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iOS Vs. Android: Which Has the Crashiest Apps?
First time accepted submitter creativeHavoc writes "Forbes author Tomio Geron takes a look at data accrued by mobile app monitoring startup Crittercism. After looking at normalized data of crashes over the various mobile operating system versions he compares crash rates of apps on the two platforms. He also breaks it down further to look how the top apps compare across the competing mobile operating systems. The results may not be what you expect."
iOS crashes more than Android (for those who don't feel like trawling through the (not brilliantly formatted) article.
You can learn a lot about a person if you just take the time to inject them with sodium pentathol
I was expecting android to outdo iOS in the crash department due to all the variables in the android world hat iOS just doesnt suffer from. Namely, android has a wider range of handset support.
The $600 device's main purpose is NOT to make calls. It's an internet communications device that just happens to make phone calls. The people who insist that basic phones are just fine need to figure out this slight, but important, distinction. Buy an internet device if you want internet, but don't compare it to a phone.
I'll probably opt for a BASIC voice-and-text flip-phone of some kind
What is the command in BASIC for calling someone?
The closest I can think of is GOSUB, but I'm afraid that's not going to pull the trick.
If Pandora's box is destined to be opened, *I* want to be the one to open it.
I would be very interest to see the impact of jailbreaking in this analysis. Do apps crash more often on jailbroken devices? How does it compare between Android and iOS?
One of the main argument for closed down system, putting aside the money factor which no one gives as an official reason, is stability. I do not believe stability is considerably affected by jailbreaking or by the subsequent modification one could do to the OS, but it would be nice to have statistics and some analysis on this.
It's more than just bad apps. I got an iPad a couple weeks ago and safari has crashed several times. I never have more than 5 tabs open. I have also had Skype crash as well, but I don't know how well that code is written.
Sorry, just not true. Before the iPhone, an unlocked Treo 650 cost about USD 650 (without contract). Some fashionable dumb or feature phones - like the Matrix Nokia chromed slider - retailed up to USD 1000 at the time - with contract and all.
So IOS 4 used cooperative multitasking (http://forums.pcworld.com/index.php?/topic/89287-apple-ios-4-vs-android-multitasking-which-approach-is-better-for-users/page__st__160) while I believe android uses a modern pre-emptive multitasking approach. I know IOS 5 has updated multtasking but it is unclear to me if they have gone to a full pre-emptive multitasking scheme.
iOS has always had a full multi-tasking kernel. It is Unix for crying out loud. I would write more, but obviously you don't care because otherwise you would have typed, "iPhone Kernel Multitasking" into your favorite search engine and found and read any of the top articles that the search engine provides. Go on, try it out, if you care at all, which I doubt.... .... And really, for "proof" you grabbed post #161 from random post on some article?
In the short term, I'll probably opt for a BASIC voice-and-text flip-phone of some kind, because I can't afford (nor stomach!) spending $600 on a PHONE whose MAIN purpose is to MAKE CALLS when I can get a $70 model that will take care of that primary function just fine for now.
Its a common perspective, but first of all most people (at least in the US) buy their phone subsidized with a contract renewal, so the price for even a top-tier phone is $200-$300. Second, for me personally after using smartphones for a few years, I view it as the most significant personal (non-work) computing device I use daily. I definitely use it more than my home PC and tablet combined, and can therefore justify spending top dollar on a quality "phone". I won't make assumptions about you, but I know many people who found, when they get a smartphone, that its main purpose is NOT to make calls.
You have nobody to thank for this but a: the carriers and b: apple.
It is they, who in collusion, raised the price of buying a phone to astronomical levels. Remember when the highest price for an unlocked phone was usually $200? What phone broke that trend? Iphone.
Well, either that, or you didn't notice expensive phones before the iPhone, since unlocked Treos were $600 in 2006. But sure, you dislike Apple so it's probably Apple's fault.
You have nobody to thank for this but a: the carriers and b: apple.
It is they, who in collusion, raised the price of buying a phone to astronomical levels. Remember when the highest price for an unlocked phone was usually $200? What phone broke that trend? Iphone.
It ended up making the carriers a ton of money even though the consumer gets screwed.
And of course other vendors jumped on the chance to offer similar products for a lower price, right ? There are vendors out there getting killed and yet they don't offer smartphones for significantly lower prices in order to scoop up marketshare. That seems to indicate they can't undercut current prices.
If all else fails, immortality can always be assured by spectacular error.
despite all of your rambling bullshit, you cannot write apps that will properly multitask for ios AND will get listed in the official market.
Wealth is the gift that keeps on giving.
What? There have been >$1000 unlocked phones as long as I can remember. Hell, I remember the Nokia 8 and 9 series phones cost over a thousand bucks way back in 1997 or so...
Going to spend $600 just to be cool? Ok. But lets be honest here, the iPhone makes phone calls just fine. Using the default Apps is also just fine. A beautiful user experience. It's only when people go totally gaga with the apps downloading every spammy, game demo, half-assed implemented app, by the dozens (or even hundreds)....then its not wonder things start crashing. As for QUALITY apps, there are arguably more of them available for iphone than android...then again, most major apps have versions for each. In other words, pick your poison and have fun. If you want to just make reliable phone calls, buy a $30 Nokia choco bar phone and be done with it.
I've had to remove the battery on the Blackberry quite a few times to recover. annoying!
iPad 1 "crashes" a lot compared to iPad 2.
All testing by Apple is now done on iPad 2, which has more memory. So some of the "crashing" is iOS telling the app to free up memory, and shutting it down too quickly.
This has made the iPad 1 experience much poorer than it used to be.
Three Dead Trolls in a Baggie said it best. Every OS Sucks http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPRvc2UMeMI
vi +
I was bored this morning, so for those interested, since the article makes it hard to extract this information:
All iOS versions total 84.36% of crashes; all Android versions total 15.49% of crashes. The worst offenders for iOS are version 5.0.1 at 28.64% and 4.2.10 at 12.64% (with seven other version listed at above 1% of crashes). The worst offenders for Android are versions 2.3.3 at 3.86% and 2.3.4 at 3.65%, with 4 other versions listed at above 1%.
Loose things are easy to lose. You're getting your hair cut. They're going there to see their aunt.
What is the command in BASIC for calling someone?
The closest I can think of is GOSUB, but I'm afraid that's not going to pull the trick.
I think if you want to be pulling tricks, then you need to get people to be calling you. So you'll need to advertise your number with something like a "PRINT". And then repeat that lots of times to try and get past all the people flagging you on CL
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
but I know many people who found, when they get a smartphone, that its main purpose is NOT to make calls.
That is so true. And let's not forget that, at least in Android's case, there's a built-in SIP stack so you can make cheap data calls. Of course, you could also run Skype on Android and iOS. There are a couple of VoIP providers (I understand that VOIPO is one) that let you use your SIP credential on your phone. In any event, even if your main thing is making voice calls, a smartphone can help save you money there.
The higher the technology, the sharper that two-edged sword.
but the most popular phone leading up to iphone was the RAZR (2004). initial price in the states was $600 bucks.
http://gizmodo.com/270353/the-razr-taught-us-that-the-iphone-is-priced-juuust-right
It was 2004 when the RAZR launched in the US as a high-end design clamshell. It was $600, with a $100 dollar rebate from Cingular. yes, soon after launch the price dropped precipitously much like smart phones now. today you can get an android or ios phone (NEW) for just about every price point from free to 800 bucks.
oh, and don't forget the venerable StarTAC. 1996 - ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_StarTAC).. a primary selling point of which was support for OMG.. wait for it.. SMS. ...a free iphone 3GS is as capable as a laptop of the StarTAC era. Apple didn't set the bar, Motorola did - TWICE. Together the StarTAC and RAZR sold over 100M units.
so poett, you either forgot or are too young to have ever known ;)
So is a BB 9810 or 9900 not a smartphone? I went down this route because many of our customers are of an age that they still use voice when I wouldn't, and the telephone functions on BB are still excellent. I have quite bad hearing, but my 9810 works perfectly for me.
From scarped cliff or quarried stone she cries "A thousand types are gone, I care for nothing, no not one."
I don't think this has as much to do with Android and iOS as it does with the state of software quality in general. The current state of software quality is abysmal, since the shift to scripting languages and web apps as the primary platform about ten years, the science and art of writing robust and reliable software for OO, event driven, asynchronous platforms like iOS or Android has become an almost lost skill. Unfortunately failure modes for these platforms are more dramatic than for web apps, in that you'll likely get a crash rather than 'error on page' message. The situation has been further exacerbated by management's insistence an always hiring the lowest quality developers they can find, outsourcing, H1 B's etc. If you use low quality and inexperienced devs, you'll likely get an unstable and and unreliable application on these types of platforms. This should be a wake up call to the industry in general in that we need to focus and engineering, quality and reliability, and not just minimizing cost.
you are talking rubbish. kernel multitasking != sandboxed app multitasking..
The anonymous that I was responding to was the one that used the term "cooperative multitasking" to describe iOS. Cooperative Multitasking has a very specific definition in regards to operating systems and iOS is definitely not a cooperative multitasking operating system. Once again, if you cared you could type, "cooperative multitasking" into your favorite search engine, click on the wikipedia link, and then read all about it.... If you cared..... Which you must not since you haven't already....
I agree, safari crashes quite a bit, but it seems to be on particular websites. I'm on my iPhone now typing this, iPhone safari works great on /., but some ad heavy sites cause problems. From my experience it's usually smaller blogs and such, most of the Internet works fine. Besides there's several other browsers available for iPhone, opera probably the best IMHO
my karma will be here long after I'm gone
I don't think the prices are unreasonable -- it's an extremely compact device with a lot of FLASH memory, a screen resolution better than many laptops, and better battery life than most laptops. The Apple devices sold by SaskTel are marginally cheaper in many cases, more expensive in others, depending on which model you get.
But for me, the main purpose is to develop for the phone, not to use it as a phone, so when you add in the cost of a Mac and software to program for iOS devices, the Android platform wins by a HUGE margin.
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
What i wonder is, how is this data supposed to be "normalized" as the slashdot summary suggests?
It appears to me the number of crashes would be proportional to the number of OSes out there of that version?
Hey don't blame me, IANAB
This graphic is worse than useless. Here is a good debunking of it from a stats focused blog I first saw it on.
http://junkcharts.typepad.com/junk_charts/2012/02/a-data-mess-outduels-the-pie-chart-disaster-for-our-attention.html
Bureaucracy expands to meet the needs of the expanding bureaucracy.-Oscar Wilde
Yeah but are you going to get the plan anyways? It does lock you in, but if you were going to get the service, there's no reason to not sign the contract just out of principle. And you can get cheaper plans. Me, for example, have organized a 5-line family plan on Sprint and pay what divides up to about $40 per phone for unlimited everything smartphones.
This chart has already been torn apart on Junk charts. Basically their statistics and reporting are so vague as to make it worthless. But yes, you may be surprised ... lies, damn lies and statistics.
Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
I find myself wondering how many of the Razr owners also carried a iPod. and that when the iPhone launched, they replaced two devices with one. I suspect iTunes would make such a transition mostly painless, sync the iPod one last time, then sync the iPhone and be on your way.
comment first, facts later. http://chem.tufts.edu/AnswersInScience/RelativityofWrong.htm
iOS has a lot of attention and probably has more first-time and low-quality coders than Android. If Android was more popular, iOS apps would be less crashy instead.
It's common sense, really. And says nothing of the platform, only the dev crowds drawn to them.
The article did not clarify if they removed the "Low Memory" and "Active Assertions Beyond Permitted Time" entries from the crash log.
When iOS has memory demands it will kill suspended background processes and this shows up in the crash logs with a low memory reason. When a background process is running (not suspended) to complete some task (like downloading/uploading data, etc) and it exceeds the allowed execution time, iOS will kill it with an assertions beyond permitted time reason.
Neither of these are actual "crashes" as you might think of them and in fact users are often completely unaware the app was killed because when you switch back to the app it just reloads its state where it left off (and well-written apps actually restore your position in the UI).
If these two items weren't excluded then the results for iOS are worthless.
The article also pointed out that iOS 5 is new and there are likely to be crashes generated due to apps not being updated yet and that Android is likely to have a similar problem as ICS actually starts rolling out (or people buy new devices when they are stuck with a non-upgradable device).
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
Fuck off, this is not your website. Go somewhere else.
There is nothing wrong with wanting to use a plain phone, but bragging about not wanting to get the most out of a device is completely not-slashdot.
Probably quite a few, since Apple did attempt to work with Motorola in the wake of the RAZR's success to make an "Apple-like phone" with the ROKR - which was a massive flop, but it was an early attempt to get music onto a phone in a more seamless manner than the unintuitive phone GUIs of the time.
I'm sure one of the data points on the graph of decisions will have been "how many RAZR users also carry an iPod with them?"
...but the crashiest apps on my iPhone have always been the apps included with the OS. The AppStore crashes on me the most. The Mail app is second. It's very rare that any app that I've downloaded actually crashes on me. Maybe I'm just lucky.
Not a trend, just a data point.
- Spryguy
There are three kinds of people in this world: those that can count and those that can't
The thing is, it really should be Android. I mean, under Android you're free to develop and distribute an app designed just for crashing the phone. I'm sure such a thing would never get past the Apple censors.
Bad apps crash -- sure. But *worse* apps may appear to keep working while storing up later trouble for the user.
Whenever I see a list of software fault types with "crash bug" at the apex, I cringe. When I led a software team, I had to de-program developers who were trained that crashing is the worst possible thing an app can do. It isn't. There are many worse ones, such as leading a user to trust false data, exposing sensitive information, and losing or corrupting a user's work. The worse thing about a crash in the absence of data loss or long recovery time is that it undermines user confidence. It's often possible for a well-architected app to crash (due to programming faults of course) with no serious implications for the user.
Crashing per se isn't a problem. It's a *symptom*. This is important! I've caught developers "fixing crash bugs" without addressing the real problems: failure to program defensively around unexpected conditions like bad input or inability to secure resources like memory or file references. I've seen super-general exception handlers buried way down on the stack which catch every possible exception and quietly attempt to restore the semblance of operation, even though they can't possibly know whether the application is in a consistent state, or whether it is holding orphaned resources. Programmers do this because they've been inculcated with the false notion that crashes per se are terrible things. This leads to hiding the symptoms errors rather than fixing the errors themselves. Hiding the cause of a crash increases the probability of faulty information, loss of data, and shipping a release with serious defects.
So don't treat crashing as a problem, but as an alert signal. A crash in itself is benign, an honest recognition of failure if you will.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
despite all of your rambling bullshit, you cannot write apps that will properly multitask for ios AND will get listed in the official market.
And here is what you don't get: That's a _good_ thing. As a user, I don't want apps eating up the battery life in the background. iOS is a port of MacOS X, so if Apple had wanted it, there would have been full unlimited tasking from day one. There's a good reason for the artificial limitations.
The most generally useful use of multitasking is to finish a task in the background. App starts a download, user switches to a different app, first app finishes the download in the background. That's there. It also means the next app launches _before_ the first app has exited. Automatically. Multitasking exactly when it benefits the user. The rest is special cases where multitasking is both useful and power efficient.
PRINT "ATDV12024561414" should do the trick
No, informative.
There is no "I disagree" mod for a reason. Flamebait, Troll, and Overrated are not substitutes.
I wouldn't call that iOS' "fault". Mobile devices have very limited resources. This isn't like a desktop machine where you've got several gigabytes of memory to play with. If an application is badly behaved and it uses too much memory, that has an effect on the rest of the system. There's only so much memory to go around. Also, if using lots of memory becomes normalised, there's pressure to add more memory to newer models, which will result in lower battery life.
I'm an app developer, and if I ever see that one of my projects is killed for not responding fast enough, I know that there's something very, very wrong somewhere. Usually it's a sign that a junior developer decided to do something processor or network intensive synchronously on the main thread, which is a big mistake. You do what is necessary to get an interface up, and you push everything expensive into the background and update the UI when it finishes. There's no excuse for an application not responding quickly enough, it's easy to do.
If you really think Skype is not at fault, how do you explain the fact that it crashes all the time on other platforms as well?
Bogtha Bogtha Bogtha
So if it is commercial software development then you have to consider sales potential.
That's the myth, of course. The reality is that less than 1% of iOS developers break $1000 in app sales.
This is in contrast with Blackberry developers, 13% of which pull in more than $100k in app sales.
Which platform would you rather develop for?
Required reading for internet skeptics
And your statistical backing for that statement is?
Even flashlight apps bring in more than $1,000 over the life of the application.
seSales, Point of Sale software for OS X.
NullPointerException and ArrayIndexOutOfBoundsException are both equally as bad as seg faults.
Funny you should say that. Know what happens if you dereference null in Objective C? Well, "send a message to nil," but it's the same concept. The answer: the method silent returns 0/false/nil (depending on what the return signature is). That's it. No exception and no warning.
So if you were wondering about why iOS apps crash so frequently, it really is because of the language they're written in and the platform they target.
I live in the US and if your on T-Mobile, you can buy a phone outright also. They will even tell you how much of your bill is designated to pay off your loan if you decide to take their interest free loan for the phone.
I was just looking at phones yesterday to upgrade my son's phone. The Galaxy S II is $550, and you can get a perfectly fine Android phone for $250 without a contract. Par of the high price of Android phones is that everyone want the latest and greatest phone, which will be noticeably more expense than many of the phones that are perfectly fine. Everyone wants to be an early adopter, and they don't realize it.
The problem is that in some cases iOS doesn't reclaim the memory. I have to force reboot my iPad once every week or two as it leaks memory to the point that some slightly heavier applications (like Fruit Ninja) can't even start without being given a "kill -9" (and that's what iOS does by the way).
For a site about things like basic rights, Slashdot users sure do like to censor "dissent".
An iPhone 3GS is pretty much EOL. You know that iOS versions past 5.1 are highly unlikely to support them because Apple always drops the version 2 behind the current, and the 3GS is up next. It's free because it's just that far behind.
Its the hardware not the OS that decides such things. Apple will most likely always offer three hardware generations, the latest starting at $200, the previous at $100 and the oldest at $0. The 3GS won't go away until the iPhone 5 arrives and pushes the iPhone 4 into the $0 position.
For now the the 3GS has the current version of iOS and all the new functionality that comes with it. Since the 3GS is current in this respect and is still being sold it is still targeted by developers today. It may not be new but it is still a highly functional smart phone.