NWC

The report conducted by Crittercism found that whilst both the latest iOS and Android systems promise the fewest app crashes, Android edges into top place totaling fewer crashes overall.

The data unsurprisingly shows the older the OS, the less stable it is.

Android KitKat 4.4, Jelly Bean 4.3, and Ice Cream Sandwich 4.0 all crash about 0.7 per cent of the time, while apps running on the dated Gingerbread 2.3 end in an error 1.7 per cent of the time.

Meanwhile Apple sees the fewest crashes on its latest iOS 7.1 - with the previous iOS 6 crashing 2.5 per cent of the time and iOS 7 at 2.1 per cent.

Ranked by devices, the iPhone 5 is Apple’s strongest candidate only crashing 1.7 per cent of the time although the Samsung Galaxy S4 takes lead with just a 0.9 per cent crash rate.

Crash rate by app ranges from 0.4 per cent among e-commerce, 0.6 for social and communication services and up to 4.4 per cent for gaming apps.

According to Crittercism, the smartphone industry is getting better with problems and errors becoming less likely on newer models.

"2014 will continue to be a huge year for mobile," the report said. "Businesses will sharpen their focus from web to mobile, and leverage apps to increase revenue and productivity."