Are you thinking of start developing mobile apps and don’t know which platform would be the best choice? This is a dilemma almost every new developer faces. There are many factors that can influence this decision and some of those factors are even variables that could be different for different people. Earlier we published a post in favor of Android app development and it would be unfair to neglect the benefits of iOS app development. Following are some reasons why you should develop apps for iOS, and not for Android.
Fragmentation
As compared to Android platform, iOS is a relatively closed ecosystem with very few devices. One of the biggest problems with Android development is Android fragmentation; there are hundreds of vendors manufacturing thousands of different models and the combination of those devices with numerous Android versions are massive. This makes it extremely difficult for developers to optimize their apps for all of these apps with different hardware and software specifications.
Apple has made the process of updating easier for its users and that’s why a large percentage of users have updated their iOS devices to the latest version; things are quite different with Android devices and Android software versions are highly fragmented. In other word, iOS developers only have to make their apps compatible with latest 2-3 iOS versions to cover 99% of the market but Android developers have to spend more efforts and money on development and testing.
Apple App Store
Apple App Store is more than a decade old and Apple has much more experience in selling music to millions of people. Apple gained experience from iTunes and applied that in App Store that is way more user friendly than any other app store available for any platform. Apps in Apple App Store are organized into different attributes like categories and popularity. Google Play Store and Apple App Store both show the number of downloads, but Apple App Store also shows the number of active users that is a pretty useful metric.
Generally, users have to download apps from Apple App Store as there is no other official or unofficial app store. Although users with jailbroken iOS devices can download apps from other sources but that’s a different debate; it means apps released on Apple App Store have better visibility. On the other hand, Android devices can download apps from number of sources like BlackMart and Amazon App Store.
Development Tools
Although many people would not agree on this point as they consider Android development tools, especially Android Studio an equivalent of iOS development tools but Xcode is around us for years whole Android Studio is just few months old. Apple’s development tools and technologies are built upon years of experience and innovation cycle. We cannot say the same for the Android development tools.
Monetization
A small proportion of businesses, companies and developers do not have concerns about their app revenue because all they care about their market exposure and brand reorganization. However, obviously, most of the developers and companies are in this business because of the money. Few years ago, there was a huge gap between Android and iOS monetization and now Android is closing it but when it comes to monetization, developers all over the globe prefer iOS because of some obvious reasons.
First of all, iOS users are considered richer than Android users and they are willing to spend more money on apps. iOS users spend more money on app purchases as well as on IAPs. Secondly, Android might have a significantly bigger market share but it is mainly in developing countries where people do not usually purchase apps. That all leads to 60% more revenue for iOS developers than Android developers even though Android has more than 80% market share.
Strong User Base
iOS users are more loyal to their devices, platform and ecosystem than any other mobile platform available today; this is not a secret anymore and many research have proved it. iOS users do not change their platform too often and as a developer if you provide them useful apps, with great user interface and amazing user experience then you would be able to get a dedicated target audience.
Unlike Android users, who test apps frequently and switch to better options more often, iOS users download and install apps more carefully by reading their description and features. They stick with those apps for a longer time period as compared to Android users.
Fewer Bugs
As mentioned above, there are fewer iOS devices and the majority of those devices are running the latest operating system. It would be easier for developers to develop, test and optimize their apps for a smaller number of devices and operating systems which are not even drastically different. It also means the end product would have fewer bugs. Additionally, Apple has strict policy regarding app development guideline. There process may take frustratingly longer but the apps available on Apple App Store are of fine quality.
How Bugfender Can Help You Develop Better Apps?
One of the worst mistakes developers, especially amateur developers make is not thoroughly testing their apps on real devices. No doubt, both platforms iOS and Android have their limitations as Android fragmentation makes it almost impossible for developers to run their apps on all popular models and iOS devices are moving toward the same fate. There are various combinations of devices and OS version on iOS devices which make testing even more difficult.
Emulators and simulators can help in a limited sense but they are not a suitable and reliable substitute of real devices. Bugfender allows developers to see real time logs of their app on real devices. This way, developers can see the problems and their cause; we understand that some problems and bugs are hard to reproduce in controlled environment because of so many factors involved in the process.
Bugfender is specifically designed to report all kind of bugs instead of just crashes and total failure. Not all bugs result in total failure but some force the app to behave abnormally that could make the app and device unreliable and vulnerable.
