A Straightforward Guide For Android and iOS Development

Every business wants to have their own mobile app. We are aware of the challenges that come with the mobile app development process. Businesses drop the idea of app development when they face deadlines, budgets, and a small development team. Furthermore, it gets complicated when they think that they might have to build two separate apps for different OS. But instead of creating two separate versions, one for iOS and one for Android, you develop a single app that works smoothly on both platforms. That’s exactly what iOS and Android app development offers.

With millions of users across both operating systems, businesses no longer want to invest in two separate apps. They want cost-effective, time-saving solutions that reach everyone. With cross platform development, you can achieve this. Technologies like React Native app development and Flutter app development make it possible to build a single app that runs seamlessly on both Android and iOS without compromising performance or user experience.

In this blog, we will explore why building one app for both platforms is a smart move, the best frameworks to use, and the step-by-step process to get started. Let’s dive in.

Android vs iOS Mobile App Development Statistics

Before jumping into Android and iOS development, it’s important to look at how these two platforms compare. Android and iOS dominate the mobile market, but their user bases, revenue models, and adoption rates differ significantly. Understanding these differences helps businesses make informed decisions when developing a cross-platform app.

Market Share

As you can see in the chart, Android holds the largest share globally, with almost 70% of the mobile market, while another 29% goes to iOS.

If we discuss the country-wise share, then iOS dominates in North America and Australia, while Android leads in Asia, Africa, and South America. The UK, Japan, and Germany show a somewhat mixed market.

Global App Availability

• Around 1.55 million apps are currently available for iPhone users worldwide in the App Store.
• The Google Play Store offers 1.68 million apps for Android users to download.

App Spending

• The global app spending market is projected to grow at a 12% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate).
• Apple’s App Store consistently leads in revenue generation, with spending expected to reach $161B by 2026.
• Google Play Store spending is also growing, reaching an estimated $72B by 2026.
• Total app spending is forecasted to surpass $233B by 2026, highlighting the lucrative potential of mobile apps.

Why Choose One App For iOS and Android App Development Over Native Apps?

When deciding how to build a mobile app, businesses often face a crucial choice: Should they develop separate native apps for iOS and Android, or opt for a cross-platform approach? While native apps offer seamless platform integration and high performance, cross-platform development has gained significant traction due to its efficiency, scalability, and cost-effectiveness.

With cross-platform frameworks like React Native, Flutter, and Kotlin Multiplatform, businesses can create a single app that runs on both iOS and Android, eliminating the need for separate development processes. But why exactly should companies choose this approach over native development? Here are the key reasons:

1. Faster Time to Market

Speed matters in today’s competitive app landscape. Developing separate native apps for Android and iOS requires two different teams working on the same features in parallel. This results in longer development cycles and potential delays in launching the app.

Cross-platform development allows businesses to use a single codebase, drastically reducing development time. Teams can write code once and deploy it on both platforms, ensuring a quicker launch and faster iterations to meet market demands.

2. Lower Development and Maintenance Costs

Cost is a major factor when choosing between native and cross-platform development. Developing two separate native apps means double the investment in development, testing, and maintenance. Companies need specialized developers for both Swift (iOS) and Kotlin (Android), increasing operational expenses.

By opting for cross-platform development, businesses can:

• Reduce hiring costs by maintaining a smaller team with expertise in one framework.
• Cut development expenses by sharing code across platforms.
• Streamline updates and maintenance without having to make changes twice.

For startups and businesses with limited budgets, this approach provides a cost-effective way to develop a high-quality app without compromising functionality.

3. Easier Maintenance and Future Updates

Mobile app maintenance is something that any business have to encounter no matter what. Once an app is launched, ongoing updates and bug fixes are inevitable. With native apps, any updates must be implemented separately for iOS and Android, leading to longer turnaround times and higher maintenance efforts.

A cross-platform approach ensures that updates and bug fixes can be rolled out simultaneously across both platforms. This is especially beneficial for businesses that need to push frequent updates, ensuring all users have access to the latest features and security patches at the same time.

4. Broader Market Reach Without Additional Effort

Android dominates the global smartphone market, but iOS users generate higher revenue through in-app purchases. For businesses, reaching both audiences is crucial.

Instead of developing separate native apps, cross-platform frameworks allow companies to launch a single app for both operating systems, ensuring maximum reach with minimal development efforts. This approach is particularly beneficial for businesses targeting global audiences, where market share between Android and iOS varies significantly by region.

5. Reusable Codebase for Future Scalability

Scalability is an important factor when developing mobile apps. With native development, scaling an app for additional platforms or expanding features often requires additional coding and rework.

Cross-platform frameworks enable code reusability, making it easier to scale the app, add new features, and ensure consistency across different platforms. Developers can reuse up to 80% of the code, which speeds up feature rollouts and minimizes effort when expanding the app’s functionality.

6. Near-Native Performance With Modern Cross-Platform Tools

A common concern with Android and iOS development is performance. However, modern frameworks like Flutter and React Native have bridged the performance gap, providing near-native experiences while maintaining flexibility.

Flutter uses its own rendering engine, delivering smooth animations and UI components similar to native apps.

React Native allows developers to integrate native modules when needed, optimizing performance for complex applications.

For most business applications, the performance differences between modern cross-platform and native development are negligible, making cross-platform development a viable choice.

Frameworks for Android and iOS Development

The right tool and technology for your app development depends on your goal and your team. The app development community has grown to an enormous amount, so expect countless troubleshooting guides, thousands of components, and hundreds of frameworks to choose from. To choose a framework, businesses need to weigh factors like development speed, cost, and user experience to make a sound judgment.

Modern frameworks offer multiple benefits, from code reusability to near-native performance. Below, we will explore the most popular frameworks for cross-platform and native development to help you decide the best fit for your project.

1. Flutter (Google)

Best for: High-performance apps with custom UI/UX

Flutter is a popular open-source UI toolkit developed by Google, enabling developers to create visually rich and highly responsive apps for multiple platforms. It uses the Dart programming language and comes with a powerful rendering engine.

Pros:

• Native-like performance with smooth animations
• Custom UI components independent of native platform constraints
• Hot reload feature for faster development
• Strong support from Google and a growing community

Cons:

• Dart is not as widely adopted as JavaScript
• Larger app size compared to native frameworks

2. React Native (Meta)

Best for: Apps requiring rapid development and broad community support

This might be the hallmark of all the JavaScript Frameworks. Developed by Meta (formerly Facebook), React Native allows developers to use JavaScript and React to build mobile apps. It supports code reusability across platforms, making it a cost-effective choice for businesses. Plus, its community is one of the most active and reliable out there — there’s always someone ready to help.

Pros:

• Uses JavaScript, a widely known language
• Large ecosystem with many third-party libraries
• Near-native performance with native module support
• Backed by a strong developer community

Cons:

• May require native modules for complex applications
• Performance slightly lags compared to Flutter for animation-heavy apps

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