I've been playing around with advanced targeting options like device brands models os versions browsers but I'm trying to make sense of the reasoning behind.
For example a funny brand like Pantech performs better than Samsung maybe because Pantech users are less educated and more willing to install? Or maybe they face more problems compared to a Samsung user whose phone has less problems?
Browsers maybe because certain browsers have a lot more issues than others? Maybe because Baidu browser users actually had to install the Baidu browser first and are more likely to install another app?
Os versions maybe because certain versions are buggy and does not perform properly either leading them to want to solve the problem which means convert better? Or leading them to fail to install an app properly which means convert worse?
Demographics account for a lot of this.
For example, the demographics for the latest iPhone are very different to those for old feature phones or very low-end smartphones.
A user who religiously updates Android every time there's a tiny point release is likely to be very different, demographically, to someone who's still on their phone's release version - the former is likely to be very technically adept and interested, the latter likely to be un-technical or not interested in technology.
An Internet Explorer user is more likely to be in an office, an older person, or both. Firefox users skew young and liberal. Etcetera.
See http://www.conversionvoodoo.com/blog...-demographics/ for one example of this sort of demographic split.
Take for example someone who has a BMW versus someone who has a VW Beetle. If you were an advertiser, you would probably want to show different ads and even market different products to each audience, since you can infer that each group will tend to behave differently. Similarly chances, are that someone who has an iPhone running iOS8 is probably more affluent and has different buying preferences than someone who buys an entry level phone running 2012 version of Android.
Secondly, each phone has different dimensions, capabilities, and speed. Hence what a user on the lastest iPhone will see will be very different from what someone on a Pantech handset will see.