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iOS Tops Android For Number of New App Projects From Developers
Analytics firm Flurry recently posted a report comparing the new projects being undertaken by developers for mobile apps on Android and iOS. According to their data, significantly more projects are started for iOS than for Android. The gap has been slowly shrinking over the past few quarters, but it's still bigger than it was a year ago. "For every 10 apps that developers build, roughly 7 are for iOS. While Google made some gains in Q1 2012, edging up to over 30% for the first time in a year, we believe this is largely due to seasonality, as Apple traditionally experiences a spike in developer support leading up to the holiday season." The iPad's dominance of the tablet market is one of several reasons for the gap. "In Flurry’s estimation, the fragmentation of the Android platform is increasing the cost and complexity of app development, perhaps curbing third-party investment in software."
"The gap has been slowly shrinking over the past few quarters, but it's still bigger than it was a year ago"
How does a gap shrink and get bigger at the same time?
Ok I love my iPhone, I tend to be "on Apple's side"... but this sounds like BS... I mean, there is an absurd number of apps for Android, I think it dwarfs iOS App Store app count... what are they using as their definition of "project"?
Perhaps the real news here is that a huge chunk of Android developers don't care for Flurry as their analytic solution, at least relatively speaking compared to iOS developers.
The customer base for I* stuff is obviously much more willing to part with their money than other people (their gadgets are significantly more expensive than others). If you've got to choose one platform or another, it only makes sense to develop for the I* customers.
I don't respond to AC's.
this is totally un-understandable.
Who wants to go back to pointers, or do unbelievable stuff like:
NSString *foo = @" untrimmed string ";
NSString *trimmed = [foo stringByTrimmingCharactersInSet:[NSCharacterSet whitespaceCharacterSet]];
if you can do:
String foo = " untrimmed string ";
String trimmed = foo.trim();
iOS users have been conditioned to pay for apps, and (I would think) are more likely to pay. I would expect a developer to consider iOS first just because it's more likely to show a return.
More developers concentrate on iOS, leading to better monetization on iOS.
Apple touts better monetization, and developers continue to concentrate on iOS.
It's not some big mystery.
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. --Will
How many iOS "apps" are basic WebKit wrappers knocked together in a few hours?
What Would Duncan Count?
No......
Apple's WWDC is on. I would expect iPhone apps to spike now.
It doesn't make sense that Apple's been leading in starts all this time and Google's leading in new entries in the store.
This commercial message has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the big Apple developer conference is going on in San Francisco today. It's entirely coincidental.
For christ's sake, Apple, couldn't you just have bought some ads instead of all the astroturfing? How about a little something for the effort? Do you know how expensive it is to keep a site like Slashdot going?
You are welcome on my lawn.
The Atari had lots of "apps" (games). So many that it resulted in the Video Game Crash of 1983.
More apps != good apps.
More apps == harder to find the good apps.
The Atari had lots of "apps" (games). So many that it resulted in the Video Game Crash of 1983.
More apps != good apps.
More apps == harder to find the good apps.
Then Sony released the Playstation and inconsiderately stomped all over your point.
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
That's because they released GOOD games. I find that man of my playstation games still hold up to my standards today. As in, I would by them new if they were released now.
And that's all I have to say about that.
Pretty much counters your point, no?
"I like to lick butts!" by MobileTatsu-NJG (#32700246) (Score:5, Informative)
how is this more expensive than the spectrum of android systems?
How much do these iPhones cost off-contract? A contract-free Android phone starts at $100, and the service starts at $35 (Virgin Mobile USA Beyond Talk).
From a technical point of view it makes perfect sense to use native execution on a relatively low powered device run by a battery.
Which is why Java and JavaScript tend to be recompiled just-in-time rather than interpreted nowadays.
Since when did Slashdot become so pedantic?
Probably forever. Slashdot users with mod points have been rewarding early-posted pedantry for years. The audience of Slashdot tends to self-select for programming skill, and pedantry is part of programming skill because a computer is probably the most pedantic device in existence.
Most developers are lazy when it comes to device testing. Because Android is open-source and so many devices use it there are many different devices developers would have to test the app on. On an iOS device there is only a few by compairison. This has been stated again and again in developers FAQ's and blogs when asked when they are going to come out with an app that is on iOS and not Android. A Big THANKS to developers who do develop for iOS and Android.
It's good to see all these apps on either iOS or Android. It just means more apps for for my BlackBerry PlayBook!
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
No, but there's a tradeoff. JIT offers a measure of sandboxing for code that doesn't have to be approved by anyone but the user, and it works on more than one platform. Using "true natively compiled code" instead of JavaScript + HTML DOM on a web site is what got Microsoft in trouble before with ActiveX: it doesn't work apart from Windows on x86, all developers have to be approved by Norton VeriSign, and even approved developers have been known to publish software that compromises the user account. See also arguments for an inner platform.
that's not apples to apples
You're right: it's Apples to Motorolas, Samsungs, and LGs. Availability on prepaid is another case where Droid does what iDon't.
Pirates love android. They'll steal really inexpensive applications simply because they feel self entitled to steal. As such, android developers generally don't make anything on the platform. Whereas on iOS, people generally make it a matter of pride they they can and do buy applications. Moreso, they even buy premium priced applications.
Developers will prefer iOS for as long as possible simply because its a better and more loyal user base.
P.S. I am an Android developer - driven out of business by pirates.
iphone 4 and 4gs available on cricket and VMo.
This sentence no verb and no tense.
Google virgin mobile iphone shows that you are correct that Virgin plans to sell the iPhone 4 for $550 (source: nytimes.com) starting June 29 (source: virginmobileusa.com). But 1. that's 16 days away, and 2. Virgin already sells the Motorola Triumph and the HTC Evo (WiMAX version) for about half that (source: virginmobileusa.com).
And as Atari showed us (probably before most of the flamebaitors in this thread were born), it's the raw number of titles that count!
Seriously, if you want to whore out to the iOS/Android flamewar for slashdot hits, at least know your basic techie history.
btw the iphone 4 is available on cricket for $400 and your htc evo is on vmo for $300
But what's the price per month? An article in The New York Times states that though Cricket's up-front price is lower than Virgin's, its monthly price is higher.
vmo plas run 35-55, with a special promotional 30 plan for the new iphone. cricket has just a 55 plan which is equivalent in features to the vmo 55 plan.
But not everyone needs the $55 plan. Another member of my household has a home phone with unlimited "airtime" for local and 1-800 calls, and I can delay long calls until I get home, so I don't need as many cellular voice minutes as someone who has completely replaced the home phone with a cell phone because he or she lives alone. See this article and this NYT article. Let's just say "Apple doesn't target the low end".