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Trying to learn more about Android & iOS? In today's contributed post, app developer ALT Agency discusses what you need to know to understand both systems. See other posts by ALT Agency here.

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New to Android or iOS?  No worries!  Here is our total guide for beginners of both systems so begin reading and start learning.

What You Need To Know About Android & iOS

We cover both Android and iOS in this beginner's guide. It has what you need to know about Android and iOS to get yourself started.

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A Beginner's Guide to Android

Android is Google’s mobile operating system.  There are several versions of Android with some companies customizing it.  However, by following these basic tips, you should soon get the hang of it so get your Android phone ready and follow us:

Turn on and setup

Select your language and connect to your nearest Wi-Fi.  Set up a Google account (Gmail) if you don’t already have one.  Whilst this is not essential, it will make your phone easier to use when downloading apps, backing up etc.  You should also enable backups to protect your data.  Now go to Settings > Accounts and select your account with Google.

If you download Google Photos too, it will provide unlimited storage for your pics on the cloud.  You will need to choose how to lock your device, choosing from fingerprint, pattern or postcode. Once done, also setup your PIN (Personal Identification Number) as a backup, should your fingerprint not work.  Now you can check if you need to update software.  Go to the Settings – About phone – System updates.  Click to check and if there are any, install them.

Buttons for navigation

Look for three touch-sensitive buttons at the base of the screen:

1. BACK – takes you to the last thing you did.
2. HOME – takes you back to the home screen.
3. OVERVIEW – press to show a list of every open/active app; jump between them by tapping the screen.

A range of home screens

You can manage multiple home screens.  Your primary one is centered with others to the left and right. Instead of storing your app on the home screen, you can put them into the App Drawer.

Quick settings

The Quick Settings bar enables you to quickly access the most frequently used toggles, as well as seeing/dismissing notifications.  To use, swipe down once to see notifications.  Swipe down again to see quick toggles. Swipe down with two fingers to see both. For notifications, tap to open and swipe to dismiss.  By tapping the three bars in the bottom right, you can clear them all. For toggles, to turn off, tap the icon.  Tap and hold to see toggle full settings. By tapping icons at the top of the Quick Settings bar, you can reveal settings i.e. battery, system etc.

A Beginner's Guide to iOS

iOS is the operating system of Apple but now that you have your new iPad or iPhone, how do you use it? iOS may not be as customizable as Android but it has enough settings to let you have fun with your new mobile device.   Here we are going to look at how to setup, navigate and generally get to grips with iOS.

Note:  If you have the latest version of the iPhone i.e. iPhone X, it does not have a Home button and has been made more secure by the inclusion of face recognition.

Turn on and setup

Check out the message “Press home to open.” Do this and then select language and country. Select Wi-Fi network to activate.  Enable or disable Location Services – if enabled, time will be set.  If you have Touch ID, set this up following instructions on screen.  You can sort out your fingerprints later on. Now choose a 6-digit passcode. If you have nothing to restore from a backup, go to Set Up New iPhone/iPad.

Note:  If you previously had an Android, choose Move Data from Android.  On your old Android, download and use the app Move to iOS; launch and follow the on-screen instructions.  If you have an Apple ID, tap next.  If not, go for the Don’t have an Apple ID. You can then setup Siri on the next screen. Tap Set Up Siri and follow the instructions.

For iPhone 7 or 7+ there is a screen called “Choose Your Click.”   Press 1, 2 or 3 to adjust the taptic engine which comes into play when you press Home. Once done, you can click on Next to continue. Finally, choose your view from either Zoomed or Standard before tapping next in the top RH corner. Tap Get Started and you are ready to roll.

Interface navigation

Your iPhone only has one Home button and this takes care of all basic features i.e. fingerprint scanner and navigation:

• Press once – to close your current screen, press the Home button and return to the home screen.
• Double press (Multitasking) – if you press the Home button twice quickly, any apps you have been using or which are open will show. Referred to as multitasking, swipe left or right to in order to navigate to the previous app. You can then open an app quickly without having to search for in your folder or home screen.
• Double Tap (Reachability) – by double tapping and not pressing the Home button, the screen will move down. You can now access the top of the screen.  If you don’t want this, turn it off by going to Settings > General > Accessibility and then choose to turn off Reachability.

Managing your home screens

People that have previously used Androids sometimes get confused here as iOS is very different. Previously, you would have moved apps to the home screen to provide shortcuts. iOS works differently.  All icons show up on the home screen and each time you download an app, it shows up on the last home screen.  You can then create folders, moving apps to group them so that you can access them easily later on.

Moving icons to a different home screen

This is very easy to do.  Press and hold the app icon until it begins ‘wiggling’.  Now move it to the screen edge.

Moving icons to a folder

Do the same as above until you get the wiggling effect.  Now move the icon and drop it on top of the app you want to put it with.  Continue to do this with all icons, dropping each of them into the folder.  Need to rename the folder? You can do this whilst it is in wiggling mode.

How to use 3D Touch

Some iPhones have 3D Touch. You can still tap and hold but can also press.  If you press on an icon, you will be shown a menu with plenty of shortcuts, enabling you to perform tasks much more quickly.  As an example, if you press the Mail icon, you can access contacts and also send a new message.  Do this to the Camera icon and take a photo or create a video.  Received an email? Press on it to preview.  With links, simply press on the link to preview the webpage; this saves you having to visit the website.

So there you have it.  Beginners guides for both Android and iOS.  Whichever one you have, by making use of our step-by-step instructions, it should not be long until you are finding your way around like a pro.  Take the time to get used to all of the different features and you will never find yourself struggling, no matter which operating system you need to familiarise yourself with.  This can be incredibly useful if you have an iPhone for personal use but are handed an Android to use at work.

Make yourself familiar with both and you are all set to go!