Let me outline a few of the differences between the Android smartphone and tablet platform vs. Apple’s iPhone and iPad with iOS platform.
In terms of the number of apps for smart phones, both are about the same, though Android apps lag far behind in diversity, quality, and usability (iOS apps get used more because iOS devices are used more).
In terms of device quality, a recent study indicates that Apple’s devices are more reliable than Samsung’s Android devices. This isn’t a surprise.
In terms of the latest and greatest features, I’ll concede that Android sometimes leapfrogs Apple’s iOS, but that’s often on a per-device basis, and most of those differentiated features are not available to the great unwashed masses of Android device customers.
Web advertiser Chitika’s latest study points out the drastic difference in iOS adoption of the latest version.
Within five days after release, iOS version 6.1.2 garnered almost 35-percent of iOS web traffic in the U.S. All flavors of iOS 6.x account for about 85-percent of all iOS usage.
What does that mean? When Apple updates iOS, a much larger percentage of the installed base of devices upgrade within days or weeks than any Android OS update. Christian Zibreg in iDownloadBlog points out the disparity this way– the latest versions of iOS are adopted by users over six times that of Android OS device users.
Why the disparity? It’s part of the fragmentation of the entire Android platform. Many cell phone carriers don’t really care if their Android customers upgrade to the latest version, while iOS device owners treat updates as a matter of course. It’s easier to update the iPhone and iPad masses than it is Android users.
After all, iOS 6.x still runs on a four year old iPhone 3GS. That upgradability creates a better user experience, gets new features into the hands of a larger percentage of the iOS user base, extends the lifecycle of the iOS device, and gives Android OS users another reason to swoon with envy at how well Apple treats their customers.
Guy says
Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 12:25 amWell, the 3GS WILL run iOS 6.x, it just won’t run it very good or be able to use a lot of the reasons to upgrade to it. Siri is another example of technology enabled to sell devices as compared to it being really cool. The 4 should be able to run it as well as older versions of the iPad as they have the horsepower, just not the bucks to Apple for something new. Sometimes it’s disheartening to be a long time Apple user (since 1987) when things like this are a matter of course. It shouldn’t be a business decision, but that’s what it usually turns out to be. I do understand that Apple needs to make money, and them having 150 billion in the bank doesn’t bother me the way it does a lot of others (mostly non-Apple product users), but don’t turn a blind eye to older devices just because you’ve already gotten about as much money as you’re likely to get from them (in this go round anyway with older hardware).