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> iOS apps tend to be more stable, better polished

It's been a while since I was last using Android, but first-party Apple apps no longer meet my standards for "polished".

e.g. type this sequence into the calculator:

  [2] [-] [4] [=] [x²] [=]

The answer should not be negative, but the app says "-4".

The desktop Contacts app has been putting invisible LTR and RTL codes around phone numbers for years now, breaking web forms when auto-entered. The mobile version refreshes specific contacts several times in a row to add no new content, preventing copy from working while it does so.

The MacOS Safari translation button appears on the left of the omni-bar, until you click it, at which point it instantly moves to the right and your click turns out to have been on the button that the left-side translation button had hidden. Deleting a selection of items from browsing history is limited to about 5 items per second, as it deletes one then rebuilds the entire list before deleting the next.

If I'm listening to a podcast on headpones and an alarm goes off, it doesn't play the alarm through my headphones, it plays on device speakers only.

Podcast app's "Up Next" is a magical mystery list that can't be disabled or guided.

The "Do Not Disturb" mode can be activated unexpectedly, leading to missed calls, and cannot be deleted.

Localisation is inconsistent at every level, including system share sheet and behaviour of decimal separators.

I could go on, but you get the point. Apple's quality control just isn't visible in the software at this point.

> The answer should not be negative, but the app says "-4".

When I do those exact keypresses I get the correct answer.

Good for you? The fact this happens on my versions of both MacOS and iOS means they didn't have automated tests covering this from day one.

Famously, "it works for me" is not how high quality software happens.

It seems basically impossible that math works differently on your calculator app than somebody else’s.

Can you post a recording of what you’re seeing?

https://vimeo.com/1158174682?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

What iOS version is that? It seems odd that the UI does not match what I see.

Whoa! What calculator is that?

Some googling shows hits from iOS 18 betas, where folks reported this bug, that seem to have the same UI.

Good for me too? I get the correct answer when I type the keys, exactly as you specified. On both macOS and iOS

When I do those exact keypresses I also get "-4".

https://vimeo.com/1158134310?share=copy&fl=sv&fe=ci

Can you show what you’re seeing?

I get the same, fwiw

thats what I see too

http://vimeo.com/1158294037

That's iOS 18.5, maybe they fixed it in later versions

> e.g. type this sequence into the calculator

Works perfectly for me.

-4 makes sense if you understand that the input -2 is a unary minus operation. So typing -2 then hitting square only squares 2, not (-2). This is the same in eg Python so I'm not sure it's very controversial. I agree it's unexpected, though.

"-4 makes sense if you consider that the calculator is so damn stupid it ignores every convention every single calculator has made in the past hundred years and instead copies behavior of a dumbass language" isn't exactly the praise you think it is.

At no point in the current expression you wrote "-", though. It may make sense that if you type [-] [2] [x^2] [=] then you get -(2²) = -4, but if your current answer is already -2, then tapping x² should result in (ans)^2 = (-2)^2 = 4. Splitting your current answer into a separate unary [-] as in - (2²) makes absolutely no sense.

Most calculators, even CAS ones, simply get this always right. But sadly this is not the first "desktop" calculator that I see getting this completely wrong. And it makes some results outright wrong!

I didn't enter -2, I calculated -2. The x² should have been taking x = (-2).

Python gets it right:

    >>> 2-4
    -2
    >>> _**2
    4

What? The person you're replying to isn't typing -2. He said explicitly what he is typing, and the result is unambiguously incorrect.

Regarding the calculator, I get the same -4 in Android, just checked. So they all suck..

The pricing gap also rules Apple out in a lot of markets. Almost nobody has Apple here in Spain, the only people i see are tourists and expats.

While not as popular as Android, last time I checked iOS was at 28% market share. That’s hardly “almost nobody”.

It's not the pricing gap, there's Android phones more expensive than the most expensive iPhone. There's just also tiered alternatives.

It's the fact Euro carriers are less likely to subsidize or finance the phone. And realistically, a $500 phone is pretty good these days.

In Canada (where phones are subsidized and/or financed) there's very few budget Android phones too. Almost all Samsung flagships, Pixels, etc...

> browser is deemphasized on iOS, and so it’s weaker feature set matters less

That's precisely the OP's point. They gimped their browser so there's bigger incentive to use their proprietary system frameworks.

> iOS is generally easier to develop for because of less device differentiation

That's nonsense. What year are you from? I've heard this like 10 years ago when there only 1 or 2 current iPhone models in circulation.

> on average iOS has significantly wealthier users who tend to be higher return or paying customers (seriously, look it up). This in turn leads companies to invest more heavily in iOS.

If you offer subscription service, like Netflix/HBO/Nest or whatever, your main goal is volume, not how wealthy your demographic is.

> easier integration due to a narrow system services ecosystem (no Google vs Samsung slapfights)

Easier integration with what?

> unified platform advantage (apps written for iOS easily port to the watch and tablet, unlocking larger markets, and justifying greater spend in developing apps)

That's like Android's moat from the start, not bolted on during some 10+ major versions like on iOS. And it works much better, Android apps are truly the same apps. Not gimped, cut off things like Instagram on iOS (is it even fixed now?).

> apples review process is significantly stricter (for better or for worse)

Both are shit these days due to volume of shovelware produced.

Re: iOS apps being easier to develop: device sizes are the minuscule of the problem.

The real problem is that Android vendors mess up with the OS in weird ways by adding custom ultra battery savers, removing APIs etc. which is much less predictable than dealing with a few Apple devices, that are more homogenous.

Then many vendors ship their own apps which are buggy and you need to know that vendor's Z Calendar app has a weird bug to account for.

It's very obvious in this thread who has developed both an iOS and Android app - with a real, large userbase - and who hasn't.

Really almost every rebuttal you offer is factually incorrect while demonstrating a lack of knowledge of the modern developer experience.

For example

> That's nonsense. What year are you from? I've heard this like 10 years ago when there only 1 or 2 current iPhone models in circulation.

What? Models? Is that how you think? Screen sizes? Resolution? That’s so… 2015.

Apple has kept consistent scaling factors across their phones, laptops, and tablets. That alone counts for a ton of saved data effort. Device ratios are also generally consistent.

Android… well, not much needs to be said. It impacts the developer experience in a substantial way.

> If you offer subscription service, like Netflix/HBO/Nest or whatever, your main goal is volume, not how wealthy your demographic is.

Ironically making my point for me without realizing it (wealthier users sub more) AND dismissing the massive market that smaller services exist in. Incredible two for one miss.

> That's like Android's moat from the start, not bolted on during some 10+ major versions like on iOS.

A moat they squandered. Look at platform tablet adoption. It’s dire for Google now.

As for “bolted on”? lol.

I know the mobile os holy wars always activate posts like this, but for some people it’s simply impossible that despite some visible missteps, Apple has been out executing Google for quite some time now.

FWIW, starting a sentence with "Honestly ..." always makes me think the rest of what this person has to say is dishonest.

Your BIO on HN is:

> I HAVEN'T SHOWERED AT ALL! THAT'S WHY I REEK! WORKING IN FINTECH! AIN'T SHAVED IN WEEKS! POUR CRUMBS FROM MY KEYBOARD! THAT'S WHAT I EAT! WROTE A CURRENCY LIBRARY! 3RD TIME THIS WEEK! LURKING HN! I PREFER /b/! IN MOM'S BASEMENT! I'M THIRTY THREE! IT'S 3'O'CLOCK AM! THAT'S WHEN I SLEEP! AH!!!! COME ON FUCK A GUY!!!!

What level of credibility are you seeking?

Ngl I think that bio is hilarious.

It’s chuggo lyrics. Ah fuck a guy!

"Honestly" is a colloquialism used to indicate disbelief with the previous statement or to preface candidness. Choosing to interpret the colloquial use of "honestly" as an indication that everything else that person says is dishonest is a very weird trait I've only seen show up in grammarian literalists and pedants that only makes yourself seem like a disingenuous person.

"Not Gonna Lie": https://youtu.be/_ru0pnAnq7g?si=fKwnDNkRz6XQKDz5

So a sentence starting with "frankly" means they aren't a frankfurter?

> What level of credibility are you seeking?

I didn’t realize I needed to seek credibility. Seems kind of sad to have to read someone’s hn profile to decide if their post has merit or not