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Let’s face it, we’re living in the era of smartphones and tablets. The advent of these devices has completely transformed the business landscape. Today’s businesses are more agile and avant-garde than ever before, all thanks to the advancements in mobile technology and prompt internet access. With the increasing popularity of such gadgets, innumerable manufacturers have grasped the opportunity and started producing smartphones with diverse capabilities. And to support these powerful gadgets, some of the big names in the software development industry have taken the initiative to develop several operating systems so as to enhance the functioning of these devices.

Today, we have a number of smartphone platforms that give us the ability to think beyond simple communication. While in chorus, it generates a chaos for businesses when it comes to creating mobile apps for different platforms.

Presently, there are hundreds and thousands of mobile apps available on a variety of platforms, including iOS, Android, Symbian, Blackberry, and Microsoft Windows. Mobile apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram have become an integral part of our lives. We’ve got so much addicted to these apps that we can’t even think of spending a single day without using them.

A Total Domination of Android and iOS

In general, the smartphone operating system marketplace is dominated primarily by two big guns, namely iOS and Android, accounting for over 90 percent of the total smartphone market share. Both these platforms are smooth, secure, and have millions of applications running over them.

Considering the fact that each of the platform has its own peculiarities, strong points, and limitations, so choosing between the two requires in-depth knowledge, experience, and most importantly – understanding the differences between both architectures and platforms.

So, what are the real differences between Android and iOS mobile app development? Let’s find out!

Difference #1: Demographics – Android’s Mobile Market is 2x Bigger than iOS’s

Understanding the demographics of your target customers is crucial when it comes to choosing a platform for your mobile app. A few years back, Android with its 21.5 percent share of the world’s mobile market stood nowhere against iOS’s 61 percent of the share. But with time, things got changed. Presently, Android owes 64 percent of the world’s smartphone market share, which is almost twice higher than what iOS does, i.e. 32 percent. Statistics depict that people who earn over $150,000 a year are more likely to choose iOS over Android.

In short, iPhone users are slightly younger and more affluent compared to their counter rivals. The reason being that the vast majority of iOS users come from developed countries and tend to have a higher pay scale. Also, the average selling price of iOS devices is much higher as compared to their Android counterparts, which eventually translates to higher revenues. While iOS targets the premium smartphone market and customers with higher annual income, Android focuses on targeting the masses. To be precise, the Android platform will give you a wider customer base, whereas, with the iOS platform, you can have an advantage of “the-ready-to-spend” audience. 

Difference #2: Revenue – iOS Apps Are Four Times More Profitable than Android’s

Well, if you’re planning to make money through your mobile app, you should consider building an iOS app prior to the Android one. Guess what, even with its 82 percent growth in the net revenue in 2016, Android still lags behind iOS, and that too with a big margin. According to statistics, for in-app purchases, Apple generates nearly 45 percent more revenue than Android. Also, iPhone users are 10 percent more likely to make in-app purchases as compared to their Android counterparts.

Even though Android overpowers Apple when it comes to having more ad-supported apps, but users are more likely to pay for iOS appsthan the Android ones. Where Android holds a larger global market share, iOS draws affluent target customers and is more renowned for its brand loyalty. Considering this, there’s a possibility that the iOS market share would considerably expand over the next few years, which would eventually benefit the developers in the long run.

Difference #3: Development – Android Development is 30% More Expensive than iOS

Both iOS and Android have their own distinctive development process, with unique characteristics, and pros & cons. When it comes to developing apps, Android takes more time compared to iOS. One of the reasons why Android development is more time-consuming is that developers first need to test the app on a much wider range of devices with different capabilities, prior to making it live. And the hardest part is that there are dozens of smartphones and tablets running on Android with different aspect ratios and screen sizes.

On the other hand, Apple has limited number of devices running on iOS, which includes iPhone, iPad, and iPod. So, once the app is deployed to these testing devices, it won’t take much time to get live.

For more differences between iOS and Android app development, stay tuned for our next blog post. If you want to know more about our mobile app development services, visit http://www.arrowbits.com/mobile-app-development.