Dexcom now offers apps on both iOS and Android. Which alternative is preferable?
As for me, although I am a lifelong Android user, I prefer iOS for the purpose. I have several reasons for my preference, each of which would probably be enough for me to pick iOS if I have the choice.
Duration of OS support
There is a large difference in the actual and promised duration of support betwen iOS devices and Android devices. He is a comparison between the two through 2015:
As can be seen, IOS devices have a lot more life than Android devices. On the Android side, Google’s own policy (2 years of OS and 3 years of security patches from the DATE OF INTRODUCTION of a device) is meager, but is compounded by the next issue – who controls these upgrades.
For instance, I have a perfectly good Nexus 5, which is now useless for all purposes. For a medical device, I would like a good bit of longevity.
Android upgrades
Android upgrades are driven by the hardware (OEM) provider of by the network you subscribe to, not by the manufacturer. Many OEMs simply do a terrible job at providing upgrades, even security upgrades. For instance, have a look at mid-priced provider Motorola, which used to be one of the best in that respect:
Motorola nows says that ONE (!!!) major upgrade OS all they normally agree to provide. Motorola, as well as most OEMs, does a poor job of providing timely OS releases, as well as (horror!) security patches. For a phone that will host a critical medical app, I do want to make sure that it is patched as it should be.
Dexcom Android offering
It turns out that Dexcom does NOT provide an Android app. It provides an app for SPECIFIC phones and SPECIFIC version numbers. Most of these phones are obsolete already, and therefore will likely get few upcoming upgrades. The few newer ones among these phones are not those I would opt to pick if it were up to me.
For instance, Dexcom does not support ANY of our Android phones in my household.
On the other hand, Dexcom works with any up-to-date iOS device, and even on old, non-upgraded versions of iOS - a huge difference.
Medical apps OS availability
Practically every app I would consider running exists on iOS, with the exception of a couple of valuable opensource apps. Many such commercial applications either do not exist on Android, or, in the case of Dexcom, are incompatible with many Android phones.
I would like to be able to use many other medical apps.
Apple health kit vs Android health wallet
The Apple health kit turns out to be compatible with pretty much all health applications in existence. On the other hand, many such applications are not compatible with Android health wallet.
I would like to be able to have my medical apps cooperate nicely with the dexcom app and with each other.
My choice
This is why, although I am an Android user, when I had to pick on OS for my son, I picked iOS.
What do you think?
