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

[haravikk]

While it's certainly awkward, I'm not sure this fragmentation of Android is such a bad thing, and part of the reason is because Android has such a wide range of the market including low-end budget phones, or older phones repackaged for sale in newer markets.

Also, Motorola didn't help anything, as they took an awful long time to upgrade their phones to a newer version. I bought a phone only a couple of months ago, the Motorola Defy Mini, came out in 2012 but only has Android 2.3 with no upgrade (at least no official one, I don't really want to try upgrading it). But then, I think newer versions might not run as well as one of the focuses of the Defy Mini is long battery life so it only has a 600mhz processor and 256mb RAM. It's a good enough phone, great for me really as it lasts nearly a week on a full charge with careful use, and it's plenty powerful for most of what I use it for which is lifestyle apps (calendar, contacts, pedometer and other goodies) rather than games, browsing or movies.

Eh, I forgot what my point was, except that that iPhones are very much a premium phone; everyone might want one but they don't even come close to the budget market, and getting one on Pay as You Go is very expensive. Android meanwhile covers a lot of markets that the iPhone simply doesn't factor into at all; its premium market meanwhile is much more likely to update their devices. Many Android phones though are reliant on manufacturers releasing updates, which means most never go above their shipped Android version.

 

[Mark Booth]

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

 

[nagromme]

Yeah but all of iOS's new features aren't available on all devices. iOS will have even more features that won't be available on older devices.

The problem of Android fragmentation is NOT:

All iOS devices from the very first are exactly identical, in both hardware and software.

The problem of Android fragmentation IS:

Most iOS devices in use run the latest iOS, and there are a very small number of feature/spec variations to account for. Most Android devices in use still run Android from 2011--and they keep selling them brand new--while the hardware varied crazily in dozens of ways. Therefore not only are many users stuck with a 2-year-old OS, developers have a much harder time making apps for Android and testing them--and then they see far lower income on Android than iOS, along with far higher tech support demands from Android users.

Or to put it more succinctly: huge fragmentation is not the same as slight fragmentation!

I'd call that a big problem. My app in development won't be coming to Android unless some big player makes ONE highly-unified Android platform that takes off the way Apple's has. (Amazon?) Then I'd consider ignoring the rest of Android and targeting that one. But only if the developer-revenue numbers start to look better and the platform gains a serious track record. I won't be a guinea pig with my time.

 

[ValSalva]

I'd hate to be an Android developer. All that extra work for less money.

 

[gnasher729]

At the risk of sounding like an Apple-fanboy, I feel that the engineers do this so the user experience is not comprimised by old - possibly sluggish - hardware that may not efficiently/properly run newer operating systems.

That argument is nonsense. I have an iPod Touch (without any number) and an iPhone 3GS, and I know they are slower than iPhone 4, 4S, 5 or iPad 4. That's not the problem.

The reason for not supporting iPhone 3GS is that there are older (different) processors, and supporting these old devices would mean that features of the processors on new devices cannot be used, or only with a lot of effort, which means supporting 3GS slows down apps on all the new devices! That's for example why MacOS X 10.7 doesn't run on any 32 bit processor; if you write code for MacOS X 10.7 then you _know_ there is a 64 bit processor and can use lots of new features.

 

[Technarchy]

Yeah but all of iOS's new features aren't available on all devices. iOS will have even more features that won't be available on older devices.

All the features if the HTC One are on the HTC One X?

All the features of the GS4 are on the GS3 and GS2?

 

[parapup]

It matters to developers (note this is posted on the developers site.) Making an app work with multiple OS versions isn't easy, and that's not even taking into consideration hardware.

Making an App work on 2.3+ is not at all hard in Android land. You target an API version - minimum and maximum and your app is pretty much guaranteed to work on those versions if you do it right. (OTOH if you are a sloppy developer or if you are developing something insanely complex then yes it's an effort - not insurmountable though.)

Hardware variations - yeah that now exists in iOS world as well - iPhone 4, 4S, 5, iPad mini, Retina, non-retina, and now there will possibly be a big screen iPhone. Not all devices have all features. I don't see how that is any different from Android.

 

[gnasher729]

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

Which means that software developers can ignore you anyway. Of those people who might be looking to buy new software, 93% ran iOS 6. If there are gazillions of people using iOS 5 with no intent to buy anything new, as a software developer I don't care.

 

[WannaGoMac]

Really does android have to lose for Apple to win?

This android vs iOS war reminds me of the Microsoft vs. Apple war and we know how that turned out (generic open platform anyone could install vs 100% controlled by apple).

I think we all would be smart to remember that Apple only came back when it stopped according to Jobs seeing that Microsoft had to lose in order for Apple to win.

Lately I think Apple would do to remember this montage as all the current Apple executives seem to be acting just like Steve Jobs in the 1980s and early 1990s. Imagine how great it would be if they opened up Facetime and iMessage so they worked on Android? Does anyone think this wouldn't lead to increased iOS sales?

 

[auero]

I wish they showed more specific statistics like which devices are running on what version of iOS.

Apple basically forces most of its users to upgrade every 2-3 years because their phones/devices either become too slow or they lack many features in the newest updates. Of course they desire new features as well but it's pretty painful to use even an iPhone 3GS/4 IMO. Look at the first iPad for example, it can't run iOS 6.

Think of all the cheap prepaid android phones that can't even run the latest version of Android. Of course they're not getting updates but does that mean the phone isn't useable? I'm not saying Apple is lying nor am I denying that Android has fragmentation but anyone who has taken a statistics class should know that a basic graph doesn't provide you with all the information. You should question why and how this graph looks the way it does.

 

[AcesHigh87]

Wow, over a third using an OS that's over 2 years old

Could be because they are stuck with it. My phone still has gingerbread on it because even though its capable of running ICS my carrier has refused to push the update to this model and there's no way to manually do it without rooting my phone and voiding the warranty.

The same thing happened with Gingerbread really. I didn't get it until about 7 months after release because it was never pushed to my model.

 

[BornAgainMac]

They can't upgrade.

And I am seeing products shipped with older versions. What is up with that?

 

[Rogifan]

They aren't that afraid. This is not Windows 7 verses Windows 8 or Windows XP verses Windows Vista.

Yeah the home button is still there.

 

[goobot]

Making an App work on 2.3+ is not at all hard in Android land. You target an API version - minimum and maximum and your app is pretty much guaranteed to work on those versions if you do it right. (OTOH if you are a sloppy developer or if you are developing something insanely complex then yes it's an effort - not insurmountable though.)

Hardware variations - yeah that now exists in iOS world as well - iPhone 4, 4S, 5, iPad mini, Retina, non-retina, and now there will possibly be a big screen iPhone. Not all devices have all features. I don't see how that is any different from Android.

All ios software has to work on retina now, an app that works on the ipad 1 and 2 also works on the mini without any change. All iPhone apps work on the 5 even if not updated for the screen size, there is basically no problem in the ios world when it comes to this. Not to mention there is no big screened iPhone.

 

[thekev]

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.

People on here stated the same thing about Lion.

 

[lordofthereef]

All the features if the HTC One are on the HTC One X?

All the features of the GS4 are on the GS3 and GS2?

Huh? This is a matter of fragmentation discussion. That Android is fragmented isn't even arguable (because we all accept that it IS). The person you quoted was simply pointing out that iOS is too, albeit in different (and lesser) ways.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Android is the new Windows

Windows Mobile is the new Linux

 

[Mebsat]

And Apple makes it hard not to upgrade...

They can't upgrade.

Apple shouldn't make so much noise about this. Google might start paying attention.

Also, it's not like everyone is upgrading by choice.
Try and restore your iPhone and not upgrade to iOS6. Unless you are saving signed blobs, you are pretty much getting iOS6.

(Yes there are ways, but the average user is pushing OK, upgrading iTunes and iOS to latest versions and just hoping their text messages are still there and their home button works again.)

 

[penajmz]

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

They picked the exact same "two short weeks" for the Android chart.

 

[lordofthereef]

Could be because they are stuck with it. My phone still has gingerbread on it because even though its capable of running ICS my carrier has refused to push the update to this model and there's no way to manually do it without rooting my phone and voiding the warranty.

The same thing happened with Gingerbread really. I didn't get it until about 7 months after release because it was never pushed to my model.

Unfortauntely, it's irrelevant. Fact of the matter is, you are stuck with it, regardless of the reason.

The good news is that it IS getting better. Flagship devices now are seeing much more support. We are also seeing flagship devices with vanilla Android which is, quite frankly, HUGE.

 

[JAQ]

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.

As a matter of fact, this tells us a bit about how many iPhone users have upgraded. You need a 3GS or later to run iOS6, so that means at most 7% of App Store customers still have the 3G iPhone, and only a trivial percentage could still be using the original model. After iOS7 ships, we'll be able to infer a maximum percentage of 3GS units still in use.

 

[nagromme]

This android vs iOS war reminds me of the Microsoft vs. Apple war and we know how that turned out (generic open platform anyone could install vs 100% controlled by apple).

I think we all would be smart to remember that Apple only came back when it stopped according to Jobs seeing that Microsoft had to lose in order for Apple to win.

Lately I think Apple would do to remember this montage as all the current Apple executives seem to be acting just like Steve Jobs in the 1980s and early 1990s. Imagine how great it would be if they opened up Facetime and iMessage so they worked on Android? Does anyone think this wouldn't lead to increased iOS sales?

Let me guess: the many fundamental ways that the touch-based computing market today is NOTHING like the 1900's PC market don't matter at all.

And the cherry-picked handful of ways they are similar... matter so completely as to be fate itself.

And yet this fate will lead Apple to doom and Apple users to regretting their choice, despite the "PC wars" ending with Apple seeing the biggest growth in the industry while treating their customers to the best products.

Right?

 

[extradryny]

The only thing worse than "Mavericks" is the name of every Android version.

 

[TimeSquareDesi]

So Apple should spend the time (and resources) on supporting your 5+ year old hardware...? That doesn't make any sense from a business standpoint. Maybe Microsoft should test Windows 8 on my 6 year old PC...?

The shelf life of hardware in this industry is insanely short so I don't blame companies when they decide to limit their support to only (reasonably) "newer" devices for the majority of the people since the majority is of the utmost concern when it comes to user experience.

You like living in the fringe, stay in the fringe.

That argument is nonsense. I have an iPod Touch (without any number) and an iPhone 3GS, and I know they are slower than iPhone 4, 4S, 5 or iPad 4. That's not the problem.

The reason for not supporting iPhone 3GS is that there are older (different) processors, and supporting these old devices would mean that features of the processors on new devices cannot be used, or only with a lot of effort, which means supporting 3GS slows down apps on all the new devices! That's for example why MacOS X 10.7 doesn't run on any 32 bit processor; if you write code for MacOS X 10.7 then you _know_ there is a 64 bit processor and can use lots of new features.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I like iOS but come on.

Yeah but all of iOS's new features aren't available on all devices. iOS will have even more features that won't be available on older devices.

I like Apple and I like iOS but I switched long ago because I simply got tired of the new versions of the OS being available on my device, but certain features not being backwards compatible. My final straw on that was no stock voice dictation on iPhone 4. There was no hardware limitation preventing it, they simply wanted to make people who desired that feature buy a new phone...and so I did. An Android phone that supports ALL new features that the hardware is capable of (Nexus of course).

I miss iOS sometimes, but I tried going back to iPhone and I missed Android more.

I also have a MacBook air, a 27 inch iMac, an iPad 3rd Gen, and an iPad 1st Gen