[avatar user=”Manisha Jha” size=”thumbnail” align=”left” /]

Android, There has been a long debate when it comes to choose a smartphone for personal use. The factors that people usually talk about are battery life, the processor, the camera, display quality and much more. But you will never see people talking about the “Android”, the phone has. Yes! They do talk about the version of android the phone carries, but nothing more than that.

There enters the question of having a stock android or a skinned android. Tech nerds must know very well about the above used terms, but for a newbie, it is very important to understand, what I am referring to.

Skinned Android is the version of android in phones like Samsung, HTC and Motorola; where the manufacturers do not pay its license cost and the manufacturers are free to make modifications with one key stipulation. Most manufactures create simple skins to make changes in the operating software to give a user a top-notch experience. Like, when Google services like Gmail, Google Play Music, Google Search and Google Maps are included in device, certain changes cannot be made. But, due to skinned android the changes can be made to suit the user experience.

Stock Android is known as “pure android version”. It is available in Google nexus phones. It is a default android OS, directly from Google without any User Interface (UI) features added on top of it. There are no skins and no custom modifications.Now, let us take a look at why stock android is preferred over skinned android? Firstly, you will have a true Google experience, as the user gets to interact with their OS directly, which is built and sent directly from the Android team. Secondly, you will not have to wait for phone manufacturer to release the Google update, as you will get the quick updates from Google directly. Thirdly, since there is scope of modifications in skinned android, it ruins the UI experience. Moreover, you will end up being a happier customer and one with lot less headaches to worry about the updates and interface problems.

Skinned Android does give you many options to spice up your mobile with changes in phone experience but when you seek originality and a smooth user experience, Stock Android will always have an upper hand. Since, it is stock android vs. skinned android, one thing is clear; skinned android is here to stay as there are people, who do not mind experimenting with the UI and want to experience something more than the basic.