Google Versus Apple: 3 reasons how Android may affect the iPhone market dominance

Analysts and users waited in anticipation when the first Android device was launched in 2009 with a brand new operating system. Until then Apple had dominated with their iPhone and the reasons were clear. The first Android devices did not look and work anywhere near as good as the iPhone and a lot of excitement around Google’s attempt to muscle in on this market place was dampened.

However things have now changed substantially as Android has come a long way since then. Some forecasters are predicting that the iPhone will lose its advantage over Android. Currently it is clear that the iPhone is the market leader and there are reasons why analysts don’t think the market share numbers matter. iPhone users engage more, generate more revenue via the app store with the direct correlation of developers making more money as well.

So what may change as the battle heats ups:

1. Apple’s hardware advantage is diminishing

Until recently, Apple was ahead when it came to hardware. Apple’s equipment is polished, exceptionally designed and beautifully crafted. Android devices looked cheap and cheerful and did not impress users.
However, the gap has been narrowed somewhat recently. Take the Samsung Galaxy S3 as an example. The phone is beautifully designed, fresh and has a real quality feel about it and the hardware is excellent. The same can be said about some of the other brands such as the recently launched Nokia Lumia.
Design aside, Apple has also attracted users who want to be different and make a statement. When the iPhone was fist launched, it was cool to own one but now with their market penetration being so high, the exclusivity of owning one has gone down. Also, people do not all want to be holding the same mobile phone and there are 100’s of designs for Android based phones that users can choose from.

2. User interface – Android is catching up – and fast!

When the iPhone first came out, the user interface was refreshing, simple and easy to use. Compare that with other alternatives available at that time and it was clear that Apple had made a huge leap in giving their customers a much better experience.

Android has come long way since then and now powers up handsets with an operating system that gives Apple a direct head-on competitor. However, the Android operating system does give more options, features and flexibility and it was initially thought that all these additional features would simply confuse people as a comparison to Apple’s clean and easy to use interface. However, it seems like people in general are more open to technology now than they have ever been and what would typically appeal to ‘geeks’, now seems to appeal to ‘normal’ people. This could really make Android appeal to the masses with all the additional features such as widgets, extra buttons, customisation, layouts etc.

3. Developers are more interested in Android than before

As the demographics of users change with the higher end Android devices, developers are seeing an opportunity to target user with higher buying power. In the early days developers stuck with the iPhone as they got their fingers burnt trying to develop for Android. They were unable to monetize their apps in the same way with Android but with better payment processing systems such as Google wallet, Android is now beginning to gain some ground.

The process of getting apps approved in iTunes has been frustrating for developers and it seems like the approval will not be changed any time soon by Apple. In comparison, it is a lot easier and simpler to publish apps to the Android Market Place.

With HTML5 apps penetrating the marketplace, Google is more committed working with HTML5/JS technology. Even if developers decide to go completely native, it is a lot easier to code Java Android apps than in ObjectiveC.

In summary the gap is decreasing between Google and Apple and it remains to be seen how it all unravels in time to come.