Why's fragmentation so bad?

[Hawkeye16]

http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/11/19/apples-app-store-reaches-1-million-approved-app-submissions/
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/11/report-1-million-apps/


and... that report came out about a year ago

Ok - do you even read what you link or is the title usually just good enough for you? 1 Million submitted. Many of those not approved.

A nice quote from the very article you linked

"Of the 736,247 apps that are currently live 336,270 are paid (around 45 percent), while 120,065 are games (around 16 percent)."

You are still wrong. You still called someone out on doing something they didn't do and then proceeded to do it yourself within the same post.

 

[Klosefabrinio]

Lol. I can't wait for the flying pig next

soon...

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I fail to see how those links prove you didn't exaggerate by saying "none of them work".

you should read the whole discussion before posting...

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Ok - do you even read what you link or is the title usually just good enough for you? 1 Million submitted. Many of those not approved.

A nice quote from the very article you linked

"Of the 736,247 apps that are currently live 336,270 are paid (around 45 percent), while 120,065 are games (around 16 percent)."

You are still wrong. You still called someone out on doing something they didn't do and then proceeded to do it yourself within the same post.

11.19.125:28 PM

“I think it’s pretty plausible, but it’s hard to tell,” Blau said of Appsfire’s calculations. “If it’s not a million apps, it’s probably pretty close.”

More apps may also have been submitted and rejected, but Appsfire is unable to track those apps.

The app count includes iOS apps only and doesn’t account for Mac App Store apps.

and it's almost a year old report.

 

[Hawkeye16]

and it's almost a year old report.

That is weird because less than a year ago Tim Cook said the number was 700,000. He is probably wrong and the third party guy estimating it somehow is probably right

"10:09 AM: Onto the App Store. Last month, there were over 700,000 apps in the App Store, and 275,000 iPad apps. These numbers are still growing."

 

[Klosefabrinio]

That is weird because less than a year ago Tim Cook said the number was 700,000. He is probably wrong and the third party guy estimating it somehow is probably right

"10:09 AM: Onto the App Store. Last month, there were over 700,000 apps in the App Store, and 275,000 iPad apps. These numbers are still growing."

as if they cant increase...

 

[Iconsonly]

I thank the original poster because I've had the chance to learn a lot from the comments. My take from it all is fragmentation and obsolescence go hand in hand in this category. I buy my son cheap devices because he has the ability to destroy any hand held electronic dhevice in a three month time frhame including all gaming devices (psp vita and Nintendo ds included) but I have noticed the new cheap o android phones are on jelly bean. For what it's worth its still a good buy. So it is what it is. The os runs smoothly and still does more than ios it's a win win in my book. My question is does the latest version of ios beat gingerbread in functionality. Not asking about the unreleased version of ios.

 

[Iconsonly]

Fragmentation is a byproduct of freedom

 

[jaymzuk]

I thank the original poster because I've had the chance to learn a lot from the comments. My take from it all is fragmentation and obsolescence go hand in hand in this category. I buy my son cheap devices because he has the ability to destroy any hand held electronic dhevice in a three month time frhame including all gaming devices (psp vita and Nintendo ds included) but I have noticed the new cheap o android phones are on jelly bean. For what it's worth its still a good buy. So it is what it is. The os runs smoothly and still does more than ios it's a win win in my book. My question is does the latest version of ios beat gingerbread in functionality. Not asking about the unreleased version of ios.

A great summary.

I've returned to Android after owning an iPhone 4S following a HTC Desire, and Android now is a completely different beast to where it was a few years back.

Fragmentation exists in Android, and yes, much moreso than in iOS, however it's how that fragmentation impacts the individual user that's important. If you're on 4.1.2 versus 4.2.2, fragmentation doesn't impact you. Chances are that if you're running 4.x (And that's 63% of all Android users) you won't run into issues. In fact many of the apps I use only require 2.3 or up, which bring the total number of Android devices supported to 96.2% (Source: http://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html)

Is it a pain for developers: Invariably
Is it getting better: Yes
Is it a big deal for consumers: No

Fragmentation and horrible lag are largely non-issues today for modern Android devices.

 

[Klosefabrinio]

A great summary.

I've returned to Android after owning an iPhone 4S following a HTC Desire, and Android now is a completely different beast to where it was a few years back.

Fragmentation exists in Android, and yes, much moreso than in iOS, however it's how that fragmentation impacts the individual user that's important. If you're on 4.1.2 versus 4.2.2, fragmentation doesn't impact you. Chances are that if you're running 4.x (And that's 63% of all Android users) you won't run into issues. In fact many of the apps I use only require 2.3 or up, which bring the total number of Android devices supported to 96.2% (Source: http://developer.android.com/about/dashboards/index.html)

Is it a pain for developers: Invariably
Is it getting better: Yes
Is it a big deal for consumers: No

Fragmentation and horrible lag are largely non-issues today for modern Android devices.

fragmentation is just a minor problem caused by a great advantage, we get to choose what do we want to see in our next phone. in apple, they DONT CARE ABOUT YOU, you have to stick to whatever they release.

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I thank the original poster because I've had the chance to learn a lot from the comments. My take from it all is fragmentation and obsolescence go hand in hand in this category. I buy my son cheap devices because he has the ability to destroy any hand held electronic dhevice in a three month time frhame including all gaming devices (psp vita and Nintendo ds included) but I have noticed the new cheap o android phones are on jelly bean. For what it's worth its still a good buy. So it is what it is. The os runs smoothly and still does more than ios it's a win win in my book. My question is does the latest version of ios beat gingerbread in functionality. Not asking about the unreleased version of ios.

you're welcome! i also didn't knew much about fragmentation, but this thread helped me a lot.

 

[spinedoc77]

Wrong post, please delete mods.

 

[aristobrat]

fragmentation is just a minor problem caused by a great advantage, we get to choose what do we want to see in our next phone. in apple, they DONT CARE ABOUT YOU, you have to stick to whatever they release.

You really don't think that you have choice in Android hardware because Google CARES ABOUT YOU, do you?

You have choice in Android hardware because the fastest way for Google to gain marketshare is to license Android to anyone who wants to make a device that uses it. That's Google caring about Google.

The byproduct of that approach is that you have hundreds (if not thousands) of companies making Android devices in all shapes and sizes.

If Google really cared about you, then IMO they'd have a clause in their licensing that requires Android hardware manufacturers to make all new Android OS updates available to hardware that supports them...

... but that would slow down the proliferation of Android devices, which doesn't really help Google with their goal of getting one in as many hands as possible, correlating data with Google accounts, and selling better targeted ads.

If anything, Apple NOT going down that route (the same route that Microsoft did with their phones, a decade ago) does speak to them caring enough about their customers to ensure that the iPhones get two major iOS updates (after the one it shipped with). Out of curiosity, has any Android device ever received two major Android OS updates (after the one it shipped with)?

 

[Technarchy]

You really don't think that you have choice in Android hardware because Google CARES ABOUT YOU, do you?

You have choice in Android hardware because the fastest way for Google to gain marketshare is to license Android to anyone who wants to make a device that uses it. That's Google caring about Google.

The byproduct of that approach is that you have hundreds (if not thousands) of companies making Android devices in all shapes and sizes.

If Google really cared about you, then IMO they'd have a clause in their licensing that requires Android hardware manufacturers to make all new Android OS updates available to hardware that supports them...

... but that would slow down the proliferation of Android devices, which doesn't really help Google with their goal of getting one in as many hands as possible, correlating data with Google accounts, and selling better targeted ads.

I think what you are saying is true, the skinning, and forking is what makes android cool as well. Look at Windows Phone, MSFT has such a tight grip on the mobile experience that it makes it bland as well for consumers and manufacturers. It also slows progress to a crawl if you have to wait for MSFT to code in the ability to support new hardware.

Google is actually handling a licensed OS as well as can be expected. Give the purists what they want in an iOS style upgrade and support cycle with the Nexus option, and GPE phones.

Those that want all the cool features, options bells and whistles can get skinned GS4, G2 or HTC One, or whatever, at the risk of getting late or no updates.

If Google ran android like MSFT runs Windows Phone android would suck ass.

Apple is a different animal because they control hardware and software in one house.

 

[adnbek]

when did APPLE CONFIRM that iphone 5 is dual-core?

Anandtech already confirmed ages ago that the A6 is dual-core.

Source

 

[Oletros]

Out of curiosity, has any Android device ever received two major Android OS updates (after the one it shipped with)?

Never, all the Android phones have staued in the same os that they were launched

 

[Klosefabrinio]

Anandtech already confirmed ages ago that the A6 is dual-core.

Source

i said: when did APPLE confirmed that iphone 5 was dual-core.

 

[Michael Goff]

i said: when did APPLE confirmed that iphone 5 was dual-core.

Does it matter if they confirmed it?

 

[Klosefabrinio]

You really don't think that you have choice in Android hardware because Google CARES ABOUT YOU, do you?

You have choice in Android hardware because the fastest way for Google to gain marketshare is to license Android to anyone who wants to make a device that uses it. That's Google caring about Google.

The byproduct of that approach is that you have hundreds (if not thousands) of companies making Android devices in all shapes and sizes.

If Google really cared about you, then IMO they'd have a clause in their licensing that requires Android hardware manufacturers to make all new Android OS updates available to hardware that supports them...

... but that would slow down the proliferation of Android devices, which doesn't really help Google with their goal of getting one in as many hands as possible, correlating data with Google accounts, and selling better targeted ads.

If anything, Apple NOT going down that route (the same route that Microsoft did with their phones, a decade ago) does speak to them caring enough about their customers to ensure that the iPhones get two major iOS updates (after the one it shipped with). Out of curiosity, has any Android device ever received two major Android OS updates (after the one it shipped with)?

care or not, but they do offer us CHOICE.
google cares, and that's why they have worked so much on android, even iphone users are coming to android.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Fragmentation is a byproduct of freedom

Exactly.

I've said this before:

I'm glad Android is the more fragmented OS (no debate there). It's fragmented for a good reason. Unrelenting upgrades which lead to more hardware options and bigger/faster software updates that are unafraid to hold features back due to the fear of fragmentation.

Android would have never grown at the pace it did if they constantly worried about fragmentation.

But luckily, Google's still doing their best to address it, and we now have a Nexus line of smartphones and tablets that get direct updates from Google. Don't like the Nexus line that particular year? No problem. Flagships are coming out with Google Play Edition phones. Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, two of this year's biggest flagships, are available (they got 4.3 days after the Nexus got it). More are expected to join the party.

You care and worry about fragmentation? Get a Nexus or GPE phone. You don't? All the plethora of other options are at your disposal for choosing.

Choice...

 

[adnbek]

i said: when did APPLE confirmed that iphone 5 was dual-core.

What does it matter? I don't see your point at all.

 

[ReanimationN]

Exactly.

I've said this before:

I'm glad Android is the more fragmented OS (no debate there). It's fragmented for a good reason. Unrelenting upgrades which lead to more hardware options and bigger/faster software updates that are unafraid to hold features back due to the fear of fragmentation.

Android would have never grown at the pace it did if they constantly worried about fragmentation.

But luckily, Google's still doing their best to address it, and we now have a Nexus line of smartphones and tablets that get direct updates from Google. Don't like the Nexus line that particular year? No problem. Flagships are coming out with Google Play Edition phones. Galaxy S4 and the HTC One, two of this year's biggest flagships, are available (they got 4.3 days after the Nexus got it). More are expected to join the party.

You care and worry about fragmentation? Get a Nexus or GPE phone. You don't? All the plethora of other options are at your disposal for choosing.

Choice...

Image

Except it doesn't have to be that way- Technarchy pointed out, correctly, that all Windows devices will receive updates at the same time, despite running on wildly different hardware and always offering the latest and greatest in terms of hardware. The software can also be modified and tweaked to your heart's content and will still receive updates at the same time as other Windows machines.

 

[maxosx]

I don't think it's as big of a deal as some people make it out to be.

I'm a heavy Android user, and I switch phones a lot.

In the last year I've had a Galaxy Nexus, Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note 2, HTC One, and now a Galaxy S4.

I have yet to actually find an app I needed, that wasn't compatible with any of my devices.

I've had excellent compatibility with apps for the various Android phones I've owned.

Like anything else this is merely a talking point that's largely exaggerated.

 

[onthecouchagain]

Except it doesn't have to be that way- Technarchy pointed out, correctly, that all Windows devices will receive updates at the same time, despite running on wildly different hardware and always offering the latest and greatest in terms of hardware. The software can also be modified and tweaked to your heart's content and will still receive updates at the same time as other Windows machines.

How come they can do this? So Google is intentionally causing fragmentation? Doesn't make any sense.

 

[aristobrat]

How come they can do this?

They own the OS, so they can set terms (like requiring updates to be provided) when they license their OS to hardware manufactures.

Google could do the same thing. But IMO, if Google required hardware manufacturers to provide updates, then manufacturers would very likely produce fewer models of hardware. That doesn't benefit Google.

I'm not sure if you were around a smartphone-owner a decade ago when Microsoft came out with their first mobile OS. They followed the exact same model that Google is following now, and had the similar results (including fragmentation). With their newer mobile OS, they've decided to modify that model quite a bit, with hardware minimums, required updates, etc. Kind of a cross between Android (wild wild west open) and iOS (not open at all).

 

[onthecouchagain]

They own the OS, so they can set terms (like requiring updates to be provided) when they license their OS to hardware manufactures.

Google could do the same thing. But IMO, if Google required hardware manufacturers to provide updates, then manufacturers would very likely produce fewer models of hardware. That doesn't benefit Google.

I'm not sure if you were around a smartphone-owner a decade ago when Microsoft came out with their first mobile OS. They followed the exact same model that Google is following now, and had the similar results (including fragmentation). With their newer mobile OS, they've decided to modify that model quite a bit, with hardware minimums, required updates, etc. Kind of a cross between Android (wild wild west open) and iOS (not open at all).

How is this middle ground working out for them? Serious question.

Like you said if Google implements this model it doesn't seem like they'd proliferate as much.

 

[ReanimationN]

How come they can do this? So Google is intentionally causing fragmentation? Doesn't make any sense.

They own the OS, so they can set terms (like requiring updates to be provided) when they license their OS to hardware manufactures.

Google could do the same thing. But IMO, if Google required hardware manufacturers to provide updates, then manufacturers would very likely produce fewer models of hardware. That doesn't benefit Google.

I'm not sure if you were around a smartphone-owner a decade ago when Microsoft came out with their first mobile OS. They followed the exact same model that Google is following now, and had the similar results (including fragmentation). With their newer mobile OS, they've decided to modify that model quite a bit, with hardware minimums, required updates, etc. Kind of a cross between Android (wild wild west open) and iOS (not open at all).

I was referring to Windows 7/8, not Windows Phone, but WP does mostly fit that criteria too.

Google isn't as strict with their licensing as MS, they allow manufacturers to alter the OS to the point where they can't easily provide updates that can be pushed out to every Android device. Plus carriers have a huge say in how updates are delivered too. Microsoft maintains enough control over both their desktop and mobile operating systems that they can provide updates to every system running Windows. E.g. it doesn't matter if you're running Windows 8 on a tablet, a 7-year old laptop that you've updated, or a super powerful gaming rig with the latest CPU and GPU, or if you've themed the OS and installed custom launchers to your heart's content- you'll still get the same updates at the same time on all systems running Windows.

 

[aristobrat]

How is this middle ground working out for them? Serious question.

In all of the reviews/blogs/forum posts that I've read about Windows Phone, I don't recall any that had objections that stemmed from Microsoft's "middle ground" licensing terms.

On the other hand, it's hard to go a few days without running into something where someone's got a strong objection about Android that stem directly from Google's "wild wild west" licensing terms -- usually around lack of updates (which IMO is the root cause of fragmentation).

I think that most people find Windows Phone to be a 'meh' experience, and that's what's behind "how's it working out for them?". I think that Microsoft could have launched WP with the exact same licensing model that Google uses for Android, and it still wouldn't be nearly as popular as Android.

I mean, if licensing terms were the only thing to gauge "and how's that working out for them?", then there would be no explaining the popularity of iOS.