You are a business owner who wants to get a mobile app for his business. There are a lot of things you should decide on before you can get your mobile app such as which platform you want to develop your app for, which app development agency you should choose, which process you should follow and what type of app you should go for to name just a few.

If you are confused about which app development platform you should choose, then you are at the right place. In this article, you will learn about seven reasons why you should choose android as your app development platform.

Lower Development Cost

One of the most important considerations in mobile app development is cost. That is where android has a slight edge over its competitors. Not only are the apps cheaper for users but the cost of Play store subscription is also affordable for developers.

What’s more, you will have to pay the $25 subscription fee oncc. If you compare that with iOS$99 yearly subscription fee, you will realize that it is four times more expensive than android. Even worse, you have to pay that subscription fee every year.

To top it all off, android is free and open source. This means that everything from learning resources to tools is cheaper or free. If you are on a shoe string budget but want to get a mobile application for your business then, android is your best bet.

Large User Base

With android operating system installed on billions of devices already, you can tap into a massive user base of millions of users if you decide to develop an app for android. If you are a small or mid size business, you might be aware of how difficult it is to reach out to thousands of people let alone millions of them. With an android app, you can easily do that. You can extend your reach and attract hundreds of thousands of users by presenting your products and services. With an android app, your business can stay in the pocket of your buyers and they can purchase products from you anytime, even when they are on the move.

Market Share

Android has long dominated the mobile operating system space. Famous for its market share in the mobile space, Android enjoys almost 90% market share in the smartphone market. The closest competitor is iOS that has a market share of around 7%. This means that there are more devices running android than any other mobile operating system in the world. This makes android app a lucrative proposition for business around the world. Having an android give you access to millions of users located in different regions of the world.

Install Apps From Any Source

While Apple closed ecosystem will restrict you to download content, apps from its own store, android takes a different route and give users liberty to install apps from any source they want apart from the Google Play store. This means that even if your mobile app could not make its way to Google Play store for any reason, you can still make it available through other channels and get hundreds of downloads.

Even though, most android users still download apps from Play store but having such an option is handy nonetheless. Android is a fragmented platform which means that its user base is scattered across different versions. This means that you should make your app compatible with older android versions to get your app in front of more people.

Wide Range of Hardware

Another shortcoming of Apple devices is the limited hardware. When you choose iOS for app development, you are restricted to a handful of devices and particular hardware that these Apple devices share. Fortunately, that is not the case with android. When you develop an android app, you can make it run on wide range of devices containing different hardware and produced by different mobile manufacturers. This means that your app could be installed on a $300 phone and it can also be installed on a $1000 phone. You wont find this type of hardware versatility in iOS.

Optimizations

One area where Apple’s mobile operating systemenjoys a clear edge over android in the past is optimizations. Apple’s hardware-software integration was nothing short of impressive. Despite having an inferior hardware, Apple devices run apps more smoothly than android. This is not the case anymore as android has caught up with Apple in responsiveness and optimizations. This means that you can now enjoy same buttery smooth responsiveness that you used to see on Apple devices, especially if you have the newer version of the operating system installed on your device.

Customization Options

With android being an open source platform, it is obvious who the clear winner is when it comes to customization. Android let you tinker with every element of operating system and apps and give you more liberty to change things according to your taste as compared to iOS. Apple restrict users and only allow them to change a handful of settings and stuff. If customization is your priority then, open source android will appeal more to your taste.

Conclusion

Android offers distinct advantages over other mobile platform in terms of costs, customization options and massive user base. If one or more of these are your priority then you should definitely choose android as your preferred mobile app development platform. The ability to install apps from any source and liberty to play with variety of hardware is also advantages that businesses should not neglect. Choose a mobile app development platform based on your business needs and you can get hundreds of downloads, thousands of new customers and increase your sales. A wrong decision can have an opposite effect.

Which app development platform do you prefer for your mobile app? Feel free to share it with us in the comments section below.