A Comparison Between iOS and Android Platforms

Today there are millions of Android apps of all descriptions available in the market. The main concern is about choosing the right one and in the era of competition, survival is the key. We have all grown up with the technology, and we never settle without choosing the best of the apps. There is an excellent market for both leading mobile development platforms -iOS and Android apps available on the market. The mobile usage and time spent using mobile apps are continuously growing. Nowadays, a native mobile app is a part of the smartest mobile strategies.

Once you have decided to build a native app, where do you start from? Which platform should you choose to build your first version on? Is it good to choose the Android platform first or the iOS or both? The choice would depend on factors which need to be taken into consideration while building a native mobile app.

Customers

● The target customers always play the key role in the market.

● The primary consideration is where are the targeted app adopters located.

● The customers and location play an impactful role in the app production and growth in the app.

If the customers belong to Europe, U.S, or Australia, the possibility is that Android would have a strong priority but would lag behind iOS apps and their demand. In countries such as Asia, South America, Android sales prevail over iOS apps. Therefore, Android app developers consider targeting such locations for stable and better sales and revenue generation of their apps.

However, in terms of app revenue generation for developers, iOS continues to lead the way. It helps revenue generation in terms of both - app sales and in-app purchases. Apple and the iPhone or iPads are a premium brand. As a result, compared to the Android device owner, an average iPhone owner tends to spend more on apps.

Also, app developers India consider the demographics of the targeted user. Younger generations choose Android over iPhones considering Android phones are cheaper and better. On the basis of these factors, android app developers can develop creative apps and target them to the relative customers.

Open source and fragmentation

The main disadvantage of Android’s environment is that it is open source. Android app developers also face the challenge of fragmentation. They ought to consider this at the device level, and the component level within those android devices. The other factor is that there is more significant fragmentation at the software level. Each Android release by Google is later customized and adapted by the different hardware producers. This makes the software fragmentation even more diverse.

For Android app developers, it is important to test an Android app to remove bugs for avoiding future crashes. The process takes far longer than its equivalent iOS app. However, Android app developers can manage this issue by limiting the release of the apps to specific types of hardware and specific versions of Android OS. Thus, they must consider certain parameters such as the device size, screen resolutions, OS versions. Without these parameters, an Android app could take longer to develop than a similar iOS app.

The review process

Android is an open source platform and has many pros and cons in view of its review process. It might be a plus factor for the Android app developers when it comes to building the first product. But sometimes, it can be a trap too.

Apple carefully reviews all the iOS apps before releasing it in the App Store. The iOS app developers generally need to wait for up to 10 days. If the app does not meet the Apple standards, developers have to make certain changes and resubmit it. Once, they get a green signal; the app is ready to go live. While on the other hand, Google Play Store does not have this kind of a barrier. Google provides a separate Google Play beta play store to its Android app developers for the test releases. This means the developers can iterate and deploy builds easier and faster for Android than iOS.

The downside of Android apps is that they are also more susceptible to malware threats. There are more chances of the app being quickly copied, especially if they are popular and generate enough revenue. However, now with Google Play Protect, Android apps are getting more secure.

Apple provides its own test environment; however, it can be tricky to use from the practical point of view as many beta testers encounter issues while installing the apps on their iPhones.

Conclusion

For mobile app developers, it is important to think and decide upon such factors. Therefore, they should make sure that they spend time carefully on research and analyzing the market and trends. Before deciding whether your native app should be iOS or Android, weigh the pros and cons of developing apps for each of the leading platforms.