11Onze continues the test phase of its app, and in this process, we ask ourselves which of the two mobile operating systems is more popular: Android or iOS? And which one works better?

In 2020, more than 90% of internet users in Spain accessed the web with their smartphones, according to a study by Statista. From 2015 to the present day, the market share of operating systems for mobile devices in Spain has been shared almost exclusively between these two “giants”: 87.1% for Android (Google) and 12.7% for iOS (Apple).

Therefore, since 2012, Android and iOS together account for 99% of the global market, with about 73% share for Android.

Talking about app downloads

In the first quarter of 2021, users made 28.2 billion app downloads from Google Play and only 8.4 million downloads from Apple’s App Store. Clearly, then, these figures do not maintain the market share ratios mentioned above (otherwise, we would be talking about 20,6 billion and 7,6 billion downloads, respectively) and there are several reasons why this might be the case.

The Google Play platform has always accounted for the lion’s share of app downloads, but Apple’s App Store is stronger in terms of revenue generation.

In the first quarter of 2021, Google Play had 3.48 million apps available, and Apple’s App Store had 2.22 million. This is 61% for Google Play, and 39% for the Apple App Store in how many apps are available is much closer to the global market share ratios of Android and iOS respectively.

Android vs. iOS

iOS systems are more efficient and secure than Android installations; their software is designed specifically for Apple devices, while Android apps are designed to fit a wide variety of manufacturers and models of all types.

Because Apple is always up-to-date with its hardware and devices, updates are released on the same date for everyone; all of its devices are updated on the same day without any discrimination. In contrast, Android is known for its questionable update timing, because different manufacturers schedule updates according to their priorities, and not together with Google, which causes a massive delay.

Android offers a plethora of options to customise the look and feel of our smartphone, while iPhones opt for simplicity in their user interface, and this lack of multiple options helps users to be less confused and in turn, helps to create an easy user experience.

Android has many other advantages, simply because of its open-source nature. iOS, on the other hand, is a closed source operating system, meaning that only the manufacturer, Apple, has control over everything related to iOS. This means that once you purchase an Apple device, you enter into a relationship with the brand that will necessarily be with you for the life of the device. Therefore, the versatility and improvement of its operating systems are what is making Android increasingly popular.

Do you want to be the first to receive the latest news about 11Onze? Click here to subscribe to our Telegram channel