Apple now charting App Store iOS fragmentation just like Google's Android

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Comments

  • Reply 81 of 101
    technarchytechnarchy Posts: 296member
    He DID say 'equivalent'. Not that I'm saying the equivalents are any good (nor am I saying the original is any good). But he'll worm his way out that way.

    There's equivalent virtual assistants that iOS users can download as well, which makes the original statement that much more idiotic.
  • Reply 82 of 101
    kdarlingkdarling Posts: 1,640member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Technarchy View Post



    There's equivalent virtual assistants that iOS users can download as well, which makes the original statement that much more idiotic.


     


    That's why I included "equivalent", so that iOS users could use the same reasoning.


     


    As I said when I wrote those stats, anyone can come up with truthful statements that sound amazing or terrible, but in reality are not so much either one.


     


    It's not about Android or iOS per se.  It's about yellow journalism... or click-bait as it's called nowadays.


     


    Cheers!

  • Reply 83 of 101
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    This whole Android fragmentation issue is being resolved by Google now releasing core OS functionality as stand alone apps. Welp, at least they're trying, but it might be because they could face charges on competitive advantage as they can release Android updates to the Nexus quickly, but other hardware supposedly needs to be updated from their respective carriers. Don't know if true...

    [URL=http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/08/22/googles-focus-on-in-house-apps-is-making-the-android-fragmentation-problem-irrelevant/?fromcat=apple]http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/08/22/googles-focus-on-in-house-apps-is-making-the-android-fragmentation-problem-irrelevant/?fromcat=apple[/URL]
  • Reply 84 of 101
    akacakac Posts: 512member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post



    This whole Android fragmentation issue is being resolved by Google now releasing core OS functionality as stand alone apps. Welp, at least they're trying, but it might be because they could face charges on competitive advantage as they can release Android updates to the Nexus quickly, but other hardware supposedly needs to be updated from their respective carriers. Don't know if true...



    http://thenextweb.com/google/2013/08/22/googles-focus-on-in-house-apps-is-making-the-android-fragmentation-problem-irrelevant/?fromcat=apple


     


    That only helps fragmentation for users to a degree. It does not help fragmentation for developers.

  • Reply 85 of 101
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,385member
    akac wrote: »
    That only helps fragmentation for users to a degree. It does not help fragmentation for developers.

    Would this help you as a developer?
    http://developer.android.com/google/play-services/index.html

    "The Google Play services APK

    The Google Play services APK contains the individual Google services and runs as a background service in the Android OS. You interact with the background service through the client library and the service carries out the actions on your behalf. An easy-to-use authorization flow is also provided to gain access to the each Google service, which provides consistency for both you and your users.

    The Google Play services APK is delivered through the Google Play Store, so updates to the services are not dependent on carrier or OEM system image updates. In general, devices running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later and have the Google Play Store app installed receive updates within a few days. This allows you to use the newest APIs in Google Play services and reach most of the devices in the Android ecosystem (devices older than Android 2.2 or devices without the Google Play Store app are not supported)."
  • Reply 86 of 101
    akacakac Posts: 512member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post





    Would this help you as a developer?

    http://developer.android.com/google/play-services/index.html



    "The Google Play services APK



    The Google Play services APK contains the individual Google services and runs as a background service in the Android OS. You interact with the background service through the client library and the service carries out the actions on your behalf. An easy-to-use authorization flow is also provided to gain access to the each Google service, which provides consistency for both you and your users.



    The Google Play services APK is delivered through the Google Play Store, so updates to the services are not dependent on carrier or OEM system image updates. In general, devices running Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later and have the Google Play Store app installed receive updates within a few days. This allows you to use the newest APIs in Google Play services and reach most of the devices in the Android ecosystem (devices older than Android 2.2 or devices without the Google Play Store app are not supported)."


     


    Not at all - its just a collection of Google services such as the maps API, not actual core OS APIs.


     


    As an example our flagship app - Pocket Informant - relies on the calendar APIs included in Android 4.0. On previous OSes we had to reverse engineer Google's code. Or another example are widgets - resizable widgets were not supported in specific Android platforms. I can go on and on.


     


    On iOS we have to write our software to gracefully limit functionality on older OSes, but there are major foundational features in certain OSes that cause us to simply drop old OS support and we feel OK with that because those functionalities are important enough. On Android we can't do that without dropping most of the market and so instead we have a larger team doing more work to get an app that runs well on a multitude of devices. I can't tell you how badly we want to drop Android 2/3.

  • Reply 87 of 101
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,385member
    akac wrote: »
    Not at all - its just a collection of Google services such as the maps API, not actual core OS APIs.

    As an example our flagship app - Pocket Informant - relies on the calendar APIs included in Android 4.0. On previous OSes we had to reverse engineer Google's code. Or another example are widgets - resizable widgets were not supported in specific Android platforms. I can go on and on.

    On iOS we have to write our software to gracefully limit functionality on older OSes, but there are major foundational features in certain OSes that cause us to simply drop old OS support and we feel OK with that because those functionalities are important enough. On Android we can't do that without dropping most of the market and so instead we have a larger team doing more work to get an app that runs well on a multitude of devices. I can't tell you how badly we want to drop Android 2/3.

    2.3 and older is only on about a third of active devices now. With probably 70% (63% at the beginning of the month) on Jelly Bean 4.x, perhaps it will make sense to discontinue support for the old 2.x "Gingerbread" by the end of the year.
  • Reply 88 of 101
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Gatorguy View Post





    2.3 and older is only on about a third of active devices now. With probably 70% (63% at the beginning of the month) on Jelly Bean 4.x, perhaps it will make sense to discontinue support for the old 2.x "Gingerbread" by the end of the year.


     


    Many apps these days are for ICS 4.0 and higher.  It must be worth it financially for them to support Gingerbread otherwise they wouldn't be doing it, right?

  • Reply 89 of 101
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    OT, but if the hardware is up to it, can't users upgrade the OS themselves, instead of waiting for their telco to upgrade? I presume they might need to wipe it, loosing all crapware telcos and HW manufacturers added. Though that could be a good ING, I dunno.
  • Reply 90 of 101
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post



    OT, but if the hardware is up to it, can't users upgrade the OS themselves, instead of waiting for their telco to upgrade? I presume they might need to wipe it, loosing all crapware telcos and HW manufacturers added. Though that could be a good ING, I dunno.


     


    Users can upgrade the OS themselves if they root their device (similar to jailbreaking on iOS).

  • Reply 91 of 101
    d4njvrzfd4njvrzf Posts: 797member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by DroidFTW View Post


     


    Users can upgrade the OS themselves if they root their device (similar to jailbreaking on iOS).



    Exploiting a security flaw to install an alternative ROM isn't exactly what I would call "upgrading" the OS. Only bootloader-unlocked devices allow you to install OS's by yourself without some hack.

  • Reply 92 of 101
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by d4NjvRzf View Post


    Exploiting a security flaw to install an alternative ROM isn't exactly what I would call "upgrading" the OS. Only bootloader-unlocked devices allow you to install OS's by yourself without some hack.



     


    Using a tool provided by HTC to unlock my bootloader to install a custom ROM isn't exactly what I would call "exploiting a security flaw" either.  :shrug:


     


    You're correct though that I misspoke.  One needs to unlock their bootloader to install OS's.  Rooting a device is seperate from that.

  • Reply 93 of 101
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    [B]@d4NjvRzf @DroidWTF[/B]: Thanks for clarifying guys. Would you know if there are any numbers known on how many root their device and how long it typically takes for the telco's to upgrade their customers devices?
  • Reply 94 of 101
    droidftwdroidftw Posts: 1,009member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post



    @d4NjvRzf @DroidWTF: Thanks for clarifying guys. Would you know if there are any numbers known on how many root their device and how long it typically takes for the telco's to upgrade their customers devices?


     


    There's no way of telling how many people root their devices.  As far as how long a typical upgrade takes, I have no idea where you'd find those numbers.

  • Reply 95 of 101
    d4njvrzfd4njvrzf Posts: 797member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by PhilBoogie View Post



    @d4NjvRzf @DroidWTF: Thanks for clarifying guys. Would you know if there are any numbers known on how many root their device and how long it typically takes for the telco's to upgrade their customers devices?


    Arstechnica wrote a piece in late 2012 on android OS updates (http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2012/12/the-checkered-slow-history-of-android-handset-updates/). The charts in that article indicate how long various android devices have had to wait to get updates after each official android release. For some perspective one should note that major android releases tend to occur semiannually as opposed to annually like iOS. So one would add about 6 months to the numbers in the article to get the total time between OS updates.

  • Reply 96 of 101
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Thanks guys, both of you
  • Reply 97 of 101
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,385member
    For those that thought the next version of Android would get tagged "Key Lime Pie". Reportedly the name will be ..... drumroll....


    KitKat!:lol:
  • Reply 98 of 101
    dasanman69dasanman69 Posts: 13,002member
    gatorguy wrote: »
    For those that thought the next version of Android would get tagged "Key Lime Pie". Reportedly the name will be ..... drumroll....


    KitKat!:lol:

    That's a registered trademark.
  • Reply 99 of 101
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,385member
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    That's a registered trademark.

    Yes it is. It's also got KitKat's blessing.
  • Reply 100 of 101
    gatorguy wrote: »
    dasanman69 wrote: »
    That's a registered trademark.

    Yes it is. It's also got KitKat's blessing.

    From their clubclub?

    700
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