Google's Android is Eating Apple's Lunch

[shanghaichica]

Google play might very well have more apps than the app store but the quality is higher in apple's store.

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Not all developers are commercial developers.
A greater number of apps available doesn't mean a greater number of developers, or a greater number of developers whose primary motivation is profit. I think there would be a massively larger hobby coder population for Android than iOS. [a) it is free, b) it is easier to release, c) there are many more opportunities for tweaks and customisations, d) it better fits the general hobby coder philosophy

Do you have anything to back up that contention? That there are a lot of developers doing this for free and as a hobby? I have a hard time believing that.

Also, AFAIK, the developers of iOS apps don't have to pay for the iOS to experiment on either. So your point "a" seems to not make any sense. And while it may be easier to release on Android, in some cases it may be harder to code for, because of all the permutations of tablets and OS overlays out there. You really haven't set forth logical reasons for why developers appear to be opting for Android over iOS. So it has to be money.

If you are giving the app away for free, then you are less likely to bother submitting to the tight requirements and approval process of the Apple App Store.

Even if these apps are free, they are generating revenue for developers with in-app advertising. So since it's harder to code for Android, there is no incentive to do so unless the promise of overall revenues were greater.

A recent IDC report shows (of those developers that IDC surveyed), iOS was still the platform of choice, although not by a massive margin.
The original Forbes article was here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/darcytra...s-dont-matter/
Forbes do seem to have a rather pro-iOS, anti-Android spin on things.

This is what the Forbes article said: "At last measure, Apple offers 550K apps for the iPhone and iPad, and 25B have been downloaded. Google, by comparison, offers 440K and 10B have been downloaded." Do you know how outdated that data is? Google today has twice that many apps and exceeds Apple. So that report is based on outdated data.

As for the IDC report, it's just a survey. The fact is, these developers are going for the android platform over iOS. Also, the chart breaks out "Kindle Fire" and "Google Nexus" separately. But they are also the Android platform. So if you add up the numbers given for those two devices PLUS the numbers given for "Android Phones" and "Android Tablets" it appears that the Android platform has more overall interest.

Numbers don't lie, but they can be misrepresented. A having more apps that B doesn't mean that A has more developers than B, or that those developers are making more money.

A having more apps than B certainly does mean that A has more developers. Of course it does. And because developers are free to code for either A or B, the only reason they'd choose A over B is because of potential profit. All the other reasons you gave don't hold water. Especially since it's often more difficult to code for A than B.

--Pat

[SeaKing]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Do you have anything to back up that contention? That there are a lot of developers doing this for free and as a hobby? I have a hard time believing that.

Also, AFAIK, the developers of iOS apps don't have to pay for the iOS to experiment on either. So your point "a" seems to not make any sense. And while it may be easier to release on Android, in some cases it may be harder to code for, because of all the permutations of tablets and OS overlays out there. You really haven't set forth logical reasons for why developers appear to be opting for Android over iOS. So it has to be money.

Even if these apps are free, they are generating revenue for developers with in-app advertising. So since it's harder to code for Android, there is no incentive to do so unless the promise of overall revenues were greater.

This is what the Forbes article said: "At last measure, Apple offers 550K apps for the iPhone and iPad, and 25B have been downloaded. Google, by comparison, offers 440K and 10B have been downloaded." Do you know how outdated that data is? Google today has twice that many apps and exceeds Apple. So that report is based on outdated data.

As for the IDC report, it's just a survey. The fact is, these developers are going for the android platform over iOS. Also, the chart breaks out "Kindle Fire" and "Google Nexus" separately. But they are also the Android platform. So if you add up the numbers given for those two devices PLUS the numbers given for "Android Phones" and "Android Tablets" it appears that the Android platform has more overall interest.

A having more apps than B certainly does mean that A has more developers. Of course it does. And because developers are free to code for either A or B, the only reason they'd choose A over B is because of potential profit. All the other reasons you gave don't hold water. Especially since it's often more difficult to code for A than B.--Pat

Good logic. Sounds like a better version of me!

[UnderControl]

there are a lot of developers who create things for free as a hobby, that also make a living as a full-time developer.

[SteveEisenberg]

Originally Posted by UnderControl

there are a lot of developers who create things for free as a hobby, that also make a living as a full-time developer.

[holymadness]

As usual, PatNY should have saved his breath and spared himself the embarrassment of being wrong once again. iOS generates higher revenues for both app purchases and mobile advertising.



http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/25/in-...es-says-opera/

"Good logic," indeed. Save your cheerleading for the pee-wee hockey league.

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by holymadness

As usual, PatNY should have saved his breath and spared himself the embarrassment of being wrong once again. iOS generates higher revenues for both app purchases and mobile advertising ...

http://techcrunch.com/2012/10/25/in-...es-says-opera/

"Good logic," indeed. Save your cheerleading for the pee-wee hockey league.

Sigh ... why am I not surprised you'd come up with hokey data once again? That report just covers the Opera network. It doesn't count ad impressions with Dolphin.

And what exactly did I say that you are objecting too? Please use an exact quote.

Try again.

--Pat

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by UnderControl

there are a lot of developers who create things for free as a hobby, that also make a living as a full-time developer.

I'm sure of that. But what evidence is there that the overwhelming shift of app creation to the Android platform is due primarily to developers doing this as a hobby? For free?

--Pat

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Sigh ... why am I not surprised you'd come up with hokey data once again? That report just covers the Opera network. It doesn't count ad impressions with Dolphin.

Yawn. Cite a single study or report showing that ad revenue on Android outpaces that on iOS. For someone so big on data, you don't have any.

And what exactly did I say that you are objecting too? Please use an exact quote.

I object to your entire posting history. I have never read a greater anthology of falsehood and implausibility.

[afv011]

Originally Posted by shanghaichica

Google play might very well have more apps than the app store but the quality is higher in apple's store.

The apps that suck on Android are usually straight ports from iOS where they don't follow the Android guidelines, but the iOS ones instead. Apps developed from the ground up for Android are as good as those developed for iOS. There are plenty of examples of great apps on Android.

[elcreative]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Sigh ... why am I not surprised you'd come up with hokey data once again? That report just covers the Opera network. It doesn't count ad impressions with Dolphin.

And what exactly did I say that you are objecting too? Please use an exact quote.

Try again.

--Pat

Bit of a dubious point considering that it only claimed to be dealing with Opera... you can equally say that it doesn't deal with Safari ad impressions which would guarantee a skew in the opposite direction to Dolphin... it's actually dealing with a cross-platform browser available under both Android and iOS... I'm surprised that you didn't attack the other, far more obvious flaws in the data but I'll leave that with you...

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by holymadness

Yawn. Cite a single study or report showing that ad revenue on Android outpaces that on iOS. For someone so big on data, you don't have any.

Where did I say categorically that "ad revenue on Android outpaces that on iOS?"

I object to your entire posting history. I have never read a greater anthology of falsehood and implausibility.

Hmmm, figures you can't quote me. You always make up things I never say and present it as fact, instead of quoting me. Shameful!

Not to mention acting like a child and trying to drag every discussion you enter into a pissing match of personal insults. Terrible!

--Pat

[PatNY]

Originally Posted by elcreative

Bit of a dubious point considering that it only claimed to be dealing with Opera... you can equally say that it doesn't deal with Safari ad impressions which would guarantee a skew in the opposite direction to Dolphin... it's actually dealing with a cross-platform browser available under both Android and iOS... I'm surprised that you didn't attack the other, far more obvious flaws in the data but I'll leave that with you...

I am not the one who tried to pass off the report as being a total picture. LOL. Follow the bouncing ball!

And, fyi, Dolphin is the predominant browser on Android.

--Pat

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by PatNY

Where did I say categorically that "ad revenue on Android outpaces that on iOS?"

Hahahaha.

Your sole claim these last few pages is that app developers are flocking to Android en masse because of the promise of profitability it offers.

"You really haven't set forth logical reasons for why developers appear to be opting for Android over iOS. So it has to be money."

"And because developers are free to code for either A or B, the only reason they'd choose A over B is because of potential profit."

iOS app revenue is 400% greater than Android app revenue.
iOS ad revenue is 347% greater than Android ad revenue.

Whither these amazing profits?

[holymadness]

Originally Posted by PatNY

I am not the one who tried to pass off the report as being a total picture. LOL. Follow the bouncing ball!

And, fyi, Dolphin is the predominant browser on Android.

--Pat

Please read before replying. These are not ads in the Opera browser, they are ads delivered via the Opera mobile advertising network. 80% of them appear in apps on all smartphone platforms.