The mobile app development industry is constantly growing at
a rapid rate, as it has done for years by now. New faces are always entering
the industry, and the first question a lot of app development newbies ask is
“Should I develop on Android or iOS?”
The two mobile giants both have their pros and cons when it
comes to developing on their platforms. Depending on your ultimate goals, you
may find that one operating system is far more advantageous for you than the
other. You may even find that neither option is ideal for you, or both are!
Let’s discuss and compare the pros and cons of each
operating system in terms of app development, so that you can reach an informed
decision on which OS to develop on.
What Are the Pros and Cons of Android for App Development
Here are some of the pros of Android OS for developers:
- Android is the world’s most widely-adopted
mobile operating system with over 2 billion users worldwide. This means you
have a larger pool of potential users.
- There is a simpler acceptance barrier/app review
with Android, therefore, it is quicker and simpler to get your mobile app live.
This is especially helpful if you’re launching your app in it’s MVP (minimum
viable product) stage.
- Top-level Android development software can be
downloaded and used on various operating systems, including Mac OS, Windows and
Linux.
- Android Apps are developed using Java. This is
great as Java is a cross-platform programming language that is considered to be
a comparatively easy language to learn for beginner developers.
Here are some of the cons of Android OS for developers:
- The adoption of Android updates by its users is
rather slow, and with so many previous Android versions available, there is a
lot of fragmentation with Android’s OS. This means extra consideration must be
taken when developing for Android, to ensure that your app will function across
the various versions still widely in use.
- Another fragmentation issue with Android regards
device hardware. Because many various manufacturers use the Android OS on their
devices, you must consider the hardware capabilities/limitations for a much
larger range of devices.
- Due to the open-source nature of Android OS,
security is more of a concern for developers on the platform. Malware and hacks
are common on the OS, and despite Google being quick with security update
releases, users aren’t so quick to download them. Ultimately, developers must
pay extra consideration to the security of their applications on this platform.
- If you’re looking to monetize your
application(s), it would help to be aware of the numerous studies showing that
Android users typically spend much less money on applications than iOS users.
This is inclusive of both in-app purchases and paid app downloads.
What Are the Pros and Cons of iOS for App Development
Here are some of the pros of iOS for developers:
- You know what devices you’re developing for. iOS,
of course is run exclusively on Apple’s line of devices, this is great for
developers as it makes optimising for hardware capabilities and limitations
much easier.
- iOS provides a strong shield against malware and
hacks, meaning that you don’t have to worry too much when it comes to security
concerns when developing on iOS.
- If you’re monetizing your iOS app, it’s good to
know that iOS users are by far the readiest to part with their cash.
Here are some of the cons of iOS for developers:
- iOS only has 19% of market share, as opposed to
Android’s 75%. This means the potential audience for an iOS app is
significantly smaller than that of an Android application.
- The publishing process of an iOS application is
far more stringent and complicated than on Android, meaning you may have to
develop your app much further on iOS before go-live than you would on Android
OS.
In Conclusion – Should You Choose iOS or Android?
Now that you know the pros and cons of developing across the
two major players in mobile OS, hopefully you’ll find it easier to reach your
decision.
Due to the market share of iOS and Android being so similar
here in the UK, a good general rule would be to develop on iOS if you want good
monetization options for your app.
If you’re not monetizing your application, it would make
sense to choose Android. This is because of the ease of developing on Java, as
well as the ease of publishing on Google’s Play Store.
Ultimately, the decision comes down to personal preference and your individual requirements, therefore you may even choose both platforms.
Get in Touch with Appoly for Mobile App Development Services
If you’re in need of mobile
application development services, Appoly are here to help. We also offer
consultation
for when you need to get your idea(s) off the ground.
Our team are always happy to discuss potential projects and
provide help and support where necessary. No project is too big nor too small
to discuss with our experts.
You can contact us via email, phone or our contact page.
We look forward to
hearing from you.
