There is no doubt that iOS and Android are the most popular platforms to develop for right now. The question then comes, since I don’t have as many resources as I would like, which platform should I build for first?
I want to say iOS because it is less fragmented but some say Android is getting even more popular.
Well, what programming experience do you have? As your background could influence your decision. Do not listen to the apple fanboys argument about Android being “fragmented”. iOS is just as fragmented, as far as different devices with the same OS version have differences. All fragmentation means that there is a lot of different versions out there and screen sizes. But I can tell you, that building for multiple screen sizes is a lot easier on Android than it is on iOS. Mainly because everytime apple release a new screen size device, things in your app need to change. My android apps work on any new screen size without changing anything.
So to decide which to do first, comes down to your preference. If you have a C# or similar background, I would say start with Android. As it is written in java and the syntax is very similar. If you have a C++ background, I would say iOS, as you can use C++ functions with your Objective-C code if you wish (but I would not advise). But Objective-C is a rather ugly syntax in my opinion. Then you also need to consider environment. Android can be written on Windows, Linux, OSX, iOS can only be done OSX. And to be very honest, both xcode and eclipse is pretty unstable software, with random crashes and freezes on both. But they have gotten a lot better these days.
Hello Shanshan, i am definitely agree with NightStalker. It is depend on your Opinion which programming expertise you have. If you know the c++ programming functionality very well then choose the IOS and You have a good knowledge in Java then go to the Android application. Android is based on open source like a Linux.
Both IOS & Android are running good in market. You should choose any one of them which you have master knowledge & Interest.
Mobile apps can be divided into three groups, and they will decide what programming language you will need to learn: native apps, hybrid apps, and web apps.
Native apps
With native apps, you use the native programming language for that device, such as Objective-C for Apple devices or Java for Android devices. What you code for one device cannot be used on the other device. However, their strength is that, with best code practices, you’ll get the smoothest and fastest apps that have the look and feel of the native environment. You’ll work with different software development kits (SDKs) for each environment (such as Xcode for Apple and Eclipse for Android) to create the final product (such as an apk file for Android). Android apps can be build on PCs and Macs; Apple apps need a Mac machine to compile the final product that is uploaded to the App Store.
Hybrid apps
Hybrid apps use a combination of HTML, CSS, and Javascript to create the apps, then they are packaged with a wrapper like PhoneGap, which ties in the code with the device. With PhoneGap (or other software), one may use plugins to access the various phone functions like camera. Hybrid apps are generally slower and not as smooth as their native counterpart. Although you can program your app on any computer, you’ll still need a Mac to compile the final product, and you’ll still need the SDK for each device you you create apps for.
Web apps
Web apps are simply web pages hosted on normal web servers, but sized to fit comfortably in smartphones. They are coded with any number of web technologies, including PHP/MySQL and other database technologies, since they are web sites at heart. They are accessed by smartphones the same way as any other web site, but with a little extra coding, you can provide an icon that will reside on the home screen of the device if the user chooses to save your site to the home screen. Web apps don’t use device SDK because they are uploaded to web servers just like any other web site content. Because they don’t use SDKs, they cannot access device capabilities like camera, etc.
I came from a web design background, so I chose to go the Hybrid app route, which allows me to create one HTML/CSS/Javascript code base and deploy it, with some changes, to the Apple and Android platforms.
Must choice android market. There is lots of way about how to develop apps without any coding skills. I have my own apps in Google play store. You can easily develop android application in just few hours. Developing android application is not too much difficult to develop. Today everyone need apps for promote website or blog or any other pages. Convert website or blog into android apps and published it into Google play store and user will easily access to ur website or blog through Google market. You can check apps into Mobile before published into Google play store. I am Experienced android application developer since three years. Today android market become popular day by day and every youngster have an android phone. They uses android apps. There is tons of real money have in developing apps without any coding skills.
Well android is talk of the town today so you might wanna give it a heads up first…
Android is more popular than iOS, these days. It’s because most mobile phones use Android OS. So I say start with Android, then iOS afterwards.
There is truly no platform that can be considered fully superior over the other. Both have their plus and minuses so it is up to you to decide on which of these that would best suit your needs.
Hi!
When we discuss with the client the platform for his future application, we focus on the target audience. Very often people forget that they do the app not for themselves, but for users. Analyze tour audience and choose the platform, which is use more frequently used. If they are almost the same, choose cross-platform development.