Survey: Android set to beat iOS in battle for coder love
Google OS racing to top of app developers poll
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Android is set to become the number one choice for mobile application developers in the next 12 months as the Google platform pushes ahead of arch rival Apple, according to the latest research from Ovum.
The analyst house interviewed over a hundred developers globally, asking them which platform they preferred and then compared the answers to last year’s Trends in Mobile Application Development survey.
While iOS is still rated as most important by the majority, as it was last year, young upstart Android is fast finding favour in the developer community. Ovum said Google’s OS had taken a “significant leap” in the past 12 months, jumping from fifth most important platform in last year’s survey up to second in 2012.
In reality, most developers will look to cover all bases by supporting as many major platforms as they can, with Android’s growing popularity likely to be linked to its increasing market share, according to Ovum analyst Tony Cripps.
“It’s pretty unusual to find an application developer who favours just one platform only. It’s about how many resources and what level of importance they place on that platform going forward,” Cripps told The Register.
“There is starting to be overall a larger installed base of devices on Android than iOS in the coming years. Typically developers prioritise the platforms that give them the largest market. The nature of the battle is not like that on PCs or web apps, there are differences in the target demographics.”
BlackBerry OS came third in the popularity stakes, and much will depend on how it transitions towards the forthcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system, according to Cripps.
Anecdotally, Windows Phone is also doing pretty well, said the analyst, although it came a distinct fourth according to Ovum.
Going forward, the big Android-Apple battle could well depend on which platform provider offers the most unified experience across different devices, he concluded. ®
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COMMENTS
The point made by the poster was that if you want do to IOS then you must have a Mac. This is not the case for Android, ie. statistics favour Android. That said, previous reports have fingered as IOS as the platform from which to make money because fanbois like you are only too happy to hand it over.
As for support options - in many respects Apple is light years behind. Yes, it's great if you live close to an Apple store but otherwise you're fucked as I found out when I had to replace the fan on my MacBook. Twice. And, yes, I was using the machine for work.
" interviewed over a hundred developers globally"
Representiative sampling : They've heard of it.
Weird reasoning
"What do Google do for your $25?"
They do their bloody job and list your app in a prompt and timely fashion and allow the market to decide if it floats or sinks. From the time you hit upload in the developer console it takes about 5 minutes for app to be listed and up.
Apple's "curation" has little to do with quality and everything to do with control. There are more than enough horror stories of apps being banned for arbitrary, petty reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with whether the app is any good or not. The annual fee also serves to discourage developers from listing useful but non money making apps, e.g. GPL ports.
And Apple's SDK is free assuming you buy a Mac. Meaning it's hardly free at all for the majority of developers who own a PC.
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