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10 years ago we were told not to write software for the huge Windows market because Mac owners buy software unlike those cheap PC users. 10 years later we keep

by notsony 11y ago

10 years ago we were told not to write software for the huge Windows market because Mac owners buy software unlike those cheap PC users. 10 years later we keep getting told not to write software for the huge Android market because iPhone owners buy apps unlike those cheap Android users.

egwynn 11y ago
According to some, the Google Play store is now grossing more money than Apple’s App Store. But on a per-downloader basis, it looks like the average iOS user is way more likely to spend money on any particular app than an Android user. So if you’re after users who spend money, it seems like a no brainer. But I have no idea if this same dynamic applied to the PC/Mac days.
- ZeroGravitas 11y ago
  Money per user seems an odd metric to optimize for in the software world where you can duplicate your product infinitely for free. There are software sales situations when that makes sense, bespoke enterprise software etc. but not phone apos as far as I can tell.
  - egwynn 11y ago
    I think it's important when you're trying to advertise your product. If there is a marginal cost for each set of eyeballs you can attract, then you'll probably want to start with the richest set of eyeballs.
    - x0x0 11y ago
      Or you have non-trivial per-user costs: servers, bandwidth, support.
    - mattmaroon 11y ago
      That's true, though to a large extent, the cost of those eyeballs is relative to the value of them. Android ads cost less because they convert less. So it's really about which platform has the highest ROI.
- sitharus 11y ago
  It probably did, but the scale was vastly different. Most metrics give iOS a 30-40% market share depending on how they count it, but there's no measure that give MacOS more than 15% at the most with around 5% being the most common 10 years ago. The marketplace was also vastly different - when Apple was at its peak the market was physical, boxed copies had to be shipped to stores or via mail order. Now the respective stores give access to the entire market with one upload. The other major differentiator is the number of users likely to download an app in the first place. Stats are very hard to get, but the general feel is iPhone users are much more likely to install apps, with a lot of Android users just buying the cheapest phone. There's a lot of money in both markets though, so picking one is really a matter of where your company can ship first.
- deleted 11y ago
  [deleted]
- bestnameever 11y ago
  But aren't there almost double the number of Android user's out there than iOS users? Any idea on how many of those are low end devices sold to users who just want a phone and have no interest in the play store? I just get the feeling that looking at averages of the entire platform in this instance can be misleading as there are different types of users.
  - fleitz 11y ago
    Users? sure, customers?... probably not.
  - joelwilliamson 11y ago
    There are more than 5x as many Android users than iOS users.
- slaction 11y ago
  According to some the Earth is less than 6k years old, but that doesn't make them any less wrong, kind of like what you just said. App Annie shows that of all revenue from paid app downloads, Apple accounts for 70% of it, which is up from 60% in 2014.
- tsotha 11y ago
  As a vendor do you care more about the number of people who use your product or how much money you're making?
mwcampbell 11y ago
Did anyone ever credibly suggest that developers should ignore the huge Windows market? About 12 years ago, Joel Spolsky was saying quite the opposite, that Windows was the only platform that mattered, given the failure of write once, run anywhere.
- macostenforever 11y ago
  Credible(?) Gruber practically did: http://daringfireball.net/2002/09/on_joel_on_software http://daringfireball.net/2002/09/on_joel_on_software >> In fact, I think Spolsky is wrong about nearly everything in his article. >> Let’s divide computer users into two groups — people who think computers are fun, and people who just happen to use a computer. Which group do you think buys more software (even including all the Linux nerds in the first group)? Which group do you think most Mac users are in? >> Don’t get me wrong, the Windows software market is much larger than the Mac market, and there are millions more Windows nerds than Mac nerds — if you’re trying to sell into big corporations, write for Windows. I’m not even arguing anything silly, like that Mac users, on average, are smarter than their Windows counterparts. (Although I will link to this.) All I’m saying is this: amongst computer users who actually buy software, Mac users comprise a signficantly larger chunk than 4 percent. Significantly. >> Mac users value attention to detail and intuitive, consistent, attractive interfaces. Developers who share these values would do well to create software for the Mac, where they are likely to be rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Developers who would prefer to program more features with less attention to detail should not.
  - setpatchaddress 11y ago
    Gruber was right. I don't think it's relevant to the handheld market. The non-hacker Android users I know are simply too cheap to buy iOS devices, so probably not a great target market if you want people to buy your app. And the hackers won't pay for anything they think they can write it themselves. (There are some non-hacker persons who buy Android on software freedom principles, but it's a very small crowd.)

by notsony 11y ago

egwynn 11y ago

According to some, the Google Play store is now grossing more money than Apple’s App Store. But on a per-downloader basis, it looks like the average iOS user is way more likely to spend money on any particular app than an Android user. So if you’re after users who spend money, it seems like a no brainer. But I have no idea if this same dynamic applied to the PC/Mac days.

ZeroGravitas 11y ago
Money per user seems an odd metric to optimize for in the software world where you can duplicate your product infinitely for free. There are software sales situations when that makes sense, bespoke enterprise software etc. but not phone apos as far as I can tell.
- egwynn 11y ago
  I think it's important when you're trying to advertise your product. If there is a marginal cost for each set of eyeballs you can attract, then you'll probably want to start with the richest set of eyeballs.
  - x0x0 11y ago
    Or you have non-trivial per-user costs: servers, bandwidth, support.
  - mattmaroon 11y ago
    That's true, though to a large extent, the cost of those eyeballs is relative to the value of them. Android ads cost less because they convert less. So it's really about which platform has the highest ROI.
sitharus 11y ago
It probably did, but the scale was vastly different. Most metrics give iOS a 30-40% market share depending on how they count it, but there's no measure that give MacOS more than 15% at the most with around 5% being the most common 10 years ago. The marketplace was also vastly different - when Apple was at its peak the market was physical, boxed copies had to be shipped to stores or via mail order. Now the respective stores give access to the entire market with one upload. The other major differentiator is the number of users likely to download an app in the first place. Stats are very hard to get, but the general feel is iPhone users are much more likely to install apps, with a lot of Android users just buying the cheapest phone. There's a lot of money in both markets though, so picking one is really a matter of where your company can ship first.
deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
bestnameever 11y ago
But aren't there almost double the number of Android user's out there than iOS users? Any idea on how many of those are low end devices sold to users who just want a phone and have no interest in the play store? I just get the feeling that looking at averages of the entire platform in this instance can be misleading as there are different types of users.
- fleitz 11y ago
  Users? sure, customers?... probably not.
- joelwilliamson 11y ago
  There are more than 5x as many Android users than iOS users.
slaction 11y ago
According to some the Earth is less than 6k years old, but that doesn't make them any less wrong, kind of like what you just said. App Annie shows that of all revenue from paid app downloads, Apple accounts for 70% of it, which is up from 60% in 2014.
tsotha 11y ago
As a vendor do you care more about the number of people who use your product or how much money you're making?

mwcampbell 11y ago

Did anyone ever credibly suggest that developers should ignore the huge Windows market? About 12 years ago, Joel Spolsky was saying quite the opposite, that Windows was the only platform that mattered, given the failure of write once, run anywhere.

macostenforever 11y ago
Credible(?) Gruber practically did: http://daringfireball.net/2002/09/on_joel_on_software http://daringfireball.net/2002/09/on_joel_on_software >> In fact, I think Spolsky is wrong about nearly everything in his article. >> Let’s divide computer users into two groups — people who think computers are fun, and people who just happen to use a computer. Which group do you think buys more software (even including all the Linux nerds in the first group)? Which group do you think most Mac users are in? >> Don’t get me wrong, the Windows software market is much larger than the Mac market, and there are millions more Windows nerds than Mac nerds — if you’re trying to sell into big corporations, write for Windows. I’m not even arguing anything silly, like that Mac users, on average, are smarter than their Windows counterparts. (Although I will link to this.) All I’m saying is this: amongst computer users who actually buy software, Mac users comprise a signficantly larger chunk than 4 percent. Significantly. >> Mac users value attention to detail and intuitive, consistent, attractive interfaces. Developers who share these values would do well to create software for the Mac, where they are likely to be rewarded handsomely for their efforts. Developers who would prefer to program more features with less attention to detail should not.
- setpatchaddress 11y ago
  Gruber was right. I don't think it's relevant to the handheld market. The non-hacker Android users I know are simply too cheap to buy iOS devices, so probably not a great target market if you want people to buy your app. And the hackers won't pay for anything they think they can write it themselves. (There are some non-hacker persons who buy Android on software freedom principles, but it's a very small crowd.)