“We’re now five months into 2017, and Apple’s new iOS 11 platform is about one month away from being released as a beta,” Zach Epstein writes for BGR. “iOS 10, Apple’s most recent public software release, is currently installed on about 80% of active iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices.”
Epstein asks, “iPhone users, can you even imagine what life would be like if the majority of those active iOS devices were running iOS 8 from all the way back in 2014?”
“Well guess what: that’s exactly what life is like for Android users,” Epstein writes. “The most widely used version of Android as of yesterday is Android Lollipop, which was released to the public on November 12th, 2014. Ugh… We all know exactly why the Android ecosystem exists as it does. But the issue of Android fragmentation is no less problematic today than it was when it first presented itself.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: They, and we, call it Fragmandroid for reason. It’s a major reason why Android settlers can’t have the nicest things, besides the bad karma that comes from supporting crooks, of course.
Here’s what Google’s Android looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:
And, here’s what cellphones looked like before and after Apple’s iPhone:
SEE ALSO:
Apple’s older iPhone 6s easily outsold Samsung’s new flagship phone last year – March 22, 2017
Apple took 92% of smartphone industry’s profits in Q416 – February 7, 2017
Google $h!+ storm going on as we speak.
It’s important for us to remember that our justified frustration regarding the lack of upgrades to Macs in particular and even iPads now is significantly due to the lack of other acceptable options. I’ve looked. Not gonna build my own Mac, certainly not gonna do Windows or Android. Surface does not appeal to me at all- especially Windows. I’m an artist/musician: I’d buy a 2017 iMac and iOad Pro Today if they were released. Still waiting- but no, not going to delude myself into thinking I’ll be happy or satisfied with either a cheap Windows device or a refurbished old Apple.
So basically, your technologically paralyzed. That’s sad man, life is too short for a myopic view of technology. Maybe you should just try something else, you never know, you might even like it. I live in both the mac and windows arenas. Both have strengths and both have weaknesses. But I enjoy both and my life is better for it. Good luck waiting.
A mixed computer environment works for some people, trondude. I, too, have quite a bit of experience with a variety of computer platforms over the years. But I choose to work with macOS and iOS whenever possible, both at work and at home. I have found that it provides me with greater enjoyment and less stress. I am not happy that Apple has been slow in updating its Mac desktop and laptop lineups in recent years. But I am not anywhere close to the point at which I would trade my current, comfortable Mac ecosystem for anything else.
If I were a professional who required the fastest processing and/or graphics capabilities, then I would consider alternatives. If I were a gamer who wanted maximum FPS with full detail, then I would consider alternatives. But, like the majority of computer users, I am not. So I am able to defer most of my Mac purchases another year or two until Apple makes the next leap in computers. I recognize that the current Mac situation must be highly frustrating for professionals who have a need for top speed, and I sympathize. But most of us can get by quite easily until the next big computer update from Apple (unless our old hardware dies).
Please note that I am not giving Apple a “free pass” or downplaying their failure to regularly update their computer product lines. There is no excuse. I am just saying that the impact to me and many others is far less acute than to professionals. As a result, we do not bear the same level of anger and frustration.
Forced to live with? Hardly. Android users don’t care whether they get upgrades or not. In poorer countries, they’re probably just happy to have smartphones. The way I see it, you usually don’t miss what you’ve never had. I can’t imagine most users longing for mobile OS upgrades unless their smartphones completely stop working. There must be brand-new Android smartphones that don’t have the latest OS and I doubt that would stop most consumers from buying them if the price is low enough.
You’ll never hear Wall Street dissing Google over creating a fragmented mobile platform. I’ve never heard such grumblings. It certainly doesn’t matter to big investors. All that matters to the big investors is there are more Android smartphones on the planet than iPhones and that is enough to keep them happy. Google is killing it in market share percentage and the big investors absolutely love it.
I can assure you there will be no revolt by Android users saying they refuse to use Android because their devices aren’t updated in a timely fashion. That will never happen. Offer a product cheap enough and there will be no revolts. What suffering? I’m sure most Android users are completely satisfied with what they have.
How long has Android been fragmented? Likely since about 2009. Guess what? Android has left iOS in the dust in unit growth percentage. That’s more than enough to prove no one cares about Android fragmentation. Low price beats fragmentation by a country mile.
So market share rules with low-to-no profits and high stupendous profit share means diddly. Hunh. My the world of business is sure changing! I thought they were in it for the money, not how many. Thanks for clarifying so persuasively!
Einstein, goog makes its money off adds.
We’re talking about device sales Genius, not ad sales. Google also makes money off iOS, macOS & Windows ads. So your point is..? Ad sales don’t completely make up for lack of device profits and are no where near what Apple makes for iPhone hardware alone. Learn something?
‘Fragmentation’ in Android depends on what you’re considering. Certainly the Android OS as version number/name is fragmented. But if you are looking at the APIs specific to Google services, or access to those services by 3rd party developers, those components have been upgraded across all versions of Google Android since Froyo (v2.2) via Google Play. Since this bypasses the ‘normal’ route of carrier and OEM OS updates, 100% of Google Android users should be current (assuming they frequent the Google Play store at least periodically). Google Maps, as an example, is updated at the same time across all versions of Android and looks and works the same. Compare this with iPhone updates that will only give you subsets of certain Apple services for older devices. Android users are not as disappointed as you would expect hearing that the OS is ‘fragmented’ because this separation of Google services from OEM and carrier control exists.
The truth is hard to hear for some people. Fragmentation comes with the territory of an open platform.
It comes down to two different mobile strategies for two different companies. I think they are both accomplishing their goals.
Apple’s vision statement: “We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products…”
Google’s mission statement: “To organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful.”
Hubris comes before the fall.
No matter how proud you are of a brand, you do yourself a disservice to not occasionally take out the competition for a test ride.
Apple doesn’t have a monopoly on quality hardware, nor software interfaces. There are very few apps exclusive only to iOS. Apple appears to have the edge on privacy and security, and that is the reason we have stuck with Apple even through that horrid iOS7 fiasco. Others — teens and Facebook addicts, for example, don’t care about privacy or security. So they don’t care how much MDN looks down on them with usual condescension, their phones do what they need them to do at a much lower price than the one-size-fits-most approach that Apple takes.
I’ve used both, at length.
You can’t have my iPhone until you pry it from my dead, rotting, skeletonized claw.
Fragmentation is one thing, but security tops my list. Besides Google’s invasive & parasitical behavior, I want nothing to do with Android’s security issues.