ios isnt going anywhere. It will be around for a long time. However it will need to adapt and be open to more cross platform abilities. What android does have is the ability to allow users to go from one android phone brand to another android phone vendor without skipping a beat. With apple, you have to stay with apple. Nokia is adapting and so will Apple. How Apple responds to 4G capabilities will be critical. Battery life will be critical. Perhaps they will need to allow for eaily removabe batteries. Never underestimate Apple as they will adapt and change quicker than others.
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Is iPhone/iOS dying?
- Thread starter fterh
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from a software perspective, ios has two huge advantages. one is fragmentation. one example is netflix. they just released their app for android - great news, right? it works on a total of five models of android phones. android's huge number of models is great for saying they "beat" apple, but does little for people who actually want to use the phones.
second, is the type of person who buys a phone. virtually every single person who buys an iphone does so for the app store. if not, they are still aware of it, and will probably try it out. this mindset is important because it's an audience willing to pay for quality software - and that is a huge, huge, incentive for developers.
most of the android phone buyers i've seen fall into two categories: major geeks who love to tinker, and people buying the best $50 phone with a contract or getting buy one get one free phones. in these cases, they aren't looking for an app store (and which one? there are three or four already, all incompatible) and are basically buying a kick ass dumb phone. i'm willing to bet there are more people buying a kick ass dumb phone than geeks buying into google or amazon or samsung's app stores.
second, is the type of person who buys a phone. virtually every single person who buys an iphone does so for the app store. if not, they are still aware of it, and will probably try it out. this mindset is important because it's an audience willing to pay for quality software - and that is a huge, huge, incentive for developers.
most of the android phone buyers i've seen fall into two categories: major geeks who love to tinker, and people buying the best $50 phone with a contract or getting buy one get one free phones. in these cases, they aren't looking for an app store (and which one? there are three or four already, all incompatible) and are basically buying a kick ass dumb phone. i'm willing to bet there are more people buying a kick ass dumb phone than geeks buying into google or amazon or samsung's app stores.
i have a htc desire, one of the top phones at the time of purchase. i bought it to tinker and tweak and root and the likes, but then I got bored of it. 🙁
I just want some solid top-notch apps like TTR4 (available on Android, but lags and buggy), Orbital (coming soon to Android, but when?) and the 1001 fun games on iOS not found on Android.
I won't repeat what's already been said, but another reason that iOS could be perceived to be dying is that it hasn't really had a major revamp since it came out; we're still on the same old Springboard.
Meanwhile recent releases of Android user interfaces such as HTC Sense look very nice by comparison, it almost tempts me!
We've had the App Store released (OS 2.0), new APIs for devs (OS 3.0) and multitasking (4.0) but the OS still looks more or less the same. But, Apple have, since OS 1.0, had to implement the App Store, develop iPad OS, and implement their version of multitasking, which is no small feat.
With all that done, I expect iOS 5 to feature a new version of the Springboard for everything bar the 3GS that will allow the iPhone to compete on the home screen front with Android. Notifications and the lock screen are also perceived to be in dire need of tlc and these should be upgraded also.
That should silence any critics who suggest that iOS is falling behind.
On a related note, with Google now having to pour resources into their tablet OS, one wonders whether Android development for the phone will slow down whilst they take the time to bring out the unified version (3.1), much as happened over the course of iOS 3.x and early 4.x.
JetBlack7
macrumors 68030
All I can say is that I don't see the iOS going away too soon, It's pretty nice actually and I've never had problems with it. Could use a couple of options for us users to choose from (customize, etc)? Of course. Only software capable of being on the same level, the Android? You bet!
Long story short: iOS is not going anywhere so soon.
No, iOS is not dying. I think about 150 millions iOS devices have been sold, and the app store is very profitable, so it's got quite a lot of life left in it. Also, I would expect that Apple brand loyalty would be quite high, so even if the rate of new iOS users does slow down, there will still be many tens of millions of people looking for newer versions of their devices in the years to come, and as such there will still be a big market for app developers. Both Android and iOS will still be going strong in 5-10 years time. Not sure if the others will be around though.
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VulchR
macrumors 68040
@OP: Think about it - any new phone you buy is going to last a couple of years. There is simply no way that Apple, iPhone, or iOS is going to bite the dust in that time.
And by the way, you can see Flash movies (not games etc.) on the un-jailbroken iPhone using an app called SkyFire. Honestly, using SkyFire with Wifi seems to be both reliable and quick, so I really don't miss Flash that much.
And by the way, you can see Flash movies (not games etc.) on the un-jailbroken iPhone using an app called SkyFire. Honestly, using SkyFire with Wifi seems to be both reliable and quick, so I really don't miss Flash that much.
Funny, I don't mind skipping out on Flash videos. Most decent sites (like Youtube) will have mobile-friendly versions.
Personal story (it's true!): I participated in a church-organized "Amazing Race"-like event. We had to go to some store in a mall. I suggested checking it up on our mobile phones. My friend with an iPhone was quick to load the mall's site, but got stumped because the navigation menu is Flash. Meanwhile, I loaded the Flash, and went to store directory. We didn't find the directory in the end, but still, you get what I mean.
The OPTION to have Flash is empowering. I'm saying, Apple should give consumers more freedom over their personal experiences with the iPhone.
Unfortunately, this is one of those things that people can only guess at (some having more educated guesses than others).
Judging from what some developers have written on here, Android to really get the developers over to them is going to have to have more than just the numbers, but have a more unified experience (rather, not have so many different versions to program for where you have to pick if people will be able to play your game and that it will run smoothly on a lot more different devices). Plus the fact they have to choose where to market their games where as Apple everyone goes to one place so it's easier to get a larger audience...
But... that doesn't say what will happen in the future. Plus, this is information I'm getting from posters on here who 1. Obviously are biased cause they're on an Apple forum 😉 2. Are claiming to be developers and while I trust they are honest, you never know when some one is lieing to make themselves look more legit.
So, given what I read on here from people who claim to be developers, I'd say iOS still has way more than enough to attract the software and get the developers behind it, even if it is not the majority OS. *BUT*, it seems if Google can unify things more and make things less fragmented (and they have recently acknowledged the problem and claimed they want to do something about it so that's a step in the right direction for them), I would bet Apple will have a fight on its hands.
Anyways, I'd hope that Apple does its best to fight back on this regards cause honestly, I think availability of programs for the phone is really what is most important. Who cares how good hardware (and to a lesser extent but not that much lesser, software) is if the phone doesn't really run anything? The ability to customize the phone to do what you find most important is what really makes a smartphone very useful. And I'm biased cause Apple already has me locked into their ecosystem and I don't want to have to change (I am happy with the phone and already have collected a lot of apps for it as well as have a decent chunk of DRM'ed music) so I want them to stay relevant (even if they don't "win", what I care most about is that they stay relevant so the developers don't abandon them. BUt I have to admit I'm kinda competitive so I wouldn't mind reading that they are "winning" <- It's not even that I like Apple all that much more than I just really like my phone and my MBP and will admit I like to see that other people agree with me).
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wordoflife
macrumors 604
Until iPhone comes to all major carriers, Android isn't going anywhere. Almost all my friends have an Android now, and the rest of them have iPhones. I think I want a Android. 😛 (I don't play much games)
kdarling
Contributor
When the iPhone came out, it didn't run Slingplayer for a long time, which was a big deal to a lot of us. Once it did, then the past was past. Ditto will happen with Android and Netflix.
As for fragmentation, there are really only a handful of Android screen resolutions to worry about, and API-wise most users are on 2.x.
iOS has multiple screen resolutions to code for as well, and past OS versions number in the tens of millions.
Both have tons of older devices with less memory and speed.
A good experienced developer is not put off by either situation. It's the way things are, and it'll only get more "interesting" as time goes by.
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Vegastouch
macrumors 603
Dont know if id say that. There are many Apps that the iPhone doesnt have that Android does have and many apps that iPhone had first for obvious reasons that Android has now. iPhone obviously has way more overall but Android has well over 100,000 which dont even matter.
Having both phones there are many Apps i dont even care about and are useless to me and would even call stupid and i use a very small percentage of the available overall Apps...as we all do.
Difference is those old OS versions are old and most people who don't have 2+ year old iphones can run the newest system and have access to it and can easily upgrade by just letting the phone stay connected to a computer for a few minutes.
So there is no need to support those old OS's (and most don't. I have found a lot of nifty games that you have to have iOS 4 for), most people have moved on to iphones that support the new OS's. As for screen resolution from what I understand you don't have to support retinue, if you don't it will still work fine on both screens. Yeah, two different resolutions to worry about, compared to how many on the Android? Also how many different screen ratios and how many different processors? Yes, the iphone has different processors too but the difference is those are differentiated by year and you really need to mostly worry about the more relevant/new phones and Apple tends to support leaving the old phones in the dust as they don't even support phones past a certain age (basically it seems they run on supporting a generation iphone for about 2 years, so really you only need to worry mostly about supporting two different processors). On the other hand, as a user, I can be fairly certain my phone will stay relevant for 2 years which is pretty nice. I hear Android is not so good about that with new phones coming out every few months and not always sure to get the latest upgrade for yours.
Where as current Androids are running all sorts of different OS's cause different ones have gotten the upgrades (or not gotten) at different times.
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PinkâFloyd
macrumors 68020
Is iOS doomed to an eventual death?
No, it's not, the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch still sell by the millions.
It's even going to be implemented on Lion!
Or will it remain as the top priority for app developers?
Yes, very top priority.
iOS has great potential and it has been demonstrated over the years
No, it's not, the iPhone/iPad/iPod touch still sell by the millions.
It's even going to be implemented on Lion!
Or will it remain as the top priority for app developers?
Yes, very top priority.
iOS has great potential and it has been demonstrated over the years
Savor
Suspended
Apple took home 51% of the industry profits last year. Smartphone market is booming and expect a growth rate for the next five years at the very least. Apple hasn't even expanded to Sprint and T-Mobile users yet. Android is also growing. This is like Xbox 360 vs PS3 again. Everybody is making money. No worries. Both platforms will thrive and just depends which apps you get it for. Many apps will go multi-platform. No right or wrong. Only preferences. All the doom and gloom talk are coming from fanboys. Apple and Google will continue to get richer.
Ass an android user
I have only purchased one two apps in my life. One was Final Fantasy I on the blackberry and the other was the Gameboid app on my Optimus T. With my study buddies who all own androids we all use mostly free services, Bank Apps Paypal and IMDB. And for games we simply don't see any reason to purchase a game when there are so many free ones. The fact that the developers have flooded the market with so many free apps is why people will not want to pay for them.
I have only purchased one two apps in my life. One was Final Fantasy I on the blackberry and the other was the Gameboid app on my Optimus T. With my study buddies who all own androids we all use mostly free services, Bank Apps Paypal and IMDB. And for games we simply don't see any reason to purchase a game when there are so many free ones. The fact that the developers have flooded the market with so many free apps is why people will not want to pay for them.
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Not even fanboys - just flat-out geeks. In other words, the people who make up a tiny percentage of the market.
Seriously, the majority of the 150 million iOS devices are owned by normal people. They don't spend any time at all on forums like this one. They don't compare specs, they don't lust after Android because it does some obscure thing that iOS doesn't. They just don't care about all that crap.
That's why Apple has pretty much dominated the market. It has deliberately chosen to appeal primarily to the mainstream, *not* to the geek crowd. Remember all the geeks who insisted that the iPod wouldn't sell, that the iPhone wouldn't sell, that the iPad wouldn't sell? All because they were too expensive and didn't do enough?
Or the people who insisted that device X from manufacturer Y was going to be the the iPod killer, or iPhone killer, or iPad killer? Okay, the iPad is still very young, but the existence of cheaper alternatives to the iPod and iPhone that do at least as much if not more doesn't seem to have harmed their sales one iota. Apple is a prestige brand; people don't want just to own an MP3 player, they want to own an iPod.
Despite the protestations of the OP, it's difficult to see his thread title as anything other than trolling. I don't see how anyone with the vaguest grasp of the reality of the market could possibly conclude that the iPhone and/or iOS are "dying". But forget people posting on a forum - find some industry analysts, find some experienced tech-market investors, who think that the iPhone or iOS are "dying". You'll have a bloody long search.
RebeccaL
macrumors 6502a
People speak of better app support for Android than iPhone yet most major game companies are concentrating more on iOS and less on Android.
Take for example what Ifninity blade developer said recently: http://www.destructoid.com/epic-no-infinity-blade-for-android-198230.phtml
Also Gameloft cut back on Android development in order to concentrate on iOS.
If an OS is getting such good support that means it is far from dying. Android fans will always say that they are not interested in SFIV, Infinity Blade or PvZ, but that does not changes the fact that iOS is getting more support.
Take for example what Ifninity blade developer said recently: http://www.destructoid.com/epic-no-infinity-blade-for-android-198230.phtml
Also Gameloft cut back on Android development in order to concentrate on iOS.
If an OS is getting such good support that means it is far from dying. Android fans will always say that they are not interested in SFIV, Infinity Blade or PvZ, but that does not changes the fact that iOS is getting more support.
I don't think Squaresoft even supports Android (least I can't find any info on that. I've seen some info on Final Fantasy's for android but they seem to be emulator run and not squaresoft's official ports).
And I personally would say that is a big sway in itself if I were choosing between phones. I like Squaresoft RPGS 🙂.
And where did you get your info that Gameloft is reducing support? I find that when looking for reviews of Gameloft games, I always find a review of the same game for android (though usually the iphone reviews pop up first).
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topmounter
macrumors 68030
Gathomblipoob
macrumors 603
Agreed. There is nothing like testing a smartphone personally for a couple of weeks.
bobr1952
macrumors 68020
Music really isn't the same as technology.
Good music can be timeless. And having other good music doesn't cheapen it or make it any worse.
Good technology eventually gets replaced as better technology comes around and makes it irrelevant. Technology is only good in relation to what is available 😉.