^[186]^[187]^[188] iWork, PDF, Images, TXT/RTF, VCF	Read only: text files, PDF, HTML, Multiple office formats	Microsoft Office, OpenDocument, PDF, Text	Yes	Microsoft Office, WPS Office, Huawei Docs, PDF, Images, TXT/RTF, VCF and Multiple office formats
Printer support	4.4+ using Google Cloud Print^[189] but not over USB unless proprietary vendor solutions such as HP Print Service are used^[190]	Yes (AirPrint)^[191]	No	yes, cups package is available	Beta	Yes (Huawei Print,^[192] AI Life ^[193] for HarmonyOS Connect Printers)
Show remembered Wi-Fi connections	Yes	16+^[194]	?	Yes	Yes	Yes

Communication and connectivity
Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
Unified Inbox	Yes^[195]	Yes	Yes	Yes	?	Yes
Email sync protocols supported	POP3, IMAP, MAPI	POP3, IMAP, MAPI, ActiveSync^[196]	POP3, IMAP	POP3, IMAP, ActiveSync	?	POP3, IMAP, MAPI
Non-carrier-based integrated messaging	RCS via Google Messages	5+ (iMessage)^[197]	?	3rd party software	3rd party software	3rd party software
Visual voicemail	2.1+^[198]	Yes	?	?	?	Yes
Call log duration	Yes^[199]	Yes^[200]	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Multiple mobile phones per contact	Yes	Yes	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Contact groups	4+^[201] or 3rd party software^[202]	Via iCloud or 3rd party software^[203]	Yes	No^[204]	?	Yes^[205]
Voice over IP	Yes (SIP)^[206] or 3rd party software^[207]	FaceTime; 3rd party software^[208]	No^[209]	3rd party software	3rd party software	MeeTime; 3rd party software^[210]
NFC payment software	Available on any device that supports the hardware. Google Wallet for NFC payments available in Play Store.^[211] 3rd party banking and other apps in the financial field also supported.^[212]	8+: iPhone 6/6 Plus and later (iPhone 5 and later if used with Apple Watch), limited to Apple Pay	Samsung Pay	No	No	Huawei Pay
Tethering	Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot, USB, Bluetooth	4.3+: Personal Hotspot (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, USB; carrier dependent)	microUSB, Bluetooth 3.0, Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot	Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot, USB, Bluetooth	Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot	Mobile Wi-Fi Hotspot, USB, Bluetooth
USB On-The-Go	3.1+^[213]^[214]	13+;^[215] 9+: Only for connecting cameras	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Direct file transfer over Wi-Fi Direct	4+^[57] and selected devices.^[216]^[217] Also Quick Share.	No, 3rd party software on jailbroken devices	No, was available on bada 2+,^[218] but removed on Tizen	No^[219]	No	Yes
Direct file transfer over Bluetooth	2+.^[220] Also Quick Share.	AirDrop: 7+: Between iOS only; 8+: Between Mac/iOS only. (Note: AirDrop utilizes Wi-Fi as well)	No, was available on bada,^[221] but removed on Tizen	Yes^[222] but limited to images, videos and contacts	No	Huawei Share
Direct file transfer over NFC	No, removed since Android 10	No	2+^[218]	No	No	No

Language and inputs
Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
Non-English languages support	Partial^[223]	Yes^[224]^[225]^[226]	Limited (Search is not diacritical mark-insensitive)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Underlining spell checker	2.3+^[227]^[228]	Yes^[229]	No	?	No	Yes
Built-in system-wide dictionary	Built into keyboard app. Available on every device.^[230]	5+^[231]	No	Yes	Yes	No
Autoexpanding text replacements	Yes	5+^[232]	?	?	?	Yes
Keyboard next word prediction	Yes, through the built in Gboard^[233] or from the preinstalled vendor keyboards; Available on all devices	8+^[234]	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Keyboard cursor controller	Google Keyboard;^[235]^[236]	12+;^[237] 9-11: Only on devices with 3D Touch;^[238]	No	No	Yes	No
Optical character recognition input method	Yes, through built-in Google Lens or Bixby Vision^[239]	15+;^[240] 11+: Notes app;^[241] 8+: Only for inputting credit card details^[242]	No	No	No	Yes
Third party input methods	Yes^[243]	8+	?	?	?	Yes
Gesture text input	4+^[244]	13+;^[245] 8+: 3rd party software like SwiftKey	?	No^[246]	No	Yes
Emoji support	4.4+^[247]	Yes^[248]	?	2.2.0+^[249] 3rd party software^[250]	Yes	Yes

Media playback and controls
Feature	Android	iOS	Tizen	Sailfish OS	Ubuntu Touch	HarmonyOS
Audio playback	AAC LC/LTP 3GPP, HE-AACv1 (AAC+), HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MP3, MIDI (Type 0 and 1, DLS versions 1 and 2), Ogg Vorbis, PCM/WAVE, FLAC, WAVE, Opus^[262]	AAC, protected AAC (from iTunes Store), HE-AAC, MP3, MP3 VBR, Audible (formats 2, 3, 4, Audible Enhanced Audio, AAX, and AAX+), Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV^[263]	AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MP3, Vorbis, WAV^[264]	MP3, FLAC, AAC, eAAC, eAAC+, ALAC, AC3, DTS, Opus, Vorbis	?	AAC LC/LTP 3GPP, HE-AACv1 (AAC+), HE-AACv2 (enhanced AAC+) AMR-NB, AMR-WB, MP3, MIDI (Type 0 and 1, DLS versions 1 and 2), Ogg Vorbis, PCM/WAVE, FLAC, WAVE, Opus
Video playback	H.263, H.264 (up to Baseline Profile), H.265 HEVC, MPEG-4 SP, DivX, XviD, VP8, VP9^[262] (WMV on 3rd party software like VLC media player)	H.264 (up to High Profile), MPEG-4, M-JPEG^[263]	H.263, H.264, MPEG-4 Part 2^[264]	MPEG-4, H264, H263,^[265] although audio in recorded videos is out of sync^[266]	?	H.263, H.264 (up to Baseline Profile), H.265 HEVC, MPEG-4 SP, DivX, XviD, VP8, VP9^[262] (WMV on 3rd party software like VLC media player)
Wired video out	4K on 6+^[267]	Up to 1080p via HDMI^[268] or VGA,^[269] 576p/480p via component^[270] or composite;^[271]	No	No^[272]	Yes
Wired digital audio output	5+ USB Audio^[273]	7+: USB Audio^[274]	No	No	Yes	Yes up to 4K
Wireless video/audio streaming to set top boxes/TVs/speakers	4.2+ Miracast,^[275] but DLNA^[276] only available on selected devices	AirPlay^[277]	DLNA^[278]	?	Yes	Yes on Wireless Projection with Miracast
Media player on-device playlist creation	Yes^[279]	Yes^[65]	?	Yes	Yes	Yes
Media player video scrubbing	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes
Media player audio scrubbing	Yes	Yes	?	?	?	Yes
Media player fine scrubbing	No,^[280] 3rd party software like VLC media player, basic fine scrubbing removed on 4+^[281]	Yes^[282]	?	?	?	Yes
Media player double speed playing	6+^[283]	Only Podcasts^[284]	?	?	?	Yes