Android and iOS (iPad / iPhone) devices each make up roughly half of sales of tablets and smartphones in the UK. Apple's iPads are used widely in schools for educational purposes, while Android devices are more likely to be used at home.
While iPhones and iPads are all made by Apple, phones and tablets using the Android operating system are made by many different companies, including Samsung, Acer, HTC, Huawei and LG. There is a much broader price range for Android devices, compared with Apple, with 10" tablets available for less than £65 in April 2020 and the highest specification devices typically costing around £750. If you are wanting to use a tablet for watching videos, listening to music, online shopping, social media and the occasional basic game, it makes perfect sense to get a relatively low cost Android (though we wouldn't recommend the very cheapest devices).
When you buy a new iPad or iPhone, it will generally have the latest version of the iOS / iPadOS and the same apps pre-installed. The Android situation is more complicated. Devices are sold with different versions of the Android operating system and it is not always possible to upgrade to later versions. As of July 2020, Version 10 is the latest operating system, but Version 11 is in 'beta' for testing. Until recently Version 10 was only available on Google Pixel devices, but it is now becoming available for other devices. Version 9 (also known as Pie), released in 2018, will still be found on many new devices, though some of the cheaper devices may only have Version 8 (Oreo) or even Version 7 (Nougat), which was released in 2016. In addition to the basic operating system, tablets will come with a variety of apps pre-installed. Some of these are common to most Android devices, while others will only be installed by a particular manufacturer. These will generally allow you to browse the internet, read emails, take notes, play music and videos, etc. When you buy an Android device make sure it has the features and apps you need, or be prepared to buy and install any additional apps you may want.
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