Top all-time · #695
David Smith
Personal blog · david-smith.org/blogprogrammingproductivity
David Smith's personal blog at david-smith.org covers programming and productivity. Since 2012, 92 different Hacker News readers have linked it 133 times, most often “iOS Version Stats”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-10-01, and you can follow it by feed.
Rarely recommended · 0 of 40 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link David Smith's iOS version and device usage statistics as data in threads on iOS adoption. The comments cite the figures as evidence and do not judge the writing.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
Most-linked posts?
- iOS Version Stats11 people · 15 mentions · first linked 2012-07-12
- iOS Version Stats10 people · 10 mentions · first linked 2015-09-08
- How to wear your Apple Watch 24/75 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2015-09-22
- Apple Watch Adoption3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2018-03-14
- Implementing Smart App Banners3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2012-09-22
- Exploring Custom WatchOS Watch Faces2 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2018-10-12
- /blog/2012/10/11/instapaper-on-the-kindle-paperwhite/2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2015-11-25
- Feed Wrangler, The First Month 2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2013-05-29
- Craftsmanship and Consideration2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2024-05-16
- Testing an Apple Watch Ultra in the Scottish Highlands2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2022-09-28
What Hacker News says?
Quick comment about sizes and popularity. This is the size of the iPhone 6/6S/7/8 form factor. There are a LOT of iPhone models of this type. They're bigger than the old SE, but effectively a fair bit smaller than the X/XS/11 Pro format, which has a much larger screen to manage. So, this phone gives those of us who liked the 8 body size an upgrade path. David Smith compiled iPhone usage stats for his app. The iPhone…
Comment linking /blog/2019/06/24/the-popularity-of-the-4-dot-7-inch-iphone/
on “New iPhone SE”Submitted The Popularity of the 4.7″ iPhone as a story · 217 points
HN discussionApple is referring to the 6/6S/7/8 case. It is indeed extremely popular. Check out these stats from a year ago. On this app (which has a broad appeal), the 6/6S/7/8 had a 47% share. iPhone 5s/SE had 11% The old SE form factor is great! And those who like it, like it a lot. But you're clearly wrong if you take that to mean that the new SE form factor is an unpopular one. https://david-smith.org/blog/2019/06/24/the-po…
Comment linking /blog/2019/06/24/the-popularity-of-the-4-dot-7-inch-iphone/
on “New iPhone SE”Submitted iOS Version Stats as a story · 132 points
HN discussion> If anything, Apple hardware is probably used for longer than Android phones. Do you have any data to back this up? Looking at version market share, I'd say that there are way more people using older Android phones (1)(2). The second most used OS (10.X at 18.1%) goes as far back as iPhone 5 and the most used (11.X) goes as far back as 5S. (1) https://www.statista.com/statistics/271774/share-of-android-... (2) https…
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “A Message to Our Customers about iPhone Batteries and Performance”Submitted Honest In-App Purchases as a story · 101 points
HN discussionYes they do: https://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “Nasty macOS flaw is bricking MacBooks: Don't install this update”Submitted Apple Watch Adoption as a story · 89 points
HN discussionThe old OS X version can be fine if you're primarily doing Python programming. However, if one is using Xcode to write iOS 8 apps for the millions of new phones people bought a few months ago, you are pretty much forced onto the Apple upgrade treadmill. For example, Xcode 6.3 requires 10.10[1]. Apple decided that OS X 10.9 (Mavericks) released less than 18 months ago is not recent enough. Staying with OS X 10.6 mean…
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “OS X Reviewed”Submitted 16GB Is a Bad User Experience as a story · 78 points
HN discussionlooking at https://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/ and apparently still ±50% of currently active iPhones seem to be a 6(S)(+). Which is a LOT more than I expected. I don't see how Apple is going to ignore this one.
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “iPhone Performance Degrades as Battery Ages”Submitted Evolving App Store Business Models as a story · 51 points
HN discussionHoping to be wrong, checked the data. It's been about a year for iOS 12 and Android Pie. According to the latest numbers, iOS 12 is at 84% [1] and Android Pie is at 27% [2]. I also don't think that waiting 3 years will push Pie percentage much higher. Android 6.0 is more popular than 8.0 and 7.0. I don't envy Android devs... Can't imagine it's fun to develop apps when you have to target OSes released 4+ years ago be…
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “Android 10”Submitted Apple's Answer on Upgrade Pricing as a story · 46 points
HN discussionThey actually said this in their September 9th press release, although most people missed it: http://www.apple.com/pr/library/2014/09/09Apple-Unveils-Appl... "With Apple Watch, developers can create WatchKit apps with actionable notifications and Glances that provide timely information. Starting later next year, developers will be able to create fully native apps for Apple Watch." Someone from Apple also essentially…
Comment linking /blog/2014/11/06/expectations-for-watchkit/
on “WatchKit”Submitted Six Years Perfecting Maps on WatchOS as a story · 34 points
HN discussionUse blank icons to fill in the rows. Kludgy? Sure, but it gets the job done: https://david-smith.org/blank.html
Comment linking /blank.html
on “iOS 16 Available September 12th”Submitted Expectations for WatchKit as a story · 7 points
HN discussionI work on ScoreMobile and we're at 79%. Probably over 80% by now. 60% of Pocket users in five days. http://getpocket.com/blog/2012/09/more-than-60-of-pockets-da... http://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/ http://insights.chitika.com/2012/ios-by-device/ The Build & Analyze podcasts (which the author of The Magazine hosts) has talked about it multiple times http://5by5.tv/buildanalyze/96 I do appear to have overstated…
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “The Magazine”Submitted Hacking Paid Upgrades in the App Store as a story · 5 points
HN discussionThe adoption rate for iOS6 has been amazing compared to previous versions that weren't OTA. Over 60% in less than a month (according to a statistically significant and diverse user base source: http://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/ ). I recall seeing some iOS5-only apps when it was adopted this widely after a few months.
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “The Magazine”Submitted IOS 5.1 Upgrade Stats as a story · 5 points
HN discussionI find this an unnecessary flame. That’s why Apple introduced Smart App Banners for iOS and they work just fine. The problem is just with those redirect you to a separate app download page. http://david-smith.org/blog/2012/09/20/implementing-smart-ap...
Comment linking /blog/2012/09/20/implementing-smart-app-banners/
on “I don't want to download your app”Submitted iOS Version Stats as a story · 4 points
HN discussionMarco Arment (Overcast) and David Smith (slew of apps) would argue differently https://marco.org/apps http://david-smith.org/apps
Comment linking /apps
on “Bank tells customers to disable updates and not upgrade to iOS 16”Submitted Implementing Smart App Banners as a story · 4 points
HN discussionI keep an eye on David Smith’s published iOS version stats[0] which say around 23% of his users are running a 32bit CPU. This includes iPhone 5/5C and older iPads. https://david-smith.org/iosversionstats/
Comment linking /iosversionstats/
on “The future of iOS is 64-bit only: Apple to stop support of 32-bit apps”Submitted Apple Watch: 78,537 hours on my wrist as a story · 3 points
HN discussionMakes it convenient that the watch was never marketed, promoted, or sold as a sleep tracking aid... That said, @_davidsmith 's new sleep tracking app for wOS2 is quite nice, and I found that his charging strategy does the trick - https://david-smith.org/blog/2015/09/21/how-to-wear-your-app... I only needed 15-20 min in the morning and evening to get to all day usability.
Comment linking /blog/2015/09/21/how-to-wear-your-apple-watch-24-slash-7/
on “A New Face for Pebble”Submitted Super-Resolution iPhone Panoramas for Vision Pro as a story · 3 points
HN discussion
