iOS vs Android. What Would Developer Prefer for a Career and Why?

Both Apple and Google frequently update their mobile operating systems to outperform each other. In 2013, Apple’s iOS 7 made a huge buzz among the users as well as mobile application developers. But Google’s Android strengthened its stronghold by capturing 81% of the global mobile operating system market share. At the same time, a slight decline was noted in the popularity and market share of IOS. Despite the growing popularity and huge global market share of Android, many mobile application developers still prefer iOS as a career. As iOS app developers make more money in comparison to Android app developers, the dominating market share of Google’s OS fail to attract new developers.

Comparing iOS and Android from the Career Prospective of a Developer

Option to Make More Money

According to Forbes.com, “The most recent data from IDC shows that for Q3 of 2013 Android made up 81 percent of devices shipped. You read that right—four out of every five smartphones shipped in Q3 were built on Android. Meanwhile, Apple’s iOS scraped by with a sad and distant second place figure of only 12.9 percent.” But the report further adds, “The reality is that Apple is quite comfortable with the market share data, because the profit numbers are all Apple. Data from Canaccord Genuity shows that during that same period—Q3 of 2013—Apple made more money than all of its competitors combined, taking in 56 percent of the profit in the mobile device market.” The data clearly indicates how the mobile application developers can earn more by building apps for Apple’s OS.

Percentage of Paid Apps

Each developer wants to get higher returns by building paid apps. In comparison to Google Play Store, Apple App Store includes a much higher percentage of paid apps. Only 57% of the Android apps are paid, whereas the remaining 43% are free. On the other hand, only 25% of the iOS apps are free, whereas remaining 75% are paid. So the developers can create paid apps by targeting iOS to get higher ROI.

Revenue from Mobile Search Ads

In addition to selling their mobile apps, developers also make money through mobile search ads. However, they must serve the mobile ads by targeting the right platform to earn more revenue. According to recent reports, IOS users access the internet more frequently than Android users. The iOS share of web traffic is 62% against 38% web traffic share of Android. Many reports have also highlighted how mobile ads on IOS have more than 200% conversion rate in comparison to search ads on Android. Thus, iOS, at present, can fetch higher mobile ad revenue to mobile app developers.

Number of Apps Sold and Launched

Many mobile app developers still want their apps to be downloaded by a higher number of users. So they prefer building apps by targeting a mobile platform with higher app downloads. In comparison to iOS devices, more Android devices are sold every year. But the numbers of iOS apps available for download exceeds the number of Android apps. But Google Play Store beats Apple App Store by 10% in terms of app downloads. Thus, the developers can target Android to make the app popular within a short span of time.

Development Job Trends

The growing popularity of mobile apps encourages many professionals to acquire the knowledge and skills required to build mobile applications. However, the beginners need to learn specific programming knowledge and SDK to create apps for a particular platform. The professionals planning to pursue careers in mobile application development must check the job trends for iOS and Android. According to a recent survey conducted among companies from top 10 countries highlighted that the IOS app developers are in much more demand than the Android developers. More than 60% of the companies, at present, are looking for skilled and experienced iOS application developers.

However, the market shares and popularity of both iOS and Android will be impacted by the launch of new mobile platforms. Many developers will love to build apps for the emerging mobile operating systems to make more money while avoiding competition. However, in the shorter run developers will prefer iOS app development as a lucrative career option. You can get in touch with a custom iphone app development company who can help you develop apps which are stable, scalable and secure.

We provide iPhone application development services. If you would like to hire iphone developers for your mobile app development needs, please contact us at Mindfire Solutions.