Why Android Takes Forever to Get Cool Apps

Even though Android holds a larger share of the smartphone market in the United States, app availability and innovation continue to lean in Apple’s favor. Despite Android’s user base, the platform consistently sees delayed app releases—popular apps like Instagram and Pinterest arrived on Android a full year after their iOS debut. A recent report from mobile analytics firm Flurry sheds light on the core issues holding Android back and why iOS continues to dominate in mobile app ecosystems.

What’s behind this persistent disparity? It’s not just the number of devices in users’ hands. Flurry’s findings reveal a much deeper challenge rooted in the app development process itself. For independent developers or smaller mobile studios, Android’s fragmented ecosystem presents major technical and financial hurdles—ones that often make building for iOS a more viable business strategy. In fact, Flurry’s data suggests that Android apps are unlikely to catch up anytime soon, as the economics of app development grow increasingly unfavorable for individuals or small teams.

To make a sustainable income, app developers must generate consistent sales—around 50 downloads per hour, 24/7, at $1 per app, according to Swedish developer Johan Emil Johansson. That target becomes even more elusive when you factor in the cost of updating apps across dozens, or even hundreds, of different devices. Unlike iOS, where updates can be centralized across a few models, Android’s open hardware ecosystem introduces significant compatibility burdens.

Device fragmentation is one of the most pressing issues developers face. Flurry counted 331 unique smartphone and tablet models developers would need to support to reach about 90% of the Android market. Even covering just half of the most-used Android devices requires coding and testing for 18 separate models. Layer on top of that the multiple versions of Android in circulation at any given time, and the complexity multiplies. iOS, in contrast, involves fewer model and OS combinations, dramatically reducing development and QA workloads.

Why do developers prioritize iOS? It’s not just about technical simplicity—it’s also about user engagement and return on investment. According to Flurry’s research, iOS devices generate far more active users per model. On average, one iOS device brings 14 times the usage of its Android counterpart. Even when focusing solely on Samsung—Android’s most dominant OEM—Flurry found that a single iOS user was still equivalent to seven Samsung users in terms of app engagement.

This behavior directly affects monetization strategies for developers. With higher usage rates, iOS apps offer more opportunities for in-app purchases, ad revenue, and brand engagement. If you're wondering which mobile platform delivers a better return for your development budget or marketing spend, the data overwhelmingly points to iOS.

Looking ahead, the problem of fragmentation is only expected to intensify. Manufacturers continue releasing new devices to carve out niche segments in an already crowded market. The rise of “phablets”—oversized smartphones that blur the line between phones and tablets—further complicates user experience design and app layout considerations. Meanwhile, the range of operating systems in circulation grows ever broader, making it harder to standardize or future-proof apps for Android users.

All of this signals a shift in the mobile app development landscape. The days of a solo whiz kid launching the next viral sensation from a dorm room or garage may be waning. Flurry predicts a future where app creation becomes dominated by well-resourced companies with the technical infrastructure and team size to manage versioning, compatibility testing, and distribution at scale.