Opinion: Android versus iOS – it’s all about the apps

The current legal battle between Apple and Samsung is certainly a hot topic for discussion.

But what exactly are the differences between iOS and Android, specifically when talking about applications? And which platform is preferred by developers?

It seems as if iOS has received more attention, as everything really comes down to the apps. 

I personally believe everything looks much better on iOS, whether we are talking about the official Facebook app, or other social networking apps, chat or official software for certain companies or TV stations. 



The bottom line is that at this moment, no matter how hard we try to make things equal, most applications do look better and feel more streamlined on iOS.



Plus, there are far more apps available for iOS (at Market Place) than for Android – around 350,000 for the former versus 150,000 for the latter. 



Still, it should be noted that Android is quite a versatile OS and ecosystem, as it can run on multiple devices from different vendors, whereas iOS can only be run on a very limited amount of Apple hardware.

So Android could catch up with Apple in the near future, at least in terms of smartphone apps. 



Of course, Android tablet-specific apps designed to run in Honeycomb may take a bit longer to reach even a semblance of critical mass.