Android Passes iOS in App Downloads, but Does It Even Matter? Spoiler: NO!
By: Hillel Fuld
Yawn! Another day, another iOS Android comparison. In this episode, Android surpasses iOS in app downloads for Q2 2011. With Android growing at unprecedented speeds, it was just a matter of time before more Android apps were downloaded than iOS apps. According to ABI Research, the market share of Android and iOS were 44% and 31%, respectively.
According to the research, global app downloads in 2011 are expected to hit 29 billion, compared to only nine billion in 2010. Such major increases are largely due to the popularity of smartphones around the world. The total smartphone install base is expected to grow 46% in 2011.
I read these stats and others talking about the fact that there are 500k Android app submissions as well as some other ridiculous amount of iOS apps, and I think “Who cares?”
I am not implying that apps don’t matter when it comes to the success of a mobile platform, they are pretty much all that matter. What I am saying is that app downloads, app submissions, and other metrics that do a good job giving bloggers topics to write about, are irrelevant in the big scheme of things.
For starters, app submissions don’t mean anything, especially since we know that on both iOS and Android, a significant percentage of those apps are later removed by Apple, Google, or the developer.
In addition, as far as users are concerned. does it really matter if there are 100k, 500k, or a million apps? It does not. What matters is of course quality, both in terms of the apps themselves and in terms of the OS.
It is no secret that I am an iOS user, but I regularly use a Galaxy Tab and a Nexus S so Android is no stranger to me. The important thing to understand here in this ongoing “War” between iOS and Google is that these two platforms define success differently. Sure, Apple would not say no to dominating the mobile market, but that is not what it is after, the same way it is not after beating the PC in the home computing space.
If Steve Jobs’ taught us anything, it is that Apple’s goal is to create products that users will love, and with iOS, they have succeeded. Android users will talk about its openness, customizability (is that even a word? I am thinking not), and even the hardware of some Android devices. I hear that, but the Apple fan community will always love their Apple products the way no Android or PC user does.
Besides, more Android apps were downloaded, but iOS developers are making significantly more money than Android developers.
That is the bottom line and no number of apps published or downloaded is going to change that. These numbers are great for perspective on the mobile space but that is all. They do not change Apple’s strategy to create loyal users and they do not change Google’s strategy to be the PC of the mobile industry. All of that is happening no matter what the numbers say.
For the record, I am not taking a stance here, I did that when I chose iPhone over Android. All I am saying is that these numbers that are published every day across the Web are nothing more than good material to fill the black pages of thousands of blogs… <End Rant>
