iOS is 15% of the mobile device market but generates 67% of the app revenue.
There are complaints in this very thread about how shit the software selection is on the Play Store compared with iOS. This is why. Companies that have to, for whatever reason, pick only one platform to start on, usually pick iOS. If they add on Android later, they expect it not to make as much money as the iOS app, so may half-ass the port. In some cases, good apps that have enough revenue to keep them alive on iOS, may judge that an Android port won't be worth the added cost (especially smaller apps—think, one or two developer sorts of operations, they may run the numbers and project only a 20% revenue boost from adding an Android port, which may not be enough to cover the dev, testing, administrative, and support time the platform would require). There's a perception that, basically, Android users won't buy apps (which is... kinda true) and that's why the iOS version of an app might be ad-free and paid, while Android only gets an ad-supported variant—the vendor doesn't think creating and supporting a paid option on Android is worth the extra overhead.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-03/iphone-gr...
While I don't have any links to back the idea up, I suspect that Android's marketshare is somewhat inflated by users who'd normally be using feature phones — these users don't need anything more than the ability to make cell calls and maybe text occasionally, and even the absolute cheapest of cheap Android phones checks those boxes. There's no point in these users buying even a low-midrange Android phone, let alone a flagship or an iPhone. So while these users are technically Android users, they're not really smartphone users.
Also, the difference in rates of usage extends beyond phones. I think I read some of the same reports you did and compared to iPads, Android tablets are much more likely to end up forgotten in a drawer or collecting dust on a shelf. Having a recent low-midrange Android tablet myself (for Android app dev purposes) I would guess that this is at least partially due to how ridiculously low-spec cheap Android tablets are… mine cost almost as much as a refurbished iPad 9th gen on sale but doesn't perform a fraction as well as that model of iPad. Even my old Pixel 3XL runs circles around it.
Apple apps almost never have these problems and are higher quality.
My privacy isn't happy about this.
Apple's ecosystem means that most of the devices are up to date, or close, and because they control the full pipeline, things behave better.
This means that targeting ios is easier (since they'll be on closer versions and behave uniformly) and that because they spend more money, which they have, means that targeting them is easier and more lucrative.
Most are looking to hack. If they're looking to build a botnet, android might be better.
I don't think so? Android devices are much more likely to be vulnerable to well-known exploits. Stealing keys and passwords of course is much easier if your app can get root on the device.
But targeting when there’s less device variances will make it easier, yes.
https://www.globaldata.com/data-insights/technology--media-a...
But why does that matter in this context
That, combined with the App Store restricting spying more than the Play Store does, is why we can't necessarily expect the iOS ecosystem to behave the same way as Android's, were iOS to get similar side-loading capabilities. A common argument goes that nothing will change on iOS, because it hasn't on Android, but the two markets are different enough that I don't find that a strong argument. Maybe it'll turn out to be right, but I don't think it's as much a slam-dunk argument as those advancing it seem to think it is.
How so?
I think American Apple users just don’t realise how insignificant Apple market share is outside the US.
Android was open from the start. Giant like Amazon tried to kick start all stores. What did happen? Nothing.
I think people should stop drinking Apple fear mongering. It’s just aggressive lobbying to protect their cash cow.
- 56% in the US.
- 34% in Europe.
- 18% in Asia.
- 13% in South America. [2]
That all in mind Apple has 85% of the global share of smartphone profits. [1] Many Android players have a negative profit share.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-02-03/iphone-gr...
Anecdotally, most people I know might spend $20/year on App Store purchases (excluding streaming services if they don’t have a desktop computer).
I’ve made well over six figures for a few years and have never spent more than $100 in a year, the vast majority of those purchases for one off games/apps, not iap coins/tokens/etc.
> How so?
What... part of this remains unclear? It's the same incentives that drive iOS-first development choices, with the added wrinkle that the App Store restricts the potential of certain monetization schemes (spying on users) more than the Play Store does. All that means the incentives to distribute apps outside the App Store, or to launch an alt-store, are stronger than on Android.
> I think American Apple users just don’t realise how insignificant Apple market share is outside the US.
I do realize. I think you may be overestimating how much all those Android users spend, and how much their eyeballs (and personal data) are worth to advertisers, compared with iOS users.
> Android was open from the start. Giant like Amazon tried to kick start all stores. What did happen? Nothing.
My entire point is that there are enough differences between the two that we can't assume they'll behave the same.
Whatever the reasons, iOS device owners use their devices a lot more, and spend a lot more money through them, than Android users, on average.
Dark patterns are the same, by any other name. I left MacOS because the squeeze got too rough, and didn't even consider iOS for daily use since it's file syncing options are a clown show. If Apple has reached this market position through unfair or anticompetitive means, I don't see why or how it would stop regulators from ruling in favor of competition.
I mean, hell, Apple goes out of their way to let you know how much you're using the device and where you're spending (or wasting) your time. And they make managing e.g. subscriptions dead easy. Sure seems counterproductive if the secret of their success is dark patterns tricking us into spending more time on the devices, and spending more money.
1) Android hasn't made things as hard for malware vendors as Apple has, and
2) Android's not as lucrative a market as iOS
Those together mean incentives are significantly different, so we might not see the same behavior on iOS as we have on Android, from companies that are upset about not being able to to distribute as-effective malware as they'd prefer. Like Facebook.