Do you want to reach your target audience and increase your sale and revenue? If indeed, then creating a mobile application for your business is a win-win strategy. The need for mobile applications is high in demand due to the increased rate of smartphones and handheld devices. Smartphone users can get access to digital products and services by simply downloading the mobile apps on their smartphones. A mobile app enables users to log in within the app through their touch IDs and facial unlocks. Mobile apps are convenient, secure, fast, and reliable to use as compared to web and desktop versions.
The two of the best operating system for building mobile applications is Android and iOS. Android is an open-source OS software that is mainly designed to operate on android devices and tablets. While iOS was developed by Apple INC for iPhone, iPads, and macOS for apple’s mac computers. Currently, the Google play store has approximately 3.48 million Android app, while the Apple store is ranked number two with around 2.22 million apps.
The question that arises here is which platform is best for mobile application development? Well, this blog highlights the important notes regarding the selection of the best app development platform. Let’s start highlighting the significance of the Android platform.
Advantages of Android app development platform
The following are the advantages associated with selecting android app development platforms.
- Free readymade tool kit
The first and foremost advantage of Android OS is that it provides developers with the free readymade tool kit for building mobile apps, which is known as Android SDK. The kit has libraries, code samples, tutorials, a handset emulator, and much more. Developers can run tests, debug source codes, and evaluate the app performance with different versions of Android OS.
- Open-source
Since Android is an open-source platform there are no restrictions for developers to implement innovative features in their mobile application. Android developers have more freedom in creating mobile app features of their choice as compared to iOS developers who have many restrictions in bringing and implementing their own ideas.
- Design
Design guidelines are provided by Google to developers that assist them in creating simple and effective UI following the best navigation patterns. Developers can easily meet the user’s requirements as the elements described in the guidelines are already implemented in the form of code.
- Testing
Android allows developers to test their mobile apps by integrating different testing frameworks that comprise Mockito, Espresso, and UI Automator. As a result, the bugs can be easily identified and quickly fixed.
- Fragmentation
Android provides more business opportunities as its OS is not only restricted to creating smartphone apps but now it can be run on wearables, TVs, refrigerators, car audio systems, etc.
Advantages of iOS app development platform
There are tremendous advantages of iOS android app development platforms which are described below:
- High-performance
Apple OS is built on Objective-C and Swift language that provides high-performance and efficiency of mobile apps. Apple has efficient hardware and software integration that results in good application performance and stability. Apple applications are more productive as compared to Android applications.
- Easy development process
The development time of iOS applications is less because developers don’t require to invest their time in creating versions of the app for different screen sizes and resolutions. All apple devices use the same latest iOS version of Code.
- Designing guidelines
Apple provides iOS developers with easy and detailed style guidelines to make Apple devices including iPhone, iPad, iWatch, and Apple TV. The development process is much fast and easier with less development complexity.
- Security
Apple is the most secure and advanced platform which takes app security seriously. The iOS apps are protected from emerging security threats. Data encryption, Touch ID, and Face ID are the security features that are all designed to secure users’ data.
- Revenue
Businesses can generate more revenue by creating iOS apps because the app users make more in-app purchases as opposed to Android users.
- Outstanding UI/UX
The user interface of the Apple phone is very much different as compared to Android. The user interface is extremely flawless with a flat design pattern that provides an enhanced user experience.
iOS vs android: Factors to consider while choosing mobile development platforms
- Demographics
Demographics is the first factor that needs to be considered before choosing the platform for app development. Demographic characteristics include the age, gender, education level, status, income, occupation, and race of your target audience.
Android user’s demography: Android users are more likely to live in Asia, Africa, and Latin America having technical jobs. The gender ratio of Android users falls under the category of men, which means men prefer Android over iOS. The income of Android users is slightly lower than android users.
iOS user’s demography: While on the other hand, iOS users earn 40% more than the average Android user. Young stunners contribute more towards the iOS market share. More of the iPhone users are mainly women. Apple users tend to be in professional and managerial job posts. Apple is more popular and used by Western Europeans, North Americans, and Australians.
- Development time
The development time of iOS is faster as compared to Android because android is written in java which involves writing more code than Swift, the coding language of iOS. And another reason is that Android is now fragmented and powers devices with different screen sizes. This factor increases the development cost. Apple developers develop for a few standardized devices and OS because Apple has a closed ecosystem.
- Customization
Apple has more restrictions on app development and does not developers to customize feature apps on their own. Therefore if you’re planning to create a more flexible and customized app, then Android is the best choice because it allows developers to customize more features and functions in their app.
- Maintenance
Android users are more likely to stick to the old version of OS that causes more time for developers to ensure that their app remains compatible with an older version of the OS while avoiding bugs and crashes. One study shows that Apple users are more willing to update their OS with the latest version.
- Monetization
As stated above, Google play store is ranked in the top with 3.48 million android apps and more downloads. But the revenue of the App Store reached $72.3 billion, while google play store earns $38.6 billion in 2020. The monetization of apple works on the subscription and in-app purchases strategy. Android follows the strategy of free apps with in-app ads which means android users are not willing to spend more on in-app purchases. So, if you’re willing to monetize your app without ads, then iOS is your way-to-go development platform.
Conclusion
Both iOS and Android have their own development approaches and guidelines to be followed. Android is the platform that has more flexible customization and allows developers to implement new features and specifications in the app. While iOS has a closed nature with more strict rules and security policies. The approval and review time of Android is less as compared to Apple where there is no guarantee of the approval and acceptance of your app. Therefore, it’s essential to know the above factors before selecting the app development platform for your app.
Author Bio
Linda Hartley is a digital marketing manager at Appstirr, who loves to write content on the latest topics, including Blockchain, B2B business models, application development and much more.
