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Why aren't Apple and Google making it this easy to develop apps? Apple has no incentive to make it easier for app developers to port their code to other platfo

Why aren't Apple and Google making it this easy to develop apps? Apple has no incentive to make it easier for app developers to port their code to other platforms.

jbob2000 11y ago
Sure, but that works in reverse. People could easily port their code TO iOS.
- aianus 11y ago
  Unfortunately everyone writes iOS first nowadays because rich people overwhelmingly own iOS devices.
  - yoz-y 11y ago
    You could probably replace "rich" by "people willing to pay money for apps". Although even on iOS this is less and less true.
  - andreamazz 11y ago
    That, and because development is way easier.
    - aianus 11y ago
      I'm curious why you say that. You have to learn a whole new Apple-only programming language to do iOS (Swift or Objective-C) in addition to the iOS framework/libraries. Not to mention buying a Mac and paying Apple $100 for a developer account. Android, on the other hand, was pretty straightforward to get started with for me as someone with Java experience.
      - andreamazz 11y ago
        Getting started is one thing, completing a product is another. It's not an uncommon metric to apply a 1.5x or 2x multiplier to the development time of an iOS app to obtain the time to develop the Android one. I would also argue that from the same starting point (no java experience and no Swift experience) the learning curve is way smoother on iOS, with more fine tuned APIs and better tools (interface builder can be picked up easily by a designer with no coding background).
- s73v3r 11y ago
  Perhaps, but most studies show that they start on iOS to begin with.
onedev 11y ago
But it does have incentive for app developers on other platforms to port code to their own platform.
- servercobra 11y ago
  They incentivize people porting to iOS by being a great platform with tons of customers, many of which are willing to pay. That's why so many apps launch on iOS first (much to my dismay as a diehard Android user). Why Google hasn't done this, I don't know. Seems like it is in their best interest and something they're already doing internally. They use the shared web/Android/iOS code concept for Inbox (but not HTML/JS)[1] and probably other projects. [1] http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/how-google-inbox-shares-70-of-its-code-across-android-ios-and-the-web/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/how-go...
  - rhodysurf 11y ago
    Dont they use this j2objc? https://github.com/google/j2objc https://github.com/google/j2objc
- jbigelow76 11y ago
  Apple probably doesn't concern itself with any developers that don't want to be on their platform. In fact they probably find the notion so inconceivable that they wouldn't see any value in that developer's app. Are there any "unicorn" apps that are Android only and intend to stay that way?
  - aianus 11y ago
    > Are there any "unicorn" apps that are Android only and intend to stay that way? Chrome? Also Gmail, Google Now, and Facebook Messenger on iOS are garbage compared to Android.
    - jbigelow76 11y ago
      Chrome? I could be wrong but I am pretty sure I am typing this response in Chrome on a Windows box right now, so maybe not the best example of an Android only app.
rail2rail 11y ago
Has Apple ever chosen a non-native app for its annual design awards?
- rimantas 11y ago
  was there ever non-native app worth a reward?
- whatever_dude 11y ago
  You mean not including the vast number of Unity based games that are there?

Why aren't Apple and Google making it this easy to develop apps? Apple has no incentive to make it easier for app developers to port their code to other platforms.

jbob2000 11y ago

Sure, but that works in reverse. People could easily port their code TO iOS.

aianus 11y ago
Unfortunately everyone writes iOS first nowadays because rich people overwhelmingly own iOS devices.
- yoz-y 11y ago
  You could probably replace "rich" by "people willing to pay money for apps". Although even on iOS this is less and less true.
- andreamazz 11y ago
  That, and because development is way easier.
  - aianus 11y ago
    I'm curious why you say that. You have to learn a whole new Apple-only programming language to do iOS (Swift or Objective-C) in addition to the iOS framework/libraries. Not to mention buying a Mac and paying Apple $100 for a developer account. Android, on the other hand, was pretty straightforward to get started with for me as someone with Java experience.
    - andreamazz 11y ago
      Getting started is one thing, completing a product is another. It's not an uncommon metric to apply a 1.5x or 2x multiplier to the development time of an iOS app to obtain the time to develop the Android one. I would also argue that from the same starting point (no java experience and no Swift experience) the learning curve is way smoother on iOS, with more fine tuned APIs and better tools (interface builder can be picked up easily by a designer with no coding background).
s73v3r 11y ago
Perhaps, but most studies show that they start on iOS to begin with.

onedev 11y ago

But it does have incentive for app developers on other platforms to port code to their own platform.

servercobra 11y ago
They incentivize people porting to iOS by being a great platform with tons of customers, many of which are willing to pay. That's why so many apps launch on iOS first (much to my dismay as a diehard Android user). Why Google hasn't done this, I don't know. Seems like it is in their best interest and something they're already doing internally. They use the shared web/Android/iOS code concept for Inbox (but not HTML/JS)[1] and probably other projects. [1] http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/how-google-inbox-shares-70-of-its-code-across-android-ios-and-the-web/ http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/11/how-go...
- rhodysurf 11y ago
  Dont they use this j2objc? https://github.com/google/j2objc https://github.com/google/j2objc
jbigelow76 11y ago
Apple probably doesn't concern itself with any developers that don't want to be on their platform. In fact they probably find the notion so inconceivable that they wouldn't see any value in that developer's app. Are there any "unicorn" apps that are Android only and intend to stay that way?
- aianus 11y ago
  > Are there any "unicorn" apps that are Android only and intend to stay that way? Chrome? Also Gmail, Google Now, and Facebook Messenger on iOS are garbage compared to Android.
  - jbigelow76 11y ago
    Chrome? I could be wrong but I am pretty sure I am typing this response in Chrome on a Windows box right now, so maybe not the best example of an Android only app.

rail2rail 11y ago

Has Apple ever chosen a non-native app for its annual design awards?

rimantas 11y ago
was there ever non-native app worth a reward?
whatever_dude 11y ago
You mean not including the vast number of Unity based games that are there?