Android Development vs iOS Development

Android development vs iOS development: Which one is better? This is one battle that is not ending any time soon. As we all know, Android and iOS are two of the most popular operating systems in the world for mobile devices (Smartphone, Tablets, Smartwatches etc.). The main reason behind their popularity is the availability of the applications or apps in their app market. These apps are becoming more and more innovative and useful for daily tasks.As the apps are becoming more innovative, the need of a user is also increasing. All big IT companies and startups are now focusing more on the apps to provide better service than their competitors. This ultimately makes a huge demand for mobile app developers.But between these two platforms, which one is the best for developers? Whether you are a full-stack programmer or running a business, you need to get the answer to this question. It is critical especially when you have an upcoming mobile app.

1. Number of users

Numbers don’t lie. In terms of the market share, there is no doubt that Android is the winner. According to the 2018 statistics, Android boasts of having a global market share of 88%. On the other hand, iOS had a paltry 11.9%.However, you should not just stop at the figures. You need to dig deeper into the demographics. For instance, Most Android users come from developing countries or low-income regions. On the other hand, a broad percentage of iOS users tend to have more disposable income.

2. The Average Revenue

Obviously, you want to build a mobile app that will be profitable. Between Android and iOS, which one will bring in more revenue? From a general point of view, you will assume that Android will earn more since it has a bigger market share. This assumption is wrong.

According to the recent figures, iOS beats Android in terms of the revenue generated. When it comes to revenue, you need to make your decision based on the nature of the audience. This is because the figures can easily tilt to any side.

Let’s say that the revenue will depend on the number of downloads that the app, get. In this case, you may have to go for the Android platform. This is simply because more downloads mean more users hence more revenue.

3. Development Complexity

When it comes to comparing Android vs iOS, we need to look at various aspects of development. One key aspect is the speed. It will take longer to build an Android app than an iOS app. This is all because of one thing that is Fragmentation.Android fragmentation deals with building an app that will function properly on all the Android devices. Given that there is a huge number of Android devices, the app development process may be slower and more complex. As a developer, you need to consider all these factors including screen sizes and even different versions of Android.

On the other hand, iOS has a very limited number of devices. These are iOS,iPad and iPod. This means that programmers don’t have the task of building different fragments of an app.

4. Development Cost

Between Android development vs. iOS development, which one is expensive to build. When it comes to the cost, there is no clear answer. This is because of various reasons.

When we look at the huge number of Android users, you will have to spend more in order to get a stable app. When we factor in the development time, the longer we take to develop an app, the higher the cost.

Does it mean that developing an iOS is cheap? Not really. To design an iOS app, you will need Xcode which can only work on Mac. In terms of development cost, there is a very small difference between the two.

5. Publishing

After the development process, the final step is publishing the app from where it will be downloaded by users. The rules of publishing an app on the Google Play Store are not that strict. You only need to pay $25 and wait for a short approval process. As if this is not enough, you will have to part with $100 annual fee to keep your app on the Apple App Store.

Publishing an iOS app requires some level of patience. It will have to go through a rigorous process before it is finally approved. Chances of it being rejected are high.