This year’s Apple WWDC event has been all about software. There’s nothing wrong with that, after all this is a developer event, and most sessions are based around Apple’s software products.
But when Craig Federighi, Vice President of Software, Apple, cited the installed base of iOS (as seen above) and compared it with Google Android’s reach, things changed a bit. Yes, we all know that due to Android’s fragmentation, not every Android user gets the latest version on time.
Brands like Samsung, Xiaomi and Asus, among others, pick up the base Android version, tweak the design to suit its needs and ship them out. This is the reason why Android 8.0 Oreo version is currently running on just 6 percent of devices across the globe.
Also, one has to understand that unlike Google’s approach with Android, Apple has kept iOS a closed ecosystem. This makes it easier for them to offer latest versions of its software, which has hit a few hurdles in recent times.
The 81 percent that Apple proudly showed at the WWDC 2018 keynote feels much lower than what it would have been few years back. The culprit behind the downfall has to be iOS 11, with which users had various issues, largely blamed on bugs by Apple.
That still doesn’t give Google a leeway to fix the Android upgrade cycle at its end. Especially when you consider that Apple will rollout iOS 12 this year for devices as old as the iPhone 5S.
Google’s tried multiple ways to tackle this problem, first with Android One for low-end, affordable devices, and now the same project has seen a change in the narrative. This has resulted in more brands like Xiaomi, Nokia (HMD Global) and Motorola, among others, prescribing to the latest Android version straight from the horse’s mouth.
So, in a way Apple mocking Google is justified, but it’s worth pointing out that Apple isn’t starting off on a clean slate either, especially with its voice assistant Siri.
Let’s Talk About Siri, Apple
But let’s put Apple in the spotlight for a second. Siri, its voice assistant which was a pioneer, has gotten lost over the years.
At the WWDC 2018 keynote, there were few a moments which showed the work Apple has been doing on Siri behind the scenes. Shortcuts is a good way of letting Siri interact with third-party apps, but we’re yet to see anything conclusive coming out of it.
Even the general consensus about Siri isn’t a very promising one for the Cupertino-based giant.
And there are more examples like these all over the internet. The point is, Siri has been lagging behind Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant from Google for a while now, and that’s hit their fortunes with the so-called HomePod smart speaker.
What Google showed at the Google I/O this year, blew everyone’s mind.
Which meant Apple had to show or do something extraordinary. Have they done that yet? With Shortcuts, it’s too early to tell.
Recent numbers from the smart speaker market suggest that Google Home has overtaken Amazon’s Echo to become the leading player in the space, at least in the United States for now.
Apple is way down the list right now, and we’re hopeful that Siri gets smarter, for Apple’s sake, or else all this mocking will come to nought.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)