How the Fragmentation of iOS and Android Platforms Affects App Development

No other operating system in the world has been so hopelessly fragmented as Android. However, some users believe that fragmentation is not a drawback but a competitive advantage. Let’s explore this term in more detail and define its main influences.

What is Fragmentation?

Many interpret this term in the narrow sense, believing that, with regard to Android, it means the simultaneous coexistence of updated and non-renewable smartphones. In a broader sense, fragmentation means dividing something into many disparate fragments. In the case of Android, fragmentation is a consequence of the use of the operating system by different manufacturers who cover it with their own shells rather than develop a custom platform.

Few people understand that due to the fragmentation, our smartphones are equipped with functions that are not available in the original version of Android. For instance, let’s take the ability to take screenshots of the entire page. According to Google developers, this function is not feasible in the stock OS. Still, third-party manufacturers implemented it in their shells, not taking into account the views of the search giant.

In fact, Android is considered the most fragmented operating system that has ever existed. Google’s natural desire to develop and improve its mobile OS has led to the emergence of one of the key shortcomings of the Android platform. The most common operating system for smartphones and tablets is present on hundreds of millions of devices, which at the same time operate on many different versions of the system, differing from each other not just by serial number, but by features, functionality, and compatibility with applications.

Developer’s Business

On the market, there are thousands of devices of all kinds of shapes and colors, with different performance, screen resolution, and a set of sensors. Each user can choose the device that suits them perfectly in terms of functionality, taste preferences, and wallet. At the same time, such fragmentation makes the process of mobile app development much more difficult.

In fact, it is also not profitable for producers of mobile devices to release updates for all the devices. It’s easier to launch a new device on a new OS. This is why many owners of Android devices are forced to stay on outdated versions of the operating system that are less reliable and secure. While Apple just sends software updates to everyone, Android mobile app developers are forced to check the new version for compatibility with many devices existing on the market. In addition, both manufacturers and mobile operators often redo the standard Android interface, pre-installing “junk” applications. This operation requires time and money, therefore, manufacturers do not even undertake to update their already released devices.

Fragmentation also creates other challenges to mobile app developers. They are forced to design applications for different versions of the operating system or limit the number of potential users by developing an application for a specific version of the operating system. Thus, it negatively affects users of the OS. Developers are forced to repeat the usability testing and optimize applications for each model longer and sometimes refuse to support the early builds of the system. As a result, the game or program is not installed on the smartphone with suitable parameters or does not work correctly.

The situation of users is even worse, since new devices that are less than a year old do not receive new functions and bug fixes. Without security patches for mobile apps, the risk of virus infection or hacking through available vulnerabilities increases. Also, insufficiently optimized applications do not work or cause crashes, reduce OS performance, or consume battery power.

The Problem of Android Fragmentation

Over the several years of its existence, Google’s mobile OS survived several major versions, which led to the presence of a large proportion of devices that do not support the latest system updates. Fragmentation forces application developers to take care of enterprise mobility testing, optimizing their code on earlier and older versions of Android, and solving compatibility problems.

In addition, each mobile app development company, as a rule, releases its own shell, replacing the standard Android interface. But that’s not all. A lot of all kinds of tablets, smartphones, and players have completely different screen resolutions, often not proportional to each other. Such fragmentation cannot but affect both developers and user experience.

No other platform has the same variety of screens as Android. Tablets and smartphones are equipped with screens with different pixel densities and aspect ratios. Creating the right UI for every screen is a tedious task for any developer. From this point of view, the iOS platform looks much more attractive: when creating an application for it, you need to focus on a small number of screens and resolutions.

The final development price depends on the complexity of the project, the level and number of specialists involved in it, and is the sum of the hours spent on the project, multiplied by the cost of an hour of work. Since the creation of a high-quality Android application requires to take into account many versions of operating systems and screen resolutions, the process is 1.5 times longer than with iOS. The more devices developers need to cover, the more time they will have to spend on development and testing, increasing the final cost of the project.

Wrapping Up

As we can see, fragmentation creates many problems. Among the positive aspects of fragmentation is that vulnerability in the new version of Android software will potentially affect a smaller part of users — in iOS, the threat extends to all updated devices.

If you have decided to build your mobile app on Android or iOS, SwagSoft can help you do it perfectly no matter how complicated the task is. We are an enterprise mobile app development company located in Singapore that has managed to help dozens of clients realize their most complicated projects. As one of the leading manufacturers of mobile apps, we, at Swag Soft, always focus on client needs.