An interesting question I get asked a lot by people is “Should I write for iPhone or Android?â€. Twelve months ago my advice was to target iPhone first and then target the Android platform if you are making a consumer app. The main reason I had was purely the fact that every now and again I would ask people how many apps they would buy or download.
For Android users the answer was typically that they would not download many apps at all and if they did they would download free ones only. iPhone/iPad users on the other hand would answer that they would spend money on apps more frequently and it wasn’t a bother. Most apps are considered coffee money for iPhone/iPad users so you can make a trivial purchase. After speaking with a collegue who runs a similar business to me on a flight to the US a couple of years ago he mentioned that he noticed an interesting trend in mobile purchasing which was similar to the following:
- iPad users are normally willing to pay a premium for an app
- iPhone users will tend to pay, but will want to pay less
- iTouch users don’t tend to pay as much as they are normally kids
So it was interesting to see this article that validated some of my thinking along these lines.
CHART OF THE DAY: iOS Users Earn More And Spend More Than Those On Android
Read more:Â http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-ios-android-spenders-2013-1#ixzz2HZksp0RA [1]
Not only do iOS users spend more on apps, they typically make more money as well. This validates another assumption I had is that Android use was not always intentional and that people are buying these devices because these are the default phones. My wife for example used a Sony Expedia Mini for two years because it was a phone. She didn’t like the phone, but when I upgraded my iPhone she got my old phone (although I confiscate it for testing when needed) and she does far more on the iPhone than she ever did on the Android. Android still has a long way to go to truly get to the ease of use that Android has. Many people are saying that it is getting better, but these people tend to be technical people. For non-technical folk its only getting a little better. One of the fundamental reasons that iPhone was so successful is that it created a market segment of people who will use this technology but don’t want to touch a computer. New people who didn’t want to connect before are connecting and liking it.
So to answer the question, I would target iPhone first, generate some money and then target Android. I’ve just done an app with this flow (iPhone then Android) and it has worked quite well. Because of the methodology I use I was able to port the Android version of the App to iPhone within a couple of weeks.
Links
- ^ http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-ios-android-spenders-2013-1#ixzz2HZksp0RA (www.businessinsider.com)
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