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Making an iPhone app is different from developing for Android, and it’s not just because of the fact that it uses a different programming language. An iPhone development company may not recognize or appreciate all of the differences between them-and there are quite a few. Developing for iPhone isn’t necessarily better or worse than it is for any other platform, but there are some key facts that anyone who wants to make an iPhone app should know before getting started.

By the way, everything we discuss here will apply also to tablets, because iOS and Android are found on both tablets and phones. But we’ll mostly mention phones, because most people start out their development process thinking about a phone app.

1. iPhone customers are picky-but they spend more money

Users are the lifeblood of any successful app, especially if it isn’t free or includes in-app purchases. Compared to Android users, iPhone customers are more concerned about the overall design of an app than extra bells and whistles. But they’re also less likely to write reviews. Take Uber, for example. On the Google Play Store, there are 1.1 million reviews, averaging just over four stars. On the iTunes App Store, there are 32,694, again averaging about four stars. That’s a huge gap-more of a chasm, really-considering that there are a total of about 16 million monthly active users.

That’s both a positive and a negative for a new app; fewer reviews on average means that you are more likely to attract those who feel strongly one way or the other about your application. You may get some of those picky iPhone customers who are disappointed in some aspect of the design, but you’ll also get those who love what your app lets them do.

Aside from reviews, iOS users are more likely to spend money on an app-about 75% more, in fact. This is a big advantage over Android development. On Google Play, apps are usually cheaper or free and ad-supported, which sets a different expectation with users. If your app relies on consistent revenue, iPhone’s platform may be a better fit for you-as long as you meet the standards.

2. Apple’s approval policy is stricter

One of the reasons why iPhone customer expectations are higher is because of Apple’s approval policy, which applies to all iOS apps on both iPhone and iPad. They maintain rigid standards for any apps that are submitted to the AppStore, and reject any that don’t meet them. This can be frustrating, because not all of their restrictions are always clear. Here’s a line right from their approval guide: “We will reject apps for any content or behavior that we believe is over the line. What line, you ask? Well, as a Supreme Court Justice once said, ‘I’ll know it when I see it.'” They do follow up with a list of examples and specifics, but really, anything that is objectionable-which includes content that is either “insensitive” or “upsetting”-can be denied publication.

You may assume that this is kind of a backdoor for them to reject anything that they don’t want to be associated with, and you’d be right. Essentially, Apple reserves the right to deny publication of an app that might damage their brand, be it offensive or otherwise. This is becoming more popular with other content-driven companies, too-YouTube just updated their terms and conditions to allow them to de-monetize any videos that they find not “advertiser-friendly.”

Will this part affect a typical enterprise app? Probably not. But it does illustrate a stark contrast against Android’s far more forgiving and open submission guidelines.

Aside from content restrictions, Apple maintains standards on the performance and design of any app that is published on their platform. If it doesn’t look good enough, for example, they’ll reject it.

This is a barrier to entry, certainly, but it does maintain a higher level of quality in the iPhone ecosystem. In fact, these are barriers that any successful app has to pass anyway. Your app, regardless of platform, should look good and perform well before you even think about publishing.

3. Fragmentation isn’t an issue for iPhone development companies

In terms of actually producing the product, the greatest advantage to making an iPhone app is that there is hardly any fragmentation to worry about. Every iPhone from the iPhone 5 and up is running at least iOS 9, and will all soon be running iOS 10. There are only about six iPhone models available for new users, and many old customers upgrade to the newer versions as soon as they’re released-iOS has a much higher update rate than Android..

In other words, there are very few devices and software versions that an iPhone developer has to worry about.

Conversely, there are dozens of versions of Android available, each molded and reskinned to fit each individual device made by dozens of manufacturers. Something that runs just fine on a Samsung Galaxy S6 running Android version 5.1.1 may have issues on a Galaxy S5 running Android version 5.0. Differences in hardware span a huge range as well, even just counting the devices by one manufacturer. For example, the Galaxy Note product line has a much larger screen than the standard Galaxy S line does, with different power requirements and resource allocation.

When you develop for Android, there is a lot more testing that needs to be done, just by virtue of the differences in software versions and devices. With iPhone development, however, you only have to worry about a comparatively few variations, and testing is much simpler.

4. Security is tighter

I’ve always said that security must be integrated into the development of any application, mobile or otherwise. it’s one of the things we take most seriously-we even developed Code Dx, which helps us identify potential security risks at every stage of development.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t much matter how secure your app is if the underlying platform is vulnerable. The iPhone ecosystem has a huge advantage over Android’s: it’s managed entirely by Apple. Their control can, at times, feel stifling-and is one of the reasons why there are so many Android devotees-but it undeniably makes their entire platform more secure. Every app is rigorously vetted, as I mentioned earlier, by the same people who have tested every other app. By contrast, Android’s various app markets aren’t maintained by the same groups, and third-party software is common. This-along with the fact that Android itself is open source, whereas iOS is guarded closely-makes the Android platform significantly more vulnerable to security threats. While your app may be perfectly secure, it doesn’t help if cybercriminals can access it with false credentials provided by your customers.

This isn’t to say that the iPhone platform is free of any security threats-because, let’s face it, nothing is. But the extra controls in place over the ecosystem does make it more difficult to target iPhone customers specifically, and every layer of security helps.

As with all things in life, there are pros and cons to any software development strategy. These are only some of the things that you should consider before you decide to make an iPhone app or launch on a different platform. Ultimately, what’s best for your particular needs should be decided between you and your development company.

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Source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Hiring-an-iPhone-Development-Company?-Heres-What-You-Need-to-Know-About-Developing-for-the-iPhone&id=9559967