The Hacker News reports that there is a new Android based malware called “EventBot” that is making the rounds in rogue app stores and APK download sites that are not part of the official Google Play ecosystem. In reading The Hacker News article, this sounds pretty nasty but it begs the question, why are users of Android devices are so bent on using app stores and websites that they have no way of know are providing legitimate apps or not? It makes no sense to me.

• Is it because they don’t know any better?
• Is it because their phone manufacturer pushes some junk alternative app store to their customers?
• Is it because they want to use apps they can’t in the Google Play store?
• Is it because they want to feel rebellious?
• Is it because they don’t want to be kept down by the “man?”

I have no idea, and I don’t know why these phone users expose themselves to these risks with such a valuable trove of information sitting on their device.

Full disclosure, I am an Apple iPhone user, and probably will be forever. It’s not because I love everything Apple and must have everything Apple. Clearly that isn’t the case given my professional background. It is a combination of economic factors, security factors, and usability factors.. I am bought into the Apple mobile device app ecosystem and it is too costly to leave.

Apple Strengths

There are some things that Apple does do better than the Android community can do, primarily because it is a closed ecosystem.

1. They keep their users safer because bad actors have a much harder time getting truly malicious software past the app store guardians. Sure there are people that jail break their iPhones, but let’s face it, they are few and far between and most users don’t care to spend the time doing so only to void their Apple Care plan.
2. I don’t care what kind of Snapdragon processor you have in your Android phone or many milliamp-hours your battery is rated for, they just cannot outlast and out perform an iPhone. You may be able to outperform an iPhone at certain tasks and drain your battery in an hour, or you may be able to make your battery last all day but not get any performance but you won’t be able to do both easily. I have yet to see an Android phone (you can throw any Samsung SXX model out there at this) hold up against any serious comparison to the iPhone processors and battery life combination. I attribute this to the closed Apple ecosystem as well. The software written for apple devices is always highly optimized for just that platform. There is no need to trade off compatibility for performance or battery life. Android’s open ecosystem approach just can’t do this effectively when you have hundreds or thousands of device models you have to play nicely with.
3. The phones are reliable and they don’t crash*. I can’t count the number of times I have had Android OS phones just restart on me in the past or crash outright. Maybe it was a bad app, or maybe my specific manufacturer’s device model wasn’t tested with the app. Or maybe it was a combination of the app and some random launcher I am using on my Android phone that caused it. Needless to say, my iPhone 11 pro just doesn’t crash, at all. It reboots when I want it to or when it does an update.

*assuming you aren’t running a beta version of their iOS software or trying to us a really old device with a new iOS version. If you want to be bleeding edge or never buy new hardware, you are going to have issues on any platform.

Android Strengths

On the flip side, you can do some really cool things with Android devices that you can’t do with Apple devices.

1. You can interact with your device at the hardware level and as long as you give an app permission to do it, they can do a whole lot. Want to record phone calls? No problem. Want to quickly and easily side load an app? No problem. Want to completely change how your phone keys work? No problem. Android is all about letting people do what they want when they want. For better or worse.
2. You can make the phone look and feel exactly how you want. Don’t like that app launcher? Change it. Don’t like the app manager and user interface? Change it. Want the light to flash purple when you get a slack message? Go for it. Again, Android is all about the ability to make the phone do anything you want, regardless of the performance and security impacts it may have.
3. You can find a model of phone with just the features you want at the price you want. There is no “Apple tax” when buying an Android device. Just pick the model from the thousands out there that fits your needs and budget.

What is Best For Me

The nerd in me loves these things about Android, but the practical user side of me does not. When I pick up my phone I want to know that it is going to work without any issues – every time. I don’t want to worry about a new app launcher eating up my battery and destroying the CPU usage. I don’t want to worry if that app I just downloaded has malware in it it. I don’t want to have to manage app permissions at such a granular level that I have to worry about every little thing it has access to in the OS.

At the end of the day, I just want a device that works. That means iPhone with iOS will consistently be more capable and secure for my use case. I am willing to live with the lack of customization in some respects in order to have a better overall user experience with performance and security. An experience that doesn’t require my constant attention to achieve. I have enough other things to worry about each day, my phone should not have to be one of them.