It's No Longer True That Android App Developers Are Starving For Revenue...

[K. Molen]

I know the issue of profitability for app developers on iOS vs. Android is one that's been discussed here a few times, so I thought this article from Business Insider might be of interest.

I also know that anything iOS vs. Android tends to bring out some heated arguments, so here's a call for everyone to try to keep it civil and to stay away from the snarky comments.

I won't quote the article in its entirety, but below is a few snippets. For the entire thing, you can go here: http://www.businessinsider.in/Its-No...w/24303312.cms

Originally Posted by Business Insider

It's No Longer True That Android App Developers Are Starving For Revenue, Here's The Evidence

Does it pay to be an Android app developer? How do revenues on Android compare to those on Apple's mobile platform, iOS?

For a couple of years, app marketing and analytics firms have estimated the size of the Android-iOS monetization gap using various definitions of revenue, and their conclusion has always been that Android falls short.

But in a new report, BI Intelligence explains that it's no longer the case that there's no money to be made on Android. In fact, when a broad view of revenue is taken into account, including advertising, mobile commerce, and other fees, Android only lags Apple by a hair...

Here are our takeaways on the Android market opportunity:

- When taking into account commerce, advertising, developer fees and app revenue, Android has nearly closed the monetization gap with Apple's iOS operating system. Android developers worldwide earn 90 cents for every 1$ earned by iOS developers, according to the latest data...

- Advertising has emerged as the dominant revenue source for Android developers, and there's a real opportunity here since ad rates are still lower on Android than iOS...

- Android is running on 76% of mobile devices and 80% of smartphones. In the same way that Windows software defined the PC era, Android now defines mobile computing and eventually that will translate to even more revenue.

- That said, even as it continues to gain market share overseas, Android's growth has stalled in the U.S...

[leebase]

No, Android does not replicate the windows experience. Windows got the unit market share like Android, true. However, Windows was also far and away the dominant platform in every other metric: most supported, most money made etc. none of that is true of Android.

With its massive market share Android is not the platform where the most money is made. Is not the leading platform for corporations. Is not the top platform for media sales (music, movies, etc.). Is not the top platform for ad revenue,

It is like windows, the tops for malware.

Consider the Facebook ad revenue. It actually costs more money to advertise on fb for Android than the return. There is more than 17x the profit on mobile fb ads on iOS than Android http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/16/fa...-than-android/

Android is "ever improving" and "going to pass iOS any day now" on these market performance metric...but hasn't yet and may never

The issue with metrics like these is that they are ultimately useless. Revenues are going to depend upon the developers as much as the user. A developer has to ask themselves questions like: can they develop a compelling product and are they able to get their product out to consumers? It doesn't matter which platform you're developing for, you're not going to be able to make money unless they can answer both questions to the affirmative.

For advertisers, the situation is somewhat different, since their objective is to translate eyeballs into sales. It wouldn't surprise me if that's easier to do on iOS. Those users already fell for marketing hook, line, and sinker so what's to prevent them from falling for marketing again. (Sorry, couldn't resist the jab. ) More seriously though: there are a lot of low end Androids out there for people who have low end wallets, or who aren't interested in spending for or through their device. Yet that doesn't mean that those people don't exist, since a lot of Android users will fit into the same demographic as iOS users. It simply means that advertisers have to select their targets more carefully.

[Teknikal]

Seen a few game developers already stating they made more from Android such as Rubicon but I think androids only real problem is Google makes it pretty hard to pay, they don't accept many credit cards the gift cards are almost next to impossible to find even in countries where they are available.

I honestly think if Google got their system sorted out developers would be making tons from Android and quite a few already do.

[ProfCrash]

I think that Strategy Based board games are a different breed of App. There is a built in market from those folks who pay $50-$60 for the table top version of a board game. It is hard to find people who play the table top games. The tablet versions of these games allow people to play others online as well as against good AIs making them valuable.

So paying $5-$10 for an App is considered reasonably priced and the access to more folks who are want to play makes gaming more fun. Toss in games that play a great deal more quickly (no set up and pick up time, thank god) and life is good. I can play a game of Ticket to Ride in about 15 minutes online, which is awesome.

So no surprise that something like Rubicon would do well on Android or IOS. I have many more games on my iPad then I own because I can afford them and find people to play with. The Android loving crowd at Board Game Geek has been clamoring for the already developed games to be ported over to Android. Heck, Small World 2 actually had a kickstarter to see if there was enough interest, and money, to build it for Android after it was built for IOS.

But that really is a niche market. How many people out there play Puerto Rico, Stone Age, heck, Settlers of Catan?

[Teknikal]

I wouldn't really call Great Big War Game a board game it's more like command and conquer or starcraft than anything else in my opinion but regardless Rubicon is actually a pretty big developer and tends to get front page reviews on all the big IOS gaming sites like Toucharcade whenever they release anything, so for them to be making more money on Android where they don't get much real exposure at all is a pretty major thing.

While IOS easily gets most of the attention there are much more users and potential money on android as I see it the biggest problem for android developers is Google themselves they need to get their Play gift cards in every shop like Apple does. It's only very recently I've been able to find them myself in one UK store and started buying things despite them supposedly being out in the Uk for over a year.