Android or iOS- For which platform should you build your Mobile App first?

If you have landed on this blog post, we might not be wrong to assume that you are all set to turn your app idea into reality. You are certainly done with the planning and have a clear roadmap of the goals you want to achieve. But you are confused between Android vs iOS. This comes naturally. When someone decides to build a mobile app, the first question that strikes their mind is- “Which OS should I initiate with- iOS or Android?” Choosing between these two operating systems often puts people in a dilemma as to which one would be more helpful and beneficial. The choice isn’t easy as both Android and iOS users behave differently and launching your app on a platform that isn’t ideal for your target audience could backfire unless you are building a hybrid app or a PWA which possesses cross-platform compatibility.

But for a native app (the most traditional form of a mobile app), you will have to choose between Android and iOS as it is built separately for both platforms, which means if you want to push an app on the Apple store as well as the Google Play Store, it would be developed from scratch and coded separately for both the operating systems.

And if you aren’t certain where your target audience lies and whether having an app for both Android and iOS devices actually makes sense or not, we would strongly suggest going forward with only one platform initially. Once you taste success on one platform, think of establishing your presence on the other.

Read: PWA vs Native App: What’s Better?

Coming back to the topic, we will help you make the right choice between iOS vs Android app development. In this blog post, we have listed a few factors that you should consider before you make a final call. Based on these factors, you can decide which platform would be ideal to start with.

1. Target Audience

Not knowing your target audience or the target market is like firing in an open sky- no aim and no direction. It is therefore important to define your target audience first and then find out which platform would be more relevant for them. If a majority of your target audience is on the Android platform, there’s no point considering iOS in the first place.

Specify how the app is going to benefit your potential customers, what problems would it tackle, who would be most benefited through it, and why users should prefer it over other existing applications. Afterward, break down your target audience based on age group, gender, demographics, background, and create user personas accordingly to check how your ideal user would look like.

If you are targeting a global audience, Android would be the best option as Android dominates the global market and beats iOS by a relatively fair margin; the latter doesn’t even come close. On the other hand, regions like North America and Europe have a higher number of iOS users, so if that is your target market, going with an iOS app would be an ideal option.

Another parameter that you can consider for your app development decision is the socio-economic status of the users. iOS users tend to have higher income, higher qualifications, more engagement but this doesn’t necessarily mean that Android users lag in such things or those who have the same characteristics don’t carry an android device. Studies also indicate that males usually prefer Android over iOS and females outnumber males as far as owning an iPhone is concerned.

2. Ecosystem

The next factor that you should consider in Android vs iOS app development should be the ecosystem. Talking about iOS app development, Apple has a closed ecosystem which means it governs the entrance to use their platform. The entire content is restricted to some specific devices supported by that ecosystem. The benefit of developing an app in a closed ecosystem is that it provides you with more control and stability. Speaking from a user’s perspective, a device that works on a closed ecosystem tends to have a higher price and this is why Apple devices are more expensive than Android devices.

Speaking of Android, it operates on an open-source system and offers developers more flexibility to make tons of modifications and build functionalities that your audience seeks. However, open-source platforms are prone to piracy and malware and hence are less secure than iOS. This is why iOS captures a huge audience in the enterprise market.

3. Release Cycles

When figuring out which platform would be better for your business, whether Android or iOS, it’s important to consider which software version is currently being used by your target audience. This is because these operating systems push regular updates and therefore your app must be written in code that’s compatible with the latest software versions.

Talking about the audience, iOS users update their devices too often and a majority of them have the latest version (or one of the latest two) installed on their device. This allows for easier programming and development as developers can estimate the capability of an app. They will just have to be ready to roll out more updates to optimize the user experience based on the software version.

Conversely, Android users are usually slow to adopt the latest OS. As a result, the app needs to be developed considering the older versions. Developers have to ensure that the app remains compatible with the platform and helps avoid any sort of bugs and crashes for devices running on the older versions. The app development process in this case gets a bit more complicated as a wide range of versions needs to be accommodated. Although Android is an open-source operating system, it is restricted by carriers and OEMs and thus they lag behind iOS as far as the adoption rate to the latest OS version is concerned.

4. Development Cost & Time

Time and cost are crucial factors when it comes to choosing between Android and iOS. Developing an iOS application is comparatively faster, easier, and economical than building an Android app. A study suggests that the app development cost & time for an android app is approximately 30% higher than iOS. Android apps are written in Java and involve more coding than Swift; the official programming language used to build an iOS app, and hence the latter is easy to develop when compared to the former. Also, a lack of standardization in Android accounts for more devices, components, and software fragmentation. But honestly, there’s no straightforward conclusion to this factor as the cost of developing an app mainly depends on its size and complexity, and the time and cost vary accordingly.

Apple also follows some very strict app store guidelines and a meticulous review process so it might take longer to get the app approved. And if your app is not up to their standards, their team would reject your app straight away.

Read: How to Prevent Apple from Rejecting Your App?

5. Revenue Goal

The ultimate goal of building a mobile app is to make money out of it. So how do you plan to make money from your app? Some popular revenue sources for mobile applications include subscriptions, in-app purchases, advertisements, and pay-per-download. Your pick between Android and iOS depends on which revenue models you consider.

Proceed with iOS if you are thinking of charging users for downloading your app because iOS users mostly encounter paid apps than free apps when they search something to download. On the contrary, Android users are not used to seeing apps that ask them to pay for the download. Bear in mind that charging Apple users to download your app is going to be a costly affair as it will involve a higher acquisition cost but will also help improve customer retention as users who pay for an app are less likely to abandon it.

If you are planning to earn through advertisements or in-app purchases, begin with Android first. As we discussed earlier, Android users dominate the global market so releasing the app for free will help capture more downloads. But there will be a lack of engagement since users aren’t investing anything in it to get that app. This is when you can think of charging users for app upgrades and other premium services in order to receive a more enhanced experience.

Now that you have got enough insights on choosing the best between the two, consider the above factors and see what works best for you and your business.

Android or iOS? What do you think is better?