As a founder or product leader, one of the key decisions you will need to make is which mobile platform to develop for first - iOS (Apple's operating system for iPhones and iPads) or Android (Google's operating system for a variety of mobile devices). This guide walks you through the decision making process.
Why develop for one platform:
Obviously building for both platforms is ideal as it allows you to capture a bigger market. But in a startup - resources are always constrained and there are several reasons why you might choose to build an app for just iOS or Android instead of building for both:
- Cost: Building an app for both iOS and Android can be more expensive compared to building for just one platform, as you will need to develop and test your app on multiple devices and operating systems. If you are working with limited resources, building for just one platform can be more cost-effective.
- Time: Building an app for both iOS and Android can take longer compared to building for just one platform, as you will need to develop and test your app on multiple devices and operating systems. If you are working with a tight timeline, building for just one platform can be more efficient.
- Target audience: Consider the demographics of your target audience and which platform they are more likely to use.
- Expertise: If you or your team have more expertise in developing for one platform, it may make more sense to focus on that platform. For example, if you have a team of developers who are more familiar with the iOS platform, it might be more efficient to build your app for iOS.
Key factors to choose which platform:
Once you have decided that you will build for one platform to begin with - here are the key criteria to think through to decide whether to choose iOS or Android.
Market size
Android has a larger market share compared to iOS, with a wider range of devices and a larger user base. This can make it a potentially more lucrative market for tech startups. According to data from Statista, Android had a global market share of 74.6% while iOS had a market share of 22.9%. In the United States, iOS has a slightly higher market share with 35.8% of the market represented by iOS compared to 63.3% for Android.
From a pure users perspective - Android is the clear winner especially if you are targeting a global market where 3 out of every 4 users are Android users.
Revenue potential
The iOS platform is popular among affluent consumers, and the App Store is known for offering a wide range of high-quality apps. This can make it a potentially lucrative market for tech startups. In terms of user demographics, Android users tend to be younger, more likely to be male and have a lower income and lower level of education compared to iOS users.
In particular, according to Pew Research Center, the median household income for iOS users was $98,560, while the median household income for Android users was $75,000.
According to data from Sensor Tower, total spending on the iOS App Store in the United States was approximately $64.2 billion while globally the total spending on the iOS App Store was approximately $111.4 billion. In comparison, total spending on the Google Play Store was approximately $37.7 billion in the United States and $78.2 billion globally.
To summarize - there is 70% more spending on the iOS App Store compared to Google Play - if you are building an app that will be powered by in-app purchases or subscriptions, then you may want to seriously consider iOS to start with.
Ease and cost of development
iOS apps are typically easier and cheaper to develop compared to Android apps. This is mainly due to more consistent hardware on iOS. iOS devices tend to have more consistent hardware compared to Android devices, which can make it easier to optimize apps for performance. The Android market is more fragmented compared to iOS, with a wider range of devices and operating systems to consider. This can make it more challenging to develop and test your app, and may require more resources.
According to data from Clutch, the median cost of an outsourced iOS app in 2021 was $171,450 while the median cost of an outsourced Android app was $197,750 - an almost 15% higher.
Talent availability
On the other hand, while challenging as per the discussion above, developers for Android are more available than iOS developers.
This is because Android apps are built using Java and Kotlin (a statically typed programming language that is fully interoperable with Java) and there is a lot of Android talent available - more than 860k people globally have that skill according to LinkedIn. On the other hand, iOS apps are now mostly built in Swift - a modern, statically typed programming language developed by Apple for iOS app development. Swift is a powerful and expressive language but has fewer developers who know it - only 320k people globally also according to LinkedIn.
There are almost 2.5X as many developers with Android development skillset compared to iOS development.
Iteration cycle
Apple has a much stricter app review process compared to the Google Play Store. While this can help ensure that apps are of high quality and free of bugs and other issues, it greatly increases the iteration cycle once you launch. Every time you need to submit an update, it can take several days or even longer for an app to be reviewed and approved.
On Google Play on the other hand, app updates only take a few hours instead of a few days with Apple.
A/B testing for product listing & App Store Optimization (ASO)
On Google Play all localizable assets are eligible for A/B testing except the App title/name such as app’s icons, screenshots, video previews, featured graphs, and short and long descriptions. On the other hand, in iOS only visual assets are eligible for A/B testing on the App Store.
While there are many other nuances of the testing environment such as the data provided, the statistical significance provided, the time length and technical requirements for testing - the summary is that the Google Play Store is still further ahead on ASO.
Conclusion
Overall, the decision of which platform to develop for first will depend on your specific needs and goals with many advantages of each option. Many tech startups also choose to develop for both platforms in order to reach the widest possible audience using technologies such as React Native:
React Native allows developers to build apps that can run on both iOS and Android platforms using a single codebase, which can save time and resources compared to building separate apps for each platform. Importantly, React Native apps are compiled to native code, which means that they can run with the same performance as native apps built using platform-specific languages such as Swift for iOS and Java for Android. There are of course some downsides of React Native development such as larger app binary size, limited native functionality and compatibility issues with newer versions.
Lastly, one final option is to follow the lead of the winners - top Silicon Valley companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox, and Instagram all started with iOS and later expanded to Android! Not a bad example to follow!
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