Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Any "must have apps" designed for Android or Windows or BB10 first?

A

aneftp

macrumors 601
Original poster
Jul 28, 2007
4,374
570
First off, I have owned all the major devices. So familiar with all of them, although haven't gotten my hands on a new blackberry yet.

Anyways, why does iOS get the cream of the crop first. Always.

I am talking general major apps first. Disney releases WatchEspn and Watch Disney on iOS months before it's available the world's most popular mobile platform, Android. Watch Disney still isn't available on Android. (if you have kids, your young kids will want to watch it). CBS finally released their main app so you can watch on demand of their primetime shows last week. Yet, I don't think I see it for Android yet (I sold my Nexus 4 so in between Android devices right now).

Same goes for HBO, Showtime etc. All released on iOS first.

Why? Shouldn't developers focus on Android first? And Android and Windows apps usually feel inferior to iOS in terms of quality. (I have owned probably 7 android devices in past along with 2 windows devices).

So are there any major apps released on Android before iOS? I am not talking about techy apps.
 
lordofthereef

lordofthereef

macrumors G5
Nov 29, 2011
13,161
3,721
Boston, MA
I think "cream of the crop" apps on iOS are pretty much limited to games anymore. The reason for this is likely a mix of market share and hardware/software normalization. There are only so many sets of hardware and software available to iOS. With android, there are about a billion combinations, not the least of which are resolutions. Windows phone is very similar to iOS in this way, the difference is that their market share is much lower. I am not too familiar with Blackberrys stance and what they are doing, but their saving grace, if there is to be a saving grace, will likely be the side loading if android apps.
 
C

cynics

macrumors G4
Jan 8, 2012
11,959
2,156
I think iOS gets apps first in certain occasions because a dev can make one app that hit A LOT of devices at once. Then they will focus on bug fixes and addition features prior to taking their app to other mobile OS's.

Like MaxGO (Cinemax). I have it on my iPhone but not on my Nexus 10. Although its available for Android its not available for the N10 yet. This makes sense to me due to the screen resolution. There are more iPhone users then N10 users, so do iPhone first. Then there are more s3 users then N10 users, so do that first. This is the fragmentation that annoys me.

A dev usually ends up hacking it so it works. That happened with Netflix before it was officially released for Android tablets a couple years back.
 
mattopotamus

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
mostly b.c of the large OS fragmentation among android users. I know there is a chart somewhere, but less that 10% of android users are on jellybean.
 
roxxette

roxxette

macrumors 68000
Aug 9, 2011
1,507
0
The twitter app "Carbon" was consider a must have app on windows phone but they changed to android now and developers said the project was never to be multi-plataform.
 
ChazUK

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
mattopotamus said:
I mean 1.6% on their latest OS (4.2), and the new one will launch in probably two months. That is ridiculous!
Click to expand...

This is one if the biggest contributors as to why developers don't target the higher API levels sadly.

Will be good to at least see 4.0+ hit over the 50% mark but anyone targeting 4.1 or above will have a tiny potential user base.

Death to Gingerbread. Its time for it to go.
 
daveathall

daveathall

macrumors 68020
Aug 6, 2010
2,379
1,410
North Yorkshire
I must admit that I find that fragmentation is a bit of a moot point, doesn't really bother me because I have a upgrade every two years, and my phone will not be that outdated with OS updates by that stage. Although about 3 months after the Nexus line, IIRC, my SGS3 was updated from ICS to JB.
 
mattopotamus

mattopotamus

macrumors G5
Jun 12, 2012
14,738
6,109
daveathall said:
I must admit that I find that fragmentation is a bit of a moot point, doesn't really bother me because I have a upgrade every two years, and my phone will not be that outdated with OS updates by that stage. Although about 3 months after the Nexus line, IIRC, my SGS3 was updated from ICS to JB.
Click to expand...

I also think that having the latest software is not that important. Most people seem to upgrade yearly now and should focus on how the phone is right now, today. Not the potential of the phone a year from now b.c they probably will not own it then...at least us forumers.
 
nick_elt

nick_elt

macrumors 68000
Oct 28, 2011
1,578
0
i think piracy and the fact ios users are more likely to spend more are a bigger factor than fragmentation.
 
ChazUK

ChazUK

macrumors 603
Feb 3, 2008
5,393
25
Essex (UK)
batting1000 said:
Except you can't put SwiftKey on an iOS device, so it only makes sense that Android got it "first".
Click to expand...

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swipe-input-method/id528478575?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/fleksy-happy-typing/id520337246?mt=8
https://itunes.apple.com/cn/app/touchpal-keyboard/id577705038?mt=8

Of course they are poorly implemented thanks to a hampered OS but, alternative keyboards do exist for those that want to get away from the inferior typing experience on the iPhone.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.
 
L

LIVEFRMNYC

macrumors G3
Oct 27, 2009
8,877
10,987
nick_elt said:
i think piracy and the fact ios users are more likely to spend more are a bigger factor than fragmentation.
Click to expand...

I think cause Apple was the first and more established app store. Things are moving towards an even direction though.

I've spend more money in Google Play store than in Apple's app store. Mainly because I find most of the pricing to be adequate and the 15 minute window of refunding an app. Especially good if you buy something that's trash from the start.

You can get a refund with Apple too, but it's not an automated, fast, or simple process. And I'm pretty sure it's solely at their discretion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom