Android and iOS development: Which One Is Right For You

 16 Feb, 2024

android-and-ios-development-difference

Introduction

Android and iOS are very familiar words for everyone, but creating apps for these two operating systems is a critical task. Each of them has its own peculiarities but how many of us know the difference between iOS and Android development for mobile app development? Be it the process of mobile application creation or its technical foundations, there are various differences that an untrained eye can even think of.

This blog defines a way for you to understand everything about mobile app development and the difference between android and iOS development.

Learn about the following through this blog:

  • Difference between iOS and Android development
  • Pros & Cons of iOS and Android apps and development
  • How to choose between Android and iOS

Prime Differences Between Android And iOS Development

The choice can be somewhat paradigmatic when it comes to choosing between an iOS app vs an Android app and development due to the difference between iOS and android development. Creators of these development platforms work day and night to improve and implement new features on a regular basis. On one hand, where Android O, a new version of Android is set to be released soon, Apple, on the other hand, is getting ready for its release of iOS 11. We have tried to illustrate the differences between android and iOS development through effective screenshots and details. Hope you will enjoy reading it.

 So, the question is, which option should a novice mobile application developer choose?

Also, if you are in the situation of taking baby steps in your programming career, you have probably questioned yourself several times as to which development sphere to select – iOS or Android, and the differences between android and iOS development.

This is why we will now examine the advantages of these platforms from the developer’s point of view, and also, we will consider prospects for the development of companies’ software.

Let us begin with a constructive analysis of the difference between android and iOS development.

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Which One Is The Best For the Development language

When discussing android apps vs iOS apps, Android-based applications use Java language while the building process. It needs a lot of code to be written. To develop iOS-based applications, swift language is used. Java coding is a bit slower than the brand-new language swift. Also, Java engineers take much more time to write codes in comparison to swift ones. The iOS apps using swift are made faster as they take less time to write codes.

Talking more about Java, the newly emerged alternative, Kotlin is completely interoperable with Java. It is not only intuitive but easy to read as well. Moreover, Kotlin is known as the main language to build android- based apps.

Which one is Best For Integrated development environment availability (IDE)

Emerging the development program, earlier developers were using Eclipse to develop apps but with the development of Google Studio, it was replaced and developers started using this in the backend to develop applications. It offers various advantages over Eclipse such as:

  • Cross-platform
  • Vast Functionality
  • Great Debugging
  • Simple packaging

On the other hand, XCode is used by iOS developers to develop Apple-backed iOS apps. It is a great environment for building outstanding apps for Mac/iPhone/iPad devices. It possesses the ability to find out the mistakes/errors in both syntax and logic and even get the code fixed.

Which one is Best For Design Philosophy

To explain the difference between iOS and android development, below are some of the design principles that should be considered when designing an app on any of the platforms.

  • Screen sizes and resolutions: Android which uses Google-backed equipment uses a number of screen sizes which lead to a vast range of screen resolutions. While on the other hand, iOS devices use more than three possible resolutions for the iPhone and a few for iPad with two screen sizes (iPhone/iPad)
  • Navigation: The navigation bar is placed at the top of iOS devices while on android devices, it is placed left. Also, in iOS, the navigation icons are blue or gray by default while you can customize the icons as colorful in Android as you want.
  • Menu: Android-based applications prefer having a drawer menu or a side/hamburger menu, which is usually placed on the left after the tap-and-pull gesture. Whereas on the other side, the tab bar in iOS is placed at the bottom with comparatively easier access to the hidden menu icons. Typically, the Hamburger menu is widely used for iOS-based devices but should be customized.
  • Alerts and pop-ups: Pop-ups and alerts appear suddenly and thus need prompt actions. Android users can avoid such alerts by selecting “Agree/ disagree” whereas iOS users can submit actions by selecting “Okay/ don’t allow”. Alert and action sheets are two kinds of alerts for iOS-powered devices. They look the same and even their functionality is also the same but an action sheet is used when there is a need for more than the two depicted actions, including cancel.
  • Back’ Button: The back button option is offered to the Android users in order to return to the previous page earlier opened whereas the Apple backend platform does not have a real back button option in order to return to the previous page. Instead of it, Apple users can make use of the top-left button to go back to the previous screens in the hierarchical order without navigating through the entire app.

Which one is Best For The Audience

Mobile Operating system market share

The statistics are displayed to give more useful information about users that use Android/iOS-powered gears and clear the difference between iOS and android development. As you can see, the Google-backed platform currently holds the largest global platform share. Earlier blackberry was in the limelight but as time passed, android comes into action.

ios vs android

As shown in the figure above, Apple users tend to be female, 35+ years old who work in the media/marketing/business industry, their average annual income is $200K. whereas the  Android users are male, 18-34 years old, and work in IT/Energy &Utilities, and their average annual income is $50K $100K.

Which one is Best For Development complexity

To clear Android apps vs iOS apps, Android devices have a vast range of systems that operate on devices whereas the iOS supporting devices are limited, such as (iPhone/iPod/iPad). Thus, ultimately, the Android-based gears creation is more complex.  Why? Because of the wide range of operating systems as compared to the iOS-powered gears with a narrow range of Oss.

Not only this but also as discussed earlier, the Android platform uses a wide range of different screen sizes. This is what should be taken into account while developing. The same thing goes for the systems that operate on the devices that should be considered while the mobile app creation.

Which one is Best For the Cost of development

The cost of the development of iOS and Android apps depends on the needs, requirements, and budget first. You need to list out your needs, make a decision on the platform and then you can ask a mobile app developer for the estimate.

Also, the cost of the development of iOS and Android apps also depends on the time taken to complete the project.  The more time it takes, the higher the cost will be. You can read various blogs, and books to get a rough idea about the development processes, time, and the cost associated.

Which one is Best For Deployment speed

The time it takes (acceptance time) for Android-powered apps to be released on Google Play takes less time compared to an iOS-based app to get on Apple Store. Why? It’s because the android- based applications are reviewed with automated tests while iOS apps require personal expert verification (7 days on average).

Also, Android developers should take care that they should not submit the application with errors. Google allows developers to undergo multiple versions, to handle some errors while on the other hand, there is a risk for the iOS app to be rejected after waiting for a response from experts for so much time.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of IOS development 

Advantages

    Disadvantages

Better performance makes iOS applications always in demand

The Apple store is more demanding compared to Google play,

iOS applications are fast, reliable, and have almost zero bugs.

Customization of app interfaces is difficult with iOS.

Easy development process as Apple provides developers a detailed guideline for the creation of user interface for the app.

Advantages & Disadvantages Of Android Development

Advantages

    Disadvantages

Android offers more flexibility especially in terms of distribution as the android apps are compatible with any device. 

Developing Android takes more time and is costly.

Google offers a plethora of training programs for Android developers.

Android being an open-source platform, is more prone to cyberattacks.

Now that you know the pros and cons of both platforms, it will be much easier for you to choose the right one for your business needs. Keep reading to learn more about how to choose the platform that works well for you.

Which is Better Between Android and iOS Development: Which Platform Should You Choose?

However we have spoken about iOS app vs android app, however both Android apps vs iOS apps have their own merits but which one suits your business requirement is critical to understand. Here are some of the key factors that will help you decide.

Develop as per the target audience - When deciding between Android and iOS development look for the target audience from who you are developing the app. Android has a bigger market share and so will get to better reach, however iOS users spend more as compared to Android users, especially in North America and Western European regions. So if you want to promote in-app purchases iOS is the right platform. 

Consider the screen size when deciding between Android and iOS development- While choosing between Android and iOS consider how your app will look on any of the devices. Go for the one that gets the perfect US design as per your need and the kind of elements you want to add to your application.

Your budget and timeline matter when deciding between Android and iOS development - The coding language theta the two platforms use is the significant factor here. iOS uses Swift against Android that relies on Java. With Swift being used in iOS the coding time is reduced and so is the cost. And since Swift has better readability it takes less development time. Hope this clears android iOS development.

These are some factors that you may consider while deciding between iOS and Android. On that note here is all we have spoken about. 

Read: How to Choose the Best Mobile App Development Company?

Time To Sum Up:

Android and iOS development have various merits and enjoy a great share of audience attention. They may differ on various factors like design, development language, process, cost, timeline, and many more but what is critical is for you to understand how they may help your business grow. 

So, these were some of the aspects one needs to pay attention to when selecting a platform to build a mobile application. We hope you are now pretty clear about the differences between Android and iOS development. You should always analyze your resources and your options to make an efficient choice among these two different operating systems. 

However, it is highly recommended to delegate the task to a professional Mobile app development company as they have experts to examine your business needs and can come up with the best solution that will ensure your business growth.

Share what is stopping you from deciding between Android and iOS development, and we will guide you the best. 

Hope it helps. Good luck with your app!

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