Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

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

colestreet.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 47 posts

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

#21

Post by BugBrother »

rsynnott wrote: post #9
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…

I think a lot of this comes down to exactly what you're doing. For instance, if you're doing networking, getting fancy with the camera, or doing even slightly low-level OpenGL stuff, Android's likely to be more painful, especially in terms of testing, and old-version quirks. Fun minor example; before Android 4.3 or so (and only about 25% of Android users are on >=4.3), if, using the default HTTP library, you make a r…

But if you're not doing anything fancy, wouldn't a JavaScript variant be better? [E.g. potentially X-platform.]

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

#22

Post by richardw »

A counter-argument from April (they started on Android, 16 months later moved to iOS), with HN discussion:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/06/the-fallacy-of-android-firs...

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7543642

The answer is probably: it depends.

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

#23

Post by wesselkooyman »

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 :)

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

#24

Post by wesselkooyman »

onion2k wrote: post #2

One of the most important things you learn when you're launching a startup is that the product has to match the market, and the market is never "everyone". You don't have that sort of marketing reach on a startup budget. Startups can get the word out through social media (people the founders know), people the founders and investors network with, through startup and early-adopter technology news (TC, HN, BetaList, Pro…

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.

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

#25

Post by krisgenre »

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…

Case by case basis can never be conclusive. SwiftKeyX had a massive success on Android ( waiting to see how it performs on iOS 8).

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

#26

Post by rsynnott »

BugBrother wrote: post #21
rsynnott wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think a lot of this comes down to exactly what you're doing. For instance, if you're doing networking, getting fancy with the camera, or doing even slightly low-level OpenGL stuff, Android's likely to be more painful, especially in terms of testing, and old-version quirks. Fun minor example; before Android 4.3 or so (and only about 25% of Android users are on >=4.3), if, using the default HTTP library, you make a r…

But if you're not doing anything fancy, wouldn't a JavaScript variant be better? [E.g. potentially X-platform.]

I've yet to use a mobile web app (or phonegap thing, etc) which didn't make me want to tear my hair out. I mean, it may be possible to make such a thing, but people generally don't.

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

#27

Post by wesselkooyman »

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…

Hi! I'll give you a specific anecdote. One of our clients, Sensorly, is a crowd sourced mobile coverage map maker. On iOS their life is hell, because Apple doesn't expose the raw network strength and other data they need. I realize that that's not the average app, of course. Their iOS dev time much higher, for much less result.

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

#28

Post by wesselkooyman »

VSpike wrote: post #7

I live in a tech bubble, but I see a pretty even distribution of iOS vs. Android devices. Is this a US versus Europe thing, perhaps? Android phones and tablets seem pretty popular among UK geeks - at least as much as iOS. In fact, I frequently encounter among geeks a sort of snobbery against iOS - "it's eye candy for non-techy consumers". That view is not universal - like I say, it's a mixed picture - but it is signi…

Maybe the Apple worshipping is over its peak! Until recently i lived in Paris, wherever you go in the tech/startup scene, it's an Apple-only world. I would literally sit there surrounded by 20-30 MacBook Air's and be the only non-Apple laptop! Made for lots of weird stares.

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

#29

Post by nb1981 »

chippy wrote: post #17
nb1981 wrote: post #11

I develop for iOS first because I want to. It's the platform I choose to use. I, personally, don't care for Android. The ONLY reason for me to develop for it is money. That's a recipe for shitty work. Does it have to be more complicated than that? If I'm making a mistake, so be it. What do you care?!

Some people would argue that "I" and "What do you care?!" is an example of inward focus, not looking outward towards the user. Such people would say that ethical and good development should improve the overall human condition and that it should help people somehow. Some others would say at least by doing so it should increase profits for the company than being inward focused. I think the article is saying that it is…

Depends on what you want out of your career as a developer; again, personally, I try to make things that I want/need myself because I find doing it the other way (looking for a hole on the market and filling it, for example) doesn't give me what I want. The motivation is all wrong and I get no satisfaction from that kind of success.

The difference, to me, is whether you're focussed on the product or the reward. I try to focus on the product because that's the best long term strategy in my opinion.

"good development should improve the overall human condition" uh - that's a lot of pressure. I just want to make stuff. Not everything we do has to have a goal, a target. Just build.

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

#30

Post by iand »

kelnos wrote: post #8
splattne wrote: post #6

Instagram is a counter-example though.

To what? The author is specifically talking about making money directly from your app, which Instagram didn't do until recently (well after they released an Android version). And even then, it looks like their monetization strategy is to sell what appears to be a very limited number of ads-as-posts.

Did you read the article? It's primary point is that there is more to the numbers than just the revenue earned via app sales because Android allows apps to use external subscription methods. It even cites a Salesforce CRM app as an example of this.
Post reply on HN