Android or iOS: Which platform should you consider first to build your business app?

When designing mobile apps, businesses ideally consider building it on both Android App Development and iOS. Android has been the top preferred choice with the number of devices being greater than iOS but over the time, the numbers of iOS devices have also increased and people are taking a second guess at designing app for Android or iOS first.

While it can generally be designed for both the platforms, considering they are popular, it is wise to build a mobile app on one platform first, test it, receive feedback, and make iterations before building it on another platform.

Now the debate is which platform to make it on first? There are few factors we need to consider before zeroing out on a platform.

Geographical area and users

iOS is most widely used in US and Europe whereas Android has more number of users in Asia and Africa. Android, however, has a massive market and market of iOS is more or less premium as compared to Android. If you are seeking a massive user base, you can go for Android. If you are seeking a premium user base, it is good to go with iOS. Not to forget Android takes a commanding lead with 60% higher downloads than iOS.

Cost

Now comes the major factor, that is the cost. When building an app with iOS, the UI/UX design is simple as you are required to build it only for iPhone/iPad, or iPod. But when it comes to building on Android, the cost increases manifold as one requires to build it keeping in mind different devices and several operating system fragmentations across different devices. Also, the cost of development and testing is higher in Android. But the problem has now been sorted with the invent of improved development tools.

Visibility across App Stores

iOS users can download apps from App store only whereas Android users can download apps from a number of different stores like Google Play store, Amazon App Store or any other independent app stores. While you can think that the app availability is more across Android platforms, it might lead to higher downloads, but its contrary to this belief. Availability across multiple platforms creates inconsistency in rankings and reviews affecting overall rankings and eventually download numbers. So this has to be kept in mind as well.

Piracy

Apple has complete control over its devices and software which means iOS has a closed platform as compared to Android which makes piracy of apps a very common problem. And the fact there are a limited iOS devices, makes it good for developers.

To conclude, both Apple and iOS have their pros and cons. You can choose to develop on any platform if you have excellent resources. Looking for making a business app? We can guide you on which platform to make one. Call us or drop us a mail and we will get back to you in no time.