Most mobile applications release on iOS before they debut on Android, much to the chagrin of Android users and BluEnt discerns why.
With both Apple App Store and Google Play Store nearly reaching the one million mark, the competition between the two platforms is stiff. Every business, small, medium or enterprise is keen to showcase its presence and reach a wider audience. For mobile app developers, it is another story though. App store volume has nothing to do with them and most choose iOS app development as the first choice unless forced otherwise.
More than quantity, quality matters for seasoned business mobile app developers. The general perception is that iOS mobile applications are of better quality than their Android counterparts.
Instead of basing our views on general opinion, BluEnt researched and found out why iOS is so widely recognized as the preferred development platform for business application development.
Here are our findings:
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Development Price and Time Infinium is an independent design and development firm and has a vast experience in creating both Android and iOS platforms. They build identical applications for six of their projects for a study they undertook.
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All these projects:
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Had similar app built on both platforms
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Did not have a legacy codebase for pre-gathered data.
Total lines of code and number of hours spent
The total lines make up between 4 and 124% difference with an average of 38%. Take a look at the number of hours put in per project.
Based on quick calculations, you can see for yourself that the average Android application takes nearly 28% more time to develop than iOS applications. Here at BluEnt, our own statistics are more or less identical to the study by Infinium. Clearly, iOS has an upper hand when it comes to reduced developmental costs and resources.
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Hugely fragmented Android Market
We sat down with our in-house mobile development team and they all voiced a similar concern – it is difficult to design products on several versions of a platform. Per data by Google, only 0.7% of Android phone users are on the latest Android OS and nearly a third of the users are on versions released 3 years old.
This issue is further compounded when we thought of the sheer numbers of Android devices in the market. Moreover, most of these have come up with their own customized interfaces, varied screens and resolutions.
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On the other hand, iOS users can be segmented as below:
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76% users are on iOS 9
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17% users are on iOS 8
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7% users are on earlier versions
This makes the life of an iPhone application developer easier as compared to an android application developer.
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iOS offers better developmental tools
Another concern of developers is the ease of access and features in their integrated development environments or IDEs for application building purposes. The more mature the IDE is, the better the chances of building a successful responsive application. iOS offers Xcode for mobile app development. Xcode is mature and offers a wide range of tools and features. The Eclipse IDE and the Android Studio, from Android, on the other hand, do not surpass Xcode in terms of maturity and features.
Although BluEnt offers services both in Android and iOS app development, it is mostly a matter of our client’s preference for the platform. We provide similar guidance, development and support for both these platforms.
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App purchases and in-app transactions
According to DazeInfo, Apple generates 45% more revenue as compared to Google Android per user. The report also found that iOS users are 10% more likely to pay for in-app transactions as compared to their Android counterparts.
To Conclude
In our experience, we think that iOS is better in a number of aspects of developing business mobile applications but Android is not totally useless either. If your target audience is Asia and Africa, chances are you can profit more with an Android app.
If you’re confused or just starting out, it is better to outsource mobile app development in New York. BluEnt, a leading IT and mobile app developer in North America, can assist you in making the right decision.
Maximum Value. Achieved.