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Find Out Why App Developers Prefer Android Over iOS

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Sam Claflin

Businesses that are planning to launch their mobile app often struggle when it comes to selecting between Android and iOS. While developers used to love iOS in the past, most of them prefer Android now for the wide range of benefits it offers.

Here are some factors that driving the growing number of Android app developers:
 
1. A Larger Market Size
The reason many businesses hire Android app developers is the significantly larger market size of the platform. Currently, Android has a market share of more than 85% while iOS stands close to just 12%. This alone is the most important reason for every company to focus on creating an Android app if they want to make sure that their app reaches the maximum number of users.
 
While iOS apps are known to generate around 75% more revenue than Android apps, the small market share of the operating system severely the potential of iOS apps. Even if you launch a free app on Android, a large number of downloads along with the marketing revenue help developers earn huge profits.
 
2. Java Programming is Popular
Android apps developers use the help of Java programming. It is one of the most popular programming languages and most of the app developers are already well-versed with it. However, you need to know programming languages like Objective-C, C, C++, OSX or OCaml to develop iOS apps.
 
Due to this, you’ll have to find developers that specialize in iOS development and most developers do not know these advanced languages. Specialized developers are more expensive as compared to the standard Android application developer, making the whole development project too expensive, especially for small businesses. Moreover, with Java app development, there is also an additional benefit of portability as it can be ported to several other mobile platforms like Symbian, Ubuntu, Windows, and Blackberry.
 
3. Android Studio for Improved Development Standards
Released in the year 2014, Android Studio is Google’s official SDK for developing Android apps. The launch of this IDE (Integrated Development Environment) has significantly improved the efficiency and productivity of Android app developers. It offers a host of innovative features, like WYSIWYG editor with the live layout, Gradle-based system, Lintelligence, etc. that have made the app development process easier for the developers.
 
iOS also has its own IDE known as Xcode but it is not as impressive as Android Studio. Among the many drawbacks of Xcode, developers struggle the most due to no support for a pull request, additional management of bots and servers, no support for distributed teams, and no support for cross platforms. However, there are no such drawbacks with Android Studio, making it a preferred choice over Xcode for developers.
 
4. The speed of App Deployment
When you hire an Android app programmer and the app is ready, the next step is the deployment of the app. Even here, Android app deployment is way faster than iOS. While it might take just a few days for deploying an Android app, it can take multiple weeks to do the same for an iOS app. Moreover, Android apps can be easily updated multiple times without involving yourself in any long and complex procedures.
 
But with iOS apps, you’ll spend at least a few days to first get your query sorted and then updating the app. If the app needs to be updated on a regular basis, the whole process can be very cumbersome for the developers. Apart from this, it is also said that once an app is submitted for approval, iOS has very stringent standards as compared to Android and a lot of iOS apps are rejected multiple times before they are finally launched in the app store.
 
5. Android App Developers Enjoy Greater Flexibility
If you are looking for Android app developers for hire, the app development can be done with the help of a Windows, Linux, or Mac computer. However, if you want an iOS app, you’ll also need MAC computer as no other operating system can be used for creating iOS apps.
 
Apart from this, the developers are also required to pay $99 as a yearly fee to get themselves registered on the Apple store. Android app developers face no such issues. There is only a one-time registration fee of $25 for Google Play Store registration.
 
6. Devices with Different Screen Sizes
As per a study by OpenSignal, there are more than 24,000 unique Android devices in the world. This includes smartphones, tablets and the recent addition of wearable devices. Android devices are available in several different shapes and sizes and for every type of audience. No matter if there is a 10-year old kid or someone in their 60s, there is an Android device for everyone.
 
iOS, on the other hand, has only the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch to consider. When you hire Android app developers, you get far more flexibility as the app can be created for specific users and devices.
 
While there is no denying the fact that iOS is a great mobile operating system, when it comes to businesses planning to launch their mobile app and reach the most number of users, Android is a clear winner. Not just the users but even the developers support the platform for its robustness, simplicity, and flexibility. If you’re about to begin your digital transformation journey, you may wish to hire Android app developers for the first version of the app and then move onto iOS development.
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Sam Claflin
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