Android Market vs iPhone App Store

Written by: Wendy Finn • Edited by: Simon Hill
Updated May 18, 2011 • Related Guides: Android | App Store | iPhone App Store

Ever wondered who is best out of Android Market and the iPhone App Store? We approach this question based on various parameters, from the point of view of the developer as well as the user.

Android Market vs iPhone Appstore

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Google and Apple are the two major heavyweights battling it out in the mobile arena. Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 is becoming a popular option, but they are still trying to gain ground on the big boys. Palm and Nokia (Symbian) seem to be clueless about what to do next. BlackBerry has its own marketplace (BlackBerry App World) but that seems to be nowhere when compared with the Android App Store (Android Market) or the iPhone App Store.

So, let's compare the Android Market and the iPhone App Store in a number of ways to try and assess which is best, both from the point of view of the developer and the user.

Development

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Both Android and iPhone platforms have excellent resources for developers. Android provides the Android SDK for free - as well as basic Android development tutorials.

Apple needs you to sign up to the iPhone Developer program for a fee of $99 per year in order to download the iPhone SDK and access developer resources. Besides these, there are multiple online forums for both the platforms and various development guide books available.

Also, Android uses a Java based programming language whereas iPhone (iOS) uses Objective C with the Cocoa Touch API. Both of them provide excellent testing and debugging tools and allow you to easily publish the applications to the respective stores.

Developer Fees

Google charges a one time fee of $25 to sign up as an Android developer and upload applications to the Android Market. On the other hand, Apple charges $99 to sign up as an iPhone developer and allows you to upload applications to the App Store after a review process. Also, both of them take a 30% cut on all application sales.

Size

Apple's iPhone App Store is much larger in size than the Android Market - or at least that is true at the time of writing. It houses more than 350,000 applications and games, while it was reported in Business Insider in March 2011, that the Android Market has hit the 250,000+ mark. However, the gap is closing, as in October of 2010, figures put Apple 185,000 apps to the good, over Android, compared to just 100K now.

Finding Apps

Application discovery is a big problem in both the platforms. As there are too many applications in the iPhone App Store, getting your application noticed after publishing it is a huge problem, and may need a huge advertising budget. One of the best ways to get it noticed is to get it in one of the "Top Apps" list. However, the Appstore can also be accessed through iTunes which makes it easier for the users to search and find the applications they need. Also there are various websites which maintain a library of iPhone apps with user reviews.

Visibility in the Android Market is better than the App Store, primarily because there are less applications in it. However, Android Market is not as user friendly as the iPhone App Store, nor does it have a desktop client which makes the application discovery process a bit more complicated (it has improved with the recent updates to their website).

Payments and Refunds

Payments on the iPhone App Store are handled via your iTunes account which is linked directly to your credit card. The payment system is easy and allows you to purchase apps easily via the App Store app or the iTunes interface. Payments on the Android Market are handled via Google Checkout which is nowhere near the iTunes system in terms of usability or convenience. Android has made steps at improving their payment system overall, recently announcing the launch of an in-app payment system to upgrade games etc. without the need to go back to the Market.

Also one major difference between the Android Market and the iPhone App Store is refunds. Android allows you to try out an application and then uninstall it to obtain a refund, whereas the iPhone App Store doesn't allow that. Android Market's policy is much better for the user in this respect, although at the end of 2010, they did alter their app return policy, reducing the return period to a more unhelpful 15 minutes, from the previous 24 hours, so you have to be quick. It still means you can (quickly) try out new applications, whereas the App Store's policy results in greater sales, enabling more revenue for the developer.

Open vs Closed System

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This has been a major issue for Apple bashers. The iPhone App Store is a completely closed system controlled by Apple. Once you submit your application to the iPhone App Store, there is no guarantee that it will be published. Apple has been known to reject applications on flimsy issues and whimsical grounds. Common reasons to get rejected are if your application mimics the core OS functionality, does not perform well, is vulgar etc.

The Android Market, on the other hand, has a very open policy; they allow almost all applications that are submitted unless they infringe on some copyright etc. Android also allows pornographic apps, while Apple has purged the iPhone App Store - that may be a major concern for many users.

However, the quality of the applications increases when the approval process gets tougher, which many think leads to much better applications on the App Store.

Fragmentation

Fragmentation has been a major concern for Android developers in the past. Android has a growing number of OS versions from 1.0,

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to the recent 2.3 Gingerbread (3.0 if we're including the tablet OS), and an ever increasing number of devices running them. The more recent good news for developers though is that 2.2 has become the most popular, and when coupled with 2.1 makes for 90% of current users.

As an Android developer there is more concern about supporting older Android OS versions, with each having different display resolutions, different hardware specifications, etc. which leads to application incompatibility. If you are an Android developer, you also have to worry about supporting devices without cameras, devices with or without physical keyboards, devices with varying display resolutions and the UI element orientation on each of them. Android developers have to keep upgrading their apps to make sure they work with every new device and OS release. This leads to an inconsistent user experience. This was one of the reasons which led to the eventual death of J2ME.

The iPhone on the other hand has only four phone devices to support -- iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 -- and 4 major OS releases. All devices are backward compatible and support similar resolutions except the iPhone 4. They have similar hardware and thus offer a much better user experience across the board.

Conclusion

So what's the verdict in the App Store vs Android Market showdown? As we can see, both the Android Market and the iPhone App Store have their pros and cons. In a recent forecast report by Gartner, the outlook for Android was decidedly positive, as they predicted Android would account for 49.2 percent of the market share by the end of 2012, versus Apple's iOS predicted share of 18.9 at the end of the same year.

However, both are great platforms for developers. If you are an application developer, then at the moment your revenue is likely to be higher with Apple apps. In the future though, you need to keep at least one eye on the great expansion that Android is surely set to achieve with their greater number of devices, and higher market share, in relation to Apple.

References

App Store Features, http://www.apple.com/iphone/features/app-store.html
Android Market in App Payments, http://www.businessinsider.com/android-market-in-app-payments-2011-3
Returning apps, https://market.android.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=134336
Gartner Forecast Analysis: http://my.gartner.com/portal/server.pt?open=512&objID=260&mode=2&PageID=3460702&resId=1634717&ref=QuickSearch&sthkw=Android+to+become+the+most+popular+OS+by+2012

Image Credits

http://www.apple.com/iphone/gallery/
http://www.htc.com/uk/product/desirez/domore.html

Ghadah AlMalki Dec 27, 2011 11:25 AM

RE: Android Market vs iPhone App Store

thank you very helpfull information

android developer Dec 16, 2011 12:23 PM

Both Android and iPhone platforms have excellent resources for <br>developers. Android provides the Android SDK<br> for free - as well as basic Android development tutorials.

Mr Choudhary Dec 6, 2011 1:34 PM

It is great review of both technologies. It would help into understanding both markets for developers.

android app development Sep 22, 2011 2:51 AM

android development

I completely agree with you. Great post

Wendy Finn May 5, 2011 11:23 AM

Article updated

Many thanks for all the comments. This article was revised and updated in May 2011, taking into account many of the great points that were raised in this comments area. Thanks for taking the time, and please keep those comments coming!

Anonymous Apr 3, 2011 7:31 AM

"The iPhone on the other hand has only 5 versions - iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4 and 4 major OS releases"

Lets count those iPhone - 1, iPhone 3G - 2, 3GS - 3, iPhone 4 - 4 & 4 major OS release, that brings us up to 8.

Since when can you bundle the OS release into one?

Joseph Mar 22, 2011 3:41 PM

Solid point

@Didier That is a very good point. I would have to buy a $2 app that tells me the snow report at my favorite resort because I can't view the flash site on my iTouch.
I think iDevice users have fallen in love with their apps and Android developers now have to create a huge app store to compete because (apparently) quantity of apps is all that matters.
Another thought...
Think Apple would approve "1001 Ways To Destroy my iPhone" app?
1. Drop it 12" from the ground.

Didier Feb 16, 2011 10:18 PM

number of apps is not the issue

Of course, Apple will probably always have more apps in their store. The simple reason is that many sites that sell stuff use Flash, so you cannot use them on an Apple device, an app is the only way.

Android has Flash, so there is no need for apps to sell stuff on an Android phone, you just go to the web site.

Funny that everybody assumes you have to have an app to sell something. That may be true for Apple only. How do I buy stuff on my computer? I just use my web browser...

Scott Deagan Dec 8, 2010 7:28 PM

Johnnie is nasty and mean

@Johnnie - WTF? I give an account of my personal experience that I believe is relevant to this post, and you insinuate that I'm some kind of man-w.h.o.r.e?

"Your lack of adaptibility, lack of responsibility as a developer and fear of unfamiliarity compells you to justify hating android as a means to avoid it."

How do you come to the conclusion that I "hate" Android? For your information, I have three Android handsets and have pre-ordered a Nexus S. I'm still coding for Android (even though I hate Java and am severely frustrated with the Android UI and browser choppiness and jerkiness caused by low refresh rates and absence of GPU rendered UI - hoping this will be fixed in 2.3).

"Argument based on sales is stupid"? Dude - fiscal returns is what it's all about!!

"When one goes to install an android app, it shows the permissions that the app is requesting.

When one goes to install an android app, it shows the permissions that the app is requesting.

I can't go on. You hurt my feelings. I would suggest you install and use a spell checker if your browser supports it.

Johnnie Oct 25, 2010 6:36 PM

scott degan is wrong

1 - there are more iDevice users than android, which means more sales because there are more customers. So an argument based on sales is stupid.

2 - If apple really cared about quality, there wouldnt be the thousands of useless apps. The false perception of quality comes out of the fact that its safe to develop for a platform that runs on only one device or closely related devices. Android apps can be and often are at the same level of quality as apple's, theres simply not the same room for laziness on the dev's part as there is wih iOS development.

3 - freetards? Thats a very intellectual term. On behalf of Android and google, I appologize that the Android market is not as safe and cozy as Apple's. Your inability to adapt and lack of bussiness savviness should definantly be taken into account.

4 - Melicious apps? When one goes to install an android app, it shows the permissions that the app is requesting. Apple doesnt do this. We are left leaving our trust completley to apple.

Your lack of adaptibility, lack of responsibility as a developer and fear of unfamiliarity compells you to justify hating android as a means to avoid it.

Lastly, if you are a "moneytard" i can easily see you selling your body if it made you more money than app development

Mark Oct 7, 2010 3:33 AM

iOS devices

You forgot to mention the various versions of the iPod Touch and the iPad.

Scott Degan Sep 17, 2010 10:29 AM

Disagree with conclusion

I strongly disagree with your conclusion. There is a way to judge which one is better if you are a developer - it's the one that will give you the most returns. This is, hands down, Apple's App Store. Many companies have dropped support for Android because (in short) it's full of "freetards". In the world of Apple, quality app are recognised and well rewarded (financially).

Also, the Android development tools are flakey and buggy. Simple things like the "gen" folder bug - you have to delete it and then create it by hand (how the hell are you supposed to know this?).

I work for a company that has released identical OpenGL-ES apps on both Android and iPhone. iPhone sales out-perform Android at 400 to 1. We get 400 App Store sales to every one Android Market sale.

Also from a developer's point of view - Apple don't let "rubbish spam apps" onto their store. This is a major problem in the Android Market place. You release an app, and there's some mofo who will release 10 or so versions of "sexy Chinese girl" puzzles not long after which will ensure your app is not visible in the "just released" section.

While Android and the Android Market Place is good in theory, the reality is it's poorly managed and simply doesn't work. If you want to make money, Apple's App Store is a much smarter choice. I should point out, however, that it's encouraging to see major titles being ported over to Android - like Angry Birds for example. Nevertheless, unless Google cleans up its act, the Android Market Place will be nothing more than a playing field for poor quality "spam" and malicious apps, and the number one shopping ground choice of the "free-tard".

Wello Jun 25, 2010 4:04 PM

Fragmentation isn't as bad as everybody think. The major versions are:
1.5 - 24.6%
1.6 - 25%
2.1 - 50%
and minor versions - 0.4%

If you actually future-proof your apps and properly develop against the API, your application will work on most devices (!0.4%).
Screen size is not a problem, because it's automatically handled by the SDK (a lot of developers don't care nor know about this).
The hardware differentiation is supported by Android since you can specify on which hardware your application may be installed. A good thing to include is some options for different controls like a trackball or an accelerometer in a game for example.

Android Market vs iPhone App Store