I was thinking about this just the other day. Still heaps easier than managing endless Android implementations though, amirite?

not if you just use vanilla android. :) Googs is starting to get a better handle on their UX fragmentation than apple.

On the other hand, and realizing I have no idea what UX fragmenttion is, I have had a super experience with Apple supporting my 5s -- vastly superior to anything I had with Samsung, Google, or AT&T when trying to use the droid I no longer have on line.

Meanwhile 25% of Android users are on Gingerbread.

With or without whipped cream?

haha, version fragmentation is one thing, obviously with carriers and manufacturers getting their grubby hands on the open sourced OS… but (imo) apple has been consistently missing the bar on releases lately. i'm a huge fan of iterative releases, but apple's m.o. has been about releasing complete, polished products. not maps for iOS, or a (mostly) flat ui on one device that completely contrasts the forstall look of other… mostly, i just find the UIs hilariously different on 2 major OS revisions that launched within a month of each other.

p.s. look at launchpad on mavericks, heh

I think some amount of skeuomorphism makes sense on desktop because it is generally not retina. Not full on legal paper and leather bound shit though. Also I think desktop is way less about style and more about usability, so why change it dramatically. However on mobile I think iOS7 is a vast improvement. Looking at an iOS 6 device now, it seems incredibly outdated and ugly. Mobile OS are required to be fashionable, which raises the visual bar a bit. Also at least apple can launch apps that have the new style relatively quickly. Windows 8 has been out for a year and there is still no touch Office. WTF are they doing?

Eh, the company's in the middle of design transition now. Jobs had a thing for skeuomorphism and Ive doesn't at all. And branding / UI / product identity changes slowly. The difference in releases is probably due to a combination of those two things.