Why mobile app environments is practically dominated by Android and iOS? | Hacker News Reader

Why mobile app environments is practically dominated by Android and iOS?

2 pointsanta402 comments

I think before 2010, mobile app environments were more diverse: we had Windows Phone/Mobile, BlackBerry, Symbian, Palm.

Now practically all we have are android iOS and Android. Some others players joined the competition, and they are either:

- Defunct (like Bada, OpenMoko, Firefox OS etc), or

- Exists in smallish niche (like Kindle, Tizen, PureOS, etc)

I like to see more (preferrably FOSS) significant competitors, but I guess that would be very hard if you are not backed up by big companies?

View on HN

I think the barrier to better OS is partially a bad device market. Smartphones are short lived products with specialized hardware and manufacturers do not share generic or reference drivers. There are some other factors, but I don't see how a development would be possible without close cooperation with the manufacturers.

I doubt we would see the development of the personal computer again. The wrong people in business decide the direction here.

I do even think this is ultimately a limiting factor. There is just so much I would ever be willing to share on a device where Apple or Google is the administrator. I mostly degraded my phone to basic communication and nothing else. No auth, special software or utility. If I invest here I very likely will be sorry later.

Device manufacturers decided to go with locked down environment. I cannot really understand people that buy a Samsung phone. The amount of crapware is staggering.

iOS is cleaner, but I also do not want to invest knowledge here either. Not even in the hardware if it could run other OS, even if it is decent.

if we look at the phone os market its even moving into an monopoly. I can see multiple reasons: 1. Installing an OS on your phone is hard. Most smaller OSes require an advanced knowledge to use it. As an company for making such phones you have an big risk, if you make phones with an os of an smaller marketshare, plus the drivers are sometimes only for android. 2. Android made it easy for many companies to enter the smartphone market. Apple was effectivly beaten by an mass of phones which have something for everyone at an much lower price. 3. it was always easier to move between brands with your data. With apple you have only apple with the limited formfactors. 4. Marketing

Reply on news.ycombinator.com