Android vs iOS Development: Which Platform is Better?

Choosing the right platform to build your first app is a half of success. Do you know that every 4th user (about 23%) abandons an app after a single use? You don’t want to have such an experience, right?

You can lower risks by clearly defining your aims, audience and resources. But it is also important to know basic differences of Android and iOS platforms. Do you want to get the latest information on this topic? Follow us!

🤔 iOS vs Android development: which one to choose?

By the beginning of 2017, iOS and Android share an unbelievable piece of the mobile market – 96%, leaving all other operating systems far behind. Nevertheless, you have to choose out of this 2 variants anyway.

Interesting fact: Instagram, first launched on iOS in 2010, became available for Android users only 4 years later, in 2014.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” as the Chinese philosopher Lao said. Of course, it seems better to build an app for the both platforms at the same time, but there are also some reasons not to do so:

• It can be expensive. You will require a different equipment and different developers, which will cost you a tidy sum of money.
• It’s risky. You never know whether your users are going to like your app or not, so it’s better to test it in one of the markets at first.

“Ok,” you may reply, “so which one should I choose?”. We hope, our Android vs iOS comparison is the best answer for this question! Let’s take a complex look at the both platforms and find out their strong and weak points.

💰 Business aspects of iOS vs Android development: don’t miss your piece of pie!

What do you want your app to be like? You want it to be profitable and popular, sure. And believe it or not, it also depends on the platform you have chosen. How? Let’s have a closer look!

1. Market share and number of users

5 years back, in 2012, Android with its 21.5% share of the world’s mobile market would seem a looser comparing to iOS 61%. Now, over just a half of a decade, the situation has dramatically changed. In 2017 Android owes 64% of the world’s mobile market, which is twice higher than iOS does (32%). Numbers speak for themselves.

⚙️ Technical aspects: how to avoid difficulties?

When choosing the platform for a mobile app, you should also consider technical factors. They will help you to understand which way is cheaper, easier and faster.

1. Development complexity

When it comes to the development complexity of an Android app vs iOS app, Android loses. And we may not even consider differences in the programming languages. The main difficulty lies in the fragmentation.

Apple has the limited number of devices running on iOS: iPhone, iPod and iPad. Moreover, the most recent statistics shows, that over 50% of users updated their operating systems to the latest version (iOS 11) during the first 3 weeks after the release. Now this number is as high as 80%.

But if your users…

• mainly live in South America, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe;
• prefer technical professions;
• highly appreciate price-quality ratio;
• pay more attention to apps from Tools, Entertainment and Communication categories;
• more loyal to in-app ads…

… you may benefit more from app development on Android platform.

🗃️ Case study

We also decided to give you some hints, which will help you to choose the right variant between iOS vs Android development specifically for your project. So here are the most popular questions and answers for them.

Question 1. Which platform should I choose to build an eCommerce app or create a food delivery app?

Answer: iOS, because its users have a higher income on average and spend more money in mobile apps.

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Question 2. Which platform should I choose, if I want to make money from in-app purchases?

Answer: iOS again, due to the reasons mentioned above.

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Question 3. Which platform is better to create a minimum viable product?

Answer: most developers advise using iOS platform because it allows building your MVP faster and cheaper. On the other hand, you will have to buy Mac and iPhone/iPad, if you don’t have one.

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Question 4. Which platform should I choose, if I want to make revenue from in-app ads?

Answer: definitely Android, because it has twice as many users, who are more inclined to watch ads.

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Question 5. Which platform is better for designing mobile games?

Answer: Games are the most popular category in both app stores, but on Android it accounts for 90% of all revenue for apps, while on iOS for 75%. It means that Android is more preferable.

💡 Conclusion

The wrestle Android vs iOS seems to become even tougher. No doubt, that each platform has its pros and cons. Moreover, if the one was perfect, why would we need the second?