Today, the most popular OS for mobiles in the world is Android with over 80% market share. The iOS though popular, is far behind at just 13% share but despite this fact, developers are advised to come out with more iOS apps than Android apps.
So What Should Developers Do?
When it comes to the usage of smart phones, tablets and phablets, the variety that is available is staggering. With over 5000 such variants this year and this figure is 23% higher than last year, it is clear that there are more OEMs jumping into this bandwagon as they find it profitable. Users across the world are opting for smart phones and they are looking for affordable devices which have prompted local OEMs to try their luck with their own device variants.
But this variety comes with its own price and the OS fragmentation issues that players like Google have faced is very much a result of this frenzied growth in gadget versions and models. New hardware makers are adding their own bloat ware to devices and diluting stock Android resulting in the user not being able to enjoy Android in its purest form.
What Gives Android The Edge Over IOS?
This huge array of variants with their associated display screens, resolutions and other aspects pose great challenges to developers. While the scale offered by Android is vast, the difficulties developers face to measure up to the requirements of these devices are equally large. But developers are still more than keen to come out with apps for Android as compared to iOS.
What could be the reason?
Android is open source making it easy for just about anybody to develop apps as there are no entry barriers. It is also affordable and since users would not like to pay for the apps if they can help it, developers have a better chance of reaching out to users through the Android platform than through iOS.
Apple has linked iTunes and usage of apps to the credit card. Google has also done it but many users have not linked their card to the Google Play Store. In countries like India and China where credit card usage is not as prevalent as in the US or Europe, there is hardly any scope for selling apps through the mobile phone and most users would want free access to them.
Increase In Phablet Numbers
The other motivation for developers to create for Android is the increasing sales numbers of phablets and all of them run on Android. They still account for more than 12% internet traffic on a global basis and that is something no developer can afford to ignore.
It is therefore clear from the above that it makes business sense for developers to create more apps for the Android platform for more visibility and exposure though they may not get the money they would make with the iOS. However, they retain the opportunity of making money in future if users start paying for high quality apps on Android as well.
