Garmin developers told me the same thing, but I am still using Android, not because I am delusional, but because of convenience and compatibility with existing systems. My phone is Android, I use gmail, google drive and such, so buying an iOS platform for just one software is majorly inconvenient, not to mention having to learn iOS. So far I haven't had any major problems, and I am sure it may be missing some nice features that are on iOS, but that is ok. It's like telling an Apple user to buy an android phone so that he can get a cheaper carrier. Chances are that is not going to be enough.
My guess is that the differences between Android versions become a factor only when the software is trying to squeeze out the maximum performance from the platform. As hardware improves, I imagine this difference will go away eventually. After all, most of the low-demand apps run just fine across all of the Android versions.
I get it... and I don't think you're delusional. I know this comes up as a serious concern for users who are invested in different platforms.
A data point for you that you might find worthwhile. I am heavily entrenched in Google's stuff as well. We have G-Suites at work, I've personally been using Gmail and Google Calendar since they came out (the former of which was well before the iPhone) and I have a ton of stuff stored on Google Drive. We use Google Sheets for our FRATs at work (paperless). We use the new Google Team Drives for Ops, Mx, and Scheduling. For the TEB FAASTeam we administrate the group using Gmail and Google Groups. Bottom line, I have always, and will continue to use a ton of Google's products. They put out some great, reliable, user-friendly stuff.
And I access it all through iOS devices like the iPad/iPhone or a Mac. I was a PC user before the iPhone came out, and slowly migrated completely to Apple. All of my phones, including my wife's and kids', are iPhones. I have multiple iPads, some assigned by work. An iMac. Two Macbook Pros and an Apple Air. I have ONE desktop PC which finally died last year and I haven't bothered to replace it or fix it.
And the integration is as smooth as could be. All of this stuff runs great on Apple products. Google Docs, Drive, Calendar, Gmail, all of that stuff runs fantastic on the iPad and iPhone. I'm not missing anything at all by avoiding Android products.
In short, I don't think you'll be at cross odds with your existing work eco-system simply by throwing an iOS device into the mix. For aviation use, I think you'll find it worth it to learn how to use iOS devices. You'll find the learning curve to be pretty easy and intuitive, and if you just use the iPad for Garmin Pilot and normal stuff like Gmail, Docs, Sheets, or whatever else you normally run on Android, you're going to see a lot of familiar UI elements. I really think it won't be that big of a deal. And you don't have to jump ship from Android, you can keep motoring along with those other devices in concert with your iPad.
Just a suggestion; YMMV; and best of luck to you.
