Which smartphone does church support?

Unfair question to the forum! If more Android OS phones are being sold worldwide, when will more Android apps be developed for LDS users?

When evaluating a smartphone purchase recently, I checked around. The research suggested "smartphone sales to end users" showed Android OS sales outnumbered Apples iOS phones the past two years. This year is on track to post even stronger Android Sales, double that of iOS...2011 2nd quarter data alone: Android phones sold, 43%, compared to Apples iOS, 18%. (Gartner research)

But the new mobile apps from LDS.org are still coming out for iOS only!

LDS mobile apps, Android OS count: 3
LDS mobile apps, iOS count: 6 (including the newest one released last week, just for iOS)

Just wondering which way the wind is blowing before I make my purchase....

I would imagine it has less to do with "the church" and more to do with the talent and time availability of the individuals in the two development teams. I believe most of the apps are community projects. So it would depend on which way the communities work out.

Of course, Android isn't doing itself any favors in the development arena with the range of versions, flavors and capabilities out there.

I believe the count is 4 to 6 (common to both are Tools, Library, Mormon Chanel, Youth) - missing is scripture mastery and music. The Deseret ebook app also was delayed for Android.

JohnShaw wrote:I believe the count is 4 to 6 (common to both are Tools, Library, Mormon Chanel, Youth) - missing is scripture mastery and music. The Deseret ebook app also was delayed for Android.

I took my count from the lds.org mobile apps page, which lists them as I stated above: Youth as available for iOS, but does not list it as available for Android. Not having a smart phone, and thus being unsmart...I can't say what the true count would be if it is not stated correctly on lds.org.

kisaac wrote:I took my count from the lds.org mobile apps page, which lists them as I stated above: Youth as available for iOS, but does not list it as available for Android.

Looking at Google's Android Market, John appears to be correct.

Have there been any updates to whether or not the scripture mastery or music apps will be released for Android? Thanks.

You're also looking at phones and ignoring the tablet market. Look around see what people are using at church. I've seen maybe one non iOS tablet to 50 iPads. I also see in my ward and stake a majority of smartphones users using the iPhone. The percentage is not as great as tablets but in my area it has a definite number advantage.

mprusse wrote:I also see in my ward and stake a majority of smartphones users using the iPhone.

The majority of the ones I see in my area are Androids. Probably because they are the less expensive smartphone models.

The tablets I've seen tend to iPad, but I think the ratio is closer to 1 in 10 for non-iPads.

I saw my first phablet last Sunday. Tempting.

I've seen stats on how big the smartphone/tablet market is. Androids are being activated at the rate of six million per week, or around 850,000 per day. That's the equivalent of putting an Android device into the hands of almost everyone in Salt Lake County each and every day.

As noted, the iPhone and iPads are the biggest single devices in their market, tens of millions of each are being sold each quarter, but the biggest OS is Android, due to the larger number of manufacturers and different devices.

We've not only got to think of our members, but the much larger nonmember market as well, they'll come across our apps, get curious, and maybe want to know even more about us from finding apps, this particularly may be true with Mormon Channel, the Bible Videos, and the new basic Book of Mormon app that is out there. But the others will see action as well and invite missionary contact.

Brother Anderson you are exactly right. Thank you for pointing out what should be the obvious but sadly is being over looked. I had some questions about the Bible Videos android app a few weeks ago and I had to call a lot of different departments to try and get any kind of support. I finally got someone to talk to me and forwarded my questions on to somebody else but they would not tell me who. After a few days I got a response back. But not the one I was hoping for. I asked them about the features mentioned in their response I pasted below. They said it may take a long time before it is addresses. In other words they don't feel that Android devices are worth spending their time on. I also Just discovered that one of the Bible Videos in my Android app will not play at all but the others play just fine. Has any one else had this problem?

"The 'Listen' and 'Explore' features found on the iPad are currently not planned for development on the Android devices. He asked when they would be available for Android, unfortunately I don't know. We will submit his request for it, but it may be a long while before it is addressed.”

copper1, a couple things to note, and what the church will obviously tell you. In Genera, the Apple stuff has had a longer head start, in terms of when development started, and experienced app developers are more numerous. Many of these tools are community driven and only a lead developer and project manager assigned are church employees, which means they rely on that community for development cycles.

I was recently sent a survey about the development of LDS Tools, what is good, what can be improved, what would you like to see developed... Frankly, I didn't know how to respond... basically I said, get all the stuff that is already in apple to the android... we have more flexibility in the lds tools app on iphone/pad than in even the leader.lds.org tools online. Maybe we should find something to do for those app developers and get the android/apple apps more in synch. I feel like the church (whether it is an actual direction or not) is 'supporting' or 'encourageing' members to purchase one product over another. I know personally MANY people who have made their decision based on the fact that the lds tools on apple are much more advanced, or developed.

android activations are irrelevant. Global iOS installed user base across all network connected media capable devices dwarfs android users using the same metric.

android fragmentation is a developer nightmare. Google knows it and is just now enforcing OHA charter covenants.

applications developed for iOS are wider adopted by users because apple codesigns firmware, and the OS migration strategy is such that people want to use the most current firmware.

android OEMS dont support updates on handsets that dont sell. since there are so many kinds that dont sell, their users are no longer supported.

developers dont support application development updates for handsets that dont get operating system updates.

exspyguy wrote:android activations are irrelevant....

Interesting opinions, but I could make arguments against just about every single point you made. Do you have actual data to back up your assertions?

In any case, I think it is very clear that both Android and iOS are very important markets to support. They are so large that it's very clear that the Church will support both of them. Some of the smaller applications may appear on only platform, but the important apps will certainly be on both platforms.

To update the arguments:
Yes, counting active installed users is more accurate than activations, because the people USING the phone are more likely to want to install an app. That being said, Symbian has dominated this metric for years, until earlier this year when Android passed them. They passed iOS early last year. Not only that, but Android's MARKET SHARE has gotten up to 75% (!), meaning the gap will only grow in Android's favor. These are, of course, worldwide numbers, but given that more than half of church members are outside the US, that seems fair to use.
This being said, the fact that the DEVELOPERS (not the Church, of course) continue to treat Android users as second-class citizens seems a bit short-sighted. I realize that most Church leadership use iOS devices, and they are probably beta testers, but the lag between iOS and Android is both enormous and unnecessary.
Also, that iOS headstart argument is played out. They had a 1.5 year lead on Android, which is 4 years old now.

smp55 wrote:This being said, the fact that the DEVELOPERS (not the Church, of course) continue to treat Android users as second-class citizens seems a bit short-sighted.

That might be a valid view if in fact there was one group of developers for both devices. It's not. There are two groups of developers. The iOS team had a head start.

smp55 wrote:This being said, the fact that the DEVELOPERS (not the Church, of course) continue to treat Android users as second-class citizens seems a bit short-sighted.

Please remember that when you talk about "The Developers" you are talking about a group of volunteers who are creating and maintaining these apps more or less as a hobby. They don't owe you or me anything. "The Developers" choose which platforms and which apps they volunteer to work on based on any number of criteria and for any number of reasons. For example, I don't volunteer for Android projects because the platform doesn't interest me at this point in time. It's not that I'm being short-sighted; I simply enjoy the benefits of other platforms and have no interest in spending my very limited available time doing Android development.

What the church and the volunteer developer community are doing is nothing short of miraculous. I appreciate your fervor and encourage you to become a part of the solution. If you have the skills needed for development on your favored platform, volunteer them. If you don't, go get them.

I think the church, much like political parties, does not endorse any specific platform for their members to use. I will admit there are nicer features that go with the iOS platform. Could it be related to the development tools available for each platform? Possibly. I am grateful for the fact that the scriptures are available on these devices and allows me to have them with me no matter where I am.