Google Play Services: GOOG’s Stealth Weapon Against Fragmentation

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At Google’s (GOOG) Google I/O 2014 developers conference a few weeks ago, a significant point was made in the keynote: 93% of Android users are on the latest version of Google Play Services.

google play services, android fragmentation

It didn’t make the news the way Android Wear did, but that Google Play Services stat was a direct shot at Apple (AAPL) and its Android fragmentation criticisms. At the latest Apple developer conference, CEO Tim Cook displayed a slide reading “Android fragmentation is turning devices into a toxic hell stew of vulnerabilities.”

Operating system fragmentation is frustrating for smartphone and tablet owners, and a major headache for app developers. Apple has been making hay on the PR front for years because iPhone and iPad owners quickly adopt new versions of iOS.

Samsung (SSNLF), HTC, Sony (SNE) and other Android smartphone owners? Not so much. While Appleinsider reports that 90% of Apple devices accessing iTunes are now running iOS7 (the latest Apple mobile operating system), Google says just 17.9% of devices hitting Google Play are running the latest Android version, KitKat.

In contrast, more than 56% are running Jellybean (released in 2012) and 13.5% are running 2010’s Gingerbread. That’s why we say Android is fragmented.

Smartphones and tablets running Google’s operating system are also fragmented in another way: hardware. While Apple devices have come in just a few screen sizes and display resolutions over the years, the huge variety of Android hardware manufacturers has meant far more diversity in devices.

Here’s the basic problem with fragmentation: Google may say it has a billion Android smartphones in use. In theory, that makes it a huge target for app developers. But new apps take advantage of new features and new capabilities. That means they won’t work on older versions of an operating system.

There are also security implications as hackers compromise outdated versions of Android that lack the latest safeguards.

Having a bunch of different hardware variations — OpenSignal reported detecting 11,868 “distinctly different” Android devices on its network in 2013 — means testing an app and making sure it delivers the best possible experience for everyone using it becomes very complicated.

In short, Android fragmentation has given Apple an advantage in attracting top tier app developers, despite its declining share of the smartphone and tablet markets. It gave the company bragging rights with device owners too, since they get access to high quality apps that take advantage of the latest new iOS features.

There may be far more overall Android users, but with only a handful of hardware variations iOS is easier to develop for and with 90% of Apple devices running iOS 7, that means the vast majority of Apple’s user base can take advantage of new apps and the latest security updates.

And it doesn’t stop there…

To make matters worse for Google, it doesn’t control the release of Android to most devices. You can’t go on to Google Play with a two-year-old Samsung smartphone and download Android KitKat. The device manufacturers decide when and if to roll out new Android versions to their customers.

And since a new version of Android on an older device does manufacturers no good — it takes time and money to test and support the update and may prevent customers from simply buying a new smartphone or tablet to get the new features — many Android devices are effectively stranded on older versions.

So Google got creative with Google Play Services.

The official store for Android apps is Google Play. And in 2012, Google introduced new software called Google Play Services that became a requirement for running apps. It’s automatically downloaded onto any device running Android 2.2 or older — in other words, any Android device from the past four years.

Since then, Google has been stealthily moving core functions out of Android and into Google Play Services. That means developers can count on key Android functionality being available in an older device, regardless of what version of Android is actually installed.

Google is no longer at the mercy of hardware manufacturers to update their smartphones and tablets, and 93% of those devices are running the latest version of Google Play Services.

That sounds a heck of a lot better than saying less than 20% are on the latest version of Android, and it makes Apple’s 90% on iOS 7 seem merely competitive instead of running away with the game — even though comparing Google Play Services to iOS is really an apples-to-oranges thing.

However, with its Google Play Services strategy, Google has effectively neutralized one of Apple’s key iPhone and iPad bragging points. Android fragmentation still exists, but it’s not nearly so scary as it once was.

As pointed out by TechRadar’s Kevin Lee, the latest Google Play Service update not only brings Android Wear device compatibility to practically every Android smartphone and tablet, faster security patches can now be delivered and Google Wallet gains new features — even on four-year-old smartphones.

Moving Android functions into Google Play Services won’t do anything to tame the Android hardware fragmentation beast. However, with Apple expected to release two new iPhones in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch sizes (with new display resolutions) and reportedly considering a 12.9-inch iPad, it may not be in any rush to highlight hardware fragmentation just now.

As of this writing, Brad Moon did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.

Brad Moon has been writing for InvestorPlace.com since 2012. He also writes about stocks for Kiplinger and has been a senior contributor focusing on consumer technology for Forbes since 2015.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2014/07/google-play-services-goog/.

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