Android is Losing the Platform War

In the near future, the Google corporation platform may not only give way to the conditional palm of iOS, but also lose the mobile device market. 

The ecosystem of platforms looks something like this: if the share of one of the operating systems significantly dominates the market, then this platform, of course, controls the market. And if it controls the market, then, in the future, it receives support from developers. With their support, the best applications and software come to the platform, which attract users, and the more users, the more revenue. 

According to this scheme, the Android platform, which now has a large part of the mobile device market, should win the war of the axes, but, surprisingly, this does not happen. On the contrary, the search giant’s platform is losing it. 

What’s the matter? 

Perhaps it’s because, as is well known, app developers earn much less on Google Play than on iOS, because an Android account does not have to be linked to a credit card. Perhaps because of the huge fragmentation of the platform, which requires testing each application on at least 30 devices. Perhaps in piracy, thanks to which it is unrealistic for expensive projects to pay off on this platform. 

Does Android’s problems end there? Unfortunately for Google, no.

One of the businessmen involved in e-commerce, said in an interview with Business Insider that, in addition, “Android users use apps less often” (than iOS users).

According to him, 25% of his company’s revenue comes from the mobile market, and most of it falls on iOS. Of course, his company also has applications for the Google platform, but they are made “just in case”.

But he is not the only one who claims that iOS is the only right way. Many who have already built their digital business agree with him. For example, representatives of Fab.com The owners of a website specializing in the sale of designer items claim that a third of their visits come from mobile devices, and 95% of these visits are on Apple devices. 

You can do without particular examples. According to the latest NetMarketShare data, the share of Android mobile global traffic, compared to the share of iOS, is very small. Apple devices account for 60% of mobile traffic, while Google products account for only 20%. 

At the same time, in the smartphone market we are seeing an inverse proportion. According to IDC data in May, Android accounts for 59% of the global smartphone market, while iOS accounts for only 23%. That is, what Android users do without a network with their smartphones is completely unclear. 

Of course, here the bias in favor of iOS can be explained by the popularity of the iPad on the world market. According to the same IDC, 61.4% of the world market is behind this tablet. But, for a second, Android’s share in the global market is also very significant. In addition, the success of the iPad did not prevent Google Play from matching the App Store in terms of the number of free downloads in the United States. 

But the worst news for Google is that Apple is once again increasing the pace of growth in the market. So, it is very possible that if the search giant does not solve the problems, it will be defeated both in the mobile device market and in the platform market.