Google isn’t the one ruining Android. It’s the apps you use every day

At a glance:

• Flagship Android phones such as the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra and Google Pixel 10 Pro match or exceed iPhone hardware specs.
• Core third‑party apps like Instagram, X (Twitter) and WhatsApp still feel less polished on Android and often lag behind iOS feature releases.
• Google announced new partnerships and tooling at the Android Show to force better optimization of the top‑used apps.

Android hardware now outpaces iOS in many areas

Pick almost any flagship Android phone released this year – the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra, or Google Pixel 10 Pro – and you’ll find battery life, fast charging, camera modules and display technology that are at least on par with, and in some cases ahead of, Apple’s iPhone lineup. The author of the original report even notes that his iPhone Air experiences occasional jitter during FaceTime calls, while the Android devices remain rock‑solid.

First‑party software on these devices also takes full advantage of the hardware. The camera app on the Oppo Find X9 Ultra, for example, unlocks the sensor’s full dynamic range, while Samsung’s Galaxy suite of apps is tightly integrated with its own SoC features. This demonstrates that when manufacturers control both silicon and software, the Android experience can be seamless.

Third‑party apps still feel worse on Android

Despite the hardware progress, many of the world’s biggest apps feel noticeably inferior on Android. Instagram’s story upload pipeline still produces lower‑quality photos and videos compared with its iOS counterpart. The X (formerly Twitter) app sporadically freezes the feed on Android devices, a problem rarely seen on iPhone. Feature parity is also uneven; X’s new Timeline experience debuted on iOS weeks before Android users received it.

Design consistency is another sore point. Apple’s recent “Liquid Glass” visual language, introduced with iOS 26, is already being rolled out across several iOS apps, including WhatsApp. Android’s Material 3 Expressive theme has been available for almost a year, yet only a handful of major apps have adopted it. The gap is especially stark on foldable devices, where many apps still render poorly on larger screens despite Android foldables existing for nearly eight years.

Google’s new push to tighten app optimization

Historically, Google’s open ecosystem has given developers far more freedom than Apple’s tightly‑controlled App Store, resulting in a fragmented user experience. At the recent Android Show keynote, Google announced a partnership with Meta aimed at improving Instagram’s Android performance. The collaboration promises an upgraded capture‑to‑upload pipeline, Ultra HDR support, and better tablet optimization.

Google is also expanding exclusive editing capabilities in the Edits Android app and finally bringing Adobe Premiere to Android, signaling a broader effort to attract high‑end content creators. The author argues that stricter scrutiny of the top 1 % most‑used apps could dramatically raise the perceived quality of Android as a platform.

What the future may hold for Android app quality

If Google follows through with tighter enforcement, we could see a wave of UI updates that bring Android apps in line with Material 3, reducing the visual dissonance that currently favors iOS. Developers may also be compelled to prioritize foldable‑ready layouts, unlocking the full potential of devices like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold series. However, the balance between openness and control will remain a delicate negotiation; too much restriction could alienate the very developers that make Android’s ecosystem vibrant.

In the meantime, consumers with flagship Android phones should keep an eye on upcoming updates from Meta, Adobe and Google, as these partnerships are likely to be the first tangible steps toward a more polished, iOS‑comparable experience.