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iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

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Re: iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

#41

Post by TheHippo »

wmt wrote: post #18

I'd really want this article to be true and that developing for Android first would be an equally good strategy. However, the claim that IOS-first is irrational is just dishonest. While Android total money spent in apps is gaining, iOS has been a solid leader for its entire history. Every decision to go for Apple first has been a correct one. This is perfectly summed up by the first comment on the page: "All I know i…

Reading whole comment thread suggest that the author of comment might be a Apple fan boy who felt stepped on his toes.

Re: iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

#42

Post by mkr-hn »

err4nt wrote: post #36
wesselkooyman wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is exactly my point when i talk about the "tech bubble". iOS users keep telling themselves the numbers are somehow lying, and that their market is the early adopters, and that that market is decent sized. I don't think we appreciate how small that world is. But since it includes 90% of our direct peers, it feels bigger than it is.

I live in Canada and literally everybody in my life, except for one friend who is a huge Android fanboy, uses iOS. I don't have a phone, but I can still iMessage everybody else I know from my tablet except for one person. Now I love the idea of android, I love the technology and I use Linux daily on web servers so I get the customizeability and the appeal, but let's face it - if I write an iOS app I can send that to…

Everyone I know uses Android and Windows. Anecdotes don't say much about markets.

Re: iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

#43

Post by jljljl »

>>> In Android apps, you can freely send users to another platform to do a transaction – how much revenue is generated that way? iOS blocks this, by the way, and insists on a 30% cut.

This feels like a key insight...I wonder how many android apps are using alternatives to Google Play for their transactions, and how this affects the revenue numbers.

Re: iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

#44

Post by bradleyland »

TheHippo wrote: post #41
wmt wrote: post #18

I'd really want this article to be true and that developing for Android first would be an equally good strategy. However, the claim that IOS-first is irrational is just dishonest. While Android total money spent in apps is gaining, iOS has been a solid leader for its entire history. Every decision to go for Apple first has been a correct one. This is perfectly summed up by the first comment on the page: "All I know i…

Reading whole comment thread suggest that the author of comment might be a Apple fan boy who felt stepped on his toes.

That might be true, but what effect does that have on his sales? Unless we call in to question the veracity of his claim because of bias, the fact that he may be a raging fanboy doesn't weigh much on me.

Re: iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

#45

Post by mamcx »

AshFurrow wrote: post #4

> I’ve talked to lots of Android and iOS teams, and they say if they implement the same app on both platforms, the development time is roughly the same, and testing on Android is mostly a non-issue, as you can do it on your computer in emulators. Interesting. I've heard just the opposite, in fact: that iOS is significantly faster to develop on and that testing is a nightmare that must be done manually on-device. I wo…

What kind of devs are they? The android experience is horrible. I'm doing a "call a taxi" app rigth now and 1)I can't target modern android 2)The reference android phone is terrible terrible terrible terrible * 1000 3) I'm the iOS guy! only ME and I finish my task faster than the android group. (yep, I use the android device because I need to test the communication between both platforms).

Re: iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

#46

Post by dkersten »

simonh wrote: post #40
dkersten wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the article: We’re so focused on revenue from the app store, that we ignore some facts: lots of apps support other platforms, and generate revenue on other ways. My phone has a great SalesForce CRM app on it – it’s free. But of course our company pays for the CRM! Apps also often drive revenue on other platforms. In Android apps, you can freely send users to another platform to do a transaction – how much revenu…

If iOS didn't have apps that generate revenue in those ways you might have a point, but it does. The question you need to answer is why you think the platform with the lower user engagement stats, lower online purchasing metrics and lower app revenue stats is likely to benefit from them more than the leader in all those other metrics.

I didn't make any point. I was merely pointing out that the article covered non-app-store revenue generation (at least a little).

I don't make apps, so I don't really care either way, though to add anecdotal evidence to the mix: where I am there seems to be a pretty even split between Android and iOS users.

Re: iOS first – a flawed strategy that startups have used for years

#47

Post by manicdee »

wesselkooyman wrote: post #23
wmt wrote: post #18

I'd really want this article to be true and that developing for Android first would be an equally good strategy. However, the claim that IOS-first is irrational is just dishonest. While Android total money spent in apps is gaining, iOS has been a solid leader for its entire history. Every decision to go for Apple first has been a correct one. This is perfectly summed up by the first comment on the page: "All I know i…

Hi, i'm the author. The point i was trying to make is that all we know is that we're looking at an incomplete picture. App store revenue is by far not the only way to make money with an app - i use CRM apps as an example, but many SaaS platforms have a supporting app, and we're not measuring that revenue at all. Neither are we measuing ad revenue. But i agree, there's lots of anecdotal evidence either way :)

Can you provide me an example where it makes sense for a startup to produce software for free to support some commercial software they don't own?

If they're bankrolled by the commercial product's vendor, aren't they really a contract programming shop, not a startup?

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