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Comment by jessaustin | Hacker News Reader

b) Android loses app exclusivity that pulled/locked users into the platform.

Was that ever a thing? I can think of apps that had this effect for iOS, but did it ever work in the opposite direction? I got Android because it's less expensive...

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Things like Facebook's Chat heads only work fully in Android (basically Messanger chats show up as a floating bubble no matter what app you're in[0])

I also like being able to configure my homescreen and having different keyboards (though the latter's shown up in iOS now)

There's some feature differentiation for sure, though iOS has the advantage on some things (I would kill for fingerprint unlock)

[0] http://www.technobuffalo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Face...

The Galaxy S5 has a form of fingerprint unlocking: http://www.cnet.com/how-to/a-deep-dive-into-the-galaxy-s5s-s...

I have used both, the iPhone's fingerprint unlocking feels better IMO.

Yes. For example, in South Korea, most apps are released for Android first, then maybe iOS, because Android has overwhelmingly more market share compared to iOS.

Really? This page claims iPhone market share is 33%, and was even 15% before the release of iPhone 6:

http://blogs.wsj.com/digits/2015/01/20/apples-smartphone-sal...

Yes, really. It is true that iOS share increased after iPhone 6, but Android first/iOS later is an established pattern by now and I guess old habits change slowly.

Just to give an example, Naver (the dominant South Korean internet company) launched Pholar, which is quite similar to Instagram, in March this year. Pholar is currently only available for Android.

That's really interesting since in the US it's the opposite: apps are released for iOS and months later an Android version will potentially come out.

I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact Samsung, the most successful Android manufacturer, is in South Korea.

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