Android vs. iOS: Which Platform to Build for First

Together, the Android and iOS platforms currently dominate the mobile device market. To give your app the greatest chance of success, you should make it available to users of both. Which one should you build first though?

The Marketing Perspective

Android has a substantially larger user base than iOS. There are country-by-country variations in the percentage of users on each platform, but Android has a clear edge when looking purely at potential downloads.

If you have a user base already, you should factor this in too. For example, are visitors to your website more likely to have an iOS or Android device?

It is also important to consider your objectives: What do you want to achieve with the app? Take revenue generation as an example—making money directly through the app via ecommerce purchases, paid app, in-app purchases, or advertising. With the larger user base, Android is probably the better option in the advertising model, providing you get the downloads. iOS users, however, have more disposable income, are more likely to make purchases through their phones, and have higher rates of app loyalty. As a result, iOS is often the better option with most revenue models.

The Technical Perspective

Android apps typically have more code, and they usually take longer to develop. The main reason for this is the complexity and diversity of the landscape. There are only a handful of devices that use the iOS platform, and they are all made by Apple. The opposite is true with Android as there are many different phone manufacturers, most of which have multiple models.

To understand the challenges this presents, take screen size as an example. A developer building an iOS app will only have to consider how the app looks on a handful of screens (i.e., the various Apple iPhone models). A developer building an Android app, on the other hand, has to consider a much wider range of screen sizes and resolutions.

In addition, Apple is generally good at getting users to update to the latest version of its operating system. If a developer builds an app that works on the most recent iOS versions, it will be compatible with the majority of devices in the market. This isn’t the case with Android however. There are more versions of the Android platform in use, with users spread across all the versions, including some quite old ones. This takes longer to develop, plus the developer will invariably have to decide when to stop (i.e., how far back in the Android version history the app will go). The app will not be compatible for users on older versions.

Even with all that considered, there are positive aspects to building on Android. Getting an app published to the Google Play Store is generally easier than getting an iOS app published to the App Store. Updating apps is also easier, plus you can phase-release versions.

Most developers and businesses, particularly in the U.S. and Europe, opt for iOS first, but you will have to look at who you’re targeting, when you want to release, and what you want to achieve.