Create an application for iPhone or Android? That is the question. When you start soliciting developers to get a quote for your application project, you will soon realize that the cost of developing your application will not be the same for both platforms. In general, prices for mobile application development for iOS are slightly higher than those of developing for Android. Do you know why?
The Development Of Mobile Applications For Android
Let’s start with Android, the most popular operating system in the world, whose market share is over 80%.
Basic features
- Created by Google, Android is distributed as open source. This means that any smartphone manufacturer may equip its aircraft if it wishes to or in other words, he is free to run the code on any machine. In addition, there are multiple sources for learning how to code with Android. Therefore, it is relatively easy to embark on the development of mobile applications for this operating system.
- Android is based on the Linux kernel.
- It is possible to adapt Android to the infinite number of terminals.
- Android uses SQLite for data storage.
- It uses a web browser based on WebKit.
- It supports HTML, HTML5 and Adobe Flash Player.
- Android provides the developer an emulator to test applications, tools for debugging memory and a performance analysis software.
Compatible mobile devices
The most known devices running Android are:
- Nexus
- Samsung
- Sony
- Huawei
The tools needed for developing mobile applications
Android SDK and the Eclipse IDE tools are ideal for embarking on the development of mobile applications for Android. They can be used from Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X or Linux, given the open-source nature of the operating system.
Android applications are mostly developed in Java. There are two platforms:
- JRE (Java Runtime Environment), which contains the JVM (Java Virtual Machine), the language of the base libraries and all the tools necessary to launch Android applications.
- JDK (Java Development Kit), which contains the JRE and set of tools for writing and debugging code.
The cost to get into the development of Android applications
To become an Android developer and publish applications on Google Play, you must first register as a developer at Google. The procedure is very simple and takes just a few minutes. It must fulfill the one-time registration fee of $ 25.
It should also invest in a smartphone, for example, Nexus 6 costs about $ 500 and a single computer to $ 400 on average. This leads to a cost of approximately $ 925.
The Development Of Mobile Applications For IOS
The impressive growth of Android in recent years is mainly at the expense of iOS which now holds a 15% market share.
Basic features
- iOS is an operating system developed by Apple.
- It is a variant of Mac OS X, which is the operating system for the Apple brand computers. It is based on Unix.
- The installation of equipment other than the iOS is impossible.
- Although it is a proprietary operating system for Apple devices, developers can freely make improvements to its SDK.
- Unless jailbreak their smartphones, installing third-party applications is not possible.
Using Adobe Flash is allowed only from iOS 8, but users of iPhone, Touch or iPad to iPod with a version prior to iOS 8 can not take advantage of this update today.
Compatible mobile devices
Only Apple mobile devices can operate under the iOS operating system, including:
- iPhone 4, 5, 6, etc.
- iPad, iPad Mini,
- iPod nano, iPod shuffle
The tools needed for developing mobile applications
Since the year 2008, any developer has been able to make use of free mobile app development kit for iPhone as well as iPod Touch. However, to use the app on devices and sell, you must register with the iPhone Developer Program, which pays him. The development of mobile applications for iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad is only on Mac with Xcode application. Objective-C and Swift are the programming languages used to develop iOS applications.
The cost to get into the application development iOS
IOS developer license costs almost $ 99 per year. It should also be equipped with a smartphone whose price is on average $ 600 and a Mac at least $ 800. The total cost is then up to $ 1500.
The development of mobile applications for iOS is more expensive than that for Android, but the price difference is not explained by the costs that must engage developers. As you can see, the amounts do not differ much. The Android market is more competitive, and developers who venture there tend to lower their prices to retain their potential customers, however, the iOS market provides greater price stability.