1. What advantages and disadvantages do you see in the currently popular operating systems from a technical point of view (memory allocation, application security)?
Maxim Tenth, Redmadrobot
Undoubtedly, the "devil" is in the little things, but over the past couple of years, popular mobile operating systems have become more and more alike. For this reason, it is difficult to highlight significant advantages.
Among the shortcomings - it is necessary to continue to work on improving the security of the system and the possibilities that it provides. Jailbreaks for iOS, which are released almost day in and day out with the next platform update, and the relative ease of getting root access on Android, are still major challenges for both platform holders and app developers.
For Android, the main disadvantage is the fragmentation of OS versions and devices, or rather the long process of issuing OS updates from vendors. In this regard, it is necessary to maintain outdated versions of the OS for a long time and often not to use innovations immediately.
With iOS in this regard, everything is much better, but due to the closed platform in general and development tools in particular, sometimes you have to "fight" with the IDE instead of writing code. And the development tools themselves are inferior to their Android counterparts.
Alexander Shibaev, e-Legion
The advantage of iOS is in a well-developed ecosystem that is extremely addictive. Android is only on its way so far. In favor of Android is the openness of the system and the ability to build it even into the kettle. The main problem is the speed of OS updates on devices. Android should finally be doing well with the latest app security update.
Vadim Mityakin,
Eleven design bureau
The limited lineup allows Apple to perfectly optimize its operating system, including its memory management algorithms. Therefore, Apple only needs to equip its iPhones with one gigabyte of RAM to get the same level of performance as Android's 3 gigabytes. On the other hand, Google is constantly improving its work with the Java Virtual Machine and garbage collectors.
IOS was initially positioned as a secure operating system with an emphasis on protecting user data, although it was regularly compromised (there were backdoors, flaws, errors). Android, however, has only patched security holes in the latest versions.
Vladimir Barakovsky, Artics
The most obvious problem is the Android malware problem. The iOS operating system is better protected in this regard: to catch a virus, you need a clear user error, and this is already a human factor.
Denis Tsarev, Morizo
The main disadvantage of current operating systems is platform fragmentation. Vendors release more and more new devices, but try to maintain support for old and compatibility. This imposes great demands on developers who have to support not only myriad screen resolutions, but also several types of processor architectures, a "zoo" of devices, as well as 4-5 versions of the platform on the market. The situation is reminiscent of the era of web development 5 years ago, when IE6 support was a mandatory requirement, and there were several browser engines on the market.
2. What trends could you note in the development of mobile operating systems in recent years? How will mobile development develop?
Maxim Tenth, Redmadrobot
Over the past year, Apple and Google have been battling to speed up OS and applications and, as one of the consequences, for battery life. This is great news for users, but it poses a challenge for developers. However, given the trend that mobile development tools will catch up with their “big brothers” and provide more convenient tools, this time complexity can be called an evolutionary threshold rather than an obstacle.
Despite the development of cross-platform development tools, they will only be used by small companies that cannot afford to maintain teams of programmers for each platform. The reason is that everyone who has been involved in mobile development for a long time understands perfectly well that the fastest and highest-quality code is obtained when it is written for the target platform.
In addition, every year mobile operating systems strive to penetrate more and more into the personal life of users, to participate in it as much as possible, and work in this direction will only intensify.
Overall, mobile development will continue to mature. It is possible that this year in Android development can be called the year of testing.
Alexander Shibaev, e-Legion
The obvious trends are wearable devices, augmented and virtual reality. And mobile development will gradually develop in the direction of complication, since traffic flows from desktop to mobile are very active.
Vladimir Barakovsky, Artics
There is a clear trend towards synchronization of mobile and desktop platforms. This is especially evident in the interaction between iOS and OS X from Apple. The latter managed to build a single ecosystem in which laptops, tablets, smartphones and even watches coexist: you can start an action on one platform, continue it on another, and end on a third. Google, realizing this, will also come to a similar one, although there are some difficulties due to the fragmentation of the market and the multitude of players on it.
3. What are the prospects for the development of wear platforms?
Alexander Shibaev, e-Legion
Wonderful. There is only one problem - the battery. I look forward to a revolution in this very issue.
Vadim Mityakin,
Eleven design bureau
It is absolutely certain that there are prospects and, most likely, wear platforms will take their place, it will just happen not in a revolutionary way, but in an evolutionary way. There are two tasks: you need an analogue of cheap devices, like simple Android phones, and really useful user scenarios.
Of course, I would like the wear platforms market to develop quickly, but, unfortunately, it won't.
Sergey Denisyuk, MobileUp
Prospects in health tracking are now clear. Apple frameworks (ResearchKit, CareKit, Health Kit) can play a big role in the development of the medical industry.
Vladimir Barakovsky, Artics
Wearable electronics have appeared relatively recently and are currently developing at a rapid pace. So far, it is represented on the market mainly by smart watches and fitness bracelets, but this should also include virtual and augmented reality helmets and another very promising direction - smart fabric. Such clothes are able to analyze the state of a person, for example, give advice to athletes, monitor the load, and may even call an ambulance. There are a lot of scenarios, I'm sure the developers will come up with even more, but so far everything depends on technology and readiness for the mass market, although the first swallows have already left the nest.
Denis Tsarev, Morizo
Wearable devices are the main trend of the future, but so far they are at the very beginning of the journey. And many attempts to design such devices still look ridiculous, like those smart socks or the toilet that tweets every time the water is flushed.
4. What factors play a major role in choosing a mobile platform for which an application will be developed?
Maxim Tenth, Redmadrobot
If we talk about b2b applications, then the choice most often depends entirely on unified devices that are available or available in large quantities on the market, and, accordingly, which mobile OS is preinstalled on these devices.
If we are talking about b2c applications, then traditional indicators are included, the importance of which may be unique for each project: target audience, number of users, available resources, method of monetization, terms of expected payback and possible limitations of the platform.
Alexander Shibaev, e-Legion
Target audience, cost of development and support, speed of updating applications in stores (for example, for A / B testing).
Vsevolod Ivanov, Touch Instinct
The audience of iOS device owners is more solvent, the purchase conversion is higher. Android users do not like to pay, but they charge by quantity. You also need to take into account the geography: in the distant regions of Russia, you should not count on an abundance of iOS phones. It makes sense to think about the Android version if the application needs to use many sensors, work in the background, or collect information about users. There are fewer such possibilities in iOS.
Vadim Mityakin,
Eleven design bureau
First of all, the target audience and its preferences.
Sergey Denisyuk, MobileUp
There is almost no choice. There are only two main platforms, and you need to work on both. The exceptions are projects where there is a clear division: if the application is for the poor (for example, regional taxi drivers), then Android is chosen; if some trendy service - start with iOS, Android - after.
Denis Tsarev, Morizo
The main factor will not be the choice of the platform, but the choice of technologies that strive to be cross-platform.
5. Has cloud technology influenced the development of mobile development and, if so, how?
Maxim Tenth, Redmadrobot
Yes, they did. Both in the form of new tools and third-party solutions that allow you to quickly solve technically complex business problems, and in the form of a new look at the applications that can be created and offered to the user. For example, storage of music on devices is becoming less popular with the emergence of a large number of players in the music streaming market.
Alexander Shibaev, e-Legion
It is not particularly noticeable yet, but the trend is gaining popularity, including cloud application testing, for which it is not physically necessary to have a huge fleet of devices (for example, Cloud Test Lab). This allows smaller developers to produce better products. But cloud technologies are already affecting the backend for applications (both cloud hosting and SaaS solutions for integration with various systems).
Sergey Denisyuk, MobileUp
This lowered the threshold for entering the development of client-server applications. But for those using their own servers, this hasn't changed anything.
6. Recently, the Internet of Things is gaining popularity. How do you assess its development? How does this affect mobile development technologies and the development of operating systems?
Sergey Denisyuk, MobileUp
This direction has great prospects, and now everything is just beginning. According to McKinsey, the industry's contribution to the economy will range from $ 3.9 to $ 11.1 trillion by 2025. Now it is actively used in the transport industry, for the analysis of medical indicators, in industrial safety systems, etc. Applications are becoming the central interface for human interaction with the IoT, and machine learning, DSP, and computer vision are developing in parallel. Quite a lot of successful projects have already been created in the IoT, and we are trying to contribute to this.
7. What factors can influence the change of position in the market of mobile operating systems?
Maxim Tenth, Redmadrobot
It is difficult to name even one mobile OS, local or global, that was able to successfully compete with the two headliners. The conclusions can be made very diverse, but most likely, this suggests that at the moment the market is formed, and users need weighty advantages to choose other platforms that no one can offer yet.
In addition, the choice of a mobile OS should not be considered separately from the devices on which they are supplied - after all, in fact, the user chooses not only the mobile OS, but also the specific technical and other characteristics of the device. The main factors of choice are technical characteristics, price, design, UI of the mobile OS or an additional shell provided by the vendor, the lifetime of the device, the possibility of integration with third-party services and devices.
Sergey Denisyuk, MobileUp
In my opinion, significant changes can be associated with the release and mass distribution of fundamentally new interfaces. For example, for virtual reality, new operating systems may appear that will become leaders. About how iOS appeared in 2008, then Android. They appeared and became popular in connection with the release of a fundamentally new class of devices.
Denis Tsarev, Morizo
The market for mobile systems has already formed. Three eras of personal computers can be distinguished:
1. A large corporation sold large computers to large companies (IBM mainframes);
2. The midsize company sold computers to middle- and high-income families;
3. Small businesses sell personal mobile devices to everyone. The entry threshold for the cheapest Android smartphones starts at $ 40.
Therefore, the market will have a mass audience on Android and an audience with a medium-to-high income on iOS. It is possible that we will soon see Windows 10 in the corporate segment.
Articles and Life Hacks
In the process of reading articles on mobile topics, the question often arises: what is a phone platform and how this concept differs, for example, from an operating system.
Let's try to understand the casuistry of the problem.
What is the difference?
When it comes to an operating system, we mean a set of programs that allow application applications, such as a text editor or browser, to interact with the hardware of a computer.That is, I mean a specific software product, for example, Android 7.1, Windows 10 Mobile or iOS 11.2.
Also, this concept can be understood, depending on the context, system files located directly in the built-in memory.
When it comes to a platform, we mean a kind of abstraction, an environment within which various applications are developed and executed.
The principles of the organization of execution, the standards used, compatibility and other equally abstract concepts.
So, for example, a program written on a specific platform will generally work regardless of version. But it is possible to transfer it to another type of OS only in one case - if it is cross-platform.
In the case of mobile devices, we are dealing with a special case, therefore, unlike more complex systems, it is quite easy to understand what is at stake.
Main platforms of modern mobile devices
At the moment, there are three main platforms, used in devices:
- Android;
- Windows.
The only device that uses iOS is the famous iPhone in all its versions. does not allow anyone from outside to enter its holy of holies - the development of the operating system.
It can be described as closed, conservative, but at the same time quite effective.
Windows is not very common in phones at all: devices based on it, as a rule, are niche products that are not very popular among the general public.
Its main advantage is its compatibility with desktops and laptops.
To extend the operating time of a smartphone, it is usually recommended to temporarily disconnect communication modules - Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC and mobile Internet (/). But what's the point in a smartphone if it's not always in touch? And the savings will not be so significant - one or two hours a day. Nevertheless, this is some kind of, but still, a way to slightly increase the operating time of the gadget. The battery charges faster when the smartphone is turned off - keep this in mind if you have very little time to charge.
Over time, rechargeable batteries tend to lose capacity, and if at the beginning of use they hold a charge all day, then after a year, or even earlier, the capacity begins to fall. However, in any smartphone, even in those that seem to be non-separable, you can replace the battery, and as soon as you start to feel discomfort from too much unwillingness of the gadget to work as long as it should, we recommend changing the battery. If the gadget is still under warranty, this can only be done in the service center, but if the warranty has expired, then you can do it on your own.
Design and stuff
For many, it is design that is the main factor when choosing a smartphone, and the fact that we put this factor at the very end does not mean that we attach the least importance to it. However, regrettable as it is to realize, the design of the smartphone has recently become less and less individual, striving for maximum unification. On the one hand, this is not so bad, since unification means that the user can buy any model of any manufacturer and immediately start using it with confidence. On the other hand, the individuality of the gadget is lost, and the only way the owner can distinguish himself is to buy a beautiful case or a back cover for a smartphone. Or inlay the case with gold and diamonds.
Mozilla is working on its own mobile operating system. Unlike iOS and Android, it is not as bulky, provides high speed and is suitable for weak smartphones.
Firefox OS arrives on smartphones in early 2013 What is a smartphone anyway? It is difficult to give a clear definition of this "phenomenon", since when purchasing one of these gadgets, the user chooses, by and large, not the device itself, but rather a closed platform, which includes the online store and the corresponding applications.
Mozilla programmers, who are advocates of generally accepted standards and open systems, do not want to put up with this state of affairs. In 2013, according to the plan, the first devices with a new mobile operating system should appear.
Web code only: pros and cons
Firefox OS, like the Firefox browser, is developed as an open source system. Its main components can be ported to any hardware. A feature of the OS is its programming model: it will run only those applications that are written in programming languages used in web development, that is, HTML 5, CSS and JavaScript. Of course, Android and iOS allow the use of web code in their applications, however, it is placed in its own software container. By limiting ourselves only to web programming languages, we will get a higher performance when performing some tasks, since there is no need to load additional interfaces, for example, for Java. Instead, only the browser engine is loaded with the system - on the Galaxy S II this process takes a total of 9 seconds. This approach will also reduce energy consumption. But there are drawbacks to using web programming languages alone when it comes to running complex applications, as Firefox OS relies on JavaScript. The scripting language, which originally had many limitations, has undergone qualitative improvements over the past few years due to browser optimizations, but, despite this, it is far from Java in its capabilities. In Firefox OS, anyone with even a little coding is able to create a new user interface for themselves. To understand why this is possible, a detailed
familiarity with the architecture of the system (see diagram below).
When enabled, the bootloader activates Gonk's lightweight Linix kernel. With it, the corresponding hardware drivers are launched - essentially the same ones that are used in Android. The init process then activates the rest of the operating system (such as system services) while simultaneously serving as a process manager. Thus, the operating system Firefox is virtually indistinguishable from other operating systems such as Android or Linux. Init also launches a central B2G intermediary process that ultimately manages the system and acts as an interface between the kernel and other components such as a camera, display or GPS module. In addition, B2G is responsible for communication with the RIL (Radio Interface Layer) module. The RIL module is integrated by the respective smartphone manufacturer and ensures the operation of the mobile communication system.
The "heart" of the system is the Gecko engine. It handles the web code of Gaia applications and user interface, as the latter is entirely written using web programming languages. To customize Gaia to suit your needs, you need to be proficient in HTML and CSS or use an HTML editor. An innovative solution to this operating system is the Web APIs to the Gecko engine. They act as a link to the kernel and hardware. For the first time, JavaScript is able to interact with smartphone components such as a phone or camera. Not all features have been implemented yet: see arewemobileyet.com for more information. So, phone calls, writing SMS messages and taking photos are no longer a problem, but the API for USB and NFC is still in work. The JavaScript embedded WebGL code is executed directly by the graphics chip. This achieves the same performance as when using Android or iOS systems.
Firefox OS is currently in alpha testing, but the infrastructure is ready. Mozilla has entered into cooperation agreements with Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica (O2), Sprint and the Italian operator Telecom Italia. Alcatel and ZTE are already producing the first devices with Qualcomm chips, which Telefonica will offer in early 2013 - primarily for the growing market of low-cost smartphones costing less than 4000 rubles, since the hardware requirements are reasonable, and Firefox OS itself is free ...
Analyst firm Kantar claims that the smartphone market in all countries of the world is finally divided between Android and iOS. No other operating system, including Windows 10 Mobile, has any significant share left. It is difficult to disagree with this.
The days when BlackBerry OS, Symbian or Windows Mobile dominated the smartphone market are over. In the future, only two mobile ecosystems will remain - Android and iOS, and it is thanks to them that the smartphone market will develop. Kantar notes that Nokia and BlackBerry have unveiled Android smartphones at this year's Mobile World Congress. A few years ago, it was hard to imagine that these companies would release devices on this platform: Nokia was faithful to Symbian (and later to Windows Phone), and BlackBerry developed its own BlackBerry OS, which was especially popular in the corporate segment. There were no Windows smartphones at Mobile World Congress, except perhaps, but it was somewhere in the backyard and was hiding from visitors behind a glass showcase.
For a long time, Microsoft's mobile OS Windows Phone was considered a strong competitor to Android and iOS. In some countries, Windows smartphones were even more in demand than the iPhone. This year, sales of devices based on Windows 10 Mobile have dropped significantly and are now close to zero. The fall was noted in almost all countries: in China, the share of this platform fell over the year from 0.9 to 0.1%, in the USA - from 2.6 to 1.3%, in Australia - from 5.4 to 1%. In the five most important European countries for smartphone manufacturers (Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain) - from 6.4 to 2.7%. A few more blocks, and this platform will disappear from radar altogether.
Vendors received a silent signal from Microsoft to stay away from Windows 10 Mobile after the American company stopped making its own smartphones on this platform. The last Lumia smartphone was released over a year ago, and since then Microsoft has not updated this line, although it has not found the courage to announce a complete rejection of it.
Windows smartphones have always lagged behind, they lagged behind Android smartphones and iPhones by about a year - even the flagships received old processors, a small amount of RAM and screens with not very high resolution. Manufacturers may have wanted to release full-fledged flagships on Windows Phone, but Microsoft was in no hurry to add support for modern components to its platform. With the release of Windows 10 Mobile, the situation has improved, but the platform has lost its individuality, becoming similar to Android, although it retained the same sores - for example, the app store, where there is almost nothing interesting. Currently, neither developers, manufacturers, nor consumers are interested in Windows smartphones. This platform is needed only by Microsoft, but it is not clear why.
