When it comes to building your mobile application choosing Android vs. iOS is a daunting task.  Nowadays, mobile has become the core of a user’s life, owing to which the user’s expectations have also risen drastically. But when it comes to deciding whether to build a business app for Android vs iOS depends on 5 major factors: The target audience, project timeline, desired app features, app maintenance budget and revenue goal.

The Target Audience

When starting any project, you first need to think about the customers who will use your product. To make your app work, you have to know exactly who your target audience is, where these people live, what revenue they have, and what platform they prefer. However, there are key differences in users Android, and iOS attract. Android devices have the most considerable global market share, but the apple dominates the app store for customer spending.

“Knowing your audience is key to marketing success.” 

Android has a more significant increase in developing countries like Asia, South America, and Africa. Whereas in developed countries like US, UK, and Canada, iOS has a more massive hold in this market. Therefore, once you know who your target audience is you need to figure out which platform to choose.

 

 

The Project Timeline

Another major factor to consider is the project timeline. How fast would you like to get your mobile application to the market? Always you must remember that longer the development duration, the higher the price of development will be.

It is faster, cheaper, and easier to develop for iOS, whereas for Android, it takes 30-40% longer duration. Building an app, that is compatible with numerous range of Android devices takes more time. The android devices have different ranges of screen sizes or OS versions running. Apple’s closed ecosystem contributes to faster development of the application.

Here, mobile app developers play a crucial role in the project timeline. Hence, make sure that they have the right skills, knowledge, and expertise to speed up the release process sooner.

Desired App Features

“Tech will transform from something we actively use to a more seamless integrated experience that is ‘on’ all the time.”

One of the most important factors is to dissect the features incorporated into it before you jump on a final decision of a mobile app development platform. You may be wondering about what features to offer through your business app? Because Android is open-source, and there is more flexibility to customize your app, where you can build the features and functionality that your audience wants. But there is no doubt that the open environment means Android is more susceptible to malware and pirated apps.

Generally, Apple is perceived as being more secure because of its closed nature. This is the primary reason why iOS has a broader audience in the enterprise market.

Ensure that a good platform is always, easy-to-learn, instinctual, smooth handling of endorsement, and supporting collaborative workflows. Also, make sure that your app owns test-driven features such as supporting hassle-free debugging, hosting, and deployment that helps in maintaining the app throughout a complete lifecycle. Moreover, your project must also include robust features such as authentication, data storage, push notifications, and easy integration with third-party services.

 

App Budget                                                   

Budgeting the app is one of the deciding elements that influence their choice to choose a specific platform to start the mobile app development process. Developing an application for Android vs iOS is less of the cost that doing both the platforms together.

The longer it takes to build an application, the costlier the application. Going by this, android apps are more expensive when compared to iOS applications. However, this doesn’t mean Android applications are more expensive.

“Budgeting has only one rule: Do not go over budget.” 

The development time can be minimized by using the MVP approach and taking advantage of the large android user base as a beta tester for android apps. But beta testing by iOS users may not always be as effective since the user base is not as large as Android user base.

Therefore, developing an app on the iOS platform is multiple times less time to consume as compared to developing a similar app for an Android platform.

 

Revenue Goal

Developing and maintaining the app is a costly affair so would  also want to monetise it. There are some primary platform differences to be aware of.

Android users tend to be less willing to pay for apps than iOS users, so free apps with in-apps ads are more common in the Android platform. Android is said to have about 69% of the market share with iOS having about 30%. This is due to more downloads for android applications than iOS applications, which then translates to more revenue to be made from advertisements.

However, for iOS, there are more paid apps in comparison to Android apps. Therefore, one can make money by having users pay for the applications instead of making revenue through ads.

If you are willing to begin with a free application or plan on supporting your app with ad revenue, Android might be the better option. However, if you need to charge for your mobile app, then iOS will be the best platform.

 

 

Android Vs iOS: which one is the best?

Let’s have a quick look at which should you choose between android vs. iOS.

Choose Android

• To reach a wider audience
• If you have regular PCs and don’t want to incur additional investment in hardware
• To customize the app
• If you prefer a shorter wait time to the app to the Play store

Choose iOS

• To set a higher revenue per user
• if you prefer a less complicated development process
• To reduce the risk of pirate sites and malware
• if your priority is the privacy and security of user data
• if you want an application with a better user experience

Conclusion

Android vs iOS is a tough nut to crack. Both the operating system have made tremendous contributions to mobile app development. While each of them has pros and cons, yet both are highly favoured platforms when it comes to mobile app development. For business app development, you must highly depend on your target audience and experience. Picking a platform that takes your business to the next level with great success is beneficial.