Developers of software apps for mobile operating systems are well aware of this and tend to focus on these two operating systems as a result. This makes sense from the developer point of view. Developing apps consumes a fair amount of resources such as time, money and effort. It does not make sense to expend these resources to develop an app for a operating system that has few, if any, users.
This further increases the dominance of Android and iOS. Since most developers of apps tend to ignore the other operating systems around, the latter have far fewer apps available. This makes people even more unlikely to choose a smartphone with an operating system outside of iOS and android because of the worry that a desired app may not be available for their phone. People simply go for iOS or Android to avoid any problems.
Difference between iOS and Android in terms of number of apps
With that said, Android and iOS are not exactly equal when it comes to apps. Apps are usually downloaded from a app distribution platform or app store by smartphone users. For iOS users, that would be Apple's App Store with no other alternative. For Android users, it's most likely Google Play, but it's not always the case as we'll see later.
While both are far ahead of the competition in the number of apps that they have available, Android actually has more apps than iOS. It is reported that as of 2017, Android's Google Play leads the market with 2.8 million apps. Apple's App Store is second with 2.2 million apps. Microsoft's Windows Store and Amazon's Appstore are third and fourth with 670,000 and 600,000 apps respectively.
The pros and cons of Google Play in terms of apps
The big advantage that users of Android smartphones with Google Play have is that they have access to the greatest amount of apps. There are several reasons for this. The majority of all smartphones sold have Android installed as their operating system. In fact, Google reported that, as of May 2017, there were 2 billion monthly active users of Android around the world.
A developer who wants to target as many users as possible will naturally make sure to develop a version of their app that is compatible with android. Another reason is that Google only requires of developers a one-time fee of $25 to start posting their apps to Google Play. For any developer who is just starting out, such as students etc., and on a tight budget, Google Play offers compelling reasons to pick it as their venue for their app.
However, the drawback of Google Play is that there are also a much greater number of frivolous or even malicious apps around. Low barriers of entry may make Google Play accessible to almost everyone, but it also means that a lot of software developers with less than desirable credentials target Android and Google Play.
Any user of Google Play should therefore not be surprised to be confronted with apps of very poor quality or with unexpected behavior, at least to a much greater extent than say users of Apple's App Store. Having access to more apps than anyone else cuts both ways. You can try out more stuff and explore, but some of it is much more likely to be not to your liking.
Another thing worth mentioning is that not all owners of Android smartphones use Google Play. Quite a number of Android devices use a different app distribution platform. For instance, Amazon Appstore may be used instead. In countries such as China, Google Play is banned and a different app store is used by Chinese Android phones.
The pros and cons of Apple's App Store in terms of apps
While Google only charges $25 once, Apple requires that developers pay an annual fee of $99. This makes any developer, who is just starting out and on a tight budget, less likely to pick it as their platform when Google Play is out there and an alternative. The latter asks less and offers more potential users of their app.
It's important to understand that most developers of apps do so for commercial reasons. They want a return on their investment by generating income from their app, whether it is in the form of app sales, advertisements or in-app purchases. A fee of $99 may not sound like a lot to everyone, but if you're just starting out and your app isn't making a lot money yet, paying that annual fee may not be worth it. At least, not right away in the beginning.
At the same time, Apple's App Store has the potential to generate more revenue for a developer than Google Play. This is because advertisers are willing to spend a lot more money advertising to owners of Apple smartphones than Android phones. Apple owners tend to be people with deeper pockets than the average Android owner and hence, more attractive to most companies. Since there is more advertisement money from big companies around, developers can also earn more income from their iOS app than its Android version.
Big developers of apps with sufficient pockets are therefore more likely to prefer Apple's App Store as their venue and will, more often than not, release an iOS version sooner than the version for Android. This means that Apple users can, at times, have earlier access to popular apps than Android users. Apple owners of smartphones can in general expect to receive preferential priority treatment from the average software developer.
Android and Google Play vs iOS and Apple's App store: Which is better?
The answer to above question is that it all depends on what you value more. Neither can legitimately claim to be better than the other under all circumstances. Android and Google Play may be better for some with its greater affordability and greater number of apps. On the other hand, iOS and Apple's App store could be better for other people with its higher quality, stable and secure software.
The bottomline is that Apple users may not have access to the greatest number of apps, but what they have is more likely to have the best and latest in app development. In contrast, Android owners have more apps available to them, but it's not always of the highest quality available on the market.
No comments:
Post a Comment