Languages
Pages
Legal
Mobile Application Development:iOS vs Android
Powered by
Within 2 years, there will be 3B+ smartphones in use. The average user spends 4-5 hours per day on mobile.Branch.io
Powered by
Mobile application development - an ongoing battle between iOS, Android and Windows Phone. And
the question that keeps coming back: which platform should you chose for your first app?
The reason for this comparison is to find the best platform to start with, if you don’t have enough
budget or resources to create the app for more than one.
Apps have an audience 2.5x as big as mobile websites
iOS vs Android: which one should you start with?
Powered by
Pros and cons of Android development
Powered by
In this part we will take a look at the Android platform pros:
Pros and cons of Android development
Powered by
➔ The biggest market share
➔ Wider demographics
➔ Variety of devices
➔ Higher ad revenue
In this part we will take a look at the Android platform pros:
Pros and cons of Android development
Powered by
➔ Less requirements for development
➔ Cheaper to feature on Google Play
➔ Easy publication
➔ More beta testers
➔ Fragmentation
➔ More potential bugs
➔ Longer to develop (and more expensive)
And cons:
Pros and cons of Android development
Powered by
So this might give you some idea of what it takes to develop mobile app on Android, now let’s discuss it further.
Powered by
1. The biggest market share
Powered by
With the global reach of 82.8% it has the biggest audience and therefore you can reach more potential
customers.
Take whatever data you can find, they all tell the same thing - Google is shaping up to be the biggest
player in mobile devices OS market and starting your first mobile app on its platform will give you more
users globally. Well, at least in theory.
This one is without a doubt a huge advantage of Android platform
Powered by
1. The biggest market share
2. Wider demographics
Powered by
Demographics are related to market share. The more people you can reach, the bigger the possibility to
reach specific demographics and niches.
Whether you are going to create mobile game for kids, business tool for B2B industry or health
monitoring app for seniors, with Android you are able to find more highly specific niches with potential
users.
Android users have broader content category reach
Powered by
2. Wider demographics
3. Variety of devices
Powered by
This is a double edge sword for Android and I will speak again about it while covering the
fragmentation, but for now let’s focus on its bright side.
Android devices come with the wide range of screen sizes and prices, therefore much more people are
able to instal your mobile app.
With variety of devices comes more potential users
Powered by
3. Variety of devices
4. Higher ad revenue
Powered by
In the Q1 2015 Android has overtaken iOS in revenue generation on all types of devices, according to
Opera Mediawork.
Although iOS is still on top while it comes to monetization, this is a serious step forward for Android and
everybody willing to make money with ads.
Use ads to make money on Android
Powered by
4. Higher ad revenue
5. Less requirements for development
Powered by
Compared to iOS app development, Android has less requirements for development.
you can use the Android Studio, which is the Google’s official Integrated Development Environment
(IDE), but you don’t have to. You can choose from lots of other development tools, thanks to great
Android developer’s community around the world and the fact that Android is open-sourced since its
very beginning.
All you need is a computer and Java programming language
Powered by
5. Less requirements for development
6. Cheaper to feature on Google Play
Powered by
It is not only faster to publish your first mobile app on the Google Play store - it is also much cheaper.
While it takes to pay $99 a year to feature apps in Apple store, on Google Play you are charged only
one with $25. Big difference, especially for independent app developers on a short budget.
Featuring app on Google Play is 4x cheaper than on App Store
Powered by
6. Cheaper to feature on Google Play
7. Easier publication process
Powered by
Assuming you will use Android Studio to develop your first Android app, its publication process will be
as simple as possible.
Now you have an APK file which you can share, run on different devices and publish on Google Play.
Just hit the publish button and you are all set!
Powered by
7. Easier publication process
8. More beta testers
Powered by
It is a lot easier to find beta users on Android platform than for iOS apps. Actually Google Play launched
a service for beta testers, which allows every technology geek to try out the newest apps as the come
out.
As Android apps are more exposed to bugs than the iOS ones, early bug-fixes can make or break you
new applications success in the app store.
Use beta users to find bugs in your Android application
Powered by
8. More beta testers
9. Fragmentation
Powered by
The same thing that allows Android reach more users, makes it more difficult to develop a good app.
The fragmentation means that not only Android users own different devices, but they run also different,
very often old version of the OS. Developers have to face developing for different screen sizes, but also
OS version and devices technical capabilities.
Android fragmentation is actually a double edge sword for this platform
Powered by
9. Fragmentation
10. More potential bugs
Powered by
A lot of devices and OS versions makes developing on Android more tricky, especially when you want
to publish your app as soon as possible.
The truth is that you will not avoid bugs on Android, but you can take some time to beta test it and
double-check the code before publishing, to make sure it is firm enough to introduce it to the users.
Fragmentation leads to more potential bugs on Android apps than on iOS
Powered by
10. More potential bugs
11. Longer to develop (and more expensive)
Powered by
Android app development requires more lines of code than iOS one, which means also dedicating more
time for it, and - you guessed - more developers’ work hours.
Infinum research, based on developing six apps for Android and iOS, has shown that it takes to write
about 40% more lines of code to develop Android app, which makes it 30% more expensive than iOS
one.
Android apps are 30% more expensive to develop than iOS ones
Powered by
11. Longer to develop (and more expensive)
Read the entire article on our blog
Powered by
iOS vs Android
Pros and cons of iOS development
Powered by
Now let’s see what it means to develop iOS mobile apps.
Pros and cons of iOS development
Powered by
Pros:
➔ Higher app revenue
➔ Dedicated user base
➔ Better e-commerce results
Now let’s see what it means to develop iOS mobile apps.
Pros and cons of iOS development
Powered by
Pros:
➔ Less lines of code
➔ Firmer / less bugs
➔ Better developer tools
➔ Smaller market share
And cons:
Pros and cons of iOS development
Powered by
1. Higher app revenue
Powered by
iOS users are willing to spend more money for tools and services related to them - because they simply
have more money.
If your target audience is based on developed countries with higher income per capita or urban areas,
targeting iOS users is a good idea.
iOS users are spending more on apps than Android users.
Powered by
1. Higher app revenue
2. Dedicated user base
Powered by
It is not a secret that iOS users are often very dedicated ones.
If you provide the the app that will answer their needs, offer unique user experience and on top of that
has a great design - they will stay with you.
iOS users are more engaged than Android users.
Powered by
2. Dedicated user base
3. Better e-commerce results
Powered by
If you plan your app to be your mobile commerce tool, then iOS is definitely the best option.
For example in the UK, iOS users are responsible for majority of mobile commerce purchases, as 66%
of them make online purchase via smartphone o tablet at least once a month, according to Episerver.
iOS users more often use their smartphones for online purchases
Powered by
3. Better e-commerce results
4. Less lines of code
Powered by
Remember of what I told you about Infinum comparison?
If you are hesitating between iOS and Android app development, it clearly shows that it takes less code
to develop one for Apple devices.
With Objective-C or Swift you can develop your app writing less lines of code
Powered by
4. Less lines of code
5. Firmer / less bugs
Powered by
Because there are only few types of devices running on iOS and they are mostly using new version of
the OS, it is easier to develop app with as little bugs as possible.
Also writing less code to develop your app works for you on this - less code, less possible amount of
bugs.
Less code, less possible amount of bugs
Powered by
5. Firmer / less bugs
6. Better developer tools
Powered by
Ok, this one may be controversial and I’m sure that many Android developers would disagree with that,
but in common opinion Apple provides its developers with better tools.
Let’s face it - Android Studio is a good IDE, but it’s on the market for quite short time now, while Xcode
has released version 7.3 already. It is built on years of experience and developers everyday work. And it
is also free.
Apple provides its developers with better tools
Powered by
6. Better developer tools
7. Smaller market share
Powered by
For some it will not be a problem, if we consider that on iOS it takes less apps to make sufficient
amount of money, but for those who count on the app’s reach - it may be a downside of picking iOS
platform.
To make as much as possible of the app’s reach, decide if your target audience comes from developed
countries, where customers are more willing to buy Apple’s products and spend money on apps. Urban
areas are also the ones with bigger iOS share.
If you want a bigger reach of your app, iOS may not be good enough
Powered by
7. Smaller market share
Read the entire article on our blog
Powered by
iOS vs Android
What platform to develop your first mobile app for?
Powered by
Surely it would be best to start with both of them and develop your first app simultaneously, but I
assume that the reason you have searched for iOS vs Android guide is because you really need to
choose only one to start with.
Let’s quickly recap the most important advantages of both platforms.
What platform to develop your first mobile app for?
Powered by
➔ you want to reach as many users as you can;
➔ you want to wider your user range;
➔ you want to monetize the app displaying ads;
➔ you (or your team) know Java.
Taking all pros for consideration, developing your first mobile app for Android may be a good idea when:
When to start with Android mobile app
Powered by
➔ you want to sell apps;
➔ your target audience comes from developed countries or urban areas;
➔ your target audience cares about the design;
➔ you want less bugs;
➔ you want to develop your app cheaper and faster.
Ok, so when it’s best to deliver your app for iOS first?
When to start with iOS mobile app
Powered by
There is no easy, one-and-only answer for the question “Which platform to choose for my first app?”
As you can see, a lot of things depends of your plans, the app’s purpose, problem it solves, audience
it reaches.
First, go figure that out - then the answer will come.
Conclusion
Powered by
Do you want the next great app? We can make that happen.
Powered by