One of the best things about an iPhone and Android platform is their easy accessibility. Developers can easily start application development with these platforms by considering few important factors. Android and iOS applications can be easily distributed to the users. But, in terms of business perspective, Android and iOS is kind of rivalry in app development market.
Both platforms have created a strong dominance in the smartphone market all across the globe. But iOS appeared first in application development market. Before Android and Play Store, Apple’s App Store has provided a lot of remarkable applications for their smartphone users. But as soon as Android stepped into the mobile market, it became a strong competitor of iOS application. The way Android has improved its productivity in recent few years is simply astonishing.
It is a tough choice for mobile application development companies to select iOS or Android platform. As the selection depends on various factors such as user requirements, reliability, scope, market situations etc. Android and iPhone application development services are defining a new set of rules in the market. So whenever things come to application development, developers need to consider some important aspects before choosing Android or iPhone for their projects. Because both platforms follow separate coding environment, methods, tools, and SDKs.
Following are some elements that make Android and iOS development distinct from each other:
Development:
Whenever developers decide to choose either Android or iOS, a lot of documentation work and support is required. The documentation work involves a collection of user requirements, specification, and planning. But at the same time, numerous development options are available for the application development.
iPhone applications are developed using XCode IDE with the help of iOS SDK. Objective-C and Swift are two major programming languages used to code iOS applications. XCode is compatible with both of these languages.
Today, many developers prefer Swift over Objective-C for iOS application development. Though Swift is based on Objective-C fundamentals, it is more concise and less error-prone. Swift works with Cocoa Touch API to develop UI elements for iOS applications. Swift has also eliminated most of the coding conventions to make application coding simpler and faster.
The Android application development process is not much different that of iOS. Android uses Android Studio along with Android SDK. Despite of using two different languages, Android uses Java for application development. Java inherits different fundamentals of C/C++ language. Android development uses IDEs such as NetBeans and Eclipse. Use of Java language makes Android app development robust, simple and efficient.
Android and iOS development platforms have their own advantages and limitations. Thus developers should decide the right platform as per the project requirements. Or developers can simply choose cross-platform mobile application development. Frameworks like PhoneGap, Ionic, Xamarin are a suitable choice for hybrid mobile applications.
Design:
Developers can reuse the source code to develop the application for different platforms. For example Ionic and Xamarin frameworks. Developers can use Android application logic to design brand new iOS application. But, developers can not reuse the UI design components as there is a huge difference in UI elements of Android and iOS applications. Thus one can not take the iOS application and simply put it into Android platform. Developers should have to deal with numerous UI design considerations.
Identical to Android, iOS also started using flatter UI design rather than skeuomorphic shadows. iOS designs are less clearly defined as it involves large images, transitions, and numerous translucent elements. In terms of iOS navigation, the back button on the upper left corner can be a little bit difficult as Android devices have it lower left corner which is easy to access.
Fragmentation
An application that developers create will always be defined to some hardware consideration. Fragmentation matters most when it comes to hardware support. Developing one Android or iOS application means developing for countless devices. The fragmentation terms include compatibility of application in terms of different screen sizes, aspect ratios, Dot Per Inches (DPIs).
The release of new OS version can also cause problems in fragmentation issue. As developers need to create responsive UI designs according to version using Xcode or Android Studio. Adding new features in the application become more challenging for iOS and Android developers during the fragmentation.
Fortunately, there are some amazing advantages of fragmentation. As fragmentation improves the hardware compatibility, developers are able to run OS by including wearables like VR (Virtual Reality) gear, TVs, and in-car navitainment systems. In such cases, both platforms will find new opportunities and market.
Application Deployment
It is comparatively easy to deploy Android applications in Play Store. Developers just need to sign in and upload the application APK. It will take few hours to process the request to make application live. It costs developers $25 to deploy the application and once the app becomes active, users can immediately
download it.
On the other hand, iPhone application development services need to pay $99 annual recurring fee to submit the application in App Store. Also, Apple has strict application deployment policies as it will take a couple of days to become application live in App Store.
Conclusion
The choice of application development platform completely relies on features, reliability and ease of use. Basically, both platforms are equally good and with their own benefits. A detailed study and well-planned strategies should be made before starting development with these highly popular application development platforms.
Ritesh
