Today we have mobile apps for everything. From ordering food to booking movie tickets, mobile apps have transformed our lives. However, have you ever observed that most of the on-demand apps use Android? In fact, an on-demand app development company often prefers the Android platform over the iOS. What is so special about Android OS? Why are companies choosing Android platform for on-demand app development? What does the mobile app market have to say about this? 

The two most popular smartphone operating systems in the market now are Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS. However, Android has an edge over iOS when it comes to on-demand mobile apps development. Well, why is Android a  preferred platform for on-demand mobile app development? Let us take a look at some statistics.

In 2017, there were almost 2.8 million Android apps in Android’s Play Store. But, Apple’s App Store had only 2.2 million iOS apps. Besides, on an average, people have over 60 to 90 mobile apps in their smartphones. Well, mobile apps have become a necessity for everyone. Having said that, you must be wondering which mobile OS has a larger market share?

According to Statcounter, the market share of Android mobile operating system worldwide till October 2018 is 74.69% compared to only 22.34 %of the iOS mobile operating system.

It is clear that the Android platform has a much larger customer base than iOS. In fact, any startup aiming to have a flourishing business will definitely opt for the Android OS. So, why is Android platform preferred for app development? Let us take a detailed look.

Huge market share

If you consider the market share of Android, it has always beaten its counterpart which is Apple. In fact, there is a wide margin between the market share of both Google and Apple.

According to Statista, today the Android platform has almost 88% market share. Besides, the rising popularity of Android devices has a direct impact on the Google Play Store. It is now the biggest app store in the whole world. Further, it has an app download record of 3.6 million until March 2018. 

Indeed, the Android operating system has empowered most of the smartphones worldwide. Thus, having an on-demand app on Google Play Store is the wisest option if you wish to cover a large audience.

Easy customization and personalization

Customers have always preferred apps which have the ability to personalise and customise according to their interests. Besides, it is a fact that on-demand apps require regular updates to meet the changing requirements of the customers. 

Moreover, Android apps have a higher customizability than iOS apps. Android allows users to add widgets to their home screen as per their convenience. It also helps in easy transfer of contacts, apps and other data. Besides, it not only allows grouping of icons together in folders but also redesigns the look of your home screens. However, in iOS platform, one can place widgets only in the NotificationCenter.

Also, one can easily set up default apps of their own choice. Thus, entrepreneurs can modify apps in an easy manner with the Android platform. Further, this OS helps to meet customer requirements and explore new ways for boosting businesses.

Abundance of Features

On-demand applications always need certain important features like the Maps, GPS functionality, navigation, etc. For instance, an on-demand food delivery app can never work without a proper functioning of GPS and Google maps. Moreover, the Android OS has an edge over iOS when it comes to the availability of features. 

Also, on-demand apps assist users to find any location in real-time with the help of inbuilt Google Maps. Besides, messenger apps like Gmail and Google Assistant can improve communication between companies and customers.

Data Storage Capacities

It is clear that the Android operating system has an edge when it comes to cloud storage. The various advantages of data storage facilities in Android are as follows:

• It has a 15GB storage capacity for free. Besides, it also has a cross-platform support.
• The popular ‘Google Drive’ is the best platform to save valuable data without worrying about losing it.
• The cloud storage of Android is much easier to access and is more effective than iCloud that offers only a space of 5 GB for automatic backup of photos and videos.
• In Android, Google Photos allows unlimited backup of photos. Other alternatives include OneDrive, Amazon Photos and Dropbox.

Thus, all mobile apps that deal with customer’s data must prefer Android to other platforms. Moreover, an on-demand app development company can have a Google Drive integration in an app for helping customers to store their data safely.

Voice Assistance

Today, Google is one of the largest search engines in the world. As Google Assistant is by Google, it has access to millions of data points too. This makes Google Assistant more powerful and versatile. Though Apple’s Siri has many updates that make it look better, Google’s voice assistant is better. This is because the Google Lens has a recognizable object mode too with a keyboard input query.

So, with the present Google’s voice search facility, users of on-demand apps can search easily. They can also stay updated regarding any sort of contextual information. Moreover, the voice assistant has a conversational approach and can offer customized recommendations to the users.

Updates and Notifications

An on-demand app is nothing without the ability to send regular notifications to its users. In fact, the push notifications keep the users updated about useful information or recent updates. Moreover, the promotional offers and company activities are the most important part of digital marketing. So, notifications can help by playing a vital role here. They can spread awareness and aid in boosting the business. 

Besides, an Android OS is much robust as it can handle multiple notifications from a single app very well. Users can respond to notifications without opening the app. Apart from this, the persistent notification feature is only available in Android. Apple is yet to adopt this feature.

Multi-language Support

Most of the on-demand apps are of Business To Consumer(B2C) type. Thus, it is really important that apps must be available in all the languages. Moreover, if a company wishes to have a larger target audience, it must try to incorporate more languages. Well, when it comes to multiple languages, Android wins. 

The Android OS supports more than 100 languages. But,  the iOS platform supports only 34 languages. That is why the Android OS is suitable for developing on-demand apps. Also, localization of your apps makes it the best choice in the market. Besides, most of the popular apps for eCommerce, health, and other sectors use Android.

Signing off…

To sum up, the demand for on-demand apps is growing these days. People don’t have time for most of their daily chores and rely heavily on mobile apps that ease everything. Be it, healthcare, beauty, cab service or food, on-demand app development is the need of the hour. 

Besides, a company might often not know about choosing between iOS or Android on-demand mobile app development. Well, Android is the winner here. It has numerous features like voice assistance, easy and seamless customization, larger audience etc. That is why an on-demand Android mobile app is the best choice for your business. 

SoluLab has been recognized as one of the leading mobile app development companies in Los Angeles.