iOS refers to the popular proprietary OS for smartphones and other smart devices from Apple. All iPhones function on the iOS operating system base.
What is iOS technology?
Before we try to understand iOS, it is necessary to take a quick refresher on what an OS is and what does it do. A computing device runs on an overarching software platform which people refer to as an operating system or OS. It manages the device’s memory and its constituent processes. It is the software that interacts with whatever hardware is used and without it, hardware is almost useless.
There are two major OSs in the smartphone world- iOS which is used exclusively by Apple and Google’s open-source solution Android. Being open source, it boasts of greater popularity and less involved expenses.
iOS smartphones get updates for a longer period, boast of greater compatibility with other Apple products like AirPods, iPads, MacBooks. Further, many experts opine that iOS provides greater security and privacy than its Google counterpart.
Why should developers use iOS technology?
App development is a long, cumbersome, and often expensive process. You stand to lose a lot if you do not do things properly, especially due to the intense competition. Businesses need a reliable solution that will potentially bring sound investment returns. iOS application development provides developers and businesses just that.
Know What to Expect
With the tight, controlled, and standardized iOS platform developers know just what to expect which makes app and UX optimization easier. The better user experience of games and popular social media apps on the iOS platform are a testament to that fact. Developers of iOS apps know exactly how things will look and feel like, how interactions will go on the iOS platform. Android can be at times highly unpredictable in this regard. Not to mention the custom code skin many manufacturers add to their products which adds to the chaos.
The Greater Popularity of Android Doesn’t Usually Make Up for the Higher Costs
In theory the greater popularity enjoyed by the Android platform should balance the greater development costs of apps with top notch user experience. But seldom is this the case. The app markets are more than overcrowded with apps. There are numerous apps for almost any use or purposes. This makes getting noticed among competitors so much harder. Popularity is rare. And when developers do get to enjoy the same, the ability to optimize apps is far less on Android as we mentioned before. This restricts developers from creating quality apps for a large enough section of the user base. In comparison to Android, developers of iOS apps stand to gain greater return on investment in the long run.
Minimal Optimization Potential
Smartphone manufacturers often use custom OS skins like OneUI, OxygenOS and ColorOS. It translates to developers having to optimize apps for each OS flavour making the whole process too expensive and time consuming. To ensure the same quality experience of apps, extra code and greater effort in quality assurance is essential. It pushes back calendars for both app launches and updates.
App Optimization for Android Devices is Risky
The end word for businesses and developers in app development is their bottom line and profits. iOS application development offers a better solution for them due to the greater profitability of the platform and this is no speculation, and the fact is well established in the business and developer community from repeated results. The reliability, set standards and clarity all result to make the iOS platform less risky than Android.
It is little surprise considering all these factors that developers create apps for Apple App Store before creating apps for Google’s Play Store, should they need to prioritize.