Android vs iOS- Which Platform to Choose to Build your First App?

Android and iOS are two of the most popular smartphone operating systems in the world. However, when the question comes to which one between these two should you choose for your first app, there’s no clear cut answer. Before you pick up a platform for developing your first app, you need to prioritise certain things and list out the goals you want to achieve through the app.

The study suggests that more than 23% of the smartphone users tend to uninstall the apps once they have used them, and one of the sole reason for this could be the fact that the apps they have used were of low quality. Hence, you need to build a quality app which not only will help your business flourish but also keep the customer interested. In India, there are good developers in large numbers. So once you finalize your priorities, you can hire iOS or Android app developers India to build your first app.

Key factors to consider

1. Target audience and revenue: When it comes to market share, there’s a huge gap between both the platforms. While Android accounts for almost 80% of the world smartphone share, iOS merely occupies the rest 15-20%. Android users could mostly be found in regions such as Asia or Latin America whereas iOS users are mostly found in the European Union and America. So, if your goal is to reach maximum customers and earn maximum revenue, android would be the obvious choice. However, if you are looking for growth in the European or American regions, developing for iOS would be a better idea. 
2. Features: One of the most important factors for app development is to have advanced features. Today’s technically advanced era demands the following from a quality business app- Robust performance, test-driven features, integrated advanced security, support for quick fixes and easy debugging, the presence of AI (if required), and support for cloud migration. Both the iOS and Android platforms are capable of handling an app with a rich feature set. However, as Android is an open source program, you will find more third-party libraries and development tools compared to iOS. 
3. Technical aspects: Programming languages and IDEs used for both platforms differ. While Java, Kotlin, Android Studio, Eclipse, and etc. are used for Android development, iOS apps use Objective C, Swift, and Xcode. So app development based on programming skills should be chosen on the basis of your developer’s skill sets and knowledge. 
4. Flexibility: Flexibility is one of the most sought after factors by developers. And if flexibility is your one of the main criteria, you should hire android app developers in India. Android is an open source project, and hence it enjoys contribution from a huge community. The numbers of third-party libraries are high as compared to iOS, and thus developers have more choices to develop their applications. 
5. Enterprise adoption: Apple has defined a set of measures and strict review policy for their apps. Hence, only quality apps pass through their rigorous screening process. If app reliability is your first priority, you can go for iOS. Android, however, is catching up as Google has now opted for a strict review policy for the apps getting published in play store. 
6. Time frame: Timeframe is a big factor that plays a role in app development. If you have a strict deadline to publish your first app, you should always go with iOS and not android. As Android is used by a large number of devices with varying resolutions, it becomes essential for opting standard design frames for each and every device. Also, Android is open source and has a huge ecosystem; it takes time to build an app in android platform. 
7. Budget: Budget is a concern for most business organisations. If you have a tight budget, you can move forward with iOS. As developing time for iOS platform is less than android (by 30% to 40%), it requires less investment.

Conclusion

While you might want to develop your app for both platforms, hiring two teams dedicated to both iOS and Android at the same time would require a huge investment. So it’s always recommended that you proceed with either of the ones and based on its success, you can invest further. As long as the quality of your app is good, you will always gain access to a huge customer base no matter which platform you choose.