Mobile App Development Platform Wars- Which One to Choose?

Accelerated development in mobile technology, coupled with the on-going app wars to gain supremacy in the market among the different platform, has led to an outbreak akin to war between mobile platforms.

While Android leads the roost, iOS is close on heels in the second place and Windows Phone is making lucrative offers to attract developers and create a foothold in this dynamic market.

Where does this leave the developers?

While mobile app development companies are striving to cater for all the operating systems, most of them highlight their services in the three major areas-

• Android app development
• iOS app development
• Cross-platform app development

At Solution Analysts, we focus majorly on Android and iOS, though we do offer PhoneGap app development for cross-platform solutions. Among developers, 40% lean towards Android, 37% towards iOS, 8% of Windows Phone and 7% of mobile browser.

Quest for Quality and Relevance:

Android’s popularity stems from its high presence in the market through availability of multiple devices, across different price ranges.

As someone seeking to launch a mobile application, it is more important to analyze which platform would be feasible as the target audience for the application is more important than the reach of the platform.

In a study by US-based U Test Company, they collected data from user rankings and reviews and their findings were that in a scale of 1-100, iOS apps scored 68.5 while Android scored 63.3. The categories covered were app categories, games, other media and operating system compatibility.

IoT Influence on App Development:

Internet of Things (IoT) device selection will be determined by consumers based on its compatibility with existing services and devices. Enterprises, especially, will be concerned with this factor as it will determine their technological investments. Of course, with the BYOD model it may have a more flexible outlook.

A survey among 675 app developers showed the battle lines being drawn between IoT platforms and Android are in the lead with 29% followers, followed by 24% of Windows Phone and 21% for Linux.

Surprisingly, and in spite of iOS Swift, iBeacon and iWatch, Apple’s iOS came last with only 16% followers. However, industry experts believe the open source nature of Android must have given it an early start and the jury’s not yet out on iOS.

The large number of enterprise app developers with .Net expertise aids Windows Phone in holding the second place and Windows 10 operating system holds a lot of promise for the IoT community.

Along with User Interface, better app performance will remain the key focus. Developers are no longer limited by the power of the mobile device processing power, they can stretch the limits of their apps to be more responsive and have fewer bugs.

As the number of devices diversifies, and technology evolves, it is important to work with a mobile app development company that is geared to stay instep with the evolution and equipped to deliver.