Do Windows Phone App Developers earn better than Android Developers?

According to a report posted on Telegraph.co.uk, “Google's Android and Apple's iOS operating systems account for 98pc of the smartphone market, as BlackBerry and Windows systems lag ever further behind.” Likewise, the latest market share statistics posted on NetMarketShare.com indicate that worldwide market share of Windows Phone currently stands at 2.57%. The figures even made many websites declare that Microsoft’s mobile operating system is almost dead.

Many analysts believe that the low market share of Windows Phone often encourages mobile app developers to target volume platforms like Android and iOS. But the State of Mobile App Developers 2016 report released by InMobi surprised both market analysts and mobile app developers by claiming that Windows Phone developers earn more than Android developers. The report confirms that majority of developers target Android and Google Play for mobile app development.

But it states that Windows Phone OS leads revenue chart. According to the report, “The average monthly per-app revenue is in the range of $5k to $11k depending on the platform. Windows Phone is the highest money-maker at $11.4k per month per app. Those that develop to the Apple iOS make an average of about $8.1k per month per app. For Android, the average revenue is $4.9k per month per app.” The report also mentions a number of reasons why Windows Phone apps are more profitable than Android apps.

Why Windows Phone Developers Earn More than Android Developers?

Niche Audience: Windows Phone OS has always remained less popular than Android and iOS. But Windows OS still dominates the worldwide desktop operating system market. The massive popularity of Windows OS encourages many users to opt for Windows Phones. Hence, Windows Phone OS, unlike other mobile operating systems has a niche audience. The niche audience contribute immensely towards making Windows Phone app development profitable.

Less Competition: As the survey highlighted, a large percentage of developers prefer creating apps for iOS and Android platforms. At present, Apple App Store and Google Play also have a higher number of apps and game than Windows Store. But Windows Store, unlike other app stores, is not fragmented. Also, the people using Windows Phone devices have option to choose from a lower number of apps. Thus, the competition among Windows Phone apps is much lesser. The reduced competition enables developers to get higher returns by targeting Microsoft’s mobile operating system.

Enhanced App Visibility: Many studies have highlighted that the profitability of a mobile app is impacted by its visibility. When an app store includes millions on app, the discoverability of individual mobile applications in affected. Also, the users get a chance to choose from several apps offering similar features and functionality. But Windows Store has a comparatively lesser number of app. Further, the reduced completion among apps enhances the visibility and discoverability of individual apps. The enhanced app discoverability helps developer to accomplish more downloads and get higher returns.

Early Adoption of Windows 10: According to Gartner’s press release, “By the end of 2017, many business are looking to move as much as 40 percent of their installed base onto new Windows 10 devices, mainly driven by the appeal hybrid touch-screen 2-1. This will be the catalyst for growth in the PC market in 2017.” The early and steady adoption of Windows 10 is expected to boost the sale of Windows Phone devices. Windows 10 is designed with features to enable users to use PCs and mobile devices interchangeably. Also, it comes with several new features and enhancements to deliver high quality experience to users. Microsoft recently started rolling out Windows 10 Mobile for selected devices. The adoption rate of Windows 10 PC and Mobile encourage more developers to build new mobile apps for Microsoft’s platform, and generate more revenue.

New Initiatives Taken by Microsoft: Microsoft has been taking new initiatives regularly to simplify Windows Phone app development. The company has launched the Universal Windows Platform (UWP) to enable developers to build apps for various devices powered by Windows 10 using one API set and one package. The developers can further distribute the UWP apps for various devices through Windows Store. Also, Microsoft recently acquired Xamarin with its cross-platform mobile app development tools. The Xamarin platform enables mobile app developers to build apps for iOS, Android and Windows Phone using a shared C# code base, a single set of APIs, and the same IDE. Microsoft is expected to integrate the Xamarin tools with its own development tools and services to encourage more developers to build apps for Windows Phone.

The State of Mobile App Developers 2016 report released by InMobi will encourage many developers to build mobile apps by targeting Windows Phone and Windows Store. At the same time, the developers can take advantage of Universal Windows Platform and Xamarin Platform to build an app by targeting iOS, Android and various devices powered by Windows 10 without putting extra time and effort.