Will Android Beat The iOS Soon?

According to International Telecommunication Union, there are more than 1 billion smartphone users worldwide, out of which 92% use either Android or the iOS. This clearly shows that Android and the iOS are the only strong contenders for the market leader’s position in the smartphone space. Windows Mobile, Symbian and BlackBerry are far behind these two in terms of competition. Even Nokia has now decided to develop Android-based smartphones.

But to understand who actually holds the edge – Android or the iOS – let us compare them on different parameters. Incidentally, the success of any product can be analysed based on two key factors. One is the number of products sold and the second is profits earned.

As per the technology research firm Gartner, the iOS devices sold worldwide in FY2013 totalled 150,785.9 thousand, compared to 758,719.9 thousand Android devices. This means the number of Android devices sold was approximately 5 times more than the iOS devices – a clear indicator that Android is undoubtedly the market leader in this respect. Even Apple is fearful of losing ground to Android and hence, launched the iPhone 5C in the last year to achieve a better market penetration. Although 5C is a cheaper version of the iPhone, the launch was quite unsuccessful.

As mentioned above, another important aspect in this race is profits. To analyse this, let us look at the revenues of Samsung Mobiles, the biggest Android device manufacturer in the world with 65% of the total Android market share.

Total revenues of Samsung’s Mobile division in FY2013 stood at 122.72 trillion KRW (approx. $117 billion) and operating profit was 24.96 trillion KRW (approx. $23 billion), which is 32% higher than the previous year. Similarly, Apple’s total sale for the iPhone and the iPad for FY2013 was $123 billion, which is 22% higher than the previous year. However, there is no clear data available regarding its operating profit for the iPhones and the iPads alone.

Now, to judge which one is making more profit, the Android or the iOS, comparing Samsung’s total revenues and profits with Apple’s will be unfair as Samsung’s revenue lines also include other businesses such as white goods, semiconductors, etc., where Apple doesn’t have a presence. Similarly, Apple’s revenues include the earnings through its app store, something which Samsung lacks. However, if we compare the revenues of all Android device manufacturers against the number of iOS devices manufactured, the total revenue for all android devices sold will be definitely more than the iOS. Therefore, in this league, too, Android will emerge as a leader.

Another important statistic that can help us understand the context is the number of downloads at an app store. This is important because it helps us determine the popularity of the two rivals. As mentioned in the App Annie Index, the number of downloads at Google Play exceeded those at the Apple app store by 10% in Q2 2013. This is not surprising as the number of Android devices sold is such a massive one. Although revenue wise, Android app store is 2.3 times behind the iOS app store, this kind of popularity will ensure that the revenue difference will be mitigated soon.

Another field that could reinforce Android’s market lead is mobile advertising. As per Operamedia Networks, Android ad traffic in the first quarter of 2014 was 42.83% while the iOS was able to capture only 38.17%. These facts have given enough reasons to app developers to focus more on the Android device instead of the iPhone. But earlier, the scenario was just the opposite.

Even on the gaming side, bigger companies like Gameloft or EA are now realising the power of Android in terms of attraction and monetisation. Gameloft, creator of the popular Asphalt racing game series, has recently decided that it will simultaneously launch an iOS and an Android version of game. Gonzague de Vallois, head of sales and marketing at Gameloft, said that the company and Apple had discussed swapping exclusivity for promotion, but Gameloft ultimately decided it would launch both the versions simultaneously. “We haven’t found the case where it makes sense for us,” he said. This is the same company that had 161 games for the iPhone, but only 48 Android games in September 2012. This scenario is further strengthened by the findings of a survey, done by Developer Economics in Q1 2014. Out of the 6000-plus mobile developers, 71% chose Android as their primary platform, followed by iOS at 59%.

Understanding the attraction and popularity of Android, even publishers now prefer Android as their first preference for publishing books in the mobile segment. The Black Book for Android Application Development is one such example where the popular Black Book series has decided to print the Android Application Development book ahead of the iOS Black Book. This book is written in such a way that people who don’t have any mobile app development expertise or don’t even know Java, can still develop cutting edge mobility products, which can be easily sold at app stores. More profits can be generated using Google AdWords.

In conclusion, we can say that all these trends clearly indicate that at this point of time, Android is way ahead of the iOS in all respects except revenues. However, considering Android’s current growth rate, even that difference may not exist in the next couple of years.

About the author: Pradeep Kothari has authored Android Application Development Black Book and has about 9 years of experience in architecting mobile solutions and consulting.

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