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0 pointssmosher_11y ago0 comments

> When the vast majority of mobile revenue is generated by iPhone users, that means if it doesn't work on iOS, it doesn't work at all - 80% marketshare be damned.

How does this matter to Google or the W3C exactly? I don't buy this reasoning.

The CPU analogy doesn't work either, since everyone depends on a number of different processors, with Intel approaching 100% representation among individuals—this doesn't hold for iOS in the mobile market, where people typically depend on one phone.

That said, iOS might have stronger representation among the people who depend on mobile browsing than the market share numbers suggest (but that needs measuring.) My guess is that even as low as 20% of mobile is sufficiently significant to Google (whose employees all seem to have MBPs) and two major vendors is likewise to the standards committee.

> I'd imagine the best thing to do is commented on the article. Create a Polyfill, and if PointerEvents are better than the rest, developers will naturally use them. Eventually given the huge amount of developers on the polyfill Apple may be inclined to make it native.

Very yes. I'm not completely sold on pointer events but the tactic encourages real-world exploration.

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3 comments · 1 top-level

nemothekid11y ago· 2 in thread

>How does this matter to Google or the W3C exactly? I don't buy this reasoning.

If you write a standard, and no one uses it, what use is it exactly? If Apple were to come up with a competing standard, in a year, which "standard" would you believe will have more use?

Apple has better control of mobile developer mindshare (almost a monopoly) and if Apple isn't onboard with your "standard" it may be very difficult to get it adopted among developers. Even worse if Apple were to decide to do things differently, their marketshare can make that the defacto standard, which Google will happily follow suit in order to appease developers and wasting everyone else's time that bothered to implement pointer events.

> The CPU analogy doesn't work either,

Its not a perfect analogy, but my point is developers don't target platforms solely based on marketshare. There are a lot more x86 toolchain developers than your all your favorite ubiquitous 8 bit microcontrollers.

smosher_OP11y ago

> If you write a standard, and no one uses it, what use is it exactly?

Only non-people don't use Apple, got it.

nemothekid11y ago

How many mobile developers/shops do you know that don't target iOS? How many do you know that are iOS only? The latter number likely dwarfs the former. This isn't about end users. Its about the fact that if a standard doesn't roll out on iOS at this point, it won't see a ton of adoption.

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