System Software Vs Firmware. An OS does its job by abstracting the memory processing power and IO such that multiple processes can run simultaneously by sharing the available hardware. Software can be very big while firmware are usually very small.
OS is a collection of programs. The latter too is a program created for a particular device but unlike the former it is more sophisticated. Firmware is a program that gives life to the device hardware.
The essential differentiation is that theyre intended to perform where theyre stored and how simple they are to upgrade and change.
In other words the fundamental difference between firmware driver and software is their design purpose. It can often be upgraded or replaced but it is effectively part of the hardware. Firmware is software that is built in to a particular piece of hardware. The software are all fragments of code operating from the hardware within the phone and other gadgets.