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I'm not particularly an Apple fan boy, but I do admire their design decisions. Apple has an _uncanny_ ability to take a block of marble (a set of features for a

I'm not particularly an Apple fan boy, but I do admire their design decisions. Apple has an _uncanny_ ability to take a block of marble (a set of features for a phone) and grind away at it until what's left is a minimally complete set of features that are (in general) perfect. I was definitely the first to gripe and complain when the iPhone didn't have cut and paste, but I'll also be the first to admit that they _did_ get it right when they finally released it. I was also one of the many loud voices complaining that I couldn't run backgrounded apps, but when you look at the HTC phones coming out right now running Android and full backgrounding, and you hear the stories of how the battery runs out by the early afternoon, you start to realize that, it is true, "it is easy to add <feature x>, but it is hard to get it right" (or whatever it was that jobs said in his announcements) I'm not saying that the features in Android aren't impressive, they very well may be, but Apple's design decisions don't just go after "impressive", they try to go after "perfect", and sometimes getting features perfect means cutting them until you're ready Your entire post is targetted as "features that developers want" and you're right, you need a healthy ecosystem of developers, and Google is certainly building one. However, you also need a healthy ecosystem of consumers who love the product, and at the end of the day, I really think most developers will go to the platform where they can reach the widest audience. Apple cares about their consumers first, and their developers second (and sometimes it feels like second last), but it seems to work for them... edit: of course, sometimes apple's PR doesn't respond to consumers as best as it could (i.e. the "you're holding it wrong"), but I'm trying to focus on design/product decisions

srbloom 16y ago
"However, you also need a healthy ecosystem of consumers who love the product, and at the end of the day, I really think most developers will go to the platform where they can reach the widest audience." This is exactly what I was thinking. It is an interesting question- do consumers follow developers or do developers follow consumers? It seems that those agreeing with the OP would argue the former while those disagreeing would argue the latter.
- steadicat 16y ago
  Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. The iPhone was a huge success before it got any developers. The Wii had very few games on launch compared to competing platforms. And the recent resurgence of the Mac seems to have been led by consumers. There were not that many Mac apps in 1998 when the iMac came out. History seems to suggest that developers (especially those who want to get paid) go where the consumers are. The only exception is, perhaps, DOS/Windows? I'm not sure I remember the history right though. It could be that consumers switched to Windows because of the cheaper hardware, and developers followed.
  - stanleydrew 16y ago
    > Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. What? 160,000 new Android phones are now activated each day I thought?
    - masklinn 16y ago
      Versus how many iPhones + iPod Touch + iPad?
      - stanleydrew 16y ago
        The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you?
        masklinn 16y ago
        > The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. It's always a comparison. > But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you? No, which is why I'm asking. If I knew I wouldn't have to ask.
  - DrJokepu 16y ago

srbloom 16y ago

"However, you also need a healthy ecosystem of consumers who love the product, and at the end of the day, I really think most developers will go to the platform where they can reach the widest audience." This is exactly what I was thinking. It is an interesting question- do consumers follow developers or do developers follow consumers? It seems that those agreeing with the OP would argue the former while those disagreeing would argue the latter.

steadicat 16y ago
Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. The iPhone was a huge success before it got any developers. The Wii had very few games on launch compared to competing platforms. And the recent resurgence of the Mac seems to have been led by consumers. There were not that many Mac apps in 1998 when the iMac came out. History seems to suggest that developers (especially those who want to get paid) go where the consumers are. The only exception is, perhaps, DOS/Windows? I'm not sure I remember the history right though. It could be that consumers switched to Windows because of the cheaper hardware, and developers followed.
- stanleydrew 16y ago
  > Unix has developers but no consumers. Android is the same. What? 160,000 new Android phones are now activated each day I thought?
  - masklinn 16y ago
    Versus how many iPhones + iPod Touch + iPad?
    - stanleydrew 16y ago
      The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you?
      - masklinn 16y ago
        > The parent comment wasn't making a comparison. That was an absolute comment that Android has no consumers. It's always a comparison. > But to answer your question I don't know how many iOS devices are shipping each day. Do you? No, which is why I'm asking. If I knew I wouldn't have to ask.
- DrJokepu 16y ago