Android or iOS App: Which One Should You Develop First?

iPhone and Android fans rivaling each other on who is eventually best! It has now become crucial for mobile app development companies pursue the development of the app on both of these platforms. If you plan to develop app(s) for your business, both iOS and Android should be taken into consideration. Now, of course, this approach will only fall into place if time and budget go hand in hand. For most companies at the very beginning, spending a handsome amount on developing apps for both iOS and Android is not feasible. It eventually drills down to which platform to invest in first?

If you go with stats, even though the Smartphone market is split between Android and iOS, Android precedes the latter massively. With a market share of 74.45%, Android is far ahead of iOS with a market share of 22.85%. Considering these stats, it may seem like Android has defeated iOS easily. However, the market share shouldn't be the only deciding factor. Here are four things you should consider if you want to choose a single mobile app development platform:

1. Know Your Audience

The primary difference between Android and iOS platform is in the type of users they attract. While Android has maintained a significant lead in the market, Apple users spend more pennies on the apps. It also depends on the geographical locations such as there are less Android users in the US, whereas Android continues to rule the areas elsewhere. It then becomes crucial to understand the type of audience you are aiming to target. If the market you are focusing on is Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Android is your best bet. However, if you are focusing on North America, iOS is a better choice.

2. Your Deadline

Android is open, and iOS is closed. This phrase is common in the tech circles and it stands true for a number of reasons. While Android OS authorizes the development of custom operating systems, allowing users to modify certain properties of the platform, it is nearly impossible in iOS. However, it is easier to develop an app for iOS but it is harder for your app to get approval. Building an Android app is expensive than iOS.

3. What Do You Want?

Android is open-source and offers plenty of opportunities for developers to explore innovative features. Functionality wise, Android is a better platform. However, it is more prone to suspicious and malware attacks as compared to iOS. The latter is undoubtedly unmatchable in terms of security.

4. Maintenance Resources

A study suggests that more than 50% of Android users still have their devices run on older systems. They are slow on updating their devices and it causes newer apps to force run on older systems. Building an Android app requires you to constantly maintain and upgrade functionalities so that it can support the older systems as well. Apple users, on an average, are pretty fast at updating their devices so there won’t be much of a problem around maintenance.

Deciding which platform you should go with first depends completely on your goals and business. It is always suggested to see the pros and cons of both platforms equally before landing on a concrete decision.

Sunny is working in a mobile app development company that is praised by its clients for its best mobile app development with other IT services.