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More developers are using Android than iOS to browse Stack Overflow

blog.stackoverflow.com

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Re: More developers are using Android than iOS to browse Stack Overflow

#2

Post by brown9-2 »

There have been endless articles written debating which platform is more popular with developers, Android or iOS. Some have claimed that iOS is more developer friendly, while the other side claims that Android is bound to win and so developers should focus on that. After analyzing all our data, the verdict is: Android is now more popular than iOS with developers.

It seems to me that previous Stackoverflow statistics posts have made similar errors with the way they state things that they've learned based on traffic to their site - the statement "Android is more popular than iOS with developers" should be followed by the phrase "for visiting www.stackoverflow.com".

I'm not sure how you can extrapolate something as broad as "popular" from what OS is used to visit their website. Popular in what way - what mobile OS they target when building apps? What OS they like to use on their personal devices? Etc.

Re: More developers are using Android than iOS to browse Stack Overflow

#5

Post by friggeri »

The other way of looking at this data is that Android developers need more help [edit: on StackOverflow] than iOS developers. Which does not imply anything on popularity but tell something very interesting on the quality of the SDKs or developers… (I'm neither an Android nor iOS developer)

Re: More developers are using Android than iOS to browse Stack Overflow

#6

Post by hullo »

brown9-2 wrote: post #2

There have been endless articles written debating which platform is more popular with developers, Android or iOS. Some have claimed that iOS is more developer friendly, while the other side claims that Android is bound to win and so developers should focus on that. After analyzing all our data, the verdict is: Android is now more popular than iOS with developers. It seems to me that previous Stackoverflow statistics…

While I don't disagree that Android is certainly popular and growing ever more so, I don't think the methodology in place really justifies making comparisons of "popularity". This is a place where the homogeneity of the iOS platform really comes in - there's a pretty limited set of devices, which eliminates a lot of the "how do I get Android to do X on Y handheld" questions that would distort their numbers. The Android APIs have certainly been evolving more rapidly in the timeframe under question than iOS, as well - there's a broad base of previously answered questions to draw from without asking another one.

Re: More developers are using Android than iOS to browse Stack Overflow

#7

Post by chugger »

friggeri wrote: post #5

The other way of looking at this data is that Android developers need more help [edit: on StackOverflow] than iOS developers. Which does not imply anything on popularity but tell something very interesting on the quality of the SDKs or developers… (I'm neither an Android nor iOS developer)

you nailed it. Plus iOS have better documentation and there's a ton of books and online docs, support, etc.

This is Google we're talking about. Support is virtually non-existent.

Re: More developers are using Android than iOS to browse Stack Overflow

#9

Post by smackfu »

friggeri wrote: post #5

The other way of looking at this data is that Android developers need more help [edit: on StackOverflow] than iOS developers. Which does not imply anything on popularity but tell something very interesting on the quality of the SDKs or developers… (I'm neither an Android nor iOS developer)

Android developers need more help from StackOverflow than iOS developers. Aren't there private forums for Apple developers, that you can only see if you are a registered developer?

Re: More developers are using Android than iOS to browse Stack Overflow

#10

Post by sankara »

hullo wrote: post #6
brown9-2 wrote: post #2

There have been endless articles written debating which platform is more popular with developers, Android or iOS. Some have claimed that iOS is more developer friendly, while the other side claims that Android is bound to win and so developers should focus on that. After analyzing all our data, the verdict is: Android is now more popular than iOS with developers. It seems to me that previous Stackoverflow statistics…

While I don't disagree that Android is certainly popular and growing ever more so, I don't think the methodology in place really justifies making comparisons of "popularity". This is a place where the homogeneity of the iOS platform really comes in - there's a pretty limited set of devices, which eliminates a lot of the "how do I get Android to do X on Y handheld" questions that would distort their numbers. The Andro…

If they are using number of questions as the benchmark I would buy your argument. It doesn't matter if pageviews is considered. Developing for Android and searching for a solution related to android need not happen from an android device. Most developers don't code in their handhelds.
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