Why The Google Play Store Is More Consumer Friendly than The iOS App Store

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• 

  bobbified on 02/01/2018 - 23:40

  +1

  You can go to reportaproblem.apple.com and state that the "Item opens but doesn't function as expected" however you will then be told to go to iTunes Store Support or the app developer's site. It seems if you want a refund you need to write to Apple and even then, I'm not sure whether Apple facilitates refunds via this channel.

  This happened to me once (and I now simply refuse to cough up any money in the iTunes store unless it's a well known app).

  Apple support emails made it sound like they were doing me a huge favor by refunding my money.

  It was only $2-something, but I was annoyed that the app was just a blantant lie and did absolutely nothing from its description in the App Store.

  I experiment much more on my android apps from the Google Play Store knowing that I can refund it if it doesn't function as expected.

• 

  foxmulder on 03/01/2018 - 00:11

  +1

  Don't forget you don't have to login if the app or games is free. In iOs you have to.

  • 

    rambao9 on 03/01/2018 - 00:24

    You can turn this off on iOS too for free apps lol.

    • 

      Kangal on 03/01/2018 - 08:22

      +1

      Better that you have to log-in, many free apps want to intrude on your privacy especially when you aren't paying attention.

• 

  Quantumcat on 03/01/2018 - 00:19

  +1

  I had no idea you could do that on the google store.

  Somebody smart should come up with a super phone that has all the good points of apple and Android.

  It would have an SD card slot, and have a robust and easy to use/figure out OS. It'll have Tasker and not have random buttons on the side that hang up your call when you pick up your phone. It'll have user serviceable batteries and the ability to restore your old phone easily to a new phone. It'll be a super phone.

  • 

    ThithLord on 03/01/2018 - 08:39

    It actually used to be 24hrs on Android! It was great

• 

  OverburdenedWarrior on 03/01/2018 - 01:27

  +1

  It's gotten worse in iOS 11. They've stripped out the wish list, which was handy for keep an eye out for apps going on sale.

  • 

    lupiter on 03/01/2018 - 10:25

    I'm using Lookmark to replace the wishlist. Just wish I'd known before I'd updated so I could screenshot my wishlist. :(

• 

  Kangal on 03/01/2018 - 08:28

  +2

  Although on the other hand, Apple has higher standards for Apps on their Market.
  So the consumers usually get a better polished experience with less issues and privacy concerns.

  I've got both platforms, and I prefer iOS more often than not.
  I only like Android for things that are expensive/cannot do on Apple devices, even if it requires me to tinker a little bit.

  One recent trend I have noticed in the past couple years, is that Apple puts a limit to Apps in how they run in the background, how much data they are allowed to transfer, and how often they update. In Android, this doesn't exist, it's the Wild Wild West. One of the things that drains my battery a lot, is when Apps I don't use are running in the background talking back to the developers/transferring data, and then updating dozen(s) of times a month. And if your device is not rooted, you essentially are skewed to suffer that experience.

  • 

    eug on 03/01/2018 - 09:00

    And if your device is not rooted, you essentially are skewed to suffer that experience.

    Even with Doze?

    • 

      Kangal on 03/01/2018 - 16:49

      Yes, even with the many changes to the underlying OS. Besides, just because Google implements something doesn't mean the OEMs will adopt it. Case in point: Project Treble.

      Project Doze is a band-aid solution.
      Because the issue isn't from the App itself but the developers. Because Google cannot block Apps totally from the background, yet, it's prove to be a problem to give that much freedom as well.

      The issue is the developers, they are not using Best Practice, wether it's intentional or not. In Apple's camp, they are screened and vetted, so they must behave properly. And the iOS SDK is simply that much polished, it helps with guidance.

      • 

        eug on 03/01/2018 - 20:40

        Besides, just because Google implements something doesn't mean the OEMs will adopt it. Case in point: Project Treble.

        That's cherry picking. Treble can't easily be supported on phones that shipped with Android 7.0 (i.e. almost all phones now) because it'll require repartitioning which can be risky. Phones that ship will 8.0 will likely all support Treble.

        Battery life on my Pixel 2 is fantastic btw.

      • 

        Kangal on 03/01/2018 - 21:12

        @eug:
        Urrr… OnePlus 5 ?
        Or worse yet, OnePlus 5t.

        Still, the point is that what is envisioned is not what we receive because its a market of self-interest, rather than consumer-first viewpoint.

        It's the age old tale between liberty and enforcement. They both serve purposes, and one can be better than the other in specific tasks. As a whole? Well, it depends on the person and their values.

      • 

        eug on 03/01/2018 - 21:50

        @Kangal:

        Urrr… OnePlus 5 ?
        Or worse yet, OnePlus 5t.

        What about them? They didn't ship with 8.0.
        This is the reason they don't support Treble, as I described, straight from the horse's mouth.

        Project Treble requires a storage partition, by which the Android framework and vendor image are separated. However, because partitions were not required of Android N and previous versions of Android, all of our current devices do not feature a partition. According to our tests, if we were to modify the partition layout via OTA there is a risk that devices will brick during the partitioning. We feel this poses too great a risk for our community of users, which is why we have decided not to implement Project Treble on current OnePlus devices.

        Still, the point is that what is envisioned is not what we receive because its a market of self-interest, rather than consumer-first viewpoint.

        I'll bet that the OnePlus 6 will support it. You can't expect OEMs to implement new features that might brick the phone just to satisfy the small number of people who have even heard of Treble.

        For the more technical amongst us, there'll very likely be custom ROMs for the 5/5T that will support it too.

      • 

        Kangal on 03/01/2018 - 23:02

        @eug:
        Project Treble was available for them to implement for the OnePlus 5, they didn't go for it for whatever reason and shipped it with Nougat instead. Then they released OnePlus 5t, which was inexcusable to ship it without Project Treble. Kind of disheartening when their slogan really is "Never Settle".

        On top of this, their explanation is not correct. It is a cop-out. There have been other devices released months before the OnePlus 5 which upgraded to Android Oreo and implemented Project Treble. It is in Oppo's interest to not implement P-T on the 1+5 and 1+5t as it makes the devices dispensable in the future.

        And to top it off, Project Treble isn't even a golden bullet. It just makes the device easier to update in the future, it in no way, ensures updates updates will come more frequently, sooner, and for longer period. It just makes it easier if the OEMs choose to do so, so it provides some hope… but that's about it.

        So even if OnePlus 6 gets it, that doesn't help the OnePlus 3 or OnePlus 5t owners. If your solution to a problem is "just buy another one"… well, good luck to you. I just wanted to point out that not everything is rainbows and daisies on the Android side… in fact, it really is the Wild Wild West. Apple's Walled Garden has advantages which you cannot disregard. See the forest from the trees.

      • 

        eug on 04/01/2018 - 01:00

        @Kangal:

        Project Treble was available for them to implement for the OnePlus 5, they didn't go for it for whatever reason and shipped it with Nougat instead.

        They gave the reason. Even XDA agrees.

        On top of this, their explanation is not correct. It is a cop-out.

        Do you know more about building phones, writing software, managing builds, and handling risks across multiple phones better than OnePlus and the staff at XDA? What gives your opinion more credibility than theirs?

        And to top it off, Project Treble isn't even a golden bullet.

        So all this is moot then.

        So even if OnePlus 6 gets it, that doesn't help the OnePlus 3 or OnePlus 5t owners.

        Why is Treble such a big deal? It isn't a magic bullet after all.

        Apple's Walled Garden has advantages which you cannot disregard. See the forest from the trees.

        Yeah, they just slow down your phone instead. The solution, before they got called out, was to just buy another one. :)

  • 

    mrpringle on 03/01/2018 - 09:23

    I've heard this argument but when looking at reviews in the iOS store for various apps there is usually at least one recent comment about the app being unstable or buggy so while their quality control may be better than Google it's far from perfect. Obviously Apple are going with quality over quantity.

    I've run into a few buggy Android apps over the years but I usually only download apps with good ratings and reviews and overall don't have any issues with the quality of apps on the Play store.

• 

  nxllson on 03/01/2018 - 08:49

  One of the reasons to why many apps on the Google Play Store contain bugs is because they do not need approval.
  Apple's App Store has a certain standard that developers need to reach before any app or update could be released to the public. It is very rare that a faulty app slips through the approval process on iOS, hence why there are little to no bugs at all. Apple also makes the refund process very easy, although it takes more time than Google Play, they do the job happily for you. You don't need to actually go through the reportaproblem.apple.com, I once had an issue and went through Apple's live chat. No issues, got my refund within 5 business days.

  Regarding the comment above,
  I certainly agree. Apple's App Store provides a good consumer experience for people who are wishing to do productivity/gaming or other things.

  • 

    eug on 03/01/2018 - 09:11

    +3

    It is very rare that a faulty app slips through the approval process on iOS, hence why there are little to no bugs at all.

    That is absolutely not true. Look at the number of complaints with the high-profile DJI GO app which everyone uses to fly their DJI drone with. It has a 2-star rating.

    I think it's very embarrassing for Apple to see so many bugs, both with third-party apps and with Apple software itself. e.g. when iOS 11 got released, it had many glitches - and that's with Apple having 100% end-to-end control from design to shipping and full knowledge of every single hardware and software component in every single iPhone ever created. They still manage to stuff it up. You'd think that'd only happen on Android where Google doesn't even know what hardware the OS will be running on.

  • 

    mrpringle on 03/01/2018 - 09:33

    I once had an issue and went through Apple's live chat

    Can you please tell me how you accessed live chat? I went to https://getsupport.apple.com but only ended up getting links to contact apple via e-mail.

  • 

    apple2016 on 03/01/2018 - 10:28

    It is very rare that a faulty app slips through the approval process on iOS, hence why there are little to no bugs at all.

    This was the case earlier. Now I can see the quality drop significantly. Even IOS seems to have too many bugs and needs frequent updates.

• 

  JimmyF on 03/01/2018 - 08:50

  Why The Google Play Store Is More Consumer Friendly than The iOS App Store

  Vote with your wallet, return or sell the ipad!