5 ms·

A salient point is that whereas the requirement to use the billing system will be phased in at once any benefits rolled out to users as part of android 12 will

A salient point is that whereas the requirement to use the billing system will be phased in at once any benefits rolled out to users as part of android 12 will take 4 years reach 80% of users. ndroid 9 released more than 2 years ago and is now and 52% of users are now on 9 or later whereas more like 80% are at least on 7 which was released 4 years ago. https://www.appbrain.com/stats/top-android-sdk-versions https://www.appbrain.com/stats/top-android-sdk-versions

riquito 6y ago
Android version 10 has better update tracks than previous versions (project Treble benefits, landed in Android 9), and it keeps getting better, Android 12 should take less to reach the same user base
- michaelmrose 6y ago
  10 took a year to reach 25%. It's too early to say anything about the uptake of 11 let alone 12 which doesn't exist. 80% uptake for a new version in 2 years would represent a stunning success. In that happy scenario your billing change still hits 2 years before most app customers have any chance to benefit from alternative stores ensuring that everyone pretty much has to switch over or die. Pragmatically if I was google I would SAY I am making it easier for users to do business with someone else while making it as daunting as possible to actually do so in order to pressure vendors to at best offer both their wares for sale on both stores if they want to actually have customers. Your play store policy can then forbid say offering your goods for sale at a lower price elsewhere or advertising the existence of an alternative version in app on the play store version. As long as you keep it available on the play store most users will check their first and you can keep the revenue in house without strictly forbidding competition.
- kuschku 6y ago
  And yet the OG Pixel hasn’t gotten any updates in a year now.
  - fallennode 6y ago
    The OG Pixel was released in early 2013. ~6 years of software updates is really good compared with any other smartphone.
    - phh 6y ago
      Uh... No... it has been released at end of 2016. It received 3 years of software upgrade, which most high-end Android OEMs deliver, (Though it got 3 major upgrades, while most OEMs stop at 2), and pales in comparaison to iPhones.
  - ac29 6y ago
    ~9 months ago: https://developers.google.com/android/ota#sailfish https://developers.google.com/android/ota#sailfish
    - kuschku 6y ago
      That’s weird, my OG Pixel says it has received its last security update on October 6, 2019, and has no updates available
eloisant 6y ago
The percentage of users using the latest version isn't necessarily the percentage that matters for a given developer. For example, if we're talking about Fortnite, usage of the latest version is certainly higher than the general population. Older versions of Android are mostly used on cheaper devices, or users who seldomly upgrade their phone, and don't care that much about installing applications.
- thebean11 6y ago
  Whereas Netflix, probably closer to the average Android version distribution..
- michaelmrose 6y ago
  This is a good point but games may be a special case as they require a more powerful phone. Still there is probably a link between willingness to part with money and having a newer phone.

riquito 6y ago

Android version 10 has better update tracks than previous versions (project Treble benefits, landed in Android 9), and it keeps getting better, Android 12 should take less to reach the same user base

michaelmrose 6y ago
10 took a year to reach 25%. It's too early to say anything about the uptake of 11 let alone 12 which doesn't exist. 80% uptake for a new version in 2 years would represent a stunning success. In that happy scenario your billing change still hits 2 years before most app customers have any chance to benefit from alternative stores ensuring that everyone pretty much has to switch over or die. Pragmatically if I was google I would SAY I am making it easier for users to do business with someone else while making it as daunting as possible to actually do so in order to pressure vendors to at best offer both their wares for sale on both stores if they want to actually have customers. Your play store policy can then forbid say offering your goods for sale at a lower price elsewhere or advertising the existence of an alternative version in app on the play store version. As long as you keep it available on the play store most users will check their first and you can keep the revenue in house without strictly forbidding competition.
kuschku 6y ago
And yet the OG Pixel hasn’t gotten any updates in a year now.
- fallennode 6y ago
  The OG Pixel was released in early 2013. ~6 years of software updates is really good compared with any other smartphone.
  - phh 6y ago
    Uh... No... it has been released at end of 2016. It received 3 years of software upgrade, which most high-end Android OEMs deliver, (Though it got 3 major upgrades, while most OEMs stop at 2), and pales in comparaison to iPhones.
- ac29 6y ago
  ~9 months ago: https://developers.google.com/android/ota#sailfish https://developers.google.com/android/ota#sailfish
  - kuschku 6y ago
    That’s weird, my OG Pixel says it has received its last security update on October 6, 2019, and has no updates available

eloisant 6y ago

The percentage of users using the latest version isn't necessarily the percentage that matters for a given developer. For example, if we're talking about Fortnite, usage of the latest version is certainly higher than the general population. Older versions of Android are mostly used on cheaper devices, or users who seldomly upgrade their phone, and don't care that much about installing applications.

thebean11 6y ago
Whereas Netflix, probably closer to the average Android version distribution..
michaelmrose 6y ago
This is a good point but games may be a special case as they require a more powerful phone. Still there is probably a link between willingness to part with money and having a newer phone.