back to article iOS 5 'crashes more apps' than Android

Recent data has shown that iOS apps crash more often than apps running on the Android platform. The data comes from Crittercism – monitoring software that records app crashes as a percentage of app launches and makes money by sending reports and diagnostics to the app's creators. After looking at data taken about app crashes …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Holmes

    Mostly useless survey

    For apps which use Crittercism's crash reporting component.

    Do we know know which apps those are and if they are representative for the whole software catalog for the devices? Only Apple has all the crash reports across all iOS apps (and even then only for people who have switched on the sending of crash reports - as applicable across versions.)

    Another thing to consider is that iOS 5 is relatively new and there are going to be crashes due to apps not being updated yet and that Android is likely to have a similar problem as ICS actually starts rolling out.

    One more thing to consider is the the number of potential issues with the data it's self

    http://junkcharts.typepad.com/junk_charts/2012/02/a-data-mess-outduels-the-pie-chart-disaster-for-our-attention.html

    On top of that, this survey was undertaken by a company which receives it's funding from Google Ventures

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Facepalm

      "Mostly useless survey" = Completely useless comment

      Since all you did was repeat exactly what was said in the article.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Not exactly the same

        Come on Stike you're usually better than that.

        There was additional info in the comment. A more detailed look at some of the flaws in the data. That definitely wasn't in the article.

        Have it your way

  2. Gordon 10
    Thumb Up

    What I was going to say - but quicker!

    Also the population within each app store using Crittercism would have strong bearing. Eg if its good Apps on Andriod and only badly coded Fart apps on IOS.

  3. Si 1

    "Crittercism has funding from Google Ventures."

    So, no conflict of interest there then.

  4. jai

    impartial

    "Crittercism has funding from Google Ventures"

    <AV:PD mode> Oh re-ea-ea-ea-ea-eally? </AV:PD mode>

    1. geekclick

      AV:PD?

      Ace Ventura Pet Detective? Love that film...

      Back to the article roll out the fanbois "Oh its funded by google ventures so iOS will come off worse blah, blah, blah"

      Reg why do you post these things? Is it to test how restrained we can all be under our new comments system :D

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Seriously, Ace Ventura???

    3. Peter 66
      Thumb Up

      for the Ace Ventura quote

  5. Nanners
    Mushroom

    Ios5 a bomb

    Thank you, I've been bitching about this for months. It wasn't a problem until iOS 5. The people pushing the iPad to do something besides surf porn know it's a problem. Though safari is one of the worst offenders at this point. iOS 5 is a completely unstable release, and I can not wait for a new iOS in what ever form. Just for the facts...I have been a Mac user since the mid/ late nineties and I have bitched on Mac forums about this issue. My complaint was promptly removed.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      " My complaint was promptly removed."

      Of course, drones need to shut up and obey!

    2. Sean Timarco Baggaley
      FAIL

      I see your statistically insignificant anecdote...

      ... and raise it with an "IOS5 works just fine on MY gear."

      Maybe you're running too many crap apps?

  6. John Moppett

    Rubbish!

    I am currently researching the use of tablets in Special Education , and have an iPad2 and a Lenovo A1. I have not had a single app crash on the iPad, which is running IOS5. The Android Lenovo regularly crashes the built in apps, some of them have never worked, crashing and forcing a system restart!

    1. Martin
      FAIL

      Oh, really?

      So your sample of one is proof that this survey is incorrect?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Odd.

        As were it to suggest the opposite Martin, i.e. that the 'research' showed that iOS 5 'crashed fewer apps', I'm sure you'd be making the very same argument about the data.

        1. Martin
          WTF?

          @AnotherNetNarcissist - Odd

          If the research showed that iOS crashed fewer apps, and someone said "Rubbish! - I've got an iPad and a Android tablet and the Android works much better", I would have made exactly the same comment.

          What's your point?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @John

      Most iOS crashes are silent, you'll be unaware until you check the CrashReporter logs - stability issues aren't limited to 3rd parties either, plenty of crashes here with MobileSafari and AppStore.

      [The argument for hiding crashes and auto restarting is good usability - the platform difference is that while Android Apps also autorestart, they inform the user of the crash first].

      .........also I think you'd be better served using a Google Experience device for this kind of research.

      1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
        Boffin

        RE: @John

        I'm also curious as to how they define "crash" - if the app has to restart, is that counted as a crash? I don't have many problems with Android apps crashing, but I have plenty with ones that I have to force close when I finish using them. Comparing three Android devices (two phones and a tablet), I've had a few crashes on the tablet (2.3 Gingerbread), one or two on one phone (both 3.2 Honeycomb), and I can't remember a single one on the other phone. The difference is the apps - the tablet has a lot of games and similar junk, the first phone is the wife's and is loaded with dross like Facebook and Twitter, whereas the other phone has an almost virgin install and a few, quality apps. Adding apps to any device will increase the chance of crashes, adding junk apps will double that amount of crashes.

        1. PaulR79

          @Matt Bryant

          Erm.. No phone has a version of Honeycomb available to it. I've only seen a tiny few custom ROMs built using it as most ignored it and have gone for ICS instead. Did you get mixed up with your versions?

          1. Naughtyhorse

            but matt is special ;-) doncher know

            1. Matt Bryant Silver badge
              Facepalm

              RE: Naughtyhorse

              "but matt is special...." We're all special in our own ways, Naughtyhorse, it's just when people talk about you being special, it's a polite way of saying you're a dunce. I'm not surprised that you have nothing of technical merit to add to the conversation.

          2. Matt Bryant Silver badge
            Happy

            RE: @Matt Bryant

            Modaco Honeycomb mod, tweaked and loaded onto a pair of HTC Rubys (from the US) by someone that knows a lot more about HTCs than I do. The mod was on Megaupload, no idea where to get it from now but I have a backup saved. Works fine, the only app I've had trouble with display-wise has been the Bubbles screensaver, just displays badly. As I said, loading junk apps seems to be the problem with my wife's phone. I'm not (yet) tempted enough by Ice Cream Sarnie mods to update either phone (or rebuild my mate's NAS system in return). I didn't realise the Honeycomb mod was that rare, a shame 'cos it seems quite stable.

            Oh, and the Ruby is MUCH nicer than any iPhone! :P

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Well...

    None have ever crashed on me...

  8. Simon Wells
    Thumb Down

    IoS5 crashes more often...

    ...than any OS I have ever used. And I've still got a Vista laptop.

  9. Neil Stansbury

    Not my experience

    Apps on my Android Samsung 7.7 tab fall over more often than a drunken sailor.

    I can't get through a day without at least the GMail app and one of the plethora of awful Android web browsers crashing.

    I can't remember the the last time an app crashed on my iPhone - on iOS 4 or 5.

    1. DaveyDaveDave
      Meh

      "...one of the plethora of awful Android web browsers crashing."

      May I suggest you try one of the good Android web browsers?

      Funnily enough, I find that the awful applications I install on any OS crash quite frequently. Some would say that it's one of the defining characteristics of an awful application.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    These apps aren't crashing, they're trying to escape from the iPhone and the "person" using it!

  11. Yves Kurisaki
    Thumb Down

    Not happy

    iOS5 (on a 4S) is the first time I've ever been unhappy with my iPhone. Apps most definitely crash way too often. I don't know if it's the OS or badly programmed iOS5 updates, either way, it shouldn't happen on an iPhone.

    And to add to that, the 5.0.1 update has left me with a ridiculously fast draining battery (I managed to fix the battery problems in 5 but no such fixes work in 5.0.1) and constant SIM Failure messages.

    No good Apple.

    1. Kirbini
      Go

      I hear this all the time too

      but never have experienced it.

      I bought a 4S on release day and use it heavily. I don't think I've ever even force rebooted it let alone had anything ever crash on me. I've also never experienced any battery draining issues; there's usually 1/4 to 1/2 battery left when I dock it next to the bed at night.

      Personally I've never been happier with a phone. So I guess there's that.

      1. Kirbini
        Stop

        Then again

        Ok, I guess I forgot to knock on wood before I posted. I just had my first crash. In the middle of a stupid Zynga game (Scramble With Friends) so the blame could go to them as well.

        Completely locked up and had to to a hard reset. Not fun. Not happy. I formally withdraw my previous comment (but will leave it up so all and sundry can witness my humiliation).

    2. Ian 16
      Alien

      SIM failure

      the sim failure issue is fixed... apple released an update but did not update the revision.

      If you check for updates it WONT find one but if you do a restore from a newly downloaded firmware it should fix the problem

      I have that issue on my 4S -- but I'm waiting for the next point release

      hope that helps

  12. Bluelight
    FAIL

    Does anyone really care?

    Ok so perhaps the open-source zealots are rubbing their hands over another "victory" but to be honest, does the average user really give a toss that sometimes they have to start an app twice - on either platform??

    Some people clearly have far too much time on their hands. When your car doesn't start first time off the key every now and again do you just turn then key a second time or do you sit there and wish you'd bought a different model... I doubt it!

    1. ThomH

      One counter example: I recently had the game, Jetpack Joyride installed on my iPad 2. It's one of those casual games you play for a few minutes every so often so I couldn't tell you my total game time but I had it installed for probably a month or two and had hit all the achievements at some point or another.

      There's no reason to assume iOS had any hand in what happened but a few weeks ago it abruptly crashed partway through a game. Upon relaunching I discovered that it had somehow corrupted its state while crashing, with the result that all of my achievements, high scores, etc had been thrown away. I haven't bothered to launch it again since.

      That's the sort of thing that I think the average user would care about.

    2. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
      Stop

      does the average user really give a toss that sometimes they have to start an app twice

      But why should you accept that behaviour from any application, if your new car kept cutting out you would bring it back to the garage, *and* possibly ask for a refund, so why accept this behaviour from software?

      1. Charles Manning

        Completely different expectations

        People have completely different expectations for software vs cars.

        A fart app crash is hardly serious whereas a car malfunction is potentially far more serious.

        On the other hand, people expect an Undo button for software actions, but not when they've driven a car off a bridge.

        Sure, you could demand high-nines software that crashes once a year or less, but are you willing to pay for it and wait for it to be developed and tested? Nope

    3. Naughtyhorse
      Facepalm

      nice 180 there

      bit of a change of tune for the usual jobs megalomania apologists.

      the whole point of having steve run everything in your life was that then everything in your life 'just worked'

      now you are saying if things don't just work, it's no biggie.

      roflmfao

  13. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Yeah dead happy with an Android app-auto-update to add malware. No thanks.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Planning on backing that up with anything or just talking out of your arse in small bitesize pieces?

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re AC 'Planning on backin that up...'

        And Apple users are fanbois that can't take criticism? You fandroids take the biscuit!

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          "And Apple users are fanbois that can't take criticism?"

          That was trolling, not criticism. Trust me, I know trolling. :p

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            @AnotherNetNarcissist

            As pointed out above, the OP wasn't providing criticism, hence the request to actually do so - y'know, by explaining how they got from "auto-updating" to "adding malware".

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            "That was trolling, not criticism. Trust me, I know trolling. :p"

            ;) The 8 downvotes (as of 17.30) say it all really though! Fandroids really need to lighten up because they are a parody of all that they purport to dislike...

    2. DaveyDaveDave
      WTF?

      So... you always manually update, that way you can be certain you're not getting any malware, right?

    3. Vic

      > dead happy with an Android app-auto-update to add malware.

      You don't have to turn it on, you know.

      It's selectable on a per-app basis. IIRC, it's also disabled if the app changes the permissions is requests.

      I don't use it myself.

      Vic.

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  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    From what Crittercism says their dataset has three times more app launches recorded for iOS than Android, so I suspect they are looking at a greater number of apps on iOS than Android too.

    Now which developers will tend to be using Crittercism's middleware? Those who have problems with crashing apps in the first place! Why else would you add this creepy, CarrierIQ-syle, spyware to your apps when the SDK and app store already gives you analysis and bug reports?

    In summary they mostly get the really crappy apps so, if their iOS dataset has more of those, the results are going to be worse.

    To be of any interest they should have picked the same number of apps, ideally apps with both Android and iOS versions. But of course by releasing it this way pleased their sugar daddy Google overlords more and got the Internet flamewar machine going (bonus: Google gets paid in increased ad impressions too)

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  16. ThomH

    Could it be just the differences in how they handle memory?

    In iOS objects are referenced by standard C-style pointers and prior to iOS 4.3 and the iOS 5-related development kit you had manually to manage reference counts (well, a little; property syntax made this a lot easier and obviously all the built-in collections get things right automatically, but you still usually need to be explicit about when you want to keep an object and when consider yourself done with it, and dangling pointers are a very real risk).

    Android uses a dialect of Java, with a garbage collector that has freed Android developers from having to think about memory management since day one.

    One would therefore assume that you can be a worse Android programmer without your lack of skill causing your app to crash.

    [aside: I'm aware that the ARC compiler means that developers needn't manually perform these tasks any more on the iOS side, but this survey is talking about historical data]

    1. Nanners

      Memory problem?

      Yes, in my unprofessional opinion it acts like a memory problem. I've noticed that.

      1. Nanners

        And as a final addendum

        Ive often told myself it acts like a memory allocation problem specifically. As I said, I'm not a professional though. I am willing to forgive a little drop in quality control after the death of Jobs, but I also expect them to address those issue as they arrive.

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