
Android Will Become The Most Popular App Platform within Months - mtgx
http://www.businessinsider.com/android-will-beat-apple-in-apps-2013-6
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simonh
It looks like soon there will be little to choose between high end Android
devices and the latest iPhones, not just in terms of the devices but also the
ecosystems that support them. That's a good thing. It's hardly a death knell
for Apple though. While Google has been catching up, my entire family has
invested heavily in the Apple ecosystem because for the last 6 years it's been
the best game in town and has served us well. I think a lot of people are in
our position. The opportunity to steal Apple's market from under them has been
lost, and Apple's famous customer satisfaction and retention statistics will
work in their favour.

For me and I suspect for a lot of people in the iOS user base, parity for
Android isn't enough. To switch, it has to be significantly better than what
we already have. Yet there are still plenty of people coming into the
smartphone and mobile computing world for whom Android will suite them fine.
It looks like we're headed for a rare thing in computing - a market in which
two platforms with distinct and complementary advantages and disadvantages,
become roughly equally viable and pervasive. Imagine a 1990s where Apple had
say 40% market share versus Windows, instead of 5%. What a great outcome for
customers!

~~~
revelation
Except the distribution will be more like 20% for Apple and 80% for Android.
The world does not revolve around the US.

~~~
Zigurd
Apple is very likely to bring a less expensive iPhone to market to address
some overseas markets where Android is dominant due to price.

And, while Apple may lose the advantage of having the most remunerative app
market, there is still the fact that Apple takes home most of the profit in
the industry as a whole, and will probably be able to increase both margins
and profits while bringing a cheaper phone to market.

On top of all that, a rising tide is still lifting both Google and Apple, and
there might even be buoyancy left over for some dinghy from Finland and a
couple other OSs.

Any fundamental risk to Apple is years away, possibly so far away that it's
past where some other major shift in the industry will happen.

And now that the Android SDK works with a IDEA-derived IDE, it's less painful
to get up to speed coding for Android. Try it. You might like it.

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loso
This is a related story from Gamasutra about a polling of developers and how
they feel about Android now as far issues with Fragmentation and how much
money they are making with the platform. The overlying consensus seems to be
that Fragmentation isn't much of an issue anymore and iTunes makes more money
but Play is catching up fast.

edit: broken link

[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/192935/revisiting_andr...](http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/192935/revisiting_android.php)

~~~
cygwin98
Your link is broken. Here is the one that works and is print-friendly:

[http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/192935/revisiting_andr...](http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/192935/revisiting_android.php?print=1)

~~~
loso
wow I don't know how that happened. Thanks for the correction.

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callumjones
I don't really understand how this is _news_?

It's basically just spitting out official figures that have been both shared
by Google and Apple and making some observations without any narrative behind
them?

Of course a more popular platform is going to have more application installs,
but that's not important to anyone. What everyone (reporters, analysts,
developers) should care about is the percentage of dollars spent, which is the
market where consumers are willing to spend to most on mobile apps?

The BBC and BSkyB aren't credible sources for proof that Android is important
to developers, they make free apps that rely on an existing business. What we
should be talking about is platforms that will create healthy businesses.

~~~
smackfu
Developers and financial analysts should care where the money is spent and
profits are made, but I'm not sure anyone else should care.

~~~
threeseed
Consumers should care. Because the platform that makes developers the most
money is the one they are going to spend the most time on.

Hence more features, better quality experience etc.

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cryptokill
These numbers are amazing, both platforms have done much to improve access to
information

~~~
pekk
We had the same access to information with the web years ago.

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melling
Now if someone could convince Google to turn it into a desktop solution. Just
add keyboard, mouse and 30" monitor. Would asking for all of them to be
wireless be asking too much? :-)

In the end we only need one device that's a little more flexible.

~~~
blindhippo
Out of curiosity, is anyone developing wireless display technology? We have
wireless keyboards/mice and sound - seems the only blocker to what you suggest
is wireless monitors.

~~~
vidarh
Yes, there are a number of products on the market. Search for "wireless HDMI".
These products are not _actually_ wireless HDMI, though (there's no wireless
standard licensed to use the HDMI name).

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steven777400
From a user perspective, I appreciate the choice that two distinct platforms
with different goals offer.

Apple is clearly the "high end" platform: the devices are often considerably
more expensive, and thus likely to be purchased by users with more disposable
income, which implies they might be more willing/able to spend money on apps.

I personally prefer Android systems because phones/tablets are not worth much
to me and I'm not willing to pay much. I bought my smartphone (no contract)
for $50 (about the max I'd be willing to spend), and my tablet for $200 (also
about the max I'd be willing to spend). If an app has a price-tag, I'm usually
not interested. (Ads are ok, though).

So in that sense, I'm an ideal/average Android user. I didn't buy my devices
to use apps, I bought them for cheap network connectivity on the go.

Apple users have a more app-centered model which leads to higher revenues.
It's no surprise to me that app developers focus on Apple, and that's fine
with me. My co-workers are always showing me the latest app they bought on
their latest iPhone or iPad. When their equipment breaks, they expect (and
indeed do) have it serviced. (If my equipment breaks, I'll throw it away and
buy something similar; I have no expectation of service). They're the ideal
Apple consumer.

~~~
guywithabike
"the devices are often considerably more expensive"

iOS devices cost $0-$199 on contract, the same as the most popular Android
devices.

~~~
Pxtl
the plethora of cheaper Android devices becomes important in countries where
the weird American contract-term business model isn't allowed.

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trotsky
How could the installed base for ios be 83 apps per device? Out of 8 or 10
mobile devices I doubt I've ever installed that many apps on any one of them.
Would that be doing something like counting the same app multiple times if you
wipe and reinstall? Seems like a hard metric to believe otherwise, that's
what, ~165 apps per device for each one acting as an offset for the devices
that don't get any 3rd party apps installed on them?

~~~
awj
Simple: people that aren't you install a lot of apps. I have about fifty after
some heavy duty pruning, and I'm a lot less likely to just go buy apps than
many of my friends.

~~~
trotsky
It wasn't very long ago at all that there was an upper bound of (16x5) = 90 -
~10 pre installed = maximum upper bound of 80 or so apps on ios? And yet now
the average number of installed apps for ios's lifetime is higher than that?

Or maybe it's because it's asymco's numbers.

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shadesandcolour
The fact that the BBC's new strategy is to deliver apps for both platforms at
the same time really says something in my opinion. Developers are just now
starting to decide that Android is worth it. Not a huge endorsement if you ask
me. Android will probably see more installs in the long run but I don't know
if they will really be quality.

~~~
mtrimpe
I'd say the phone industry is starting to approximate the fashion industry,
with Apple targeting the high-end designer market and Android the cheaper but
much larger mass-market segment.

~~~
mitchty
It really doesn't fit though, if you'll pardon the pun. I see a lot of people
investing in ipads that never touch fashion. So while it fits for a certain
definition, I don't think it accurately portrays the industry mainly because
in fashion you don't really have a singular Apple.

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programminggeek
I think this is a bad way to look at business.

What is the platform where your business makes money? That's the one to care
about.

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w1ntermute
Take a look at the Gamasutra feature linked above. You might be surprised.

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egypturnash
Is this the new "next year will be the year of the Linux desktop"?

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smrtinsert
And there is still no official Android PC dist.

