Apple vs. Google: Replacing Apple's stock iOS apps with Google apps

Google makes so many apps for iOS, we thought maybe we could live the Android life on our iPhones. And you know what? A Google life ain't always easy on iOS.

 

 

For about a year now, I’ve been joking that it’s entirely possible—if you want—to have the Android experience on an iOS device. Why not? While Apple keeps its own app offerings pretty strictly tied to its own devices (Apple Music being a forthcoming exception to the rule), Google is more willing to take customers wherever it can get them. Don’t have an Android phone? That’s fine: Google has an app for many of the things you already want to do on your iPhone, like email, instant messages, news, streaming music, and of course maps.
So I wondered: How well could I survive for one week just using Google apps on my iPhone?
Here were my ground rules: First, I would clear my phone of apps and shuffle the native, un-deletable stock iOS apps off into a folder. Then, I’d download all the Google apps I thought I might use in the course of my daily business. Then, just for fun, I decided that if I needed an app that wasn’t a Google product, I’d at least make sure it exists in the Google Play store for Android users. And if a Google app could replace a third-party app, I’d try to use the Google app instead.
The apps I downloaded: Google, Calendar, Chrome, Docs, Inbox, Maps, Google Play Books, Google Play Music, Google Play Newsstand, Google Photos, and (ahem) Google+.
What did I find out? Google works hard to provide alternatives. But it can’t—in part because of Apple’s rules—provide an entire ecosystem across iOS. Overall, some of the apps were pretty good. Some of the apps were merely OK. And one was Google+. (Suffice it to say: It wasn’t long before the Facebook and Twitter apps reappeared on my phone.) 

Source - http://www.macworld.com