20 Jan

Developing an App? How to Choose Between iOS and Android

iappdevelopment_blogthumbOS or Android? Choosing which operating system to develop your mobile app on can be a tricky proposition. Every OS has its share of advantages and disadvantages, but if you have to narrow it down to one, there are some strong indicators you can use to help figure out which OS is right for your app.

Audience

According to statistics from IDC[1], Android has captured the lion’s share of the worldwide smartphone market:


Smartphone market share Q2 2015:

  • Android – 82.8%
  • iOS – 13.9%
  • Windows – 2.6%

When looking at these numbers, it might seem like Android’s app marketplace, Google Play, is the obvious place for your app due to the sheer number of Android phones on the market. However, it’s Apple’s iOS that dominates in terms of website visits worldwide, so it may actually make more sense to develop your app for that market.

No matter the statistics, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to develop an app on a platform your customers aren’t using. By taking a look into the analytics behind which devices your customers use to access your website, you can get a sense of which OS they are likely to support your app on.

Monetization

Another decision you will have to make during the mobile app development process is whether or not you are going to charge for your app. Android’s larger user base leads to a higher number of total downloads, but Apple’s App Store generates much higher revenue than Google Play—80% more in fact.[2]

Visibility

Paid or free, you want people (hopefully a lot of them) to download your app. First they have to be able to find it. Google Play is generally less competitive than the App Store, so it is a good place to gain visibility. Google Play also has better search functionality, so misspellings and typos will still lead to your app.


According to a 2015 report[3] by Statista:

Apple App Store

Number of available apps – 1.5m

Cumulative number of apps downloaded – 100bn

Google Play Store

Number of available apps – 1.6m

Cumulative number of apps downloaded – 50bn


Approval Process

If time is of the essence, Android is a safe bet. Android app approval is fast, often a matter of hours, whereas iOS apps can take weeks or longer to be approved.

 

The Verdict

The above factors are only part of the total picture that will determine the ideal landing spot for your app. In the end, choosing an OS comes down to determining the one that can meet the unique needs of your business and customers. That’s where we can help. The SMS Group creates mobile apps tailored specifically to the business needs of our clients. We will work with you to discover how to best leverage the capabilities of iOS, Android, and/or Windows for your business. The SMS Group utilizes the Xamarin platform that allows our trained and certified staff to program rapidly in one or all environments without re-writing the code for each environment.

To set up a time to talk about how we can help with mobile app development, please click here or give us a call at 937-498-2700.



[1] http://www.statista.com/topics/1729/app-stores/

[2] http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/apple-android-app-store-revenue/

[3] http://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp

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