Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2012 by James Forestier in News

Android Preferred Over iOS by Developers, survey finds

According to the latest survey by technology analyst firm Ovum, Android has emerged as the preferred platform by app developers. While iOS remains an important platform for developers, Android increasing market share along with the ease of entering the Android Market have pushed Android into it’s lead position.

While Android has made strong gains against the iPhone in the United States, global Android sales are even stronger, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. This amazing growth has shown developers that if they want to get their app out there then Android is going to be their platform of choice. Additionally, the ease of getting apps approved and placed into the market for sale has proven attractive.

Dealing with the iTunes market is one of the biggest complaints that developers have had about developing apps for the iOS platform. It can take weeks for an app to get approved and if, for some reason it is rejected, it can be very difficult to ascertain why that happened. Contrary to this, it is easy to get apps placed into the Android Market.

On iOS, if there is a bug found in your app it can take a very long time for the developer to follow up on it because they once again have to go through Apple’s draconian approval process. The Android Market allows for much quicker turn around and I have seen developers respond to customer complaints with a new version within hours of the problem being isolated.

This has lead to a shift in developer focus. Big apps used to be released onto iOS with an Android port following later, but Android’s quicker development cycle has proven enticing to developers and more and more apps are being released on Android and then ported to iOS after the kinks have been worked out of it.

Android’s open ecosystem has made it easier for developers to enter the platform and it has the market share to make it attractive financially. For these reasons, it is no surprised that Android has replaced iOS as the preferred platform by app developers.

Via: smartstartup.com

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James Forestier

Sr Editor at Android Does

James is a former military man living in PA. He has been an Android fan since the OG Droid days. He likes to tinker with his phone and always has something funny to say. You can find some of his great work on the site which range from news articles to in depth app and game reviews.