iOS and Android App Development: Market and Development Comparison
April 14, 2020
At the moment, there are 3.5 billion smartphone users worldwide, and this is such a huge chance to make some good money with iOS and Android app development. Or say, you have a product and want to promote it, the market of 3.5 billion smartphone users might be a great start.
About the Market of iOS and Android App Development
Nevertheless, if you don’t have enough resources like humans, time, and capital, how can you deal with it? Our suggestion is to make a product on one operating system at a time. But if it’s hard for you to pick up between iOS and Android, read on to find some differences.
1. Market share
According to a report conducted by Statista (image below), Android was still the most used mobile operation in December 2020 with 74.13% of the market share. Its longtime rival, iOS stood right behind and was responsible for 24.8% of the market share.
And it’s so surprising to see that compared to just 5 years ago, the total share of these two giants was merely 80%, but now, the number dramatically went up to 99%. The reasons might be varied: the failure of Windows Phone, BlackBerry OS, etc.; the flexibility and the broad price range of Android devices; or it’s just thanks to a lot of money pouring on countless marketing campaigns, you name it.
However, no matter what the reasons are, at the moment or in the near future, it seems like there’s no other one capable of beating them or even gaining just a bit of the market share.
So, if you want to tap on a larger portion of users, then Android you go.
But if you ever look at the figure and think that the process of mobile app development on Android will definitely pay back more money than developing iOS one, well, the next part may change your mind.
2. User demographic
As mentioned above, Android devices have a larger price range. Whether you bring $50 or $500, the sales rep can always introduce a phone that you are able to get home. That’s the reason why Android mobile phones are more popular in lower-income areas and developing countries.
On the other hand, even though iOS doesn’t control the market share, it’s still responsible for the larger share of the profit pie. This happens due to the fact that iOS users are more engaging when it comes to in-app purchases and paid subscriptions. Besides, they’re also more loyal than Android users. An article from BGR stated that more than 90% of iOS users will determine to buy more Apple products in the future.
Furthermore, many studies have found that iOS users receive a higher income, and have a higher education level than Android ones.
In light of that, user income and location are two of the most important factors to consider as you are planning the monetizing model of your app. If your strategy is based on advertising, then Android might be the one. And in the case that you want more premium users or want to sell your app to earn good money, your choice should be iOS.
Technical Factors of iOS and Android App Development
1. App design
Apparently, each of the OS has a set of rules to design and develop apps and they are significantly different. As for the mobile app development on Android, you’re going to need to do some research on Material Design. And it’ll be the Human Interfaces Guideline when it comes to iOS.
These two documents will show designers and developers how to make apps that are consistent in terms of look and feel.
So, in short, iOS design patterns are based a lot on clarity, deference, and depth. Meanwhile, Android puts its focal point on realistic graphic elements. It’s also worth knowing that iOS always wants its users to have the same experience when using every app; the Android system, however, is more open and flexible so that the app developers have more freedom to design their products.
2. Programming languages
You might notice that these two OSs still share some common designs such as gestures (tapping, pinching, swiping, etc.). However, as we are talking about programming languages, there’s nothing alike.
If you want to start your plan of mobile app development on Android, Java, Kotlin, or C/C++ what your developers must know. And provided you are planning to develop a native iOS app, your team should be able to use Swift and Objective-C.
Recommended reading: Top 10 iOS 14 Features That Can Help You
3. Development Complexity
Since there are countless Android devices in the market, your app should be designed and developed to fit them all, at least for common devices such as Samsung, Sony, etc. One way or another, this will cost businesses more time and effort spent on the development and testing stage. This leads to the result that the mobile app development process of a native Android app could be 30-40% more time-consuming compared to that of a native iOS app.
As for iOS, the Apple team has JUST come up with 24 models since its appearance. And more than half of them are unsupported now. So, developers don’t have to pay attention to many devices at once.
So many may say that Android is gonna lose this round but, developing a native iOS app is as difficult since Apple has a lot of rules and restrictions to follow.
Recommended reading: 75 Mobile App Ideas to Earn Big Money [Updated for 2022]
4. App publishing
It might take you less time to develop an iOS app but the publishing stage of it requires more time than an Android app. Since iOS reviewers who are human beings have to check many aspects of your apps such as bugs, policy violations, etc. At the same time, Android uses bots to check your app and see if it is qualified.
Wrapping Up About iOS and Android App Development
So, people at Designveloper hope that you found this article useful for future business. If you are planning to build a mobile app, contact us now, whether it is on Android or iOS.
Besides, Designveloper also offers some other services ranging from software design and development, and VoIP to business consulting.
Also published on
Share post on
Read more topics
