Re-read your post, and you're right: it didn't sink in earlier - my bad, sorry.
If Japan is an atypical market, unsustainable over the long-term as a revenue source for Android developers then the same should apply to iOS too I would presume. So how important is Japan to iOS appstore revenue? According to App Annie it's Apple's number two market, trailing only the US. For Android it's their number one market, ahead of only the US. So the two countries are reversed in importance. Kinda puts a hole in any argument handicapping Google Play for depending on Japan.
If Japan is an atypical market, unsustainable over the long-term as a revenue source for Android developers then the same should apply to iOS too I would presume.
No, you'll have to go read my post to discover why this is a freak development for Google Play. But, basically, there's a surge in the market there as those still enamored of the freakish feature phones of yore buy phablets. It's not a trend that can be counted on continuing.
The overwhelming number of normal sized devices does tell us that most Android-based devices are not these flagship phones and phablets that get the media attention. The combined percentage of large and extra-large devices looks enticing but that is from about 4" to 10" and higher and large and extra-large are both overlapping at the 7" mark so there is no way to tell if these are phones, phablets or tablets that are being represented in the large 4" to 7" area and if a 4.9" 264 PPI 1136x640 iPhone would make a viable product.
40% of Android devices were on a 4.x build according to the chart. A new one should post tomorrow. I personally suspect a 5-8% increase, perhaps even approaching 50% of all Android devices now running 4.x. It's really not as fragmented as it once was even as little as a year ago.
I didn't misread it. The only typo I made was forgetting to add a 0 whig turned 10.2 into 1.2 which just so happen to be the same percentage listed for 4.2.
OS updates are almost never available for Android while they are regularly available for iOS.
iOS devices are more heavily dependent on Apple for OS updates.
Android devices don't need OS updates as much, because the primary apps are separate.
Even older devices are constantly getting new versions of Google Maps, Mail, Nav, etc. And since users can set other programs to be defaults, they don't have to wait for the master manufacturer to come out with a new contact app or browser update or a new type of video viewer. They can replace it with something else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
The overwhelming number of normal sized devices does tell us that most Android-based devices are not these flagship phones and phablets
Or it tells us that there's still a lot of normal sized devices in use.
Those charts are not sales. They're current users.
Or it tells us that there's still a lot of normal sized devices in use.
Those charts are not sales. They're current users.
So you think that the expensive flagship devices are being bought by customers but then are not being used because they prefer the cheaper, normal sized Android-based devices? Do you realize how improbable that sounds? The only reasonable answer is that the 4"+ sized Android-based phones are not the most popular or common.
The only reasonable answer is that the 4"+ sized Android-based phones are not the most popular or common.
I think that is where the tag 'cheap' comes from when people address 'Android users'. Or is it all in the software? I don't know; they both look cheap to me. But as I understand it the flagship/phablets are similar priced as an iPhone, so maybe that 'cheap' tag is appropriate no matter what(?)
I think that is where the tag 'cheap' comes from when people address 'Android users'. Or is it all in the software? I don't know; they both look cheap to me. But as I understand it the flagship/phablets are similar priced as an iPhone, so maybe that 'cheap' tag is appropriate no matter what(?)
I was thinking about that yesterday with the BB Z10 announcement. Apple has really changed the perception, or rather shifted what we expect as being precision and quality consumer electronics. I think the BB Z10 is great, in general, but the fit and finish compared to the iPhone it appears to be only alight while still being above most Android-based devices we see.
EDIT: On second thought there probably are a lot of iOS devices that don't get used daily, some older ones perhaps not at all anymore. 20% is pretty good really.
From past experience the message stating there is an update gets pushed out over a week or so. Is it even available for all iDevices in all countries or are there barriers that, for instance, prevent the message on iDevices in China?
So you think that the expensive flagship devices are being bought by customers but then are not being used because they prefer the cheaper, normal sized Android-based devices?
No sir. I was proposing that there are still lots of older smaller screened devices still being used out there. The Google dashboard tracks everyone who hits the Play Market, and that includes people with devices that are a couple of years old. However...
Quote:
The only reasonable answer is that the 4"+ sized Android-based phones are not the most popular or common.
After checking the Android dashboard, it sure looks like the S2, S3, Nexus, Note and other 4+ inch screened devices are well represented.
Perhaps some people are confused about what "normal" size indicates. (The suggested size diagram isn't super accurate.) When programming for Android, these are thecategories that developers actually use:
Galaxy Mini - small, ldpi
Galaxy Ace - normal, mdpi
Galaxy S2 (4.3") - normal, hdpi
Galaxy Nexus (4.65") - normal, xhdpi
Galaxy S3 (4.8") - normal, xhdpi
Galaxy Note - large, xhdpi
Galaxy Nexus 7 - large, tvdpi
Galaxy Tab 10.1 - xlarge, mdpi
Notice that screens up to 4.8" usually use the "normal" screen range. The 5" phablets and 7" tablets are "large".
How unsurprising that this thread should quickly degenerate into an Android hate fest. That's so atypical for AppleInsider.
There is a lot of confusion about how Android updates work and when they're needed. KDarling is correct -- OS updates aren't needed for Google Apps updates. YouTube, Maps, Calendar, Street View, Search, Chrome, GMail, etc are updated independently of the OS. Likewise, the Google Apps Android APIs aren't part of Android itself and are updated separately (see YouTube, Maps, Analytics).
It's true that newer versions of Android add new APIs and fix bugs in old ones. Several commenters mistakenly think that dev's can't use these new APIs. This is not the case. Google extracts the new APIs and packages them in a support library which supports older versions back to 1.6. There are a few missing pieces in the support library, but the Android dev community has stepped up to back port them. See, for example, ActionBarSherlock and Unified Preferences. The support library is generally preferred to the native APIs, since it's easier to add new features and fix bugs. For example, ViewPagers are only available in the support library. Similarly, there was a bug in the LruCache class -- it was added in Android 3.1, but it's trimToSize() method wasn't publicly callable until 4.2. Rather than force the hassle of an OS update, the bug was patched in the support library (in rev 11).
Perhaps some people are confused about what "normal" size indicates. (The suggested size diagram isn't super accurate.) <span style="font-size:13px;line-height:1.231;">When programming for Android, these are thecategories that developers actually use:</span>
Notice that screens up to 4.8" usually use the "normal" screen range. The 5" phablets and 7" tablets are "large".
I thought that went against the chart I used for my posting but upon looking again I guess up to 5" could be considered "normal" by Google's standards, if you want to call it a standard since it overlap with large by about a full inch.
I thought that went against the chart I used for my posting but upon looking again I guess up to 5" could be considered "normal" by Google's standards, if you want to call it a standard since it overlap with large by about a full inch.
Yep, the overlap is saying that an image or other resource that's created for a "normal" screen will most likely be used on screens that range from about 3" to 5".
However, if the manufacturer thinks it'll look better for some reason, a phone on the upper end of the range might instead use the image created for a "large" category.
It also gives the developer a little leeway, so they can use a nicer image on a wider range of devices, if it'll take and use it.
Comments
Quote:
Originally Posted by PhilBoogie
Re-read your post, and you're right: it didn't sink in earlier - my bad, sorry.
If Japan is an atypical market, unsustainable over the long-term as a revenue source for Android developers then the same should apply to iOS too I would presume. So how important is Japan to iOS appstore revenue? According to App Annie it's Apple's number two market, trailing only the US. For Android it's their number one market, ahead of only the US. So the two countries are reversed in importance. Kinda puts a hole in any argument handicapping Google Play for depending on Japan.
http://www.insidemobileapps.com/2012/11/29/app-annie-google-play-surging-in-asia-global-revenues-up-by-over-300-in-2012/
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gatorguy
If Japan is an atypical market, unsustainable over the long-term as a revenue source for Android developers then the same should apply to iOS too I would presume.
No, you'll have to go read my post to discover why this is a freak development for Google Play. But, basically, there's a surge in the market there as those still enamored of the freakish feature phones of yore buy phablets. It's not a trend that can be counted on continuing.
Not sure of your point. No iPhone 3GS or earlier is supported with iOS 6 either.
I didn't misread it. The only typo I made was forgetting to add a 0 whig turned 10.2 into 1.2 which just so happen to be the same percentage listed for 4.2.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jragosta
OS updates are almost never available for Android while they are regularly available for iOS.
iOS devices are more heavily dependent on Apple for OS updates.
Android devices don't need OS updates as much, because the primary apps are separate.
Even older devices are constantly getting new versions of Google Maps, Mail, Nav, etc. And since users can set other programs to be defaults, they don't have to wait for the master manufacturer to come out with a new contact app or browser update or a new type of video viewer. They can replace it with something else.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
The overwhelming number of normal sized devices does tell us that most Android-based devices are not these flagship phones and phablets
Or it tells us that there's still a lot of normal sized devices in use.
Those charts are not sales. They're current users.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDarling
... Android devices don't need OS updates as much, because the primary apps are separate. ...
So you think that the expensive flagship devices are being bought by customers but then are not being used because they prefer the cheaper, normal sized Android-based devices? Do you realize how improbable that sounds? The only reasonable answer is that the 4"+ sized Android-based phones are not the most popular or common.
I think that is where the tag 'cheap' comes from when people address 'Android users'. Or is it all in the software? I don't know; they both look cheap to me. But as I understand it the flagship/phablets are similar priced as an iPhone, so maybe that 'cheap' tag is appropriate no matter what(?)
I was thinking about that yesterday with the BB Z10 announcement. Apple has really changed the perception, or rather shifted what we expect as being precision and quality consumer electronics. I think the BB Z10 is great, in general, but the fit and finish compared to the iPhone it appears to be only alight while still being above most Android-based devices we see.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Slurpy
22% for a point update (with no marketing) in 2 days, for an OS with this large of a userbase, is insane. I would have guess 10% at the most.
Turn on iDevice.
"There is an update available".
Touch [Download and Install].
I'm surprised the figure isn't higher.
Quote:
Originally Posted by hentaiboy
Turn on iDevice.
"There is an update available".
Touch [Download and Install].
I'm surprised the figure isn't higher.
I am too.
EDIT: On second thought there probably are a lot of iOS devices that don't get used daily, some older ones perhaps not at all anymore. 20% is pretty good really.
From past experience the message stating there is an update gets pushed out over a week or so. Is it even available for all iDevices in all countries or are there barriers that, for instance, prevent the message on iDevices in China?
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
So you think that the expensive flagship devices are being bought by customers but then are not being used because they prefer the cheaper, normal sized Android-based devices?
No sir. I was proposing that there are still lots of older smaller screened devices still being used out there. The Google dashboard tracks everyone who hits the Play Market, and that includes people with devices that are a couple of years old. However...
Quote:
The only reasonable answer is that the 4"+ sized Android-based phones are not the most popular or common.
After checking the Android dashboard, it sure looks like the S2, S3, Nexus, Note and other 4+ inch screened devices are well represented.
Perhaps some people are confused about what "normal" size indicates. (The suggested size diagram isn't super accurate.) When programming for Android, these are the categories that developers actually use:
Galaxy Mini - small, ldpi
Galaxy Ace - normal, mdpi
Galaxy S2 (4.3") - normal, hdpi
Galaxy Nexus (4.65") - normal, xhdpi
Galaxy S3 (4.8") - normal, xhdpi
Galaxy Note - large, xhdpi
Galaxy Nexus 7 - large, tvdpi
Galaxy Tab 10.1 - xlarge, mdpi
Notice that screens up to 4.8" usually use the "normal" screen range. The 5" phablets and 7" tablets are "large".
How unsurprising that this thread should quickly degenerate into an Android hate fest. That's so atypical for AppleInsider.
There is a lot of confusion about how Android updates work and when they're needed. KDarling is correct -- OS updates aren't needed for Google Apps updates. YouTube, Maps, Calendar, Street View, Search, Chrome, GMail, etc are updated independently of the OS. Likewise, the Google Apps Android APIs aren't part of Android itself and are updated separately (see YouTube, Maps, Analytics).
It's true that newer versions of Android add new APIs and fix bugs in old ones. Several commenters mistakenly think that dev's can't use these new APIs. This is not the case. Google extracts the new APIs and packages them in a support library which supports older versions back to 1.6. There are a few missing pieces in the support library, but the Android dev community has stepped up to back port them. See, for example, ActionBarSherlock and Unified Preferences. The support library is generally preferred to the native APIs, since it's easier to add new features and fix bugs. For example, ViewPagers are only available in the support library. Similarly, there was a bug in the LruCache class -- it was added in Android 3.1, but it's trimToSize() method wasn't publicly callable until 4.2. Rather than force the hassle of an OS update, the bug was patched in the support library (in rev 11).
I thought that went against the chart I used for my posting but upon looking again I guess up to 5" could be considered "normal" by Google's standards, if you want to call it a standard since it overlap with large by about a full inch.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SolipsismX
I thought that went against the chart I used for my posting but upon looking again I guess up to 5" could be considered "normal" by Google's standards, if you want to call it a standard since it overlap with large by about a full inch.
Yep, the overlap is saying that an image or other resource that's created for a "normal" screen will most likely be used on screens that range from about 3" to 5".
However, if the manufacturer thinks it'll look better for some reason, a phone on the upper end of the range might instead use the image created for a "large" category.
It also gives the developer a little leeway, so they can use a nicer image on a wider range of devices, if it'll take and use it.