Apple Executives Speak on the 'Low-Cost Phone', Android's Fragmentation Issues

[iGrip]

You have any sort of stats to back that up? People that like gadgets update their phone a lot. But how many people that is....who knows. I know plenty of people that buy a phone and use it until it breaks.

And very few of those people care about the version number of the OS.

If they did, they would be getting flagship phones every other year.

 

[marksman]

Apple has fragmentation in it's iPhone range too. It's just not as proliferate compared to Google. Look at the iPhone 3 for example. It's stuck on an old iOS version, and some major apps are not available for it. Facebook comes to mind quickly.

Apple has now introduced that legacy app ability, where your phone can keep a older version of the app if the latest version refuses to run on your iPhone. It wouldn't be needed if there wasn't any fragmentation.

You could also argue the fact that because Apple doesn't really offer a cheaper phone the fragmentation is at a Snail's pace.

When apple releases a new iOS device it will get at least three full iOS versions in its lifespan. Most android devices are lucky to get one major android os version.

Talking about what the iPhone 3 can run is irrelevant. Android has devices that came out last year that are as far behind as the iPhone 3G, which came out five years ago.

 

[hudson1]

Makes no sense. There is a very good chance the top four selling smartphones of 2013 will all be iPhones. (iPhones all able to run the latest os to boot).

Also the fact that apple still dominates the tablet market and is the most profitable pc maker belies your theory that apple is too reliant on the iPhone.

Well, they are reliant on the iPhone if you believe the linked info. "iPhone and related products" is now over half of Apple's revenue. Mac sales are about 14%.

http://csimarket.com/stocks/segments.php?code=AAPL

 

[samcraig]

Apples to oranges dude (pun intended) .

96 percent of iOS users were on iOS6 in June 2013. versus:

37 percent on Jelly Bean
23 percent on Ice Cream Sandwich
34 percent on Gingerbread

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2013/06/21/apple-ios-6-96-percent-adoption/

It's not hypocrisy to point out these radically different situations. Andriod is splitting its userbase between three major versions almost equally. Apple has almost everyone on the latest version. Will those percentages change into a slightly less cohesive view with iOS7? Absolutely, but the overall picture won't change that much.

Fragmentation is not an end user "issue." It's a developer issue. And only an end user issue if a developer doesn't take different versions into consideration. And the phones that haven't been updated since gingerbread would have a horrible experience running the current android. Just like you wouldn't want an iPhone 3GS running iOS 7

 

[prestonkd]

For some reason Tim Cook really concerns me. He has always struck me as someone who is nothing like Steve Jobs that is trying to act like he is very much like Steve Jobs, including the whole casual dress uniform. He doesn't look comfortable doing it. He looks like an actor playing a role that doesn't suit him. I'm concerned he's focused too much on not looking like a suit and not on what's good for the company. I'm also concerned that because he IS a suit that he doesn't have the right mindset to lead Apple. The Board hasn't called me yet to get my input, but I'm waiting by the phone for their call.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

That cover is just awesome.

Yes but in a really weird way.... (shakes head) 😱

 

[samcraig]

When apple releases a new iOS device it will get at least three full iOS versions in its lifespan. Most android devices are lucky to get one major android os version.

Talking about what the iPhone 3 can run is irrelevant. Android has devices that came out last year that are as far behind as the iPhone 3G, which came out five years ago.

Again - that's not an end user issue because the core apps and APIs get updated all the time.

I'd love to know the % of people who buy their phones for what they CAN do or what they MIGHT be able to do in the future.

I would gather that most buy their devices based on what they currently offer. Everything else is gravy.

 

[Renzatic]

If everything Apple does fails and flops for the next 5 years there won't be one of those men working at the company. Nor any other members of the current upper management.

Only Tim Cook has the axe perpetually floating over his head. Everyone else is relatively secure. All they have to worry about is a new CEO coming in and going on a headhunting spree.

 

[juanmanas]

Thank you. We'll see. 60% growth is only if they sell 8 mln units. If they sell 6 mln, that's just 20% growth. And sales were growing every year.
I'd say 20-60% is not a huge number considering there're 2 new models instead of one.

It would be so easy to deconstruct and criticize your comment that I won't even bother...

Study more

 

[Tinmania]

That's because this is an irrefutable fact. Every *second-rate* Android developer I know laments this fact, and it's the core of the reason many developers target only iOS and not Android, or target iOS first.

Fixed that for you.




Mike

 

[santaliqueur]

PS - I can't upgrade to iOS7 with my Apple device and I'm running Android 4.3 on my other device.

What is "your Apple device"? iOS7 runs on the iPhone 4, iPod touch 5th, iPad 2, and iPad mini.

The release dates for the most current unsupported devices:
iPhone 3GS: 6/19/2009
iPod touch 4th gen: 9/1/2010
iPad: 4/3/2010

The reason you can't upgrade is because your device is 3-4 years old, an eternity for mobile electronics.

 

[croooow]

No they are not. In the past, you could get a phone that looked identical to the new S version.

Now, at the same price point, you get a phone that screams "I'm too cheap to get the new one!" in hideous colors.

The buying choices are NOT the same. Instead of getting a one year old flagship, you get a phone that is designed to appeal to little girls.

I agree that the color choice could be better (same for iOS 7. I understand that they match each other but the colors are not great IMO)

But I think for most users that won't matter as they will have a case on it and it will look much like an iPhone 5 or 5S especially if you get the white one.

Plus, the cost of the iPhone 5c and the iPhone 5S over two years is really about the same: $100 difference over 24 months is $4. Tell me that person spending $80-100 a month on his iPhone 5C is cheap 🙄

 

[madsci954]

They see us rollin, they hatin!

 

[iGrip]

Google won mobile market share, but not mobile profits. Which one matters more to a business?

Which one matters more to a consumer?

----------

Forget what fragmentation means to the average consumer, because the average consumer wants the iPhone.

That is simply incorrect.

https://docs.google.com/a/technologizer.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Apds7ufAnNw5dHhod1VMZDNGOWgtQVBLNmJ5M1ZwclE&oid=11&zx=1ivzhujks94p


If one refers to facts, it seems that many, many more consumers want an Android phone. Indeed, for every consumer that wants an iPhone, more than three want an Android phone.

 

[BaldiMac]

Which one matters more to a consumer?

Neither. Apple has all the consumer advantages that one would normally associate with the market share leader despite being in a distant second place.

Developer support, Accessory support, etc.

 

[doohsun2]

I totally agree

You are so wrong. It's THE issue with Android right now.
Image

I used to be an iphone user and now i own a samsung s4 there are some nice feature with the samsung phone but what i'm started to realize a lot is the fragmentation. For those who own android that doesn't agree that android os is fragmented you're in full denial. Yes the android does allow you to change the look of your phone but what people don't realize by adding these changes it would suck up a lot of memory which causes your phone to dramatically slow down. It's really no different from Windows it doesn't release memory properly which sometimes causes the phone to crash. I think both iOS and Android OS have their own benefits what it comes down in the end is what's important to you.

a) ability to change the way your phone looks - android yes
b) apps ( personally I think the quality of apple apps are far superior than android)
c) ability to change battery when needed (iphone doesn't)
d) ability to add additional sd memory (apple doesn't however it's never as fast as the main storage)


just my thoughts coming from both side 🙂

 

[winston1236]

People who get flagship high end Android devices have zero to worry about. People who go in looking for a free phone or one for $19.99 don't give a rats rump whether they have ICS or JB. I would wager 9/10 people couldn't tell the difference between 4.2.2 and 4.3, but in Apple land if 100% of the handsets out there aren't running 4.3 then it's "ZOMG look at the fragmentation."

Exactly, the people getting free phone aren't the ones spending money on apps anyway. This passiveness on apples part of android is sadly reminiscent of blackberry when ios/android/windows phones came out.

 

[Gix1k]

Tim is a joke

 

[winston1236]

Which one matters more to a consumer?

----------




That is simply incorrect.

https://docs.google.com/a/technologizer.com/spreadsheet/oimg?key=0Apds7ufAnNw5dHhod1VMZDNGOWgtQVBLNmJ5M1ZwclE&oid=11&zx=1ivzhujks94p


If one refers to facts, it seems that many, many more consumers want an Android phone. Indeed, for every consumer that wants an iPhone, more than three want an Android phone.

Google didn't win mobile profits??? Android clearly was to make money using data from users not from the os or the phones themselves.

 

[elistan]

Personally, I've never noticed it, and I have a phone which is well over a year old.

It may be a point release older than the newest version. I'm not sure. Does it matter?

Does it matter to an end-user, you ask? Yes, if there are unpatched security vulnerabilities in the older OS. And yes, if the user wants a particular app that only runs on some different version of the OS.

Does it matter to a developer? Yes, because if they release a version of their app that utilizes a feature only the latest OS has, they either don't release that for older OSes and therefore lose a large amount (60% it seems?) of potential customers, or they have to spend the development time to write and maintain two different versions of their app.

Does fragmentation exist in iOS? Yes, there are iPhone, iPod and iPad versions that Apple doesn't support iOS 7 on. Does it matter? To an end-user? Yes, possibly, due to the security thing, and because some apps require the latest OS. Same as with Android. To a developer? No, not really - last I saw, over 90% of iOS devices were running the latest version, iOS 6. I suspect that in very short order we'll see similar numbers for iOS 7 adoption. It's nearly a no-brainer for developers writing iOS apps to simply target the latest OS. They might miss out on 5% or 10% of their potential customer base but that's not enough to make it a problem. The Retina screen of the iPhone 4 and later, and the larger screen size of the iPhone 5 and later are sources of fragmentation too, but my understanding of how the iOS APIs work it's not too much more effort for the developers to account for this.

 

[D.T.]

Neither. Apple has all the consumer advantages that one would normally associate with the market share leader despite being in a distant second place.

Developer support, Accessory support, etc.

Holy heck, bonus points to someone who actually gets it!

I've seen the question you responded to asked over and over again, usually by a poster who assumes (incorrectly) whether market share or profits better serves the consumer.

If there's any kids in business school reading this, you'll cover it your second year 😀

 

[jasvncnt]

I used to be an iphone user and now i own a samsung s4 there are some nice feature with the samsung phone but what i'm started to realize a lot is the fragmentation. For those who own android that doesn't agree that android os is fragmented you're in full denial. Yes the android does allow you to change the look of your phone but what people don't realize by adding these changes it would suck up a lot of memory which causes your phone to dramatically slow down. It's really no different from Windows it doesn't release memory properly which sometimes causes the phone to crash. I think both iOS and Android OS have their own benefits what it comes down in the end is what's important to you.

a) ability to change the way your phone looks - android yes
b) apps ( personally I think the quality of apple apps are far superior than android)
c) ability to change battery when needed (iphone doesn't)
d) ability to add additional sd memory (apple doesn't however it's never as fast as the main storage)


just my thoughts coming from both side 🙂

Just curious...is that your first Android device?

 

[iSayuSay]

Lol at fandroids now claiming people who buy android phones don't care about getting access to the latest features and have access to the newest apps.

This is the defense for horrible fragmentation? That people don't care about apps or features when they choose android?

More development means more fragmentation. That includes iPhone and iPad.

There are 3 iPhone resolutions already
480 x 320 on 3GS and before
960 x 640 on 4/4S
1136 x 640 on 5/5C/5S

There are 2 iPad resolution already after 3 years
1024 x 768 on iPad/iPad2/iPad Mini
2048 x 1536 on iPad 3/iPad 4

It's only a matter of time before Apple starts with another resolution and another size and another ratio. Not only about display but about app and backward compatibility as well.

Yeah enjoy the new way of Windows 🙄

 

[aperry]

I switched from iOS to Android for my mobile phone. I have an HTC One and haven't noticed any problems with fragmentation. Who knows, maybe I'll have issues down the road but so far it's been a great experience. By the way, yes, Android is undoubtedly more difficult to develop for. But now that Android is so strongly outselling iOS, it's generally worth the effort.

Anyone who is still recycling those old arguments about Android stability and usability problems just hasn't been paying attention. I reboot my HTC One less than I did on iOS (I owned every iPhone through the 4s) and my UI is more tailored to my use cases than iOS ever was able to be.

Android must be doing something right because you can see hints of it all over iOS 7's new features. How the tables have turned....

 

[iGrip]

Neither. Apple has all the consumer advantages that one would normally associate with the market share leader despite being in a distant second place.

Developer support, Accessory support, etc.

They have that now, but only due their former position as the market share leader. The trends are disturbing. Fewer and fewer smartphone customers (on a percentage basis) choose Apple each passing day. That fact is hidden by the pie rapidly expanding, but smartphones have started to reach saturation levels.

As time goes on, Apple's rapidly shrinking marketshare will lead to a rapidly dwindling ecosystem.

As of now, Apple's ecosystem is excellent. As the market changes into a dominant Android platform and a niche iOS platform, the relative strenghts of the ecosystems will also change.