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Why Android First is a Myth

stevecheney.com

11–20 of 35 posts

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#11
If you live in an iOS world, you'd think all startups or apps have gone iOS first.

As an Android user, I have been witness to a number of startups who went Android first and found success.

Why? Because they ignored advice like this post. While most developers focus only on iOS, some developers filled the void on Android by building apps Android users want.

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#12
We tried monetizing our app in the real world with only being on Android and people were saying that's nice and all, but you guys are not ready yet if you're not on iOS.

The benefits of faster iteration on Android are still strongly outweighed by the disadvantages of not being able to tap into the 3 times more engaged iPhone user base.

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#13
I think this is very much a question of what market you are targeting. According to gs.statcounter.com Europe has 44.87% Android and 38.9% iOS market share, while US has 52.5% iOS and 39.6% Android. I think this definitely makes a difference in what is most profitable.

And saying that iOS has nicer tools is simply not true. Eclipse is arguably a lacking IDE, but Google has since switched to the IntelliJ IDEA platform, which I consider even better than the often highly praised Visual Studio. It's code-completion reigns supreme.

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#14
post #4

Let's take a look at some of the recent headlines on this blog: * Why Android First is a Myth * How Apple iBeacon Will Transform Local Commerce * On Apple’s Vertical Silicon Strategy * On the Apple M7 Motion Processor * On Apple’s A7 Processor * 1980: Steve Jobs on Hardware Software Convergence * On The Future of iOS and Android * Why a Standalone Google Maps App Has Already Lost I think we can pretty safely say that…

This is purely ad hominem and doesn't actually refute any of the author's arguments.

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#15
post #9
post #7

> In fact, a recent study of Facebook ads shows ads were 1,790% more profitable on iOS. This is extremely incriminating for Android and is the worst kind of news for Google. I don't really know or care enough about the issue to have an opinion on the other points, but this one jumps out as kind of odd. Assuming the number is correct, is comparing Facebook ad revenue a meaningful proxy for overall viability of the pla…

The study suggests that people take actions on iOS and not on Android. Since most of FB's mobile ads are in fact mobile app installs, people are interacting and using the medium - 18x more on iOS than on Android. It's just one ad related study but the magnitude of the difference is staggering. (author of original blog post here).

Android encompasses all economic classes than iOS.

Of course, you cannot make money on the poor as much as on the rich.

Is there a study anywhere that given the same economic bracket (e.g. people who make $75K a year), that user will pay more because he/she is on iOS?

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#16
post #2

We're Android first. Exclusive actually. Barrier to entry is almost zero and none of the time-wasting finger-crossing hurdles you describe. We're self-sustaining with a top ten paid app and about to release another exclusive that can only be possible due to Android's open nature.

Clarification - your app can only be possible on Android because it's a widget app which Apple doesn't allow. So it makes sense you're Android only. Some paid apps like yours do well on Android (congrats) but I am really referencing bigger products / services.

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#18
post #11

If you live in an iOS world, you'd think all startups or apps have gone iOS first. As an Android user, I have been witness to a number of startups who went Android first and found success. Why? Because they ignored advice like this post. While most developers focus only on iOS, some developers filled the void on Android by building apps Android users want.

> I have been witness to a number of startups who went Android first and found success.

Can you cite some examples?

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#19
post #11

If you live in an iOS world, you'd think all startups or apps have gone iOS first. As an Android user, I have been witness to a number of startups who went Android first and found success. Why? Because they ignored advice like this post. While most developers focus only on iOS, some developers filled the void on Android by building apps Android users want.

I can't be the only one who was on Android and was hoping for some iOS devs to make their nice apps on Android. While a lot of users on Android are very cheapass and won't buy anything, there's also a big amount of people who won't mind paying for an app, but don't want to pay the absurd prices an iPhone costs.

I since moved to Windows Phone, which although smaller amount of apps, they generally seemed to suck less than the default quality on android. Most apps are following OS style, which make the phone seem nicer (same trick as iOS).

Re: Why Android First is a Myth

#20
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm an HD Widgets user and all, but AFAICT, you guys are in 15th place right now.

App ranking is hard to keep up with.

Not for us. We have an app for that:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.appstats.a...

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