While device functionality is tighter than on Android phones, Apples built-in design makes security vulnerabilities much rarer -- and harder to detect. Apple supports more generations of iPhones with security updates than any Android phone manufacturer we are aware of. Apple devices have really good support for legacy devices, meaning that older iPhones keep getting firmware updates and security patches years after they were released. 

Because there are so many different companies that make Android phones, apps are not optimized the way Apples are, photos may get compressed, and updates are not frequent. Overall, however, devices running Apples mobile OS are faster and smoother than most Android phones in a comparable price range. Bad actors have an easier time installing malware on Android phones than they do on iPhones, thanks to Apples ongoing curation of what apps make it onto Googles Play store. 

Apples app store has been around for a lot longer, and iPhones enjoy a larger market share than Android phones, at least in the US. As a crypto investor, I was frustrated by how inhospitable Apples store was for Web 3.0-focused apps, compared with the Google Play store, so I dumped my iOS-based iPhone SE 2020 for an Android-equipped Galaxy Note 20 Ultra. 

Android phones have consistently beat Apple to the punch in terms of hardware advances, such as better displays, cameras, and even features as fundamental as app widgets (Apple only got those in 2020). It is not that Android has any issues security-wise; it is that Google is laxer than Apple in terms of which apps Google will allow on its app store.  

The security of your Android OS and device out of the box might vary, but with the right apps, you can bring it up to the same or higher levels of iPhone security. Both Apple and Android come with similar built-in security features, including virtual sandboxes that limit the harm malware apps can cause. Android supports multitasking, so you can pull up two apps at once on your screen, something the iPhone does not.  

It is not clear why the iPhone has not added the split-screen modes found in Android on iPhone, but perhaps this has to do with the app window sizes on iPhones displays as opposed to iPads larger ones. It is difficult to envision a world in which iPhones would ever allow anything similar to occur on an iPhone, though it seems that they are loosening the reins on how much iPhone users can customize their home screens. If you are content with what Apple gives you--this is your home screen; add a photo if you like being a personality--good for you, but I like being able to customize my phone exactly how I want, and Android phones allow me to do just that.