Once you have done your research and development on what kind of app you what, you will soon be proceeding to the development stage. But you will find yourself torn between which platform to develop your app on first, and the mystery is – Android vs iOS?

Since both iOS and Android are the leading operating systems, it becomes difficult to choose from either one. The choice zero downs after considering factors like the timeline of the project, budget, required features, revenue goals, target audience, and several other factors.

If you have a successful business here is why you should build a mobile app?

To begin with, in the year 2019 there were 3.2 billion smartphone users worldwide and the figure will rise to 3.5 billion and 3.8 billion in the year 2020 and 2021. The potential to reach a wide market for your app is HUGE.  In 2020, an average user spends 2 hours 24 minutes surfing social media apps. Furthermore, last year 90% of the total times spent on mobile were using the apps and the rest of the time surfing web. 

According to Statista, in June 2020, there were 2,560,000 apps in Google Store and 1,847,000 apps in Apple’s App Store. There are definitely more apps in the Play store compared to the App Store. These figures tell us how building an app for business can bear great results for your business.

But this factor alone doesn’t determine why or why not to choose either one of the platforms for developing the app on for the first time.

We will weigh both platforms on the basis of the following factors–

#1 Target audience- Android vs iOS

As per the statistics shared above, there are more apps made on Android compared to iOS. Even when it comes to smartphone users, according to last year there were 2.5 billion Android users and 900 million Apple users. 

This surely is one of the reasons to choose Android for your first app development, if you want to enter a larger pool of audience.

Another aspect is knowing where your target audience is if the majority of them are using iOS, then it makes sense to use iOS development for your first app.

#2 Developers and Cost of Development- Android vs iOS

iOS Apps are written using Objective-C or Swift, and on the other hand, Android Apps are written using Java. Now when it comes to hiring developers, the cost is almost similar. 

The developers for Objective-C are expensive and the development cycle is 30-40 percent faster. Android developers have to develop the app for various devices and thus it takes a little longer for the app development.

#3 App Review Process- Android vs iOS

The review process for Android apps is more relaxed and is generally approved in 24 hours in comparison to iOS apps. iOS apps have to follow strict guidelines and these include

• The app will be reviewed against a definite set of technical, content, and design criteria 
• should be able to work with the latest operating system
• App Built using Xcode 10.2.
• Later, these apps are thoroughly tested and updated for the latest devices. 

Apple’s exclusive ecosystem means you’re developing for a few standardized devices and OS.

#4 Monetization- Android vs iOS

In 2018, iOS App Store revenue came to $46.6 billion, while Google Play revenue stood at $24.8 billion by this measure. Going by these figures the apps developed on iOS uses a subscription model or in-app purchases as a monetization strategy if you develop an app on iOS.

When it comes to Android, app owners prefer an ad-based monetization method, and it tends to yield good revenue. The figures also reveal that Android developers are becoming experts at boosting consumer spending. The Google Play Store saw a 27.3 percent increase in spending year-on-year in the year 2018.

Building for one platform for the first time is beneficial

• First of all, it cuts the cost of hiring a different team for two different platforms. Besides, developing for one platform will allow you to create a perfect app and one that adds value to your users. And once you are successful on one the platform you will have resources to easily port to another platform.
• Furthermore, when it comes to coding for Android, Java requires a lot of code, in contrast to Swift that is used for iOS is not only fast but requires writing less code.
• Building an app for one platform is also a way to test how well it works for your audience in one ecosystem. Hopefully, if your app is a success, it will boost your confidence and it will be much easier to launch it on the second platform.
• Developing on one platform gives you room to experiment with features and functionalities. You can add new features or delete depending on the end user’s response. Later taking the same app to another platform is more manageable.

Introducing an app for both platforms

If you still want to develop on both operating systems, React Native is a framework that allows you to do so. It’s important to know that React Native apps are not hybrid app exactly, and apps made using React Native framework but they work well on iOS, Android as well as Universal Windows Platforms (UWP).

Despite advantages, React Native is still in the beta testing phase and has few shortcomings like issues with navigation, debugging, and the absence of custom modules. 

If you still have some unanswered queries, we at Orafox can give professional guidance on the journey to app development. Our developers specialize in app development on various platforms and will help you develop a high-end mobile app.

Contact us today at info@orafox.com and share your app ideas. We endeavor is to convert your ideas into reality and help you realize your goals.