Apple Highlights Low Fragmentation Among iOS Devices in Direct Jab at Android

[Menel]

Hopefully the 5S (thus making the 4S the lowest model) will be out by or shortly after iOS 7's debut.

I wouldn't blame it all on the single core... it's a slow single core at only 800 MHz. An iPhone 5 with one of its cores shut off would probably perform adequately. I've never used a 4 for more than a few minutes, though, as my first smartphone is the iPhone 5.

By the way, they always drop models that become 4 models old with every new release

If by always, you mean one single solo time in the past.

 

[RedCroissant]

Read the "fine print." The chart is based on iOS devices that accessed the App Store over a 2-week period. Two short weeks! Two short weeks that ended on June 3 (so, two RECENT weeks).

I've got three iOS devices running iOS 5. I haven't "accessed the App Store" with these three devices in MONTHS.

The people MOST likely to have accessed the App Store in the two weeks ending June 3 are , SURPRISE, the people that have RECENTLY purchased their iOS devices! And every one of those new devices are running (surprise again) iOS 6!

DUH!

Talk about picking and choosing bits of data to skew statistics to meet your objective!

Mark

I don't think that's an accurate assessment of the people accessing the app store. My wife has an iPhone 3GS and she accesses it almost on a daily basis(and definitely within that 2 week period). I also have a 1st gen iPad that I use daily and access the app store frequently.

 

[roadbloc]

Fragmentation is a none issue if compatibility is maintained throughout. Newer is not always better.

 

[BaldiMac]

Fragmentation is a none issue if compatibility is maintained throughout. Newer is not always better.

To your point. Apple is maintaining compatibility. The Android ecosystem is not.

But Android fragmentation is also an issue for reasons other than compatibility. Security and performance are obvious examples.

 

[roadbloc]

To your point. Apple is maintaining compatibility. The Android ecosystem is not.

But Android fragmentation is also an issue for reasons other than compatibility. Security and performance are obvious examples.

I wouldn't know since I have never owned an Android phone. I assumed that the fragmentation didn't effect compatibility, since it doesn't in the PC world (but that is probably thanks to the quality of support Microsoft gives its OS.)

 

[pirg]

I wouldn't know since I have never owned an Android phone. I assumed that the fragmentation didn't effect compatibility, since it doesn't in the PC world (but that is probably thanks to the quality of support Microsoft gives its OS.)

Android apps are always getting updated to add "support"for different models and different OS versions, so compatibility is affected often.

 

[BaldiMac]

I wouldn't know since I have never owned an Android phone. I assumed that the fragmentation didn't effect compatibility, since it doesn't in the PC world (but that is probably thanks to the quality of support Microsoft gives its OS.)

As indicated in the table in the original post, each new Android version introduces a new API level. So to reach more than 50% of active Android users, developers need to either target Gingerbread APIs and below, target specific features to new versions only, or find a way to reimplement features at various API levels.

 

[topper24hours]

There were many but Apple is catching up. File System obviously remains the major one (and widgets, live wallpapers, ability to change default apps, support for NFC etc.) But again it's BaldiMac who claims that I listed Android's "unique" features while omitting unique features in iOS. What I said was that Android users got many advanced features way ahead of iOS and thus they were not harmed by fragmentation.

----------



Hardware "fragmentation" is only an issues in the context of software developers. Users mostly benefit from it because they have a huge choice of hardware.

It is hilarious to me if you actually believe this. Having worked in cellular sales for two years, I can say first hand that 90% of Android purchasers go by price. They buy whatever is on sale for $49 that week. They are NOT excited about a huge choice of hardware, lol... they're just cheap. When I demo Google Now on a Nexus or an iPhone & it's not on their phone... that IS lame. When they ask when/if they're going to get an update and all I can do is shrug & reply: "nobody knows", that's lame as well.
And you know full well a few updated apps does not equal an updated OS.. let's not play dumb, k? Do you run Windows ME, just with the latest version of office? That's ludicrous.

 

[beaniemyman]

at least android offers more features. bitter truth!

 

[Miracle Hobo]

at least android offers more features. bitter truth!

If you're on the latest OS then yes, but the fact is most people are not.

 

[SILen(e]

There are way more people who can use Google Now features on iOS than on Android!

That is probably the best sign for the insanity of Android fragmentation.

 

[0098386]

Honestly, who is the 1% on an OS older than 6? Either get a new device or upgrade. Its not safe to live in the stone age.

People with devices that don't support iOS 6?

I've got a 3rd gen iPod Shuffle, 5.5G iPod and my mother has a 1G iPod Touch. We've all got newer versions too but those devices are great for dropping video libraries on or for when you don't want to risk losing a nice device (Shuffle is amazing for hiking! It weighs less than my headphones).

 

[pirg]

at least android offers more features. bitter truth!

Yes android offers a lot of things. 66% of android users don't see those things and when the next os update comes out that number will be even bigger.

 

[Dmunjal]

Compare this to desktop operating system market share... one would conclude, based solely on numbers, that OSX isn't worth developing for. Well now, this is obviously not true, is it?

Exactly. Also why isn't Apple advertising the fact that millions are still using Windows XP which came out 10 years ago? Maybe this whole fragmentation issue is really meaningless?

 

[Typswif2fingers]

I am very sorry, but I never understood what the "low fragmentation" is all about… I mean, really, who cares about what percentage of users use which version of which OS..

What matters is, say, in my circle of friends (and each of you can look at your's), 70% of people who last year used iPhones series 3 or 4 are this year using SGS4 or HTC1 or similar Android device… And after the release of the ridiculous new iOs7 (let's face it, only a non-questioning Apple fans can like it), the next year that percentage will be even higher.

And whether those people will use Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich or Honey Comb, I am sure no one but Apple cares…

And, as far as I can see, not even AAPL share holders care as AAPL is down to low 400s as opposed to 700s at the start of last quarter last year.

Only a 12 yo kid could fall for the 'fragmentation' story and not realise that AAPL is loosing the mobile OS war, and as AAPLs mobile OS war is intrinsically connected to mobile device war, they are loosing that one as well.

And thank god for that.. Apple went from screwing it up to ****ing it up with each new version of both mobile hardware and software…

I just hope that they won't do the same with laptop/desktop hardware and software...

 

[pirg]

I am very sorry, but I never understood what the "low fragmentation" is all about… I mean, really, who cares about what percentage of users use which version of which OS..

What matters is, say, in my circle of friends (and each of you can look at your's), 70% of people who last year used iPhones series 3 or 4 are this year using SGS4 or HTC1 or similar Android device… And after the release of the ridiculous new iOs7 (let's face it, only a non-questioning Apple fans can like it), the next year that percentage will be even higher.

And whether those people will use Jelly Bean, Ice Cream Sandwich or Honey Comb, I am sure no one but Apple cares…

And, as far as I can see, not even AAPL share holders care as AAPL is down to low 400s as opposed to 700s at the start of last quarter last year.

Only a 12 yo kid could fall for the 'fragmentation' story and not realise that AAPL is loosing the mobile OS war, and as AAPLs mobile OS war is intrinsically connected to mobile device war, they are loosing that one as well.

And thank god for that.. Apple went from screwing it up to ****ing it up with each new version of both mobile hardware and software…

I just hope that they won't do the same with laptop/desktop hardware and software...

I just looked at my circle of friends and they are all using iphones...but since you like android your anecdotal evidence trumps mine.

Does that about sum up your ridiculous post?

 

[captain kaos]

After going from Apple to Android and then back to Apple within the last few months i can say most of this fragmentation is not just down to the consumer. With vodafone in Australia, i was waiting for the Jelly bean release, and it went back and forth with voda and samsung. The release came out, then there was a contacts bug, then it got taken off the update path for a fix, voda said they couldnt do anything as it went back to samsung, etc etc. Then when the big fix came out voda had to re test it, then when they were happy it was pushed out to a select number of people.

All in i think i got jelly been 4.1.2 just before xmas last year, which is months after a nexus release. The amount of going back and forth with google (android), samsung, then the carrier was ridiculous, so its not surprising some people are sitting on old OS versions.

 

[cwwilson]

The reason most Android phones don't get updated is because there is a new one out every month so the manufacturers would rather you just buy those instead of putting in the work it would take them to upgrade the software on older phones.

 

[charlituna]

It's going to be more fragmented now once iOS7 is released. I have a feeling adoption rates will not be as high as previous iOS, people are afraid of change.

Don't be so sure about that. New iPhones and iPads will certainly have it and who knows how those will sell. If the Mini has a retina screen it could go gangbusters. Folks are less likely to go long with two iOS versions cause switching is annoying to many. As when apps start demanding the new version that will push more folks

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

I'm sure that it's been said before here, but OS fragmentation will be the death of the Android platform, UNLESS Google turns into Apple more, and requires the many vendors of the Android devices to run the latest version and require a way for the device and/or the user to update to the latest version.

Since Google has little control over the device configurations, and what components are used, some users are probably locked into the earlier versions of Android because, likely, of drivers and other issues. Google has to take more control of their vendors to alleviate, or eliminate compatibility issues with the OS and devices. It just makes sense... Sure, that might keep the hardware technology lagging the software BUT what the heck is the use of hardware that can't be used, or software that is so far behind the current release to be useless.

Who would, as a PC user, use Internet explorer 1.x, or even 3.x to browse the internet now? Think about it. Or have a Mac running System 8...

 

[Dmunjal]

Who would, as a PC user, use Internet explorer 1.x, or even 3.x to browse the internet now? Think about it. Or have a Mac running System 8...

Most Android users are using the latest browsers, email clients, even if they're on GB.

Also, there are 500M users on Windows XP who seem to be getting along just fine. This is not a big issue and gets smaller and smaller every year as users upgrade hardware. Just like Windows users have been doing for years.

 

[SILen(e]

Exactly. Also why isn't Apple advertising the fact that millions are still using Windows XP which came out 10 years ago? Maybe this whole fragmentation issue is really meaningless?

A few reasons:
1. Windows XP is still getting security updates by Microsoft, so if you want to use onlinebanking with Windows XP, you can do so without fear.
BUT this will change next year, because Windows XP will only get security fixes until April 2014 and from that point on, it will become increasingly more dangerous to use Windows XP for stuff like onlinebanking, shopping and everything else that has to do with financial and private data.

Android Gingerbread has already reached this point, the last update for Android 2.3 was in September of 2011.
If there are any security holes in Gingerbread, everybody will be able to exploit them and they will never be closed by Google.

2. Windows XP as a desktop system is less dependant on new system-wide APIs for new features than mobile OSes.
People don't expect to have the ability to share everything on their computer directly to Facebook, so they don't need a system-wide API for that.

If they want to use maps, they just go to Google Maps instead of loading a program which displays maps, so no need for a Maps-API.

Desktop operating systems have more abilities than mobile OS and people also don't expect more features directly integrated in the OS from them, like they do with iOS and Android.

People are also often ignorant about the possibilities of newer operating systems or newer hardware, so they reject upgrading, even though they would probably love some features Windows 7 (or maybe even Win8) has.



But: There are many things Windows XP can't do and all those who need those features will already know about this kind of fragmentation.

Modern games? Won't run on Windows XP, because it doesn't support DirectX 10 or 11.

IIRC there's also no support for Office 2010 and 2013, so if you want to use those as a user - get something newer.

But this whole fragmentation stuff has two implications:
Customers are using an OS that is less secure than possible for tasks like banking and soon also NFC payment.
Developers can only target a small number of users with advanced features that require support of newer APIs.


For Windows XP, the second part is less important nowadays, because the most important API that isn't supported on XP is DirectX 10/11 - and developers just target consoles instead of PCs now.

And that is also happening with Android:
Developers target the platform that is more specialized for the task of "X" and that also has more people who actually pay for stuff (see piracy on PCs and piracy and "I just use the free one with ads instead" on Android) - the iPhone.




About users using the latest browsers on Android 2.3 Gingerbread:

Nope!

Chrome for Android requires Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and it is much improved over the generic "Browser" of earlier Android versions.

 

[topper24hours]

A few reasons:
1. Windows XP is still getting security updates by Microsoft, so if you want to use onlinebanking with Windows XP, you can do so without fear.
BUT this will change next year, because Windows XP will only get security fixes until April 2014 and from that point on, it will become increasingly more dangerous to use Windows XP for stuff like onlinebanking, shopping and everything else that has to do with financial and private data.

Android Gingerbread has already reached this point, the last update for Android 2.3 was in September of 2011.
If there are any security holes in Gingerbread, everybody will be able to exploit them and they will never be closed by Google.

2. Windows XP as a desktop system is less dependant on new system-wide APIs for new features than mobile OSes.
People don't expect to have the ability to share everything on their computer directly to Facebook, so they don't need a system-wide API for that.

If they want to use maps, they just go to Google Maps instead of loading a program which displays maps, so no need for a Maps-API.

Desktop operating systems have more abilities than mobile OS and people also don't expect more features directly integrated in the OS from them, like they do with iOS and Android.

People are also often ignorant about the possibilities of newer operating systems or newer hardware, so they reject upgrading, even though they would probably love some features Windows 7 (or maybe even Win8) has.



But: There are many things Windows XP can't do and all those who need those features will already know about this kind of fragmentation.

Modern games? Won't run on Windows XP, because it doesn't support DirectX 10 or 11.

IIRC there's also no support for Office 2010 and 2013, so if you want to use those as a user - get something newer.

But this whole fragmentation stuff has two implications:
Customers are using an OS that is less secure than possible for tasks like banking and soon also NFC payment.
Developers can only target a small number of users with advanced features that require support of newer APIs.


For Windows XP, the second part is less important nowadays, because the most important API that isn't supported on XP is DirectX 10/11 - and developers just target consoles instead of PCs now.

And that is also happening with Android:
Developers target the platform that is more specialized for the task of "X" and that also has more people who actually pay for stuff (see piracy on PCs and piracy and "I just use the free one with ads instead" on Android) - the iPhone.




About users using the latest browsers on Android 2.3 Gingerbread:

Nope!

Chrome for Android requires Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and it is much improved over the generic "Browser" of earlier Android versions.

Brilliant! Excellent post. In a nutshell, you simply CANNOT compare desktop OS to mobile OS. I appreciated you putting it in layman's terms. Hopefully this really enlightens others on this forum.

 

[Zippyrmid]

waiting for an update to iOS 7

 

[Dmunjal]

A few reasons:
1. Windows XP is still getting security updates by Microsoft, so if you want to use onlinebanking with Windows XP, you can do so without fear.
BUT this will change next year, because Windows XP will only get security fixes until April 2014 and from that point on, it will become increasingly more dangerous to use Windows XP for stuff like onlinebanking, shopping and everything else that has to do with financial and private data.

Android Gingerbread has already reached this point, the last update for Android 2.3 was in September of 2011.
If there are any security holes in Gingerbread, everybody will be able to exploit them and they will never be closed by Google.

2. Windows XP as a desktop system is less dependant on new system-wide APIs for new features than mobile OSes.
People don't expect to have the ability to share everything on their computer directly to Facebook, so they don't need a system-wide API for that.

If they want to use maps, they just go to Google Maps instead of loading a program which displays maps, so no need for a Maps-API.

Desktop operating systems have more abilities than mobile OS and people also don't expect more features directly integrated in the OS from them, like they do with iOS and Android.

People are also often ignorant about the possibilities of newer operating systems or newer hardware, so they reject upgrading, even though they would probably love some features Windows 7 (or maybe even Win8) has.



But: There are many things Windows XP can't do and all those who need those features will already know about this kind of fragmentation.

Modern games? Won't run on Windows XP, because it doesn't support DirectX 10 or 11.

IIRC there's also no support for Office 2010 and 2013, so if you want to use those as a user - get something newer.

But this whole fragmentation stuff has two implications:
Customers are using an OS that is less secure than possible for tasks like banking and soon also NFC payment.
Developers can only target a small number of users with advanced features that require support of newer APIs.


For Windows XP, the second part is less important nowadays, because the most important API that isn't supported on XP is DirectX 10/11 - and developers just target consoles instead of PCs now.

And that is also happening with Android:
Developers target the platform that is more specialized for the task of "X" and that also has more people who actually pay for stuff (see piracy on PCs and piracy and "I just use the free one with ads instead" on Android) - the iPhone.




About users using the latest browsers on Android 2.3 Gingerbread:

Nope!

Chrome for Android requires Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich and it is much improved over the generic "Browser" of earlier Android versions.

Agreed, very well stated. And those technical reasons are good reasons. But from a user's perspective, cost and inconvenience are bigger factors. Most people stay on XP because it's good enough. At some point, they break down and buy a new PC and get the latest OS without a choice. Some say that the coming obsolescence of XP will be a boon for the PC industry for that very reason. Fragmentation hasn't hurt Windows. And it hasn't Android.