3 ms·

Doesn't matter much from either a regular developer or regular user standpoint as long as people are using 2.1 and above (90% of users are) - most of the apps j

Doesn't matter much from either a regular developer or regular user standpoint as long as people are using 2.1 and above (90% of users are) - most of the apps just work. If you are keen on OS upgrades - you just need to have bought the right phone - Nexus line or some of the HTC ones or even the original Droid. I am running Cyanogenmod 7 which is Gingerbread on my N1 happily. I happen to know many iPhone users at my office - they don't use iTunes and don't even know there is an upgrade - they are running the version of the OS their device shipped with. Only the Mac/iTunes users (which there are few) tend to upgrade to the latest. So yeah - big numbers but not much practical significance in comparison.

wmf 16y ago
as long as people are using 2.1 and above (90% of users are) - most of the apps just work. A bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy if developers are targeting old Android OSes because the newer releases don't have critical mass. I'm reminded of the Vista debacle.
- blinkingled 16y ago
  Well the developers don't lose anything by targeting a lower API version - if they target 2.1 the app is more or less guaranteed to work on 2.3 due to forward compatibility.
  - wmf 16y ago
    Developers who target old OSes lose the features that are available in the newer OSes (unless they do feature detection and a lot of extra testing). This is so obvious that I must not be understanding your comment.
    - blinkingled 16y ago
      It would be a problem if Android 2.x APIs were deficient in basic features like iOS 3.x were when it came to multitasking. That isn't the case. Android API additions are mostly tied to new hardware - NFC/Multiple Cameras/Tablets etc as opposed to pure software improvements like added multitasking. Not many developers need to target latest AOSP release - that's my point. Almost all apps can target 2.1 and benefit from under the hood improvements in 2.3 like faster VM. Few apps that rely on 2.3 specific features like NFC/SIP/Multiple cameras also rely on hardware features being available - so software features are a moot point there and then the problem is not unique to Android. iPhone 5 comes with new NFC and iOS 5 - developers have the same problem - they have to wait for enough people to upgrade to iPhone 5 and iOS5 and if they target iOS4 they lose the iOS 5 features. How many apps will be impacted - not many. Same thing.

wmf 16y ago

as long as people are using 2.1 and above (90% of users are) - most of the apps just work. A bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy if developers are targeting old Android OSes because the newer releases don't have critical mass. I'm reminded of the Vista debacle.

blinkingled 16y ago
Well the developers don't lose anything by targeting a lower API version - if they target 2.1 the app is more or less guaranteed to work on 2.3 due to forward compatibility.
- wmf 16y ago
  Developers who target old OSes lose the features that are available in the newer OSes (unless they do feature detection and a lot of extra testing). This is so obvious that I must not be understanding your comment.
  - blinkingled 16y ago
    It would be a problem if Android 2.x APIs were deficient in basic features like iOS 3.x were when it came to multitasking. That isn't the case. Android API additions are mostly tied to new hardware - NFC/Multiple Cameras/Tablets etc as opposed to pure software improvements like added multitasking. Not many developers need to target latest AOSP release - that's my point. Almost all apps can target 2.1 and benefit from under the hood improvements in 2.3 like faster VM. Few apps that rely on 2.3 specific features like NFC/SIP/Multiple cameras also rely on hardware features being available - so software features are a moot point there and then the problem is not unique to Android. iPhone 5 comes with new NFC and iOS 5 - developers have the same problem - they have to wait for enough people to upgrade to iPhone 5 and iOS5 and if they target iOS4 they lose the iOS 5 features. How many apps will be impacted - not many. Same thing.