iOS 7 vs Android 4.2 vs Windows Phone 8 vs BlackBerry 10

Control Centre

iOS 7: Yes, iOS 7 brings a new Control Centre to Apple devices, giving users quick access to toggles and other commonly-used features

Android 4.2: Yes, Android 4.2 does have a central Control Centre, but it varies as per the phone manufacturer.

Windows Phone 8: No, Windows Phone 8 does not have provision for a Control Centre, and users need to go to the Settings menu for this.

BlackBerry 10: Just like Windows Phone 8, BlackBerry 10 also does not have a Control Centre and use will have to go to the system access settings every time

Notification centre

iOS 7: Yes, Apple devices continue to have the notification centre, but it is now divided into three tabs, Today, All and Missed.

Android 4.2: Yes, Android 4.2 boasts of detailed notifications, including toggles, music controls etc.

Windows Phone 8: Microsoft’s Windows Phone 8 mobile operating system does not have a central notification centre, but users can access controls from the home screen via Live Tiles.

BlackBerry 10: To see all notifications and messages, BB 10 OS has a feature called BlackBerry Hub

Multitasking preview

iOS 7: iPhones, iPads and iPod touch will now get a flat design for multitasking preview with the new iOS 7.

Android 4.2: Users can switch between apps in Android 4.2 via the Recents list.

Windows Phone 8: Windows Phone 8 allows users to move between active apps via the multitasking preview feature.

BlackBerry 10: The BlackBerry 10 homescreen shows users all currently operating apps via the Active Frames grid

Photo grouping

iOS 7: Apple has introduced photo grouping features called Moments, Collections and Years with iOS 7.

Android 4.2: in Android 4.2, images are grouped by albums, dates and other tags.

Windows Phone 8: Photos are segregated as per albums and date in Windows Phone 8.

BlackBerry 10: The BB10 operating system categorizes photos by albums and recently clicked

Shared photo stream

iOS 7: Apple’s new mobile operating system allows people to share Photo Streams with other users

Android 4.2: Only Samsung Galaxy S4 has the provision to share such photo streams

Windows Phone 8: Users can only share images one by one in Windows Phone 8 OS

BlackBerry 10: Similar to WP8, BlackBerry 10 also requires users to share images one by one

Peer-to-peer sharing

iOS 7: Apple has introduced AirDrop with iOS 7 that enables people to share contacts, songs, videos etc over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi

Android 4.2: Android Beam is the NFC-based feature that allows people to share data wirelessly

Windows Phone 8: In WP8, users can share data with others via the NFC-based Tap+Share feature

BlackBerry 10: NFC-based sharing is also present in BlackBerry 10 operating system

Unified browser bar

iOS 7: Yes, a unified browser bar is present in the Safari browser

Android 4.2: Yes, the default Android 4.2 web browser features a central browser bar for all tabs

Windows Phone 8: Yes, Windows Phone 8 also has a unified browser bar

BlackBerry 10: Yes, a unified browser bar is also present in the BlackBerry 10 default web browser

Automatic app updates

iOS 7: Apple devices will now update apps automatically in the background

Android 4.2: While apps do not update automatically in Android 4.2, users can select the option while downloading them

Windows Phone 8: Yes, Windows Phone 8 does have an Update All option for apps

BlackBerry 10: Users can only update apps one by one in BlackBerry 10

Password-protected reset

iOS 7: Yes, Apple has unveiled the password-protect reset feature with iOS 7, so that stolen devices cannot be used until the owners’ Apple ID and password are provided

Android 4.2: No, Android 4.2 does have provision to protect devices when stolen

Windows Phone 8: No, there is no feature to protect stolen phones running on WP8

BlackBerry 10: No, BlackBerry 10 OS does not allow

In-car integration

iOS 7: Apple has unveiled iOS in the Car feature with the latest software update, so that they can access calls, messages, maps etc hands-free

Android 4.2: Driving Mode in Android 4.2 allows in-car integration for smartphones and tablets

Windows Phone 8: Nokia Drive is available on Windows Phone 8 for in-dash integration

BlackBerry 10: Though BlackBerry 10 does not have any default feature to make phones compatible with cars, a few third-party apps can perform this function