Ask HN: Why is there no quantified self apps for Android? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Why is there no quantified self apps for Android?

4 pointsDiabloD36 comments

I keep seeing quantified self stories pop up here in on HN (due to the qs/startup cross-section), but they always seem to promote iOS support and not Android support.

A lot of the various wristbands and other devices use BLE, but Android devices with BLE shipped before iPhones that had it did, so it can't be merely hardware support.

Is it a result of Apple's image at work? "If you own an iPhone, you're thin and good looking and self-conscious, but if you own an Android phone, you're fat and ugly and don't deserve our service"?

Android is the largest mobile phone platform, and I just don't understand why startups, especially these, are cutting themselves off from such a significant part of the market.

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The Fitbit Flex also works with newer Samsung Android devices.

But I'm sure Fitbit put in a LOT of time developing around the Samsung Bluetooth Smart API's.

And all that will have to be re-written when Google FINALLY comes out with standard Bluetooth Smart support in Android.

Most companies are just saying "Why bother?" until Google gets their act together.

As a side note, Apple joined the Bluetooth board over TWO YEARS AGO, and since then EVERY Apple device released has had integrated Bluetooth Smart support.

THAT's what commitment to a hardware platform looks like.

As for as I know BLE does not exist in Stock Android even though it is available in IPhone's first. It exists only in third party sdk's namely Samsung which i am planning to use. Hence may be once BLE is supported natively in Android SDK a lot of apps will support it.

Apple sells namely premium products, Android sells premium and value (lower end).

A good majority of smart businesses realize that if someone already shelled out for an iphone they are more likely to shell out for premium applications.

Primarily because iOS is where the money is, iOS customers tend to be middle-class with significant disposable income, hence they're both the group most likely to be interested in health related apps and have the income that makes $100 devices fall into the impulse buy category.

There's also the secondary issue in that iPhone are much more standardised so it's much easier to test your app on 99% of the phones that your users are likely to be using.

Take a look at joining the Moves beta test for Android.

Market share is completely irrelevant, what matters is where the profit comes from and iOS dominates that market. A lot of Android phones are just being used as dumb-phones.

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