IOS and Android Development – A Comparative Outlook

Android or iOS, the fight between the two is never ending. It’s not just about the phones but the dilemma is prevalent in the app development world too. Technological minds across the world have spent endless time to determine the best among the two platforms-iOS or Android.

Where on one hand Android is known across the globe for it being economical and having a diverse reach among people, iOS has a premier loyal base of its own. Apple gadgets are considered as a delicacy, unlike Android ones which cater more to necessities and have also lately expanded into the premium segment.

Let’s dig a little deep to find the key differences between Android and iOS-

Devices and Development

All the Apple app development is done using Xcode IDE with iOS SDK. Xcode prefers Swift but it supports multiple programming languages.
The app run with MACs(media access control address). Therefore, having a MAC is a prerequisite for building an iOS app, which in itself is a limitation. This thereby increases the initial cost of app development significantly. The apps have a limited range of choices and work only on iPhones and other few Apple devices.

Whereas, in case of Android the apps are made using Android Studio, which is an integrated platform to program using Java and Android SDK. These can run in several operating systems, be it be Linux, MAC or Windows making it a very flexible thing for the developers.

Revenues and Manufacturing:

Android apps cater to a larger number of devices of various sizes and shapes which need specific configurations and adjustments. Adaption to a larger number of devices leads to various fragmentation issue. Android applications are heavier of pocket, but yield more than 70% of the revenue made by all the apps on the Play Store.

iOS applications are not only easily configurable but also need very few system requirements. The fragmentation is limited to a very small number of devices which are at disposal. iOS are very economical as compared to Android ones when it comes to development in terms of the time consumed, resources used and the capital yielding.

But Android offers a very thorough and deep access to the inner working of the system as compared to the iOS which is rigid when it comes to personalisation and versatility.
Android may be catering to a larger audience and gives more flexibility, but the iOS users rank higher when it comes to per capita income and thus, are willing to pay more for applications. Hence, making iOS apps a more profitable venture.

Publishing and Restrictions:

In order to publish apps on Android developers need to sign up and upload the complete APK, from where onwards people can start downloading it to their devices in a few hours. It has a one-time payment of just $25.

Whereas, in the case of iOS apps, you have to pay a recurring annual fee of $99 and submit your application for beta testing formally. This process can take a couple of days. There are a larger number of specifications and several formalities, legal aspects, rules and competitive standards which the app needs to meet before getting a thumbs-up. iOS apps have a higher rate of rejections, sometimes for very bizarre reasons.

The fight between Android and iOS is never-ending. Both the platforms have their bag of advantages and disadvantages- with this being said it’s all up to the individual and the types of audience they want to cater which should determine which platform they should get choose.