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I am currently doing some research trying to describe differences between IOS and Android UI in detail. I know, there are a few questions before and some stuff on Google (I'm already going through it).

What I want to know is, if there's a list of apps which are available for both platforms and can be used to compare UI.

Another thing might be some really nice article or any source which any of you might have come across which might help in my research. (I'm doing my part already and gathering as much info as I can).

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    Having an app available for both platforms won't really tell you much about the UI differences of the platforms themselves. Lots of apps that are built for cross-platform use tend to have UIs unique to the app, rather than the device. You'll probably have better luck looking at apps that DO NOT have a cross-platform sibling.
    – DA01
    Feb 21, 2012 at 6:40

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The only way to test this is to get an Android phone or tablet and an iPhone or iPad to compare them. Any articles you find (like the ones linked in other answers) are only able to show you apps screen by screen; often cherry picked results to show "Hey look how stupid X app is in Y OS". Even a 100% impartial analysis will only show you pictures not interactions.

Get one of each device (ideally one of the more recent or popular of each) and download apps that show up in the "top charts"/ect sections in both markets. The only way you can actually evaluate the apps is to use them yourself and see what usability problems or inconsistencies there are.

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  • Thats what I'm doing right now. But the problem is from IOS side I only have an old Iphone 3, and I've never used Iphone 4 myself, so dont know from gestures/design point of view what has changed there.
    – carora3
    Feb 19, 2012 at 18:06
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    The iPhone's UI design honestly hasn't changed that much; the same grey-blue default color is used and I don't believe any different interactions were added. As long as you're on iOS 5 you should be good, the only thing UI-wise you're missing is the Retina display. Android however is changing a lot with ICS, so I'd try to get an ICS and a pre-ICS android device, though for this moment ICS isn't get a huge design factor in current apps.
    – Ben Brocka
    Feb 20, 2012 at 1:09
  • If you have a mac, you can download all the iOS devices as emulators with X-code. Definitely useful.
    – DA01
    Feb 21, 2012 at 6:41
  • I have borrowed an iPad from my friend to compare the apps, hope that'll be helpful.
    – carora3
    Feb 21, 2012 at 8:51
  • I forgot about emulators! Those are extremely helpful. The Android SDK will let you emulate a variety of devices (any size/pixel density you want) in addition to X-code's iOS emulation. Checking out apps on the iPad and Android tablets is also definately useful.
    – Ben Brocka
    Feb 21, 2012 at 15:09
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This comparison of the same apps on both systems by Spyre Studios might help but a dedicated list of apps for UI comparision might be hard to find or may not exist see alternativeto.net and check the top apps for ios and android and pick the common ones the list is quite big

Also check the actual UI reference for Android and the ios UI guidelines

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    The most interesting thing about the usability battle is most people seemed to prefer the iOS apps design but, in the limited test cases, the Android apps scored better on plain usability.
    – Ben Brocka
    Feb 19, 2012 at 17:25
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    +1 for citing an actual study (and quite an interesting one at that too).
    – JonW ♦
    Feb 21, 2012 at 15:09
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A quick search on the net brings up a number of articles which highlight key design differences between designing Iphone and Android apps.A list is given below :

Why do apps from the same company look worse on Android than on iPhone? - this is more of a gripe but then I guess it could be due to a matter of personal preferences of expected behavior

Comparing Common iPhone and Android UI Conventions : I like this link since it gives me information about the design differences between designing for apps for Iphones and androids and what the aspects you should keep consistent such as the icons and notifications on the top and the bottom of the app

11 Screenshots That Prove Android Apps Are Uglier Than iOS Apps - Highly subjective but provides some interesting views

I know this was not the answer to the question since you were specifically looking at apps which were available on both Android and Iphone but I felt the above articles would provide some insight into the views of people and what they expect from an android/iphone app.However for comparative screenshots,your best bet would be to the app developers site/app store and see the screenshots there.

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Here's a UX comparison between Android and iOS standard widgets, with links to the documentation on the relevant Apple / Android websites. It's a nice way to get started learning all the technical terms.

http://kintek.com.au/blog/portkit-ux-metaphor-equivalents-for-ios-6-and-android-4/

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