gmen81

The iPhone is so much more expensive than the Android. Where Ilive, I could probably buy 3 Androids for the price of an iPhone 6. But I do prefer some Apple products over other products.  

I'm a hardcore Android fan simply because it seems more user-friendly to me. I really don't like iPhones because they're so frustrating to use and the phones themselves don't even have a back button like Android phones do.  Oh, and of course there's all the free apps and whatnot for Android, too. If you're a fan of customizing stuff then Android would be good because you can add different widgets to the screen. Just my thoughts. 

I have family who worked in the tech industry. Android is better then apple majority of the time due to price, last longer, space(Can add up to 256gb), speed, power, customization, battery life, camera, easy to fix bugs if you have them and tons of apps.  They are exceptions but if you are spending $400-$600 and the phone is a newer one. You can expect most if not all the things above

If you are worried about size go after a sony compact or other android versions that are meant to complete with the iPhones smaller size. 

http://www.gsmarena.com/

^This website helps you compare  the phone specs(which is like stats)

For some reason, my family don't like Samsung.

My family usually goes after the Xperia z2 or z3 of sony. Nexus, LG, HTC, and Samsung are your biggest name brands.

Good luck