If you’re a startup owner or a small-to-medium business owner who is trying to decide whether to focus on iOS or Android app development, you’re not alone. Many entrepreneurs face this dilemma.
A mobile app platform can influence the overall cost of development. Also, it can help you reach more customers and boost sales by turning users into buyers. But how do you choose which platform you should prioritize – iOS or Android?
In this article, we’ll break down the key differences between Android vs iOS development in terms of market share, features, and development environments to help you make the best choice.
What is iOS App Development?
The process of developing mobile apps for Apple devices such as iPhone and iPad, is iOS app development. This development process utilizes the tech stack Swift and Objective-C for coding and tools such as Xcode and iOS SDK.
iOS development comes with benefits like timely OS updates, ease of use, sharing compatibility, app store access, and a dedicated user base. Additionally, privacy and security services are key factors for which iOS is known.
What is Android App Development?
The process of developing an app for devices that run on the Android OS is known as Android app development. The tech stack used in Android app development is Java, Kotlin, JavaScript, and C++.
Developed by Google, Android app development for smartphones or tablets, leads the mobile OS industry.
Differences Between iOS and Android App Development
While comparing Android vs iOS development, you have to consider multiple factors like user perspective, market share, device performance, usability, popularity, scalability, and user-friendliness.
Contrary to this, the mobile app development team considers Android vs iOS development and which platform your mobile app will go for.
However, both operating systems provide intuitive user experiences and also follow similar architecture. Let’s explore Android vs iOS app development in detail to help you meet your business goals.
1. Programming Languages—Android vs iOS Development
The most important difference between iOS and Android is the choice of tech stack. The programming languages you select are a critical stage, as they decide your app’s performance and user experience. It also impacts the number of your DAU (daily active users).
Here are the programming languages used for Android app development.
Java programming language is the core of Android development; Java is more stable and provides good community support. Also, the security makes it a better choice for enterprise software.
While comparing Java vs Kotlin, Kotlin is designed to be concise and expressive. Several programming languages repeat codes at multiple places with no variation, and Kotlin reduces that to improve readability. However, you can leverage existing Java libraries and frameworks with Kotlin features.
Here are the programming languages used for iOS app development..
As the first language for iOS development, Objective-C is more stable and provides better community support. While choosing between Swift and Objective-C, complex syntax is a major drawback for Objective-C.
Designed by Apple, Swift is a perfect choice for iOS app development services. This programming language is known for its clean and modern syntax. That is the reason coding in Swift requires less time in development.
2. Development Environment – Android vs iOS Development
It is referred to as the real-time environment while developing an app such as code editors, debuggers, and project management. Considering Android vs iOS app development, both follow different IDEs (integrated development environment), which is a software package that contains all the tools that required for development.
Android Development Environment
While in the development phase, the team utilizes Android Studio, an IDE introduced by Google. Android Studio is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux, which provides good hardware flexibility. This flexibility makes the process of hire Android developers easy. Android Studio offers a code editor, debugging, and performance analysis.
iOS Development Environment
iOS development relies on the Xcode tool, an Apple-backed solution. The Xcode tool offers a variety of bug-fixing tools that support the entire range of iOS devices. Additionally, it provides a code editor, debugger, and interface builder with drag-and-drop elements.
However, Xcode is available only on macOS, which reduces the flexibility of this tool in terms of hardware.
3. Market Share – Android vs iOS Development
If you want to build iOS and Android apps, you need to understand the market share of both platforms.
Android holds 71.88% of the market for app development, and iOS holds only 27.65% of the market share. You can target 99.53% of the market with both app platforms.
However, Android app trends cover most of the market, but iOS apps can give you more in-app purchases. This is because iOS is destined for the premium market segment.
4. Design – Android vs iOS Development
A clean and intuitive layout design can be a game changer for your app. As both the platform and they follow their primary navigation design, you can go for a mobile app design service.
| Aspect | Android | iOS |
|---|---|---|
| Design Language | Material Design | Human Interface Guidelines (HIG) |
| Navigation | Bottom navigation bar, hamburger menu common | Tab bar is more common; swipe gestures encouraged |
| Back Navigation | Back button (hardware/software) | No hardware back button; uses navigation controllers |
| Typography | Roboto font | San Francisco font |
| Icons & UI Elements | More customizable, often rectangular with shadows | More uniform, rounded, and minimalistic |
5. Return on Investment (ROI) – Android vs iOS App Development
While exploring the difference between iOS and Android development, the biggest concern for you is how much it costs to build an app and ROI. Mostly, Android development costs you less, as there are many tools available, and hardware flexibility helps the developers.
On the contrary, iOS apps cost you more because of the requirement of premium and expensive Mac-based hardware and strict guidelines. But what about the return?
As iOS apps dominate the in-app purchases, in terms of mobile games, Android attributes 42% of their earnings to in-app mobile purchases.
So, if you are planning to get your customers to make in-app purchases, you need to do in-app marketing to show the real potential of the app.
The pros and cons of Android app development
Now that we’ve covered the Android app vs iOS app, let’s dive into the pros and cons of Android development. As expected, everything comes down to Android’s open approach to building apps.
Pros:
Cons:
The pros and cons of iOS app development
Let’s explore the pros and cons of iOS app development. Unlike Android, iOS focuses on standardization, which brings its own set of pros and cons.
Pros:
Cons:
Which Platform Should You Consider First?
After exploring Android vs iOS development, including pros and cons, the question now comes: which platform will be suitable for your business goals?
This depends on multiple factors like the target audience, requirements of the project, budget, revenue goals, and required functionalities. Considering the latest scenario, some service-based apps offer slightly different pricing or features across Android and iOS. This happens due to platform-specific policies, user behavior, and app store commission structures.
Same capsicum, same vendor, same location and same time. On Zepto.
On android price- Rs 21
On iPhone price- Rs 107What is Zepto engineers smoking lol pic.twitter.com/UQBKBjy21g
— Shark (@fintech_shark) January 24, 2025
So if you’re aiming for broad reach and price-sensitive users, Android may be ideal. For premium offerings and higher-paying users, iOS could be the better fit. Go for hybrid app development if you plan to cover the complete app market.
Why Choose Excellent Webworld for Expert iOS and Android App Development?
The above article should have helped you understand Android vs iOS development and what the pros and cons are. However, one critical aspect of this process is understanding the nuances of the app development. Excellent Webworld is an experienced software development company with domain expertise.
We have over 13 years of experience providing software development services for various industries. Our team of experts has successfully built iOS and Android apps that integrate advanced AI and AR/VR technologies. With more than 900 successful projects, our experts have catered to different client needs in app development.
We are a leading online mobile app development company that offers end-to-end development and integration for AI practices. Contact us now to learn more about our solutions.
FAQs – Android vs iOS Development
Android apps dominate more than 70% of the marketplace, but in terms of profit, iOS apps are more profitable with in-app purchases. Because of open-source, pirating the app is easy, which affects the profit.
Both platforms promise a great future with AI integration, personalization, and building ecosystems. However, Android’s focus on market dominance and iOS’s premium focus will continue.
The difference between iOS and Android development processes, such as programming languages, device fragmentation environments, and submission.
Considering the user base, Android holds 71.88% of the market for app development, and iOS holds only 27.65% of the market share.
App development for iOS and Android comes with different security standards. Both platforms are secure, but because of the closed ecosystem, iOS development is more secure.
Article By
Mayur Panchal is the CTO of Excellent Webworld. With his skills and expertise, He stays updated with industry trends and utilizes his technical expertise to address problems faced by entrepreneurs and startup owners.
