Over the past couple of days we've seen two massive Android phones announced over at MWC. There's Samsung's Galaxy S9, and Sony's Xperia XZ2. Both of them are pretty impressive in terms of stats, and both companies seem to be focusing (if you'll excuse the pun) on releasing phones with impressive cameras.

But if you ask me, neither of the devices has the chops to knock the iPhone off the top spot, especially when it comes to gaming. Why's that you ask? Well give me a moment and I'll explain exactly what I mean.

The Google Play Store

The Google Play Store is still lagging massively behind the App Store. Not just in terms of the games and apps that are released, but also in terms of usability. It seems strange that Google, a company that's built around its services, is still incapable of making the Play Store something you want to, well, play with.

Throw in the rampant piracy on Android, and you're left with an unattractive prospect for the big developers. There was a time when premium games would come out at the same time on both platforms, but now it seems that, unless a game is free to play, it's likely to be a while before it makes the shift from iOS to Android.

All that means that if you want the best releases first, games like The Room: Old Sins and Alto's Odyssey, then you're going to have to get yourself an iPhone.

Making the change

If you're an iPhone owner, then there's a good chance you've been one for a while. That means that a lot of your content is tied into Apple's infrastructure. Whether it's the apps you've downloaded or the photos that you've stored in the cloud, plenty of your data exists within those constructs.

Now, what do these new Android phones offer that's going to make the hassle of changing all of that over worth it? Sure they've got impressive cameras, the the S9 is a pretty nice looking phone, but in reality is that ever going to be enough.

This counts doubly if you've got an iPad as well. And even more so if you've got a Mac. Buying into the Apple brand is buying into a specific way of doing things. And it's pretty unlikely that a new Android phone is going to fit into that way as seamlessly as a new iOS device will.

More of the same

All three companies have been guilty in the last few generations of smartphones of simply iterating on what's come before. There might be more choice in terms of the size of your phone, and the incremental improvements have definitely been welcome, but we've not seen anything truly revolutionary for a good long while.

Yes it's nice to get the newest bit of technology, and it's nice to be on the crest of the wave as it were, but the iPhone 7 and 8, while not Apple's flagship models, are still really, really good mobile phones. The X might be the big daddy of the bunch, but you're not too far behind with the others.

That means when it comes to making a decision about what handset to buy, you're going to be looking at other factors. And especially when it comes to gaming, the iPhone is just streets ahead. Sure you can get more emulators on Android, and using controllers is a little easier, but Google-powered devices lag behind when it comes to content and simplicity.

It's up to you

In the end, whatever smartphone you choose you're going to end up with an impressive piece of hardware. But while the new flagship Android devices do offer things that Apple can't, and probably never will, there doesn't seem to be enough change here for people to make the leap into a new OS. Into a new way of doing things.

If you've got your own opinions, then feel free to let us know in the comments section below. But I know for a fact that I'm going to be sticking with my iPhone the next time my contract is up for renewal.