Survey Says: Developer interest in Android on the decline
According to a survey conducted by Appceletator, interest in developing for Android smartphones has been declining steadily since April of 2011. In their latest poll of over 5,500 mobile developers, the firm found that 76 percent of those surveyed were “very interested” in the Android platform. Compare that number to the 85 percent interested in developing for Apple’s iPhone.
While the number seems to predict doom and gloom, it’s important to note a trend common among nearly all platforms in Appcelerators Q3 survey. All platforms, including iOS, saw a drop off from the previous quarter except for Windows 8 Tablets. While developer interest still remains higher for Apple’s iPhone and iPad, it too has declined since the middle of 2011, though to a lesser degree than Google’s Android platform. The figure could be easily attributed to the introduction of new platforms such as Windows Phone or to a general shift towards HTML5 over native mobile apps.
Oddly enough, when queried as to what elements influenced their decisions on which platforms to develop for, those polled named a large install base as the number one factor. While its iconic stature in pop culture may give the iPhone the edge here, the latest figures suggest that Android currently has more activated devices on the market, last reported at 500 million to Apple’s 400 million.
So does the decline give reason to push the panic button? Does it mean we will see fewer high quality apps on the Google Play store in coming months? Unlikely. But it is interesting to ponder the implications of the data presented by Appceletator. What’s your take?
[via TechCrunch]