It is often said that iOS-based devices have 20% or so market share, yet they generate 80% of the total app revenue. On the surface there is a somewhat Parentheses principle at play with smartphones. SynapseIndia founder Shamit Khemka briefs about market share of iOS and Android

1. Discussion overiOS v/s Android
Market Share
By Shamit Khemka

2. Introduction
It isoften said that iOS-based deviceshave20% or so
market share, yet they generate80% of thetotal app
revenue. On thesurfacethereisasomewhat
Parenthesesprincipleat play with smartphones. I
looked into it and thesenumbersturn out to be
misleading.
Also check
SynapseIndiamobileteam presented casesof new iOS8 application.

4. Growth of iOS Market
iOSappsgenerate80% morerevenuethan Android
apps. That isquitedifferent from saying that iOShas
80% market share. Specifically, in Q2 2014, Google
Play saw $60M in total revenue, whiletheiOS
AppStoreclocked in at $100M.

6. Growth of Android Market
If weexcludethesmall impact of alternativeAndroid
stores, wearelooking at 37.5% and 62.5%,
respectively, of their combined market share. No one
can deny that it’sstill asubstantial difference, but
it’sdefinitely moresubtlethan theoften touted 80–
20 revenuesplit. (If welook at downloads, theroles
arepretty much reversed with Android devices
having 60% of their combined market shareof
downloads, and iOSdevices40%).

7. Market Share
Thekeyword herehowever is“global”. Anecdotally, it would be
extremely hard to imaginethat iPhoneshavelessthan a12%
market sharein North America, or even the20% figureI have
seen floating around for quitesometimenow.
Theactual OSusagenumbersfor theNorth American markeshows
an estimated 51% -42% split in favor of Android, amuch less
monopolistic picture.
From adeveloper perspective, theselesssensationalistic numbers
haveafew implications:

8. Market Share

If you aretargeting aNorth American audience, developing
for Android doesnot giveyou abig advantagein termsof a
reachableuser base;

iOSstill hastheedgein termsof revenue, but thefrequently
heard, “Don’t bother developing for Android”, isabsolute
nonsense. You can target Android aloneand still do
extremely well;

If you aretargeting emerging marketslikeIndia, China,
Thailand, and Asiain general, Android isasurebet;

10. Market Share

It isentirely possiblethat iOSusershavehigher incomes on
average, but whatever thecause, thenumbersseem to
indicatethat they haveagreater willingnessto pay for
applications;

If you aretargeting both iOSand Android mobileOSeswith
your application, taking thestrength of both app storesinto
account, it would makesenseto chargefor theiOSapp while
making theAndroid app availableasafreedownload that
relieson adsfor itsrevenue. Thisof coursehastherisk of
alienating someuserswho happen to dabblewith both
operating systems, however they arelikely to beaminority
so thisshouldn’t hold you back, if it’stheroad you’d liketo
embark down.

11. Conclusion
Personally, I welcomeaworld wherethetwo major mobile
operating systemsgo head-to-head and convergetowardsa
roughly equivalent market share(at least in North Americaand
Europe). And on that note, having thefar off third contender
(Microsoft) belessdistant certainly wouldn’t hurt matterseither.
SynapseIndiaresearch & development studied casesof Mobileapps
changesfor iOSand Android.

12. Thank you forWatching it!