Does iOS Crash More Than Android? A Data Dive

[Boz]

so much for "smoother experience"

[fusi0n]

I feel like it is about the same or Android crashes more.. I have owned both and I prefer my Droid over Apple any day but I would like to know how this was tested..

[THolman Veteran]

Since I upgraded my iPad 1 to ios5 all it ever does is crash. It's not exotic programs either, stuff like Safari will crash several times a session. To be honest i've never had an OS crash so much - people used to rag on the likes of Windows ME but mine was solid as a rock, my iPad is just flaky.

Come to think of it - I have 3 iPods (different generations) that are all software screwed in some way, constant restarts making them all unusable. Maybe my house just doesn't like Apple stuff :(

I've got an iPad 1 myself (since launch!) and although I still love it, I have to admit that it does crash a pretty good bit since iOS5. My 4S, on the other hand, seems much more stable. Generally, the built-in apps don't crash much at all, except for Safari on iPad (probably has to do with the tabs), and the third party ones are at fault. I think a lot of the issues with the iPad 1 just has to do with the fact that it doesn't have much RAM at all. I know that Apple wants to sell you a new device as often as they can, but they really shouldn't have launched with 256 RAM, or whatever it is. I still use it a lot, but I'm not sure if the iPad 1 has enough juice to keep up with the updates cycle for much longer.

[firey]

I would say my iPod Touch 4g (running iOS 5.0.1) crashes the same ammount as my Atrix (Running a custom rom, that has all of the motorola stuff stripped out). Which suffice to say is very very rarely.

[Kaoxt]

I have had iPhone 4S since it came out, and hasn't crashed once. Had a Galaxy Nexus (was trying to switch) but it crashed about 8 times just using the basic Google Music app, in about 4 days. Galaxy Nexus seems to be a really trashy phone though, with all the problems it has. =(

[Scorbing]

People that have crashes on iPhone is probably because they have hacked the hell out of it (jail broke it) and the OS is no longer stable. I have a few co-workers that have their phones Jailbroken and they experience issues. Like I said, I have no issues at all. My phone is never been jail broken though. Maybe its an isolated issue. I don't know.

[Denis W. Veteran]

People that have crashes on iPhone is probably because they have hacked the hell out of it (jail broke it) and the OS is no longer stable. I have a few co-workers that have their phones Jailbroken and they experience issues. Like I said, I have no issues at all. My phone is never been jail broken though. Maybe its an isolated issue. I don't know.

I had app crashes on my 4S. Up to two weeks ago there was no jailbreak for the 4S.

[FMH]

My iPod 4 with iOS 5, crashes a lot on me too Some Apps more than others.

Even their own Apps, such as Safari and Stocks crash, or show weird behaviour. So I have to close these apps, or restart the device.

Edit: You guys won't believe this. After I posted this comment, Safari actually crashed after a couple of seconds. The page hadn't even fully loaded, so I thought that my comment didn't got posted.

It got posted though.

[Matthew S.]

The only time I've ever had iOS crash on any iPhone I've owned was when I was using the prerelease versions of the OS and the app developers already had an outstanding bug (which is very common among the lazy developers).

For Android I think it's more on the sheer number of versions/hardware combinations on top of custom roms that is the problems. Remember people too much choice is also bad.

[Raa]

The only crashes I have on my Android are ones I cause by playing around with things I shouldn't. :laugh:

I've got friends with iOS devices that get crashes on things for no reason. I encourage them to upgrade to Android...

[alexalex]

I have an iPhone 4 for more than a year. Never crashed.

[+Nik Louch Subscriber²]

Why don't you believe him? I haven't had a single crash on my iPhone 4S since I've had it and I bought it when it came out and updated it to latest iOS.

Because I know what I'm talking about. I know what a crash is and how it manifests. A crash is not just "Oh crap. It's all gone wrong. Throw an error or reboot". IOS handles crashes a LOT better than android, and hides them from the user.

[Quapps]

This is the most ridiculous study ever!

[Open Minded]

This is the most ridiculous study ever!

Why? Because the data doesn't support your claims?

[Quapps]

Why? Because the data doesn't support your claims?

No, because their claims don't include the needed data!

[(Spork)]

i have had both and i can say that the iphone has not crashed once lol i have put this phone though hell ! in the few days i have had it . not sure where the numbers are coming from but on android ( galaxy family of phones ) i crashed every so often . hell even happened on a few HTC phones i have had

[Jebadiah]

I have the Galaxy Nexus for almost 2 months. Hasnt crashed once.

I have the Nexus One. Almost 2 years old now. Has crashed at least 20 times.

[Elliott]

App crashes? Sure, I've had those every one in a while. But iOS crashes? I think I've maybe had two (beta OS's included) in the 4+ years I've been using it.

The title of this topic is misleading, by the way.

[Boz]

App crashes? Sure, I've had those every one in a while. But iOS crashes? I think I've maybe had two (beta OS's included) in the 4+ years I've been using it.

The title of this topic is misleading, by the way.

What do you mean iOS crashes? Android doesn't "crash" either. It's always apps that crash.

The bottom line is that iOS is not "just working" while Android keeps crashing which is the BS mantra constantly being thrown out.

Well finally we have proof. Now I don't want to hear a **** from anyone about iOS not crashing.

[techbeck]

I have the Nexus One. Almost 2 years old now. Has crashed at least 20 times.

like I said before, every user experience is different. depends on what you do to your phone and what apps you are using.

[resol612]

Ballmer knows the answer: Developers, developers, developers.

[Melfster]

Honestly it really depends on the App. iOS apps are more demanding then Android Apps. Sometimes they are way better then anything comparable to Android. Look at infinity Blade there is nothing comparable to that on Android. The study would only make sense if it compares the exact same application on each platform, but it does do that.

[lalalawawawa]

OS crash or app crash?

On a related note, I've never experienced a crash with Windows Phone (the OS in particular), but some applications are known to crash (Sudoku, for example, when you lose with one particular powerup enabled, it will crash / close itself).

As resol612 said, it is up for the developers to insure that their applications are scaleable, robust, and don't crash.

[Elliott]

What do you mean iOS crashes? Android doesn't "crash" either. It's always apps that crash.

The bottom line is that iOS is not "just working" while Android keeps crashing which is the BS mantra constantly being thrown out.

Well finally we have proof. Now I don't want to hear a **** from anyone about iOS not crashing.

Sure, we have proof. Proof that some iOS developers that use Crittercism are building apps that crash. On top of that, there's nothing in the article that would suggest it's the OS causing the apps to crash.

[Shadrack]

Seems like the Facebook app on my phone crashes the most. But I would attribute the crashes to the applications and not necessarily the OS.