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Shots Fired: Apple takes aim at Android at WWDC 2014 iOS 8 reveal

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An Apple event wouldn’t be an Apple event without them trying to take shots at the competition. After going over the (awesome-looking) new changes to Mac OS X Yosemite, Apple decided to talk about iOS 8 and all the new changes they’re planning to bring. But before they dove into the meaty bits, they took a quick few minutes to talk about none other than Android.

Tim Cook had no problem ridiculing Android from several different angles. For starters, he says most of the folks who first bought an Android phone and then bought an iPhone afterward basically admitted to making a big mistake. He used that infamous 97% customer satisfaction value to back that point up, natch.

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Timmy also went on to cite the other typical numbers folks use to bash Android. He reminded us that only 9% of Android’s install base is on the latest version compared to 89% for iOS. And of those running Android, over a third of them are still running a version from over four years ago.

He cheated a bit there: the only way he could have come to that conclusion is if he lumped Ice Cream Sandwich and Gingerbread together, with the former being just about three years old. That’s what the numbers found over at the Android Platform Distributions site tell us, anyway.

And let’s not forget to mention the fact that Gingerbread is only 3.5 years old — not a far cry from 4, but his statement is certainly not factual. Regardless, the point stands and stings: a ton of people are still on what can be seen as archaic versions of Android.

He bent the truth a little by claiming that those on older versions of Android don’t get new features. We all know that’s not quite true considering Google has a habit of delivering new features using apps and updates to Google Play Services, some of which are compatible with all versions of Android dating back to Froyo. Also, last we checked not all iPhones and iPads got all the latest features in those iOS upgrades (we’re looking at you, Siri).

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Finally, Cook didn’t disappoint by pulling out the “hot” new buzzword that everyone uses to bash Android — mobile malware, and how Android is subject to 99% of it (though how much of it actually affects end users is an entirely different matter all together).

We’re not surprised that Apple is looking to bash Android into the ground at every opportunity they can get. That’s marketing and business, and it isn’t quite as taboo as when the company was still being run by the late Steve Jobs.

But there’s something to be said about plucking obscure numbers out of the air in selective fashion while dodging the ones that truly matter — Android’s 79% of the global smartphone market share as of January 2014.

Sure, Android’s popularity may be more about accessibility (namely, its ability to meet the price point of any budget) than anything else, but at the end of the day it really doesn’t matter how Android ascended to the throne: it only matters that it got there.

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Truth be told, iOS 8 looks quite nice. Apple’s finally crafted an upgrade that feels more evolutionary than iterative, and it’s the first time in a long time that it doesn’t feel like they’re playing catch-up to Android. But it’s going to take a lot more than new features, petty shots at the competition and skewed information to recapture the huge sector of the market they lost while they were lollygagging for the past few years.

The ball is in Google’s court now, and a Google event wouldn’t be a Google event without a few jabs of their own. Let’s keep our fingers crossed that Google will fire back at I/O later this month by introducing lots of exciting new features because it finally seems like Apple is bringing some real heat. Be sure to keep tabs on all the latest from Apple’s WWDC 2014 by heading to our friends at iSource.

Quentyn Kennemer
The "Google Phone" sounded too awesome to pass up, so I bought a G1. The rest is history. And yes, I know my name isn't Wilson.

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161 Comments

  1. Wait they now have widgets, how original!

    1. Heh, only in the notification bar. :P

      In all seriousness, though, iOS 8 brings a lot of awesome changes that we should definitely want Google to match and / or exceed.

      1. I think pretty much EVERYTHING that was announced today as “new” we’ve already had in a long time, predictive keyboard check, actionable notifications check, widgets check check check, bottom line they’re still playing catch up to Android. Good for the Ifans since they will now get a little bit of a taste of something cool but nothing new and innovative here

        1. What phone you using where I can reply to a text message through the notification WITHOUT installing another messaging app? I’ve had a lot of Android phones and that was something I been wanting to do without resorting to an app.

          1. I don’t see what the problem is here. You have the option to install an app that gives you exactly what you want. Do you not like pressing the install button or something?

            iOS people don’t even have the option, at least from what I remember.

          2. So now it seem like Android is turning into the old Apple commercials. There’s an app for that. It’s easy to install an app to get what you want. But why not have it built directly into the OS?

          3. If you touch the notification from the drop down menu, it takes you to the messaging screen. Why would you need to install any other app. Is pulling down the notification bar and clicking on the message too much work for some people ? .

          4. The point is not to be taken away from whatever it is you are doing. I believe that’s why Apple built it into the OS.

          5. Apple built it into the OS because they limit the variety of other apps you can download. Why is it such a pain to go to the messaging app, type your message, and then click the back button so that you are back to whatever you were doing?

          6. What? Everything you do on your phone is through an app. Why do you refuse to use a non-stock messaging app? It’s pretty easy to find one that will do what you want.

          7. I used to use them when Android didn’t have support for Emoji. Now that it does, I don’t see a reason. I have before but I didn’t like the UI on the apps that I did use.

          8. Stock android. Try one

          9. That’s a lie

          10. If you haven’t used one don’t speak on it.

          11. Um, I have used one. Also if this feature was built into Android like you claim, then there wouldn’t be articles about features needing to be adopted from iOS 8. Mainly, replying to text message from a notification. It’s not built into Android. From my first Droid to my Droid Ultra.

          12. Actually you’re right. I haven’t used actual stock android messaging in years. I’ve used hello sms and evolve. My fault. And it’s cyanogen based roms that have notification reply in it.

        2. Question, how do I get to respond to texts on the same screen like the iOS feature will do?

        3. You know in all seriousness I think FINALLY allowing third party keyboards like SwiftKey and Swype was the last thing holding back a sizable number of Android users from switching or returning to Apple’s mobile devices.

          Those two keyboards alone are such a vital tool for many people’s daily mobile devices experience.

      2. We must have been watching different presentations, I didn’t see anything Android didn’t already do.

      3. Quentyn, what awesome changes? I went over to iSource and I am not sure I saw anything that looked evolutionary. Are you thinking HealthKit and Family Sharing? The rest of the articles were about playing catch-up to Android.

      4. Yea, the notification bar, i wonder how Apple came up with that one. lol.

    2. 2010 isn’t original it’s old dinosaur age

    3. Widgets were a MacOs invention, bright star.

      1. Netscape Navigator and Yahoo! had widgets in 1996 – not an Apple invention. Even Microsoft had Widgets in 1997 with Active Desktop. MacOS didn’t add widgets until 2005, although Konfabuator did bring widgets to MacOS in 2003.

        1. You are off by 12 years! Widgets started with the Desk Accessories first introduced with the original Mac in 1984. The MacOs Calculator and the Watch Desk Accessories are just two examples of the first “widgets”. You are wrong with Microsoft too. The copied the Calculator and Watch widgets from the Mac in Windows 1.0. You must be a kid aren’t you?

  2. 99% malware? How to shamelessly lie in front of thousands of people.

  3. Google takes jabs? Really? I don’t remember when Google took jabs at Apple… Hell I only remember how pissed off i’d get when Googlers would use iPads to demo the new maps experience on the IO presentation!!!

    1. Exactly. Google doesn’t take jabs at Apple. Hell, most of IO is ran on Macbooks.

    2. Google has taken a few jabs at Apple. They’re usually subtle and sometimes subliminal, but they are jabs regardless.

    3. Simply Google doesn’t care Apple. That’s it

      1. No. Google cares about Apple. They make billions off of iOS users alone. Google sees Apple as an asset and portal to their services.

        Google’s real enemy is Microsoft.

    4. Also Google love using their MACS.

    5. One man, one phone, one OS.

  4. Chrome Sync. Google Voice / Hangouts. Google Keyboard. Widgets. Weee! Just because 99% of all malware developed is targeted at Android doesn’t mean large infection rates. In fact, the rate of infection is very, very low. (0.001% I think?)

    1. I love these back and forth jabs at each other! Inspires innovation!!

      1. Innovation such as a dark theme. :)

        1. Really? That’s all you took away from it?

          1. Oh, a new programming language. All Apple did was make iOS catch up to Android in nearly every way possible. It will be interesting to see what Google does in 3 weeks to pull ahead, if they can.

    2. That’s a fair assessment.

  5. “older versions of Android don’t get new features. ”

    This also applies to iOS though. With every new release, there are features that a previous iPhone model can’t use. This isn’t mentioned often.

    1. You mean I can’t use Touch ID on my iPhone 4?

      1. Too bad I can’t like this more than once. Had me Rollin.

      2. LOL, Well obviously not, but it is more than just missing hardware that has led to features not being present.

        I grabbed this short list from another tech site. I think these are primarily software based. Features missing because of the limitations of older hardware plays its part on iOS as well as Android phones. Apple really didn’t make that distinction:

        – 3D Flyover or turn-by-turn navigation in Maps

        – Panorama mode or Filters in the Camera app (filters can still be applied after the fact in the Photos app)

        – AirPlay Mirroring

        – AirDrop

        – A number of the new graphical effects present on all other iOS 7 devices. These include translucency effects throughout the OS, live wallpapers, and the parallax effect used on the Home screen

    2. LMAO iPhones are for highschool girls and ladyboys

    3. you can’t even redownload facebook on the iphone 3 and 3gs…

  6. iWish Steve Jobs was still around just because the rivalry was intense. Tim Cook isn’t as cut throat as Steve. Steve really HATED Google & Android with a passion. But hey competition is always good. I’ll be like this guy with my Nexus 5 watching WWDC.

    1. A Iphone on a leash my fault Crab on a leash

  7. It’s obvious that Apple feels very threatened by Android, otherwise they would have no need to mention them and fudge numbers to make themselves look more appealing.

  8. Apple is finally introducing a 2010 Swiftkey feature in IOS this year!

    1. Seriously. Google’s keyboard has had it for a year at least and Swype has been around since December 2009. Way to finally get with the program, Apple.

  9. Just because my iPhone 4 can get the IOS 8 label on it’s version updated doesn’t mean I have all the features the newer iPhones get. I gave up waiting to get Siri on that a long time ago.

    1. So true. Essentially it’s the same as different versions of Android, they just lump them under the same number. Sneaky Timmy.

  10. I mean Cooks kinda gotta point. I think that google should regulate a little more who is usijg their os. I think that makes android look so bad that the phones are not supported. If Google is pining to be top dog in the smartphone world, they need to crack down on manufacturers, who in turn, need to crack down on carriers. “We will push software updates and you will only worry about connection updates.”… can we just call this “Ios8 The Android Update”

    1. Android is top dog in the smart phone world. Worldwide, they dominate iOS in phones and tablets. Otherwise, Apple wouldn’t have mentioned them at WWDC.

      1. Actually I’d say its becoming more of a race then it used to be.

        1. Actually, I’d say you don’t know what you’re talking about.

          1. That’s cool. You can think that.

          2. Here you go.

          3. Here you go!

          4. The thing is that while the numbers might be in androids favor, the fact of the matter is that alot of android users are lower end device users who can’t afford the iPhone. The general populous if given the choice of a free phone would choose a iPhone. Thats the problem with android. The fragmentation. I personally use a Note 3 and won’t be switching to iOS anytime time soon but I see the popularity of the phone. To people who don’t sit on tech or phone sites, the iPhone is still the industry standard.

          5. Used to be true.

          6. How can you say that most android users are ones that choose the free android phone? Most people, at least in the US, ARE given a choice of an iPhone or an Android as a free phone. Aren’t they? Or am I missing something?

          7. This is an old throwback; 2014 is not 2011 or even 2012.

            Android is better and I’ve been buying $300, $200 subsidized Android phones since the very beginning. If you think that people wouldn’t have also bought ‘cheap’ iPhones as well, then you’re missing the scores of NINETY-NINE cent iphones at Walmart.

          8. That’s where I know you’re wrong. My workplace has 11 flagship smartphones. 1 is an iPhone. The others are either Samsung or HTC. And no, the Galaxy and the One is not significantly different in price from an iDevice

          9. Almost 2 years ago I could have got the iPhone 5, S4, One (M7), or any other phone that I wanted for nothing down and what did I get, the Nexus 4. If you want to argue that I’m an Android enthusiast, then consider, my wife, and several siblings and in-laws and my business partners, all had the same opportunity, and none of them purchased the iPhone.

            The iPhone is nothing more than a status symbol anymore. It holds very little sway on people who don’t care about being a fashion plate.

  11. Does apple even have NFC yet?

    1. No, they bashed NFC during their initial announcement of AIrdrop. Calling it silly/ridiculous to bump phones if I remember

    2. What for? It’s of no use to everyone except people here in this forum. Accept it and move on.

      1. And i suppose lte support had no use until apple put the radios in the iphone 5. Accept that apple slams almost all technical innovations android has first and move on yourself.

      2. I thought it flourished in California? And I thought it was everywhere in Japan?

      3. what an isheep..you mad bro…one day you will get it..

  12. That’s funny cuz as soon as the original g1 came out I never looked back at an iPhone!

  13. Weird they didn’t announce iWatch, I guess they are just waiting for Google to perfect it so they can claim it as their own.

  14. those are some lame ass widgets…..

  15. Even with all those “faults”, Android continues to gain market share. I think that speaks volumes…

  16. Its the first time it didn’t feel like they were catching up to Android?

    Did you watch it? Virtually everything was adding in features that were in other systems. The only new things were the unified “health” home” databases. Most were Google+ features or taken from 3rd party apps. Although I did like that you could create a Family “Circle” and then have the parents review purchases on the kids machines.

  17. IOS 8, should have been IOS 7.5

    1. i think you mean 2.3 GINGER BREAD ANDROID OS.

  18. Cooks’ WWDC speech = Obama’s West Point speech = delusional & phobic.

  19. I can tell you that it’s a burden to work on Faith and Fitness https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.renewal_studios.bodybuilding_jesus and have to code for the millions still on Gingerbread.

    1. Bad link

    2. Then don’t code for GB. Code for ICS and higher. Almost everyone is getting off GB now, so why burden yourself?

  20. I have a soar throat.

  21. more like the whole conference was about how apple is going to try and be like android lol

    1. I agree, a lot of the new stuff that I saw has already been available on Android. Maybe not first party but its still there.

  22. WWDC = Watch Weird Delusional Cook

  23. Funny cook is talking about Android malware when apple is desperately trying to stay quiet on the iPhone hijackings going on down under.
    Google is talking about launching satellites and self driving cars and Apple has new widgets that kind of sucks.

    For those interested in just how badly apple has been doing post jobs, there is a nice chapter in last year’s book by Mad money’s jim cramer call get rich carefully. He describes 3 companies that are at the top of what they do and why they will likely grow massively for many more years. It includes google, Amazon and Starbucks. Then he points out the elephant in the room, Apple and why he didn’t include them. He breaks it down on how apple misstepped and mistakes they made that they can’t possibly undo without a lot of hurting. It’s an eye opener.

    Apple stocks imo is now a classic pump and dump stock. It’s now in a pump cycle. I expect a apple dumping again soon.

    1. You forget to mention they wasted 2 billion dollars buying Beats

      1. 3. Unless you mean they over paid by 2.

  24. Are they going to release a phone larger than a postage stamp?
    My wife and I went to Verizon store last week and she could have picked any phone there.
    My daughters have Apple 5C phones, I and my son have Droid phones.
    I did not care which phone she got. When you walk into a Verizon store you see 7/8 of the store with Android products and phones, all different then you see two IPhones to choose from. I showed her the Apple 5 S phones, then I showed her several different Android phones. She picked the Samsung S5 and is LOVING it. As we are getting older the comfort of having a larger view area (for larger text) and the sharpness of the screen just won her over. There was no contest. She is now waiting for the new wireless charging back to show up. Chalk another one up for a variety of choice to SUIT the BUYER not some goofs in California.

    1. This +1000

    2. 4.7″ iPhone in Sept. 5.5″ iPhone phablet a month or so later.

      1. Maybe.

      2. 3 years too late.

      3. Far more likely that they’ll squeeze a HD display into a marginally larger case and claim it’s revolutionary because no Android manufacturer bothered to try that. Apple are far too arrogant to accept that most people would prefer a bigger display.

    3. “She is now waiting for the new wireless charging back to show up”
      androidcentral.com

  25. No matter how hard they try, they will never reclaim market share without outsourcing IOS or making low end hardware. It’s just that simple!!!

    1. Did you mean open-sourcing iOS?

      1. Okay, so I didn’t read that wrong. LoL!!

        I hope they did.

  26. When somebody takes an offense like that you know they are scared of loosing their vader grip on their customers.

  27. Apples starting to make my stomach hurt. Smoke and mirrors.

  28. Before you know it, Apple will be hiring the same marketing company as microsoft did!

  29. Apple Cook serves up marketing with magically skewed figures.
    Are you in the real world or the Apple dimension?

    OT: Will Google use mobile malware to bring in the recent root-unfriendly commits to the AOSP code? For a more secure Android?

  30. All i have to say bout this conference. HAHAHAHA welcome to 2011 COOK/Apple adding widgets. Plus I never have MALWARE on my phone SO PISS OFF.

  31. Love my iPad. Could never use iOS in it’s current state. I have widgets that give me my complete patient schedule for the day on my home screen. What I will contend to Apple is their customer service. Ever try getting ahold of someone at Google? That is a huge sacrifice we make especially if our phone is a tool for our business.

    1. Good thing Google doesn’t manufacture my LG phone, which I can get ahold of someone without an issue.

      1. Good Luck with that! Next time you are on the phone with them ask them when they are going to clean up their coding and why their flagship phones see the least updates of any of the major oems.

        1. All of their flagships are on 4.4.2, except for the OG optimus g, which is set to roll out this summer.

          1. Summer is when LG is finally releasing 4.4.2 for the US LGOG. If the US carriers even think it is still relevant it will still take months to roll it out. The S3 has had it on Sprint since 4/2013. LG screwed the 4X owners before that. Lets see how impressed you are once Lollipop rolls out and its time to update the G2 and G3.

          2. Do you even know what you’re talking about? 4.4.2 wasnt even released until Oct 2013. So how did the s3 get it before it was released?

        2. Apple users are such morons. No clue huh?

    2. Got my iPad Mini the christmas of 2012 from my lovely wife. I was pleased but not overjoyed with it. I purchased a Nexus 7 2013 from my cell carrier, TMobile, last February and haven’t touched my iPad since. There is no comparison. It’s just simply, better. I use it for business in my own business. It’s there for everything iPad can do and a lot more. I’m keeping both.

  32. Awww. Remember when they introduced SIRI and to get access you had to buy a whole new phone? Yup. Have to by the same exact phone to get access to an application. Way to go Apple!

  33. APPLE Destroys Android phones

    http://youtu.be/yf81dG9-58c

    1. Blackberry Z10 has onscreen predictive texting.

  34. A crap by any other name is still an apple.

  35. I used to be all android, but I have since picked up a iPhone 4S for 2 primary reasons. First one is size. For me it does everything I need in a phone cleanly and efficiently with out carrying around a small plate in my pocket. And second, as much as I understand and enjoyed the option to personalize the heck out of your phone, I like now to just go to my app, use it, then put the phone away. I also appreciate the beautiful construction, which is a reason I haven’t moved on to the 5 or 5S. I also own a HTC One which I use for as a prepaid (and is also a work of art), and when I know I’m shooting at night (Amazing camera), and an S3, also prepaid, which again, I use when I know I’m going to be taking a lot of pictures. For me I still love the Android/google ecosystem system, which is why I always go to my Nexus 7 when I need to watch a video or need it for the heavy lifting of long chats or emails, and all my gaming. Each system has its strengths and I use both to their full advantage. And BTW, not to sound like an iSheep, but I’m always amazed when I’m on the bus or subway (NYC) and look around at people holding their mobiles, and its iPhone iPhone iPhone S3 iPhone iPhone HTC One iPhone S3 iPhone iPhone LG G2 Blackberry iPhone iPhone. No wonder they’re a billion $$$ company.

    1. That is the difference between iPhone and Android manufactures, and Android in general. With iOS and iPhones you get one choice. Apple is sending out one model and expecting everyone to fall all over themselves to get it because it is “perfect.”

      That kind of thinking is like BMW releasing the M3 as their only car, every single year. It is a good car, it does everything that you would need a car to do cleanly and efficiently without being as small as a subcompact or as big as an SUV. In Apple logic, it is “perfect.”

      But, that is not the way things are, people want choice. Look at the cars people drive, think of the reasons why they bought them, maybe it was styling, or comfort, or options, or maybe just price point. That is what having options does, it lets everyone choose for themselves instead of forcing everyone to get the same thing.

  36. ABD already been done. Apple needs a new phone to get back in the game. Showing apple fans software that android users have had for a long time. iPhone 6 better be good. it needs it to be but when it comes out it will still be outdated.

  37. The largest malware of Android is Google itself. They take all your personal information, free of charge, and sell it to the largest postor.

    1. You have absolutely no clue what malware is, or Google’s business practices. But seeing your avatar, you are clearly a troll. Goodbye.

  38. If you can’t beat’em, slander’em.

  39. I had a galaxy S3, but it’s stuck on a boot loop, whilst im fixing this, i’ve been leant a iPhone 4… I hate it with passion.

    iOS 7 is only good for predictive text… I can’t see what else for, maybe babies?

    1. Why don’t you just flash a stock rom via Odin, and if that doesn’t work repartition it with a .pit-file?

      1. As soon as I put my battery in (w/o touching anything) it starts up. I have a replacement power switch I need to solder on, but that’s gnna require some skill haha!

        I can’t link it to anything,and when I try download mode it just restarts after 3 seconds.

  40. want to see android bring it next iteration, i have both android and ios. i like the continuity of ios and the simplicity of design. would like to see android do a better job on that aspect. if android brought that to the table with the powerful customization and productivity that it’s already great at would just simply out trumps ios on all floors for best bang for the buck

  41. Sort of offtopic, has Google mentioned anything in regards to lollipop?

    1. They won’t until Google I/O next month.

  42. There is a lot of truth to the fragmentation. I have both and iphone 5 and s3 – its easy to get the latest version the OS. Trying to get a new version the S3 is a PITA.

    For all you haters and think you know it alls that love to bash apple, the iphone is a great phone. We all use our phones differently. Just b/c someone else doesn’t use an android doesn’t make them inferior.

    I’ve seen enough wars within the Android community on different manufacturers creating their own android experience, and people are free to have their own opnion on which works best for them.

    1. Comments like this come every year. *Rinse and repeat* Apple Haters, Android Frag.. Nobody is comparing Apple to Android. This is a Android WEBSITE. We aren’t “Apple haters” We Like Android, Hence the WEBSITE. Get over yourself and head on over to a website dedicated to Apple or at least come up with a compelling comment. Nobody cares.

      1. For the record, I’ve made the switch about 2 years ago to Android. Love my android phone. It was merely a comment that we all use our phone differently; and its for the user to decide which works best for them. If an iphone suites them better so be it, however, they shouldn’t be labeled with such hateful words

        1. google updates their own phones just fine. the nexus line got updates as timely as iphones do. iOS is made for their phones and they don’t outsource their OS.

          OS update delays tend to be carrier related. GPE models were made to offset this issue.

    2. It is no longer a war. Sorry. Android trumps the iPhone in almost every section of the phone if it used as a smartphone. Now you guys do have some pretty cool editing apps or apps for visual/sound effects. But besides that, all I can give you guys kudos on is the design. The design is next to none. But I am always amazed at how much Android can do that the normal user does not even realize and then when I show those features to Apple users all they can do is drop their mouths in envy. I actually just wowed about 5 longtime Apple users just now. Lol Again if the phone works for you the cool, but I will rather have the latest and greatest in features sorry.

      1. I agree. I am an android user. Point that I was making is that its a PITA to get the latest OS. You either have to do it yourself, or wait a lifetime until your carrier pushes it out. And in some cases, rooting and installing a rom isn’t as simple as it seems.

        1. You should have bought a Nexus. I have used a Nexus since the Nexus One, and the single time I looked back (a short detour with the HTC Sensation) I regretted it and ran right back into the loving arms of the Nexus family.

    3. However, what Apple chooses to ignore, is the fact that there are still older iPhones that are active and not on the latest version of iOS. Further more, updating to iOS 8 will continue to fragment their own ecosystem. So whether they like it or not, iOS is fragmented as well. Considering they only have one device and not hundreds of thousands of device to support, that is pretty bad.

    4. If I am an Apple hater, it is only because Apple fanboys and Apple themselves made it so. I didn’t start out that way. Back in the Mac classic days I was a long time Mac developer and card-carrying Apple fanboy.

      If you like Apple products or iOS, then please PLEASE buy what you like and go to an Apple forum and talk about it there.

  43. Apple is bringing some heat? How by introducing features we have been privileged to have in Android for a few years now. Not only that but they have just a few features aded. Android has 1000s of more features that are just as great. For instance the reverse number lookup in the phone book or the CallerID feature built into Android. That feature is a killer feature for anybody that travels alot and do not feel like searching for the nearest store/hotel/etc and trying to find the number. All you have to do is type the name of the place in your dialer app and it will auto fill with numbers of places with that name. Genius.. And thats just only 1 feature.

  44. lets be careful not to compare a phone manufacturer to an operating system.

    1. Let’s compare operating systems, like iOS and Android.

      The fact that iOS is available only on Apple equipment is by Apple’s own choice. It is perfectly fair to praise or criticize that choice. And it is fair to compare iOS and Android.

      It is funny that iOS fanboys are happy to compare the two platforms when they thought it worked in their favor.

      1. correct, its by design which is why apple shouldn’t and doesn’t care about such a statistic as OS market share.

        the question that’s actually relevant is whose mobile device has the bigger market share?

  45. Why on earth did Apple decide to use white text on a bright background?! My eyes are burning while trying to read it those ridiculous charts. That color scheme is all over iOS now and it’s terrible!

    1. Because some designer said so. The aesthetic is more important than less important concerns like usability or functionality.

  46. 82.3% of all facts are made up.
    100% of facts are used to support your cause.

    One of the above statements is true, one is made up.

  47. Market share means nothing, why does everyone always say market share market share , android might have 79% of the market share compared to apples 15.3% (q1 2014). but look who takes the lion share of the profit, apple made $10.2B in profit compared to Samsung’s $7.3B. Thought the main purpose of a company is to make profit.

    1. In the long run, market share means profit. Especially as it becomes more and more obvious that innovation at Apple has stalled and major new innovations are increasingly happening on Android first.

      Part of the reason, like open source itself, is that the platform is wide open for everyone to try practically anything. Nobody had to ask permission to develop and market an alternate keyboard. Anyone can make an app that replaces parts of the core system functionality — because everything is signaled by ‘intents’ in Android. The reason I point this out is that it allows for developer innovation in a way not possible on iOS. A developer can have an idea that Google never imagined, and implement it. Innovation this leads to increased market share and profits.

      Apple’s platform still, in 2014, does not have garbage collection. All modern languages have this now. Apple is using the halfway measure of reference counting. Apple introduced a new programming language rather than adopt a system that has lots of existing languages (eg, Java and JVM to DEX bytecode compiler). The reason I point this out is that a large (even vast) number of existing libraries and languages being able to instantly run on Android makes it fertile ground for third party innovation. And this leads to increased market share and profits.

      Google, Samsung and others aren’t exactly starving. But I bet their longer term approach will win the profits. A few years ago, iOS fanboys were gloating about market share. No more. In a few years, I don’t think they will be able to gloat about profits.

      1. I stopped reading after you said google and developer, google doesn’t even have guidelines for all apps, I was recently downloading an app yesterday and the screenshots featured were from gingerbread I believe. Apple is here to stay no matter how much others dislike them, they will be around for a while.

    2. That’s because Apple gives you less, for more money.

  48. ” Android’s 79% of the global smartphone market share as of January 2014″

    outside of apple and windows devices android is on every phone from every other phone manufacturer. of course it’s gonna have majority market share over IOS which is on iphones only.

    talk about scewed numbers.

    1. There is more than Android, iOS and Windows on phones. There is Blackberry. It may not be important, but it exists. There are still dumb phones. There are emerging alternate smart phone OSes (Tizen, Firefox OS, Ubuntu Touch).

      Android is a platform. iOS is a platform. It is perfectly fair to compare the two. It is by Apple’s own choice that iOS is only available on Apple made equipment. Google and Microsoft have chosen otherwise. So it is perfectly fair to compare the iOS platform and Android platform and point out that iOS has a minority market share that is shrinking. This is just a repeat of the classic Macintosh vs PC. Apple could have licensed their OS in the early days, and stopped Windows before it ever existed. Similarly, they could have done the same with iOS. I’m sure they have their reasons for making the choices they have made — but then the results of those choices are reasonable things for people to discuss and compare.

      There is nothing screwed about these numbers. They are real. Android is by far the dominant platform. The numbers say so. A quick look around what what phones everyone has is telling. The reason is obvious why Android would dominate (android being available from every manufacturer and mobile network). But feel free to be in denial.

      1. this point is only valid if iOS was shopping their OS around to every company and it was being rejected. this is not the case. the reason why iOS runs as clean as it does is because they make it around one device and one device only. apple fanboys(me not being one them) love to bring up fragmentation against android when the very same thing would happen to iOS if it was on nearly every single phone with skins put on top of it. same thing for malware and viruses. its the cost of being as open as android is.

        i don’t think apple cares that android has a bigger market share than IOS. they’re more concerned with iphones having a bigger market share than devices from samsung, HTC, LG etc. so if such numbers aren’t scewed, they’re definitely irrelevant as apple’s goal is to shop their devices, not their software. this presentation was to convince people to go get iphones, not to get phone manufacturers to use iOS instead of android.

        as you pointed out. they’re going two different directions. the direction apple is going with iOS will inevitably mean they have less(a lot less) market share than android which is more open in their approach. the time when iOS had a bigger share of the market was 6-7 years ago when apple with their iphones were the only player in town.

        it would be better to compare iOS to Tizen as it will end up being exclusive to samsung’s flagship devices. blackberry is a failure and not worth mentioning and FOS and ubuntu just ain’t gonna make it as they can’t compete with apple and google’s app content. same reason windows can’t get off the ground in the mobile market.

        i am SO NOT an apple fanboy. i have not and never will own an idevice. i’m just pointing out the facts of the situation.

        1. would need to point out that pure unskinned android runs just as good as iOS.

        2. OK, just Apple vs Samsung then.
          Samsung: 31% of the world smartphone market
          Apple: 15.6% of the world market.

          Source: http://www.latinpost.com/articles/7354/20140214/apple-vs-samsung-sales-figures-market-share-2013-smartphones-topple.htm

          I’ve seen different numbers, but Samsung is always at least double Apple sales.

          Do you want to narrow the battle down to a single phone model so there’s a fight Apple can win?

          1. 15% more of the market while selling 15 more different phones a year.

            ok..you win.

          2. everything aside, this presentation from apple is complete rubbish and they should be embarrassed

      2. yes, other phones exist. however go to your local Cricket, Virgin, metroPCS, or any other “cheap” cell carrier and look at all of their phones. The majority of them are android phones. I don’t know if this indeed “fudges” numbers, but that is where android is dominating.

        https://www.cricketwireless.com/cell-phones/smartphones

        http://www.virginmobileusa.com/shop/cell-phones/#/sort_low/view_grid/

        all of the cheap or free phones are android, or one or two old iphones. That again is why android dominates the market. I personally like getting a larger phone and enjoy the android experience via smartphone, but if you looked at phones over verizon, tmobile, sprint, and AT&T… the numbers would be much closer.

      3. There is a reason why apple has a 97% customer satisfaction , because they control it. Look at how well that went for google, fragmentation Still exists while almost all of apples customers are on iOS 7. There is no bloatware on an iPhone . with iOS 8 apple seems to be a bit more keen with their restrictions and opening up a bit more to their developers .

    2. That’s right. You have one or two phone choices to pick with iOS.

      That’s not skewed. That’s a limitation that Apple imposed on itself by having an exclusive operating system/hardware combination.

      When you’re vested in lots of apps and the iPhone environment, you’re a prisoner to Apple until you’re willing to burn the house to the ground. When you’re vested in Android, your next phone can come from Samsung, LG, Sony, HTC, Motorola, etc, and you’ll be able to buy the latest hardware when it becomes available all year round, not just once a year.

  49. “Apple’s finally crafted an upgrade that feels more evolutionary than iterative, and it’s the first time in a long time that it doesn’t feel like they’re playing catch-up to Android.”

    But iOS 8 has many features from Android so they are playing catch-up.

    1. yeah, explain how ios 8 isn’t catching up to Android. Most features Android has had for years.

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