At the time Android was launched shortly after Apple’s iPhone was introduced into the market, Steve Jobs vowed to destroy android. The Apple CEO said “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”
According to the CIO Africa, Steve Jobs is so far losing the ‘thermonuclear war’ as Android is preferred by more people from across the world. When the Apple CEO declared the war against Android, it created an archetypal binary that had people choose whether they preferred Apple or Android.
There are other various cases of archetypical binary in the world where people have created a narratie of it’s us versus them. Men Vs Women. Labour versus Capital. Tea Vs Coffee. Today, you can add Apple Vs Android to that list.
If you are an iPhone person, you appreciate the sleekness and simplicity of its design, and you are horrified by the confusing mess that is the Android operating system. If you are an Android aficionado, you pity the iPhone user, a captive of an overly expensive closed ecosystem, designed to extract money from its users.
Big Think looked at this classic feud between the two tech firms from all angles and concluded that Android dominates Apple. If the contest is based on the number of countries, Android wins. In all, 74 of the 142 countries surveyed prefer Android. Only 65 favor Apple. That’s a 52/48 split.
Let’s take a look at this feud continentally and see where each dominates the most.
Middle East
In the Middle East and Central Adia, Android wins 8 countries to Apple’s 6. It is, however, complicated as someone from Turkey noted that iPhones seem to be more popular in the Asian half of Istanbul, while Android phones prevailed in the European part of the city.
The phone divide matches up with the region’s main geopolitical one: Iran prefers Android, Saudi Arabia the iPhone.
Africa
Here in Africa, Android wins by 17 countries versus Apple’s 15, according to Big Think’s report. There’s a solid Android block running from South Africa via DR Congo all the way to Ethiopia. iPhone countries are scattered throughout the north (Algeria), west (Guinea), east (Somalia), and the south (Namibia).
Android could easily dominate in Africa because iPhone products in the continent are costlier leaving Apple products for the selected few. In fact, Apple products are used to define social classes in most African countries where these products are left for only those who can afford them.
Asia
Another wafer-thin majority for Android in the Asia-Pacific region: 13 countries versus 12 for Apple. The two giants of the Asian mainland, India and China, are both Android countries. Apple countries are on the periphery.
And if India is Android, its rival Pakistan must be Apple. Same with North and South Korea.
Experts point to the fact that both operating systems are becoming more alike with every new generation as a potential resolution to the conflict. But as any student of human behavior will confirm: smaller differences will only exacerbate the rivalry between both camps.
North America
In the United States, there’s a divide in this. There can be only one winner per state, though, and that leads to this preponderance of Android logos. Apple dominates in 19 states while Android dominates 32 states
Only eight of North America’s 21 countries surveyed fall into the Apple category. The U.S and Canada lean on Android, while Mexico goes for the iPhone.
Central America is also kind of divided, but there too Android wins hands down, 5-2.
Central America
In Europe, Apple wins, with 20 countries preferring the iPhone while only 17 going for Android. Of Western Europe’s Big Five markets, three (UK, Germany, Spain) are pro-Android, and two (France & Italy) are pro-Apple. Czech Republic and Slovakia are an Apple island in the Android sea that is Central Europe.
South America
In South America, the divide is almost even. Five countries prefer android while four prefer Apple. In Peru, both Android and Apple-related tweets were 25% positive.
Android FAQs
Here are the frequently asked questions, according to the source website:
What is the Android Open Source Project?
Android Open Source Project (AOSP) refers to the people, processes, and source code that make up Android.
The people oversee the project and develop the source code. The processes are the tools and procedures that we use to manage the development of the software. The net result is the source code, which you can use in mobile phones and other devices.
What kind of open source project is Android?
Google oversees the development of the core Android open source platform and works to create robust developer and user communities. For the most part, the Android source code is licensed under the permissive Apache License 2.0, rather than a copyleft license. We chose the Apache 2.0 license because we believe that it encourages widespread Android software adoption.
Why is Google in charge of Android?
Launching a software platform is complex. Openness is vital to the long-term success of a platform, because openness attracts investment from developers and ensures a level playing field. The platform must also be a compelling product to users.
Google has committed the professional engineering resources necessary to ensure that Android is a fully competitive software platform. Google treats the Android project as a full-scale product development operation and strikes the business deals necessary to make sure great devices running Android make it to market.
By making sure Android is a success with users, we help ensure the vitality of Android as a platform and as an open source project. After all, who wants the source code to an unsuccessful product?
Google’s goal is to ensure a successful ecosystem around Android. We opened the Android source code so that anyone can modify and distribute the software to meet their own needs.
What is Google’s overall strategy for Android product development?
We release great devices into a competitive marketplace. We then incorporate the innovations and enhancements we made into the core platform as the next version.
In practice, this means that the Android engineering team focuses on a small number of “flagship” devices and develops the next version of Android software to support those product launches. These flagship devices absorb much of the product risk and blaze a trail for the broad OEM community, who follow up with more devices that take advantage of the new features. In this way, we make sure that the Android platform evolves according to the needs of real-world devices.
How is Android software developed?
Each platform version of Android (such as 1.5 or 8.1) has a corresponding branch in the open source tree. The most recent branch is considered the current stable branch version. This is the branch that manufacturers port to their devices. This branch is kept suitable for release at all times.
Simultaneously, there’s a current experimental branch, which is where speculative contributions, such as large next-generation features, are developed. Bug fixes and other contributions can be included in the current stable branch from the experimental branch as appropriate.
Finally, Google works on the next version of the Android platform in tandem with developing a flagship device. This branch pulls in changes from the experimental and stable branches as appropriate.
Why are some parts of Android developed in private?
It typically takes more than a year to bring a device to market. And, of course, device manufacturers want to ship the latest software they can. Meanwhile, developers don’t want to constantly track new versions of the platform when writing apps. Both groups experience a tension between shipping products and not wanting to fall behind.
To address this, some parts of the next version of Android including the core platform APIs are developed in a private branch. These APIs constitute the next version of Android. Our aim is to focus attention on the current stable version of the Android source code while we create the next version of the platform. This allows developers and OEMs to use a single version without tracking unfinished future work just to keep up. Other parts of the Android system that aren’t related to application compatibility are developed in the open. It’s our intention to move more of these parts to open development over time.
When are source code releases made?
When they’re ready. Releasing the source code is a fairly complex process. Some parts of Android are developed in the open, and that source code is always available. Other parts are developed first in a private tree, and that source code is released when the next platform version is ready.
In some releases, core platform APIs are ready far enough in advance so that we can push the source code out for an early look prior to the device’s release. In other releases, this isn’t possible. In all cases, we release the platform source when we feel that the version is stable, and when the development process permits.
What is involved in releasing the source code for a new Android version?
Releasing the source code for a new version of the Android platform is a significant process. First, the software is built into a system image for a device and put through various forms of certification, including government regulatory certification for the regions the phones will be deployed. The code also goes through operator testing. This is an important phase of the process, because it helps detect software bugs.
When the release is approved by the regulators and operators, the manufacturer begins mass producing devices, and we begin releasing the source code.
Simultaneous to mass production, the Google team kicks off several efforts to prepare the open source release. These efforts include making final API changes, updating documentation (to reflect any modifications that were made during qualification testing, for example),
How does AOSP relate to the Android compatibility program?
The Android Open Source Project maintains Android software, and develops new versions. Because it’s open source, this software can be used for any purpose, including developing devices that aren’t compatible with other devices based on the same source.
The function of the Android Compatibility Program is to define a baseline implementation of Android that is compatible with third-party apps written by developers. Devices that are Android compatible are eligible to participate in the Android ecosystem, including Google Play; devices that don’t meet the compatibility requirements exist outside of that ecosystem.
In other words, the Android Compatibility Program is how we separate Android-compatible devices from devices that merely run derivatives of the source code. We welcome all uses of the Android source code, but to participate in the Android ecosystem, a device must be identified as Android-compatible by the program.
How can I contribute to Android?
You can report bugs, write apps for Android, or contribute source code to the Android Open Source Project.
There are limits to the kinds of code contributions we accept. For instance, someone might want to contribute an alternative application API, such as a full C++-based environment. We would decline that contribution, because Android encourages applications to be run in the ART runtime. Similarly, we won’t accept contributions such as GPL or LGPL libraries that are incompatible with our licensing goals.
What is Android “compatibility”?
We define an Android-compatible device as one that can run any application written by third-party developers using the Android SDK and NDK. We use this as a filter to separate devices that can participate in the Android app ecosystem and those that can’t. For devices that are properly compatible, device manufacturers can seek approval to use the Android trademark. Devices that aren’t compatible are derived from the Android source code and aren’t permitted to use the Android trademark.
In other words, compatibility is a prerequisite for participation in the Android apps ecosystem. Anyone is welcome to use the Android source code. But if the device isn’t compatible, it isn’t considered part of the Android ecosystem.
What kind of devices can be compatible with Android?
Android software can be ported to many different devices, including some on which third-party apps won’t run properly. The Android Compatibility Definition Document (CDD) spells out the specific device configurations that are considered compatible.
For example, though the Android source code could be ported to run on a phone that doesn’t have a camera, the CDD requires all phones to have a camera. This allows developers to rely on a consistent set of capabilities when writing their apps..
The CDD continues to evolve to reflect market realities. For instance, version 1.6 of the CDD supports only cell phones. But version 2.1 allows devices to omit telephony hardware, enabling non-phone devices such as tablet-style music players to be compatible.