Google's Android may have a greater share of the smartphone market, but Apple's iOS continues to draw greater support from app developers, new data shows.
According to new data released on Thursday, June 7, by research firm Flurry Analytics, nearly seven of every 10 apps created in the first quarter of this year were for the iOS platform, while Android got the remaining three. Apple's iOS gets twice as many apps as Android, although comScore data released last week showed Google's operating system seized 50.8 percent of the smartphone market, while Apple held 31.4 percent.
Apple's dominance in the tablet market is a key factor in the giant's massive popularity with developers. In the first five months of 2012, Apple's iPad made up a whopping 88 percent of all tablet user sessions. Samsung's Galaxy Tab accounted for nine percent, followed by Amazon's Kindle Fire with three percent.
In addition, app developers can expect greater payout from Apple's iOS compared to Google's Android, as Apple's mobile OS brings developers four times the revenue Android does per user, noted Flurry.
"At the end of the day, developers run businesses, and businesses seek out markets where revenue opportunities are highest and the cost of building and distributing is lowest," Flurry added. "In short, Android delivers less gain and more pain than iOS, which we believe is the key reason 7 out of every 10 apps built in the new economy are for iOS instead of Android."
Flurry also said fragmentation in software and hardware seems to be increasing, further contributing to developer disparity because it makes Google's Android mobile operating system more complex and costly for developers. According to the study, 17 of the top 20 Android devices last month had a share of six percent or less in consumer application sessions. This means that each additional device supported by app developers will deliver only a slight increase in distribution.
Another contributing factor is firmware. Google's third-newest version of Android, dubbed Gingerbread, accounted for 70 percent of user sessions, while newer versions Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich together commanded 11 percent. "This means that the majority of consumers are running on an Android operating system that is three to four iterations old," said Flurry.
Flurry's blog post also notes that Apple and Google are entering "what is arguably the most critical month of the year," as both companies host their annual developer conference in June. Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) will kick off on Monday, June 11, while Google I/O will start June 27.
