APP development: How to choose between iOS and Android? You can do this

We all know that the mobile phone operating systems on the market can be roughly divided into two categories: iOS and Android. Therefore, APP development is also mostly based on these two operating systems. Some relatively mature companies will choose to develop both systems at the same time, but most companies on the market will choose to focus on one platform for development due to factors such as funding and development cycle.

So, if you need to choose between iOS and Android as a starting point, how should you choose? Which one, iOS or Android, is more beneficial for the later development of the product? From the perspective of development cost and development cycle, which one is more suitable for the initial start? Let's analyze them one by one.

Judging from the overall market situation, iOS seems to be more popular with everyone, so let’s first talk about the advantages of iOS compared to Android.

Overall, IOS is an operating system developed based on the iPhone, with a large number of mobile terminal users and high user stickiness. The number of software, activity and download times in Apple's official App Store are leading in the entire software market.

From a profitability perspective, iPhone users are of higher quality and more receptive to APP payments, partly because the target consumer group has a higher overall standard of living, and partly because of the integration between iTunes and credit cards, which makes payment very convenient.

From the perspective of publishing methods, as long as the application is released on Apple, users can download the APP on any Apple device such as iPhone, iPad, Mac, etc. Compared with the messy Android application store, it effectively reduces the maintenance costs of the application on multiple platforms.

From the perspective of stability, the hardware and software developed for iOS APP are consistent and can demonstrate super stability. APPs running on the Apple system will not have problems such as freezing, and such performance assurance is very important for the user experience.

From the perspective of security, iOS APP development has adopted closed measures for the iOS ecosystem and established a complete developer certification and application review mechanism to effectively avoid the intrusion of malicious software and provide higher security.

In general, iOS follows the "quality flow". If your product focuses more on user experience and user quality, then you can consider developing the iOS system first, while Android focuses on the market.

In terms of market share, Android's share of the smartphone market is much higher than iOS, and its users are more extensive, especially in developing countries, where the acceptance is higher. It has an absolute advantage in market share, but its consumption capacity is weaker than that of iOS.

In terms of functions, Android is more open than iOS. Apple has very strict restrictions on developers and does not grant many permissions, so it is basically conventional development. Android, on the other hand, is more open and can basically meet various functional requirements.

From the perspective of the review cycle, Android's review cycle is very short. Basically, it can be successfully put on the shelves within one or two working days, or even completed within a few hours. The review process is also relatively simple. However, Apple's review cycle is relatively long, and the process is more complicated, taking several days or even longer.

From the perspective of profit, Android APP development has looser restrictions on advertising. For many APP operators, embedding advertisements in APP is a very common profit model. The Android platform has looser restrictions on advertising, while the iOS platform has stricter restrictions on advertising. Therefore, in this regard, Android is quite attractive.

Therefore, we need to make comprehensive considerations based on the characteristics of our own products. If we pursue market share in the early stage, then we should choose Android. If we focus on user quality and user experience, then we can consider iOS.