Systemic Issue? Why do WP apps lack features?

[runamuck83]

I'd like to get an educated answer to this question. Maybe a developer can give us some insight?

Why is it that majority of apps on WP when compared to the iOS/Android equivalent are lacking features?

I'm not talking about the obvious ones like "Instagram Beta" (we know the reason for that one, they just don't give a $h1t).

But what about FitBit? For example, their WP app does not support text/call notifications on the FitBit Surge while the iOS/Android apps do. We know WP is capable of doing this since it works on the Band and recently was demonstrated on the Pebble?

I don't get it... Is it harder or are developers just THAT lazy when it comes to WP?

 

[xandros9]

not necessarily laziness or not, but since we're a comparatively small market, I imagine a developer decides to put less effort into Windows Phone when you can spend the same time on a more-used/higher-use potential Android or iOS app.

Like they've decided they wanted to make a Windows Phone app to serve us, but we aren't a priority.

I remember a rule from school called the 80/20 rule. 80% of the success for 20% of the effort.

 

[vicky geth]

Android spread faster when it entered market because they are Open Source and it attracted more devices and developers.
The reason for less no of productivity apps compared to android- WP is more secured. Reason for non-availability of famous apps and games- Less no. of market share

 

[a5cent]

It has absolutely nothing to do with Android being pseudo open-source. It has even less to do with "lazy developers" (anyone suggesting this as general reason for anything should immediately be disqualified from partaking in sane discussions).
For a very small subgroup of apps, API restrictions may still be an issue, for example, no 3rd party app can synchronize your text messages between your WP device and your desktop, so apps that do this on Android just can't be ported to WP. However, this is a very small group of apps. The group of incompetent developers misusing "API limitations" as a means to excuse their own poor skills is actually larger.
The most common reason is the one Xandros suggested. Business and finances.
As WP users we just don't matter. Consider two dev teams, A and B, battling for market share dominance. Whether either of their apps exists for WP makes no difference. The app that wins the popularity contest on iOS and Android wins world wide, whether the app for WP exists or not. Put yourself in their shoes. Given that scenario, why would you spend $50,000 on an app for WP that brings you no closer to your business goals? It's still 50,000 plus, say, another 10,000 annually for maintenance. That's not chump change, and worse, that's money you're diverting away from your vitally important efforts on iOS and Android.
Imagine team B making that investment in a WP app, while team A uses that same money to polish their app on iOS. Which team made the better investment, that is more likely to improve their app's overall popularity? Exactly...
It's rarely personal. It's just business. Until WP gains enough market share to matter, that won't change.

 

[runamuck83]

It has absolutely nothing to do with Android being pseudo open-source. It has even less to do with "lazy developers" (anyone suggesting this as general reason for anything should immediately be disqualified from partaking in sane discussions).
For a very small subgroup of apps, API restrictions may still be an issue, for example, no 3rd party app can synchronize your text messages between your WP device and your desktop, so apps that do this on Android just can't be ported to WP. However, this is a very small group of apps. The group of incompetent developers misusing "API limitations" as a means to excuse their own poor skills is actually larger.
The most common reason is the one Xandros suggested. Business and finances.
As WP users we just don't matter. Consider two dev teams, A and B, battling for market share dominance. Whether either of their apps exists for WP makes no difference. The app that wins the popularity contest on iOS and Android wins world wide, whether the app for WP exists or not. Put yourself in their shoes. Given that scenario, why would you spend $50,000 on an app for WP that brings you no closer to your business goals? It's still 50,000 plus, say, another 10,000 annually for maintenance. That's not chump change, and worse, that's money you're diverting away from your vitally important efforts on iOS and Android.
Imagine team B making that investment in a WP app, while team A uses that same money to polish their app on iOS. Which team made the better investment, that is more likely to improve their app's overall popularity? Exactly...
It's rarely personal. It's just business. Until WP gains enough market share to matter, that won't change.

I get that. What I'm talking about is something like Fitbit, where there is a clear partnership between MS and Fitbit. I'm sure MS is covering a portion of the dev costs. In THIS scenario, why isn't the app at feature parity with iOS? This is what I don't understand.

 

[runamuck83]

My direct question is, are all the capabilities that are available to iOS devs available to WP devs?

That's what I'm getting at.

 

[Wasim Wes Adetunji]

My direct question is, are all the capabilities that are available to iOS devs available to WP devs?

That's what I'm getting at.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/3/14/8216327/why-do-windows-8-apps-take-so-long-to-load

 

[fatclue_98]

My direct question is, are all the capabilities that are available to iOS devs available to WP devs?

That's what I'm getting at.

Do we know if there are security constraints that won't allow for certain features? I don't know about you, but I don't install apps that require more permissions than is needed for the particular app. Does a flashlight app really need access to my contacts to work properly?

 

[a5cent]

My direct question is, are all the capabilities that are available to iOS devs available to WP devs?.

No, but such gaps are very rare. In some cases WP offers capabilities that iOS doesn't either, so it goes both ways. For apps like Fitbit I don't think such an argument can be made. At least I can't think of anything Fitbit does on iOS that wouldn't work just as well on WP.

I don't know what is up specifically with Fitbit, but I do know that many of the WP apps that MS helped make became abandonware. Once a dev has done enough to cash MS' check, there simply is no reason to keep going.

 

[MikeSo]

Many developers have mentioned API restrictions as the reason for lack of development, it was only recently that MS added the calls necessary for the Band, for example, if I remember correctly.

My guess is that Fitbit started development way before the necessary calls where there, and they have no incentive to go back and spend money on refinement of an app that in all likelihood has very little use of their products.

The only reason Fitbit has an app in the first place is because Microsoft has paid them, and Microsoft only paid them so they can have their app checked off in the list of apps that WP has. I can guarantee that neither company is interested in improving the features or usability of the app beyond the basics and bug fixes. I'd be shocked if the Fitbit app is ever updated again with these features (always hope I'm wrong though).