12 Android Features That Were On iPhone First

https://www.bgr.com/2187520/android-features-on-iphone-first/

Publish Date: 2026-06-17 16:02:00

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People tend to think that Apple presents all the features on its newest iPhones as groundbreaking additions, even when they have been available on Android for a long time. Stuff like App Libraries, widgets, and swipe-to-type were present in Android devices long before they made their way to iPhones. This leads most people to believe that this feature-lifting is a one-way street … but this couldn’t be further from the truth.

In fact, there’s a history of Google’s Android OS taking a cue from Apple’s iPhones to enhance its functionality. Some of the best and most widespread features across a wide range of Android devices were actually introduced by Apple first, showing that the two operating systems have more in common than people expect. Some of these features were added soon after Apple introduced them, while others took a long time for Android phone owners to gain access to the same functionality.