SQUARE NOT MAKING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FOR ANDROID???!!!

[Anubis]

WHY IS SQUARE CATERING TO APPLE & IOS... AND NOT MAKING PRODUCTS OR SERVICES FOR ANDROID???!!!... All of Squares products and service are geared toward IOS. All we have for android are the app and reader. ALL OF THE POTHER SQUARE HARDWARE IS MADE FOR IOS!!! WHY IS SQUARE IGNORING THEIR ANDROID CUSTOMERS???!

[Donnie-M]

@Anubis This comes up from time to time and one of the main reasons is that android has so many versions, layers over the os, & different pieces of hardware that it becomes hard to make a stable secure payment platform that will work on all devices.

That said, square has taken the approach to android recently in supporting some specific hardware especially some Samsung devices.  They have beta tests going on on android hardware and even announced a new android kds beta.

What happens next is that someone will say, "But I don't use Samsung, why do I have to use Samsung hardware, why can't I use LG or Google hardware?"  If you have ever gotten a cheap Walmart tablet, you will know that not all android hardware is equal.

iOS has the same software pretty much on every device till it is too old to use.  So stability and security you are good.

The square terminal is android based as well as the newer square restaurants handheld.  Square register is android based and they sell that too.  So not everything is geared towards android.  What I recommend is, focus on what makes you money in business and just get the hardware that gets the job done.  I see too many people worrying about saving $100 that they spend 500$ worth of their time to save $100.

[Anubis]

OK... for android all they have is the app and the chip and tap reader... THAT'S ABOUT IT... The square stand does not support android... which was my gripe... to be able to use the professional looking equipment for my store, I would have to switch to an iPad... they don't even have many android supported receipt printers... NOT ONE BLUETOOTH PRINTER FOR ANDROID... They have a few ethernet printers and one wifi supported printer for android... so while I'm working with my tablet on a personal stand sitting on top of my cash draw, the guy in the store right next door has all the professional looking square stand equipment because he has an iPad... and I wouldn't mind spending extra for a better Samsung tablet if they had a square stand that it would work with... just having the hardware that gets the job done, as opposed to having the hardware that looks professional while getting the job done is a big difference... we android users would just like to be able to utilize the professional looking equipment, instead of just settling for what just gets the job done... That... was my gripe

[VanKalkerFarms]

Square actually uses Android heavily.  All their custom-made hardware runs on Android.  Their software is available on Android.  They just announced KDS coming to Android.  As others have pointed out, and I am sure you are aware, Android is made up of 10s of thousands of SKUs of Android devices from 100s of manufacturers running dozens of versions of the Android OS. Some devices run 5+-year-old software on new devices.  There is just so much variation in power with Flagship Google or Samsung devices vs $40 tablet you can get at Aldi that takes 4 minutes to boot up running a snapdragon 4 series SOC. 

Now compare that to a few models of iPhone introduced a year running at most a version of iOS that is a couple of years old and it makes testing and compatibility 100 times easier.  Compatibility between older phones is nearly 100% as they are all based on the same core architecture.