There are Android, iOS and others in the smartphone market. The two operating systems from Google and Apple are now widely adopted by users. Such a success is not accidental. If Android and iOS are so popular, it’s mainly thanks to their app stores: the Play Store for Google and the App Store for Apple.
We were talking about this not so long ago when we learned that Samsung was considering leaving Android to use Tizen in its next products, the success of an operating system is not only due to its interface, but also, and above all, its Store. The fate of Blackberry bears witness to this, as BB10 is an excellent operating system whose major weakness is arguably a very poor application catalogue.
- Also read: Download and Install Google Play Store
So what are the similarities and differences between Play Store and App Store? What drives one user to like it more than another? For a clearer view, here is a Top match between the two most popular app stores by users.
numbers game
Says Google Play Store vs Apple App Store comparison says numbers match: app count, free app rate, total download count, etc. Let’s start with the Cupertino company.
Apple opened the App Store in 2008 with the release of the iPhone 3G. On the date the company announced 500 apps to get started. 3,000 apps and 100 million downloads in just three months!
A year later, we had 2 billion downloads, 3 billion in 2010 and 10 billion in 2011. A rapid rise that has never slowed down since 2011, the number of downloads and applications continued to increase.
- Also read: More fake reviews on the App Store than on Google Play
In 2012 there were 550,000 apps, of which 170,000 were for iPad only. Then we reached 25 billion downloads. A year later, that figure had doubled, and by the end of 2013 we had passed the current first million applicants bar.
But not only because in-app purchases allow developers to make up a significant portion of their revenue, only 110,000 of the 1.2 billion free apps are based on the Freemium model.
Finally, this is a detail for non-developers, but an investment for developers to consider: you must have a Mac to create an iOS app An Android application can be written on Windows, OS X and even Linux. But obviously buying a Mac doesn’t seem to bother them.
Interfaces and multimedia content: Google is more flexible
Google Play is arguably above the App Store in terms of its multimedia content interface. On mobile anyone will find this easily, the App Store is difficult to access from a PC or Mac.
While Google offers access to a very clear web interface to find all Google Play apps with the ability to remotely install apps on your smartphone or tablet, this is not the case at all with Apple.
On PC, it is mandatory to install iTunes to access the App Store. Installing a proprietary client on your PC in 2015 is a huge leap backwards. You can also access an app on the web, but the link always refers to iTunes.
- Also read: Apple’s strategy to attract Android users
This “blocking” is found in the use of multimedia content. Because, as you know, App Store and Google Play Store provide access to music, movies, series or books. Again, the problem with the App Store is that this content can only be viewed on Apple devices or for music, movies and TV shows through iTunes.
Google is much more flexible on its part. The American giant does indeed offer apps for iOS that provide access to multimedia content. It is also possible to enjoy all this content on any device from any browser. A definite advantage.
Well, after reviewing the question, which do you think is the better of the two blinds?
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