Will iOS App Development Dominate the Mobile Consumer Market?

Businesses now understand the necessity for mobile applications to boost their business to a new level. But which OS should you opt for? What platform to choose for your mobile app development? 

In our article, we’ll compare the two most popular operating systems: iOS and Android, and find the answer to the main question of whether iOS will dominate the mobile consumer market. 

Android vs iOS Mobile Apps Market Share 

Android and iOS possess over 99% of the global market, and it proves that these operating systems are the global leaders in the mobile consumer market. But what is more popular: Android applications development or iOS development? The quick answer is Android, but if you dive a bit deeper, you will see  that it’s not that simple.

According to recent statistics, Android has been the leading mobile operating system worldwide by June 2021. iOS apps’ market share is significantly smaller compared with Android’s 73% of the global market. 

On the other hand, iOS apps users generate more revenue than Android users. Just in 2020, they spent about $72.3 billion on in-app purchases, subscriptions, and other services in the Apple App Store, which is a 30.3% rise from $55,5 billion in 2019. In 2020 Google Play also earned a significant revenue of $38.6 billion (another notable rise from $29.7 billion in 2019), but is much smaller than the iOS app market did. 

It’s worth mentioning that the iOS market share depends on the region. While Android is dominated in Asia and Europe, iOS apps are more widely spread in North America, comprising 53.55% of smartphones, followed by Android at 46.24%. 

For example, the Android vs iOS market share in the US is dominated by iOS, and in Canada, iOS leads by accounting for 50.9% of the Android vs iOS market share. Still, in some European countries such as the UK, the Android vs iOS market share is almost a 50-50 scenario.

Types of Most Popular iOS Applications 

According to Statista, among the top five most popular mobile consumer application categories are:

• Games
• Business
• Education
• Lifestyle
• Utilities

As it has been mentioned above, iOS apps are among the most revenue-generating apps. So, below are the examples of the leading iPhone apps in the Apple App Store worldwide in July 2021 with the hugest revenue rates:

• Uma Musume Pretty Derby
• Tinder
• Pokemon GO
• ROBLOX
• Honor of Kings
• Game for Peace

The study shows mobile gaming apps are the most popular apps among consumers, and it’s also an app category with the highest user engagement. As of July 2021, the mobile gaming app Uma Musume Pretty Derby was the top-grossing iPhone app in the Apple App Store, generating about 31 million U.S. dollars in revenues. Among other categories, Tinder and Tiktok are also among the most downloaded apps for iPhones in the Apple App Store. 

5 Predictions for the Future 

There are lots of trends in iOS development, and it’s crucial to be aware of them to stand out among your competitors. Below are the five tech predictions for the nearest future you need to keep in mind.

App Transport Security

The security issue will remain crucial next year as we’re experiencing numerous cyberattacks on personal data. To ensure more protection for their users’ data, Apple created App Transport Security for all published iOS applications. iOS developers can integrate this embedded feature into the apps based on iOS14 and higher. 

Core Machine Learning

Without any doubt, Machine Learning is the technology that will continue to rule technology trends in 2022. To keep up with tech trends, Apple launched Core Machine Learning (Core ML), a framework for building apps across all Apple devices. The framework allows iOS developers to integrate machine learning models into iPhone, iPads, and other Apple devices, simplifying the accomplishment of tasks related to QuickType, Camera, and Siri. With the introduction of CoreML, Apple created the foundation for domain-specific functionalities, including image analysis, natural language processing, and others.

Augmented Reality and The ARKit

Augmented Reality is another important trend for iOS developers. ARKit has become up-to-date with the release of iOS 11. The library allows building #D and virtual-based consumer mobile apps. Thanks to Amazon, Apple ARKit is going to be even more prominent next year, providing online shoppers with an exceptional user experience. However, online retail is not the only domain where ARKit is trendy now. Surgery training, communication apps, design visualization, and others are among the great examples of how to leverage AR.

The Apple HomeKit

IoT for smart homes remains a significant trend nowadays, and Apple has an exceptional offer for iOS smart devices. Their HomeKit helps consumers communicate and control all their devices with the help of one app. iOS developers now can build applications that will be connected to Apple HomeKit, making it easier for consumers to use home automation devices. The application connected to HomeKit, for example, can create a command to control devices or a group of devices, bringing a revolutionary change to home automation.   

Swift Programming

With the release of the Swift 5 programming language, iOS developers focus on leveraging it for creating mobile applications. By releasing subsequent versions of iOS and Wearable OS, Apple is going to add new Swift libraries, which is going to be a new trend in iOS app development, while Swift-based apps will be smaller and easy-to-build. 

Siri and AI

Artificial Intelligence brings iPhone users incredible opportunities, and Siri is one of the latest innovations to leverage. Recently Apple released SiriKit for iOS developers, which makes the development process much easier and faster, while for a consumer it stands for a more intelligent assistant. 

Now iOS and WatchOS applications can work with voice only and help their users to do things with intelligent suggestions, and Shortcuts apps. For example, the latter assists consumers with accomplishing their daily tasks. By intelligent pairing users’ tasks, Siri will suggest shortcuts related to your users’ repetitive tasks to accomplish them with voice or one tap next time. 

Final Note

Though Android occupies a significant market share worldwide, iOS doesn’t lag by the number of downloads in particular regions and revenues earned from subscriptions and other in-app purchases. If you opt for iPhone app development services to enter the consumer mobile app market, it’s vital to follow the recent technology innovations developed by Apple.