Android is certainly on the move there is no doubt about that. This has opened conversations everywhere about the “should” or “shouldn’t we” from our client base. However, from our point of view, we just are not there yet. This is certainly open to change at any point but recently Mashable posted a graph that we think succinctly describes a core issue when comparing Apple to Android.
This graph shows that while we have all noticed the increase in Android traffic, we can see that their user base can’t seem to agree on which operating system to use. From a developer standpoint it is hard, if not impossible, for us to agree with this as a possibility. Anyone who has worked designing/building websites will be the first to chime in here and attest to how much fun it is to debug across multiple environments. This simply does not make sense.
Let’s extend this a bit in a future none of us can predict. We have three OS scenarios in play currently. Great. We also have the fact that anyone, anytime can develop an Android app. Even better. So how long is it going to be before we have a motivated teenager who exploits a legacy OS by making a crafty little app that digs into your phone?
Bottom line, say what you will about the “closed” nature of Apple but as a developer of apps we know a few things for certain:
All of our audience is using the same OS and thus we can guarantee performance/display for all. Second, while we may not always love the wait, Apple’s review process goes a long way to making sure my phone is not doing things it should not be. For now, these are compelling arguments for us to stay the course; for now anyway.
