Why are apps better on iPhones than Android?

The answer to the question of whether iOS or Android is the better operating system depends on several different factors. These factors include personal reasons such as what work you use your device for and which one supports your favorite apps better, as well as some external factors such as what system your contacts are using.

Manuel Vonau, a longtime blogger for Android Police, has published a comprehensive article explaining why iPhone apps are still better than Android apps and why he’s back to using iPhone.

According to Vonau, the biggest difference between the two operating systems lies in the fact that while there are Android phones with many different features, Apple produces very few iPhone models. Although Apple is increasing the number of models, all of them are high-end devices that can take advantage of the most demanding applications in the years to come. Interestingly, Manuel Vonau notes that even Google apps work better on the iPhone: “Google Maps creates routes instantly, giving you a sense of movement. WhatsApp offers convenient transitions when you open the keyboard or swipe to go back to all chats. And YouTube delivers rich, long-lasting animation when you put your phone in landscape mode.”

Another point the author makes is that iOS gesture navigation has been the default since iPhone X, but Android phones offer different methods. For example, depending on the phone, return functionality may involve pressing the back button, performing the back gesture, or a special method offered by the device manufacturer.

While Vonau didn’t mention it, it’s also worth noting that iPhone owners are more likely to pay for an app or in-app subscription than Android owners. Statista’s graph showing how much people spend on the App Store and Google Play Store and how much they’ll pay after that shows that the difference is really huge.

User spending on Apple App Store and Google Play Strore.Statista

So even though Android has a larger user base, it’s only natural for developers to make better apps for iPhone users as the main revenue will come from iPhone users. When you combine more revenue, fewer phones to work with, and a user base that constantly updates their smartphones, it’s not hard to see why the iPhone can deliver a better app experience than Android.