The long asked question of which mobile app market to develop for, if you don’t have the resources to develop an iPhone app and Android app simultaneously, might be a bit clearer than you might think. 

Depending on your needs and strategy for developing your app, a particular platform may be a better fit to develop for first. 

Below are four topics to take into consideration when deciding which mobile app store to develop for first. 

Mobile Traffic 

Prior to deciding which mobile app store to develop for it is a good idea to look at which devices bring in the most traffic to your mobile website. 

If you see mobile users coming from iPhones to your website more often than Samsung Galaxy’s and HTC Droid’s, it is recommended that you begin your mobile app development geared towards the Apple App Store. On the flip side, Android might be your market of choice if the iPhone is the minority of your traffic. 

If the statistics on your mobile traffic are too close to make an obvious decision, there are other factors below that may help you to decide where your mobile app development should begin. 

Tablet Friendly 

There is a stark difference in worldwide tablet market share with the advantage going towards Android tablets. However, when considering tablets in terms of app usage, the iPad takes the cake. Having said this, it is recommended that iOS for iPad be developed first if your strategy is heavily focus on tablet use. 

Price 

If your app strategy involves creating revenue by charging users to download the app, there are a few things to consider. 

iOS users are more willing to pay for apps and pay for in app purchases then those users in the Android market. Focus on iOS first if you expect users to purchase your app or items within your app. 

International Business Times reports, in terms of paid app downloads, Android developers make $0.43 for every $1.00 that iOS developers make. Take that as you may. 

Testing 

Prior to launching your app, testing is necessary to ensure proper functionality. The different software within each operating system has different usability based on the device. 

Android devices are very diverse with different screen resolutions as just one item that must be accounted for. Android software varies, so depending on what version your users have is what kind of app you must develop. Europe and Asia are shown to be more likely to have the older versions, where the USA has devices with more updated versions. If your focus is the US market, it might be best to develop for the most current OS. 

iOS has fewer devices and Apple takes many of the difference in house such as automatic screen resolution based on the device, allowing for less cause for concern in terms of fixes. User updates are also likely to be downloaded almost instantly through Apple devices as compared to Android users. 

It turns out that there are pros and cons of each OS, but depending on your needs and overall mobile app strategy it should seem clear which app to develop first.