Building an app for your business – iOS or Android?

So you’ve read our previous blog about the mobile app business revolution and you’ve decided to build one. You’ve come to the right place! As local Auckland app developers  we have a lot of experience in both platforms and have definite preferences depending on what your NZ app development projects purpose is.

iOS/Android – huh?

Firstly you need to get your head around these two terms. iOS is the operating system that Apple uses and apple has a huge market share. However there are many Android users and this is the system that basically every other make of phone apart from Apple uses. There is still a windows system for windows phones but they have more or less disappeared. You may also remember the first true smartphone – the Blackberry, however we do not recommend bothering with this due to the fact it is almost non existent.

Its all about the audience

The most important question you need to ask yourself is ‘who is the app for?’ If your app is for the general consumer, you may need to build in both. Which is possible but more costly.  However if you are on a budget and you simply can’t afford to do this then it pays to be aware that the Apple app store generates nearly double the amount of sales than the google play market. Users also have a higher average annual income. So you may choose to focus all your efforts on iOS, say if you have produced a game app and it isn’t crucial that all users can download it.

Apps for in house business use

If the goal for your app is to use it within your business then Android is the way to go for many reasons. Apple has a closed ecosystem. Anything built in iOS will be restricted to specific apple devices. This can be very limiting for developing a business app. Apple products are also much higher in cost. So if you are having to outlay a tablet for every employee so they can access your app remotely this will add up fast.

Android uses an open source ecosystem. There are less restrictions to get your app on the android system. In fact it doesn’t even need to be released in the google play store. In most cases you wouldn’t actually want any android user to even be able to download it. If it is specific to your business needs and objectives you may only want your employees to have access to it. All that you will need to do is email the APK to the people you want to be able to download it.

At Applicable we are cross-platform app developers. If you want it then we can build it! However, we will make recommendations to you based on our experience,  what is right for you business app development project. Contact us today if you want to talk about an idea you have in mind.