IOS VS Android: Which Should You Build Your Mobile App on First

With over 6.9 billion active mobile users around the world in 2020 and over 90% of the mobile internet time is spent on apps, the mobile market is a never-to-be-missed one for businesses. In this digital era, you might have noticed that almost every business, from a restaurant to a grocery store, has a dedicated app for their business. Irrespective of the size or kind of your business, having a mobile app is a great trick to reach your customer effectively.

So, if you still do not have a mobile app for your business, it is high time you launch one now. You can hire the app developer and offer the work from home jobs and project based jobs to complete your application development.

Now that you have finally decided to build a mobile app, the first question that comes into your mind will be - which mobile app should you build first? Android or iOS?

It is the most critical decision to make. However, there are a few factors to take into consideration that will help you to choose the best operating system for your mobile app.

Which Should You Build Your Mobile App on Android or iOS

Your answers to the following questions will help you decide on which mobile app to build first.

1. Who is your audience?

You may already know that Android is the leader in the mobile OS market. According to a recent report, Android occupies almost 74% of the market. It is mainly because of the differences between Android and iOS users. Android is widely used by people from developing countries and with a lower-income level. Whereas, iOS users are more affluent and tend to be younger with higher education degrees. Thus, if you are targeting a wider global audience, Android may be your ideal choice.

You can also look at your audience geographically. If you feel your audience is from Asia, South America, or Africa, then choose Android first. If your audience is from North America, Europe, or Australia, go for an iOS app first.

2. What are your revenue goals?

What is the monetization strategy for your app?

Despite the lower number of users and a lower number of downloads when compared to Android, iOS brings in more revenue to the owners. It is because most of the iOS app downloads require the users to pay, thus bringing in nearly double the revenue of Android apps.

What exactly is the purpose of your app?

If your monetization strategy focuses on in-app purchases or subscriptions and maximizing revenue is a priority for your mobile app, you need to launch your app on iOS first.

On the other hand, if reaching the mass is your focus, you can use Android. And even Android can bring in a considerable ROI through ads, freemium apps, interstitial ads, sponsorship, and subscription.

3. Are you looking for a closed ecosystem or open source?

What features will you offer through your app?

Android operates on an open-source ecosystem and allows the developers to add more features and functionalities to your app, as per the demand of your audience. It also allows developers to be innovative. The developers can get Android's source code for free and develop the app without jumping through many hoops.

While on the contrary, iOS operate on a closed ecosystem. It controls the users of the platform. The content of iOS remains restricted to the devices that support a specific ecosystem. The main advantage of developing a mobile app in iOS is that it is more secure and stable.

4. How much are you willing to spend?

Are you on a higher or lower budget plan?

Though the cost of developing an app mainly depends on the scope and complexity of the app, it might surprise you to hear that when compared to iOS, Android apps are costly to build.

App development companies offering mobile app development services state that the reason for this being, Android apps are written using Java, which requires more coding. Another reason being, Android is an open-source platform, hence lacks standardization. This, in turn, involves more devices, more components, and fragmentation, which ultimately increases the development cost and time.

5. What is the user adoption rate of the latest versions?

Another critical factor to think about before figuring out the ideal platform is which version of the software your users are using within their respective platforms. You need to code your app that is compatible with the most up to date software versions.

When talking about the adoption rate, there is a vast difference between Android and iOS.

Android lags behind iOS as it operates in an open-source ecosystem and is locked down by carriers and OEMs. Reports state that almost 95% of the iOS users are using their latest versions when compared to Android, where only 20% of the users are using its latest versions.

Thus, when developers choose iOS, they can focus on supporting the newer versions, build new APIs, and reduce the testing and development time.

When To Choose iOS First?

So if you wanted to build a mobile app that targets a richer demographic, the iOS platform might be your first choice for building the app.

When To Choose Android First?

If your target audience focuses mainly on Android, and you are going to include features in your app that is not available on iOS, then go for Android first.

The 3rd Way - Hybrid App

If you find it difficult to choose between iOS or Android for your mobile app development, building a hybrid app is the ideal solution. The hybrid mobile app development lets you develop your app on both iOS and Android at the same time. If you are a well-established company with more resources and a higher budget, you can opt for building a hybrid app.

Now, Over To You

All things said it's not an easy decision. Choosing an OS for your mobile app depends on how well you know your audience, your requirements, and your revenue goals. You also need to anticipate what the next development step will be after getting some initial traction. iOS and Android, both being the leading platforms, they have their own pros and cons. So, you just need to figure out which suits your business the best.

Anil Panghal is a vetran Content Manager at Erisn. He is a proficient writer in software and app development, latest technologies, and marketing.