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And yet iOS generates 80% more revenue than Android does[0]. If you want to make money, you can't ignore Apple. [0] https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/07/03/

by pb7 6y ago

And yet iOS generates 80% more revenue than Android does[0]. If you want to make money, you can't ignore Apple. [0] https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/07/03/apples-app-store-generated-80-more-revenue-than-google-play-with-a-third-as-many-installs-in-first-half-of-2019 https://appleinsider.com/articles/19/07/03/apples-app-store-...

sudosysgen 6y ago
If you monetize mainly by charging people for your app, sure. If you sell mandatory subscriptions or make your money from ads, Android is more important.
- pb7 6y ago
  This makes sense on paper but iOS users also tend to have higher disposable income[0] which would make them spend more on subscriptions and be more valuable ad targets. [0] https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/survey-iphone-owners-spend-more-have-higher-incomes-than-android-users/541008/ https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/survey-iphone-owners-spe...
  - sudosysgen 6y ago
    That study is US-only, too. If you're making a solely US-based ad-servicing service (which makes very little sense, and if you are you should spend time on internationalization before spending time on your iOS app), otherwise if you are making a subscription service only in the US that does make sense. And even if the trends did hold up internationally, and I really suspect they don't, Android would still be better for ads and subscriptions internationally due to nearly three times the market share, despite a bit more than half the disposable income.
    - pb7 6y ago
      I don’t see why the trends wouldn’t hold up internationally. Android is more popular than iOS internationally because the vast majority of the world has a lower PPP than the US. Android is popular in places like India which pale in comparison to US revenues per customer simply based on PPP alone.
      - sudosysgen 6y ago
        I really don't believe that is true. Even in countries with high GDP iPhones can be much less popular than Android, for example Germany, or Italy, or Japan, or Finland, by pretty massive margins. People don't really buy iPhones as soon as they have money unless it is a status symbol in their culture, which it really is the more the country is Americanized/anglophone. I think that correlation holds up much better than GDP PPP. There is no real reason for money to predict iOS market share except for that.
tjpnz 6y ago
That's not universal - anecdotally I've seen Android versions that end up generating 80-120% more than the iOS version (per user). It depends a lot on the market and your product. Also, in other situations I can't help but wonder if it could be put down to Android's 2nd class citizen status in many companies. If you're going to give your iOS users a native experience (with no expense spared) while doing the bare minimum for Android (or not at all) then yes - you will earn substantially more per user on iOS.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  I really didn't think about that one. Yes, it's entirely true, a ton of Android apps are so broken that I would have no reason to buy the app or service.
- pb7 6y ago
  This doesn’t really make any sense. If there were overwhelming riches to be had in the Android market, companies would allocate greater resources to making Android apps good. But there aren’t — at least not compared to iOS — so the resource allocation is commensurate. Companies want money first and foremost; they don’t care which platform allows for a prettier UI if it gets in the way of $$$.
  - sudosysgen 6y ago
    I don't think that is true. Even when app development is a very small share of total cost, and certainly insignificant compared to benefits especially re: other makets, such as Snapchat, the Android app might be horribly lacking.
  - tjpnz 6y ago
    There aren't overwhelming riches to be had on either platform (unless you're Apple or Google of course). The point I'm trying to make here is that people will use that figure (often without much thought) to justify giving Android users a sub-par experience - which only serves to reinforce it. I've worked for several companies that have given parity to iOS and Android, and one that did not. For the former we did not observe a disparity that large. YMMV by region and industry of course.

by pb7 6y ago

sudosysgen 6y ago

If you monetize mainly by charging people for your app, sure. If you sell mandatory subscriptions or make your money from ads, Android is more important.

pb7 6y ago
This makes sense on paper but iOS users also tend to have higher disposable income[0] which would make them spend more on subscriptions and be more valuable ad targets. [0] https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/survey-iphone-owners-spend-more-have-higher-incomes-than-android-users/541008/ https://www.mobilemarketer.com/news/survey-iphone-owners-spe...
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  That study is US-only, too. If you're making a solely US-based ad-servicing service (which makes very little sense, and if you are you should spend time on internationalization before spending time on your iOS app), otherwise if you are making a subscription service only in the US that does make sense. And even if the trends did hold up internationally, and I really suspect they don't, Android would still be better for ads and subscriptions internationally due to nearly three times the market share, despite a bit more than half the disposable income.
  - pb7 6y ago
    I don’t see why the trends wouldn’t hold up internationally. Android is more popular than iOS internationally because the vast majority of the world has a lower PPP than the US. Android is popular in places like India which pale in comparison to US revenues per customer simply based on PPP alone.
    - sudosysgen 6y ago
      I really don't believe that is true. Even in countries with high GDP iPhones can be much less popular than Android, for example Germany, or Italy, or Japan, or Finland, by pretty massive margins. People don't really buy iPhones as soon as they have money unless it is a status symbol in their culture, which it really is the more the country is Americanized/anglophone. I think that correlation holds up much better than GDP PPP. There is no real reason for money to predict iOS market share except for that.

tjpnz 6y ago

That's not universal - anecdotally I've seen Android versions that end up generating 80-120% more than the iOS version (per user). It depends a lot on the market and your product. Also, in other situations I can't help but wonder if it could be put down to Android's 2nd class citizen status in many companies. If you're going to give your iOS users a native experience (with no expense spared) while doing the bare minimum for Android (or not at all) then yes - you will earn substantially more per user on iOS.

sudosysgen 6y ago
I really didn't think about that one. Yes, it's entirely true, a ton of Android apps are so broken that I would have no reason to buy the app or service.
pb7 6y ago
This doesn’t really make any sense. If there were overwhelming riches to be had in the Android market, companies would allocate greater resources to making Android apps good. But there aren’t — at least not compared to iOS — so the resource allocation is commensurate. Companies want money first and foremost; they don’t care which platform allows for a prettier UI if it gets in the way of $$$.
- sudosysgen 6y ago
  I don't think that is true. Even when app development is a very small share of total cost, and certainly insignificant compared to benefits especially re: other makets, such as Snapchat, the Android app might be horribly lacking.
- tjpnz 6y ago
  There aren't overwhelming riches to be had on either platform (unless you're Apple or Google of course). The point I'm trying to make here is that people will use that figure (often without much thought) to justify giving Android users a sub-par experience - which only serves to reinforce it. I've worked for several companies that have given parity to iOS and Android, and one that did not. For the former we did not observe a disparity that large. YMMV by region and industry of course.