As a software developer, I have interacted with a number of other software developers, many of whom have been coding for some few years and for Android, IOS and Blackberry platforms. And whether app developers can make a living from a platform depends on the following factors:
- The Number of Users of the Platform-The more the users the better the money an app developer can make from the platform, its that simple. So that's a big question you want to ask before deciding to code for a platform.
- Number of App Developers- The number of App developers currently coding for the platform is inversely proportional (pure maths) to how much profitable coding for the platform will be.
- Number of Apps in the Default App Store- The more Apps in the store of the platform, new apps will not be visible and may never even be seen by the potential consumers, and therefore, less profitable for the App developer.
- Ease of Rapid App Development- The easier it is to make apps in the platform the more the developers will get attracted to the platform and this produces a complex effect. On one hand it makes it easy to build apps and so developers can begin monetising their apps in no time, on the other it increases the number of developers and in turn increasing the number of apps in the store, and we all know where this is getting to.
IOS is still the clear leader in mobile application profitability, since it has the balance of all of the above factors and plus it is used only in high end smartphones where the users have enough money to buy apps and hence make money for their developers.
Android is the second in command here, since it is easy to code cause its open source and there are wide numbers of developer resources and community of coders to help make app development less of a pain. It however has too many app developers and too many apps in Play Store in the year 2015.
Windows is the third place here. Even though it has a good balance in users and app developers, its not as easy to code like Android and IOS, but it could likely get to second place if Microsoft works harder in supporting developers. However, there are clear indications Microsoft is moving closer to android which is bad news for Windows.
Blackberry not only takes the last place because its the most difficult coding for but also because Blackberry's developers has the least of support for monetisation. Its so bad from personal experience that i wonder why it so (really poor monetisation options).
Finally, for the sake of app developers i hope 2016 gets better cause from research, 2015 is the worst year to be an app developer. IOS has it going on pretty well, Android really needs to improve or the future wont be predictable, Windows is promising but depends on Microsoft's patience in building the platform, Blackberry OS is dying and not even BlackBerry is willing to stick her head out that long anymore.
Send us your feedback in the comments, what are your experiences with being a developer or a consumer of mobile apps?
