Hacker News Reader

Comment by rarestblog | Hacker News Reader

Well, if you remove all iOS versions with <3.42% penetration, then you should remove the same from the Android table and use 2 decimals for Android like for iOS.

https://i.imgur.com/0Ar0ta5.png

My point being: there ARE other iOS versions in use. I have a backup working iPhone 4 turned on right now. It won't upgrade beyond iOS 5 (I think it's iOS 5). But somehow the author ignores all those 0.1% iOS versions, yet shows them for Android (with 4 decimals no less).

View on HN

The other point is that most Apple store apps become uninstallable on anything older than three iOS versions.

This. I'm happily using JuiceSSH in Android Q beta even though it was last updated in 2017 and was targeting Android L. Android maintained reasonably good backward compatibility just like Windows did.

So many iOS app developers would use new SDK as soon as newer iOS is out, and abandon existing users who chose to use old iOS. Worse, those app developers would choose to drop old version, release a new version that requires you to purchase again.

>>Worse, those app developers would choose to drop old version, release a new version that requires you to purchase again.

To be fair, one is not entitled to free upgrades forever.

If apps ever had a version that worked as of iOS 5, you can still download “the last compatible version”. I’ve downloaded older streaming apps recently on a first generation iPad running iOS 5.

Any iPhone released since 2013 - with the exception of the 5C can run the latest OS.

By the way: iPhone 4 supports iOS 7.1.2, released 4 years after the iPhone 4.

I'm not sure why the GP said his iPhone 4 won't upgrade past iOS 5, but it's worth noting: while an iPhone 4 can be upgraded to iOS 7, actually doing so is a bad idea unless you want your phone to run slow as molasses. You'll be much better off on iOS 6 or 5.

(I suppose there may be a security argument for upgrading as far as possible, but it's not like iOS 7 is up-to-date either. If you're concerned about security, you shouldn't be using an iPhone 4.)

Correct. It won't upgrade past 7.1.2 not 5. My mistake.

> You'll be much better off on iOS 6 or 5.

Sure. But if you are making an app for say a government service that has as a requirement to reach 98% of mobile users, and you reach the goal if you count compatible devices (not people who choise not to upgrade) then it helps.

Correct, sorry, didn't bother to look at the time. It is 7.1.2. The point still stands, it's old and I'm probably in 0.1% that the article left out in iOS markets.

Wouldn't it be better to say that iOS 7.1.2 supports the iPhone 4?

What percentage of the iPhone market can you reach by supporting only versions with >2% penetration? What percentage of the Android market?

According to the linked article, dropping Android versions with <2% penetration you'd reach about 98% of the market.

That's a good point. The list for Android fragmentation even includes 2.0 Eclair, which has 0% across the whole row!

Also, if you want a fair comparison, compare fragmentation between iPhone's and Pixel phones.

Yes, I realize that as a developer, fragmentation can be more of a pain on Android, but comparing it directly to iOS is comparing Apples to oranges.

Very few people buy Pixel phones.

That's beside the point, as we are talking about fragmentation percentages. The point is, Apple has full control over their hardware, so obviously they will have less fragmentation. To have a fair comparison, we should compare to Pixel where Google has full control over.

That's not really fair still because it's about OS fragmentation, not hardware. Whether Google or Apple has full control is beside the point, isn't it?

Reply on news.ycombinator.com