Skyrocketing ‘failure rate’ means iOS is less stable than Android

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iOS and Android are killing off the competition.
Want stability? Choose... Android?!
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

iOS is generally considered more stable and more secure than Android, but boy how the tables have turned.

According to new data, the failure rate of Apple’s platform rose significantly during the second quarter of 2016, making it more unstable than Google’s for the first time ever.

During the first quarter of 2016, iOS devices saw a 25 percent failure rate in tests carried out by Blancco Technology Group. During the second quarter, that figure rose to 58 percent. Crashing apps, unstable Wi-Fi, and other performance issues were to blame.

In its Q2 2016 State of Mobile Device Performance and Health report, BTG reveals that the iPhone 6 is the most unstable Apple smartphone with a failure rate of 29 percent, followed fairly closely by the iPhone 6s at 23 percent.

Strangely, the iPhone 6s Plus, which has almost exactly the same internals as its smaller sibling — save for a larger display and battery — had a failure rate of just 14 percent.

Meanwhile, Android’s failure rate fell from 44 percent in Q1 2016 to just 35 percent in Q2 2016, making Google’s platform more stable than Apple’s for the first time since BTG began compiling its quarterly Performance and Health reports.

“Ever since the iPhone was introduced in 2007, Apple’s iOS has been a force to be reckoned with,” said Richard Stiennon, Chief Strategy Officer at BTG. “But our data suggests that the performance battle between iOS, Android and other operating systems is constantly changing.”

While unstable apps were the biggest reasons for failure on iOS — with Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook among the worst for dying during use — the camera and battery charging were the biggest culprits on Android.

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