It uses tiny amounts of power on cheap hardware and still is always reasonably performant.
It's very discoverable and convenience oriented, there's no gestural control stuff(Aside from the hideous pull to refresh feature that I hate, which I'd imagine apple has too).
Anecdotally, Bluetooth never seems to give any trouble(Aside from a rare bug where it was turning bluetooth off occasionally, which i think was specific to my phone model), wheras Apple users seem to always have complaints whenever they try to use it with random gadgets.
And subjectivly the intent seems different.
iOS is an appliance. A multipurpose appliance but still an appliance. It has a set of things it does and some it doesn't, and it trusts you'll be able to get by without the stuff it doesn't do.
Android is a generic multitool made into a consumer friendly format. It can replace a sizable fraction of ones's material possessions. It seems to be meant to be the catch all point for everything that integrates with everything else no matter who made it.
Also, hardware wise, the phones are relatively free of luxury fashion, which is a really specific aesthetic that only appeals to certain groups. All Apple's stuff has a theme, it feels like it's meant to be at home next to a whole foods bag, some Nike sneakers, or even some Supreme underwear.
They're much more willing to use plastic instead of metal and things like that, instead of spending money on stuff that can't even be seen when it's in a case.