
Ask HN: Would you develop Android or iOS first? - dmfjfj
In 2019, which mobile platform would you developer first if you have to choose one?<p>Android takes longer to develop but has more market share.<p>iOS is easier to develop and users are willing to spend money.
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thecupisblue
>Android takes longer to develop

>iOS is easier to develop

These are old myths. Yes, in some cases iOS has an easier time, in other
cases, it's a PITA. Where you have IntelliJ editor and gradle build system on
android, you have XCode and uhhhh whatever they call that system.

I find Android is easier to develop if you have general development
skills/knowledge, while iOS requires more iOS specific skills and knowledge.

But, to get to your question, the answer is the most common one: it depends.

What is the app? Who is your target audience? Where is your target audience?
What's your funding/features/monetisation/timeline like? Where are you located
and where are you going to hire? Why not try Flutter?

Sometimes it might seem "Oh yeah iOS user spend more and is easier to develop"
but then you end up on a wild goose chase for skilled iOS developers who won't
turn your codebase into trash and then dealing with apple's ecosystem
regarding testing, purchases, releasing and all that comes with it. But
similar problems can come up with Android too so in the end it just really
depends on the answer to above questions.

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tcbasche
I really like React Native for speed; I think getting it started for either
Android or iOS is fairly similar. The latest version also has better
performance than previous iterations, as well as the dev-friendly stuff like
hot-reloading of components.

I guess it just depends on what phones you have handy to test!

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beatgammit
I think that depends on what you're building. If it's something that can work
as a website, do that and perhaps throw it in a web view or whatever on your
target platforms if you really need mobile exposure.

I really like React Native, but it's not the right solution for everything.
I've heard Flutter is pretty nice too, so consider your options for cross
platform development if it's a good fit for your app. That being said, neither
is a very good for for complex apps like games.

If I have to make a separate app for both platforms, I'd do whatever I use for
my personal device first so I can make sure I can easily test it in real world
usage. Once the idea is proven and you have real users, expand to the other
platform and step up your marketing game.

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perilunar
Neither. I'd build a responsive web app first and make sure it works on all
devices. I'd only build for iOS or Android if the web app gets traction.

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wirddin
Adding to lm28469's answer:

Depends on the user base as well. Which users are likely to use the app and
you're able to retain easily.

Another factor is how well you / developer knows the platform. For example, if
you have always been writing React Native apps, then you can do RN but focus
only either iOS / Android app. That way you can give one platform your 100%
and then quickly launch to the other platform with lesser work.

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udayrddy
You probably want to check the portion of target users. Suppose, in India,
([https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-
share/mobile/india](https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/mobile/india))
Android has biggest market share over 85% which absolutely makes sense to put
more investment on it rather than any other.

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lm28469
Depends on the app, if I can use one of these multiplatform framework thingy
and make it work for both platforms with minimal impact on perf I'd go for
that.

If it's a paid app aimed at a "professional" market I'd go for ios as, if I
recall correctly, ios users are more inclined to spend money on an app than
android ones.

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srijanshetty
We were faced with the same dilemma. Even with a cross platform framework like
React Native, you have to make a decision about which platform to target
first.

Considering the demographics of India, and our limited development team (a
single founder), we decided to focus our efforts on Android.

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dafzthomas
Personally iOS due to it being my platform of choice. SwiftUI seems killer to
work with!

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ghettolabs
Do both with flutter.

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Undomyr
iOS, for sure. Although the market share is smaller, I like that the quality
control is much stricter.

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dyeje
Both with something cross platform.

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tweetious
depends. I prefer Android (although more difficult to develop)

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krislaw
yes, because that's open source aka linux

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klanklab
Ios

