Fragmentation in Android can be broadly attributed to following 4 factors:

1. Android OS Versions
2. Devices with different densities (ppi)
3. Devices with different form factors / screen sizes
4. Customization done by OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer)

 

Developing applications is a team work and there are key roles that help in containing fragmentation while developing apps. These are:

1. UI Designer
2. Developer
3. QA / Tester

We are covering the role of UI Designer here.

From UI Designer perspective, Fragmentation contributing factors #2 (Density) and #3 (Form Factor / Screen size) are more relevant and important.

Strategy / Approach for UI Designer to follow:

1. Following table shows the % of devices for different combination of density and screen size:

• Target highlighted cells to begin with. We can lower the priority for small screen sizes and low density devices.

2. Following table indicates representative screen sizes for highlighted cells:

Following table provides the ratios that apply to handle screen densities:

• Create layout and images for sizes as per highlighted cells above.
• Start with Normal-Extra High Density
• Follow the ratio and create images for Normal-High and Normal-Medium combination
• Images for Normal-High can apply to Large-Medium
• Create Images for Large-High combination
• Images for Large-High can apply to Extra Large-Medium combination
• Place images in their respective drawable folders and hand it over to developers.

Keep a watch on how the % of devices are changing. Tweak the strategy accordingly