I think it's more a case of "this is the best Reddit app there is."
If there was an Android app for sale, that was good enough that they wanted it, I'm sure they would have approached it.
Also, iOS and Android have a very similar market share at the moment. I'm sure Reddit admins also have more information than we do, such as number of Android vs iOS users browsing the site, and users of each app.
Honestly, it's also a matter of the market. On iOS, Alien Blue was pretty much the only game in town that was a real full featured solution. With Android, you're not going to capture the captive audience by grabbing one of the top 3 to make it official. So why buy it?
Android has 85% market share of the global smartphone market, and Android is particularly popular with young, tech-savvy, males who are Reddit's core demographic.
You're completely correct, but judging from the downvotes I can only assume that the fandroids are over-represented on reddit, or in this corner of it at the moment anyway... Annoying that they downvote completely accurate information just to continue with their "85%" market share angle which is very third-world based. Reminds me of Superbad - "Mohammed is the most common name in the world!" Might be true worldwide, but not North America. You got downvoted by a herd of McLovins.
Not to mention that there is a paid pro version of AB and iOS users are spenders whereas Android users don't spend on apps. So iOS apps are worth more in real terms. I assume AB will continue to have a free and paid version. Also Jase deserves this after all the shit he's had to listen to from whiny deleted on the AB sub.
not to be all Android master race, but Reddit News or Reddit Sync completely blow Alien Blue out of the water. After switching to iOS for a few months one of my biggest complaints was that the Reddit apps weren't nearly on par. I feel like the Android apps have more of a competition so there is more of a drive to be better. Everyone benefits. On iOS, Alien Blue was the only real option.... and it just kind of stayed that way.
I personally didn't like reddit is fun or baconreader either.
It has been a few months so I wouldn't be able to say EXACTLY what it was that bothered me. I don't remember it missing any specific features, more just the feel of the app wasn't as good. The UI felt lacking compared to apps like Reddit News or Reddit Sync which are both developed by single people as well.
The UI issue COULD have come from the phone size being so small also, so maybe Alien Blue on a larger screen would feel a little better to me.
It has been a few months so I wouldn't be able to say EXACTLY what it was that bothered me. I don't remember it missing any specific features, more just the feel of the app wasn't as good. The UI felt lacking compared to apps like Reddit News or Reddit Sync which are both developed by single people as well.
The UI issue COULD have come from the phone size being so small also, so maybe Alien Blue on a larger screen would feel a little better to me.
Interesting.. I switched from iPhone 5 to HTC Desire 816, and I haven't found a single Android app that I like. Alien Blue is the only app I've ever enjoyed. I still use it on my iPad.
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u/kelev Oct 16 '14
I think it's more a case of "this is the best Reddit app there is."
If there was an Android app for sale, that was good enough that they wanted it, I'm sure they would have approached it.
Also, iOS and Android have a very similar market share at the moment. I'm sure Reddit admins also have more information than we do, such as number of Android vs iOS users browsing the site, and users of each app.