7 Areas Where Android Demolishes iOS

A holistic view of the numbers behind the mobile app world reveals that it is now bigger than Hollywood. Apple generates over $10 billion in revenue from iOS users and it is the preferred platform for developers because iOS users spend more than Android users per capita.

However, the fact that Android controls over 75% of the smartphone market is something that cannot be ignored. It is just too big for organizations not to have their mobile apps on the platform because of the monumental potential its user base commands. There is absolutely no denying the fact there is safety in numbers and Android is bound to catch up!

Let’s look at more numbers why porting your mobile application development to Android can prove more beneficial than having it only on iOS.

1. Android users tend to keep their apps

The app retention rate in Android devices is 45% while on iOS it is only 35%. More and more users are keeping and using the mobile applications on Android than on iOS. The high retention rate is because of the flexibility offered by Android compared to its very restrictive counterpart. In addition, longer usage of the apps means more revenue. Organizations boast their ‘number of downloads’ stat as a measure of success, but it means nothing without the retention rate. Android comes out on top on both these metrics.

2. Android has double the app usage growth

The year on year statistics shows that the growth of app usage in Android is a whopping 80% compared to only 40% in iOS. With the apps having a better half-life on Android and more possibility of people using it, it just makes sense for an organization to make it available for the 2.5 billion Android users.

3. Active Users

Android boasts more than billion active users and 72.5 million unique activations every month. The rise of smartphone demand in developing countries is sure to increase that number even higher. The long-term value in those numbers is more than compelling reason to have your application running on Android.

4. Growing Android Tablet Market Share

One of the main reasons why iOS is popular is the lack of high-end Android tablets. However, Android dependent OEM’s have made radical improvements in recent years with devices like the Pixel C and other high-end tablets; therefore, the adoption rate from users is certainly expected to climb.

5. Adoption Of Newer Version Of The OS

Another reason for preference of iOS over Android is fragmentation and support required for multiple Android OS variations. iOS version updates get very quick adoption from its loyal user base. This has been a challenge for Android, but it has become better over time with more than 60% of Android users now have last 2 major OS versions.

6. Leverage The Android Market Place

Savvy app developers use Android app as a testing ground for iOS app development updates. Since the Play Store’s review/publish process is quicker, it helps to ideate, build, iterate, enhance, and see user reactions quickly. Apple review process makes this nearly impossible with every update requiring about 3 to 5 working days.

7. Ease Of Porting

This may be a minor thing, but it is easier to port Android apps to other mobile platforms (Windows, BlackBerry). These platforms offer bridges to port Android apps easily.

If you or your company have an iOS app and contemplating about the decision to jump into the vast Android market as well and the complexities of OS fragmentation and myriad of devices available for Android is making you a bit apprehensive about expanding, the above lesser-appreciated facts about the Android world that might help make that decision easier.

The short-term and long-term value in the user base, growth in app usage, retention, and flexibility offered by Android is something organizations must not ignore. Porting apps to multiple platforms will allow organizations to reach out to a large number of customers and give them a rich user experience regardless of the hardware they use.