Android vs iOS Apps for Online Gaming

Ever since the introduction of the first Apple iPhone in June 2007, followed by the first Android device – the HTC Dream, released a year later, in October 2008 – the world of communication was transformed forever. Indeed, the concept of a mobile phone was thought of and realized far before 2007, but before the first iPhone, Tictactoe or the Centipede (or Snake) were probably among the best – and if not, at least among the most popular – games you could have on your mobile device.

This development opened up a whole new horizon for mobile devices and the wave of apps that followed has been growing stronger and larger, not unlike an avalanche. This fierce notion is fueled by both the creativity of app developers, designers and innovators, and the never-ending competition between the two operating systems in their constant strive to better themselves and the other. The debate about which is the better OS for gaming has become one of a proportion similar to what a generation (or two) back was “The Beatles or The Stones”. No Deposit Mobile Casino

While iOS users claim that their advantage is in the gaming experience, Android users boast with an immense variety of apps. So, who does it better?

The Supply and Demand Chain

A good place to start this query may as well be with a brief overview of the market statistics. While Apple remains among the top businesses and has been up there for quite a long while, Google’s Android is a considerably more widespread choice among the general public throughout the world, with something close to 2 billion devices, in comparison to Apple’s 1 billion.

While this puts Android considerably ahead in this game of markers, the fact that game developers tend to release their games for iOS first has recently become widely known. The same games may reach the Google Play Store weeks or even months later. The reason for that is due to the fact that while iOS is fairly uniform in its versions and updates, the Android OS has many versions, supporting a way a larger variety of mobile devices. Having to adapt their applications, so that they may function with the variety of Android versions, requires developers to spend considerably more time on their apps. In addition to this line of reasoning, it is believed that iPhone users tend to spend more on games, in comparison to Android users.

Quality over Quantity

In terms of quality, it is undeniable that the Google Play Store is teeming with apps of all kinds. Some of them crashing and burning, others – fulfilling the dreams of modernity. Apple, on the other hand, strong for standards, decided to delete all old apps, back in 2016 and established certain criteria for what they would offer in their App Store – quality over quantity.

This tendency continued and now it has come to the point where every now and then a new regulation, set by Apple, can come in and wipe out the support of quite a number of apps from their store. Such was the case for players of online casino games back in August 2018, when the company decided to discontinue their support of non-established gambling related apps. While most of those inclined towards the thrill of betting tend to use the most trustworthy of apps, this left millions affected. In 2018, they purged thousands of gambling apps in China to comply with tightening local regulation.

In the case of Android, this kind of interference is rather more unlikely to occur with the apps in the Play Store. Although Google held firm positions against promoting iGaming apps, this changed mid-2017, when the company announced it would allow betting apps in the Play Store. Ever since then, the iGaming industry has thrived on both markets and mobile casinos, sports betting, and the best mobile poker apps became available for both platforms.

So Is Android More Reliable?

So, what does that make for in terms of reliability? Certainly, Android will not go and turn its back on your favourite app overnight, even though users may experience a bit more OS-related errors than their iOS counterparts, but generally, the differences in experience are to be found in the provider. Top developers, such as Square Enix or Konami’s PES, provide great gaming opportunities for both platforms, but the case is rather different with smaller and/or indie developers. iPhones tend to offer a much better experience with indie games than Android devices.

Do iOS Devices and Games Really Cost More?

In terms of costs and in view of everything above, it would be easy to conclude that iOS requires its gamers to open their minds and their wallets, providing a quality experience in turn. While Android is rather more open to free apps, at the price of having to bear with a few ads along the way.

Recently, though, both platforms have employed the tactics of in-app purchases, which allow users to access some of the top features of a given game – or in the case of Android users, a smaller fee would set you free of annoying ads disrupting your gameplay – which has, more or less, balanced the scales.

Undeniably, though, Android devices come in a huge variety, so users may be able to find more affordable devices than the “one brand to rule them all” case with Apple’s iPhones.

Boiling it down further, it may be worth pointing out that while Apple’s devices are uniform – this puts them at a great disadvantage in comparison to the huge market for Android devices. Users with a mindset for gaming would certainly prefer a wider choice of processing power.

In Conclusion

Much like the case of “Beatles vs. Stones” for the most part, it is up to the user to decide who wins. The debate has many layers and preferences differ from one user to the other, making it difficult to determine the winner. On the one hand, iOS provides a seamless, quality experience for both online and offline gaming, which comes at a slightly higher price; Android, on the other, offers a vastly greater variety of both devices and games, making it the more widespread go-to choice.