Are iPad apps typically released before Android apps?

rick7

Member
Oct 19, 2011
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I was just using my Windows desktop PC to browse on the web site of the Oakland Tribune. I noticed at the top of the page this blurb set apart with its own color graphic:

Every word & image from your newspaper. And more
Announcing the new e-Edition iPad app
San Jose Mercury News . Contra Costa Times . Oakland Tribune

I don't have a tablet yet but am most likely getting an Android device within the next month. It really struck me how often I see ads like this on the web: promoting a new iPad app for something or other. It made me wonder: when we see such ads, are we to assume that their sponsors have first released an iPad app but then soon thereafter will release the complementary Android tablet app? Or should no such assumption be made and that they in fact may never release an Android app to do the same thing?

I'm hoping the former, but typically how long do we Android users have to wait for the sister app?

Or, alternately, when they say they've released an iPad app, have they actually released both an iPad app and an Android app at the same time but because of the huge dominance of Apple in the market call this double enterprise simply an "iPad app" since an insufficient number of people will even know what an Android App is? And that term "iPad app" is simply enough to subtly signal to owners of tablet computers everywhere that all their tablet devices are covered? If that's the case, one could easily argue that the mainstream web community, or rather the advertisers, officers, web admins and most of all the Chief Technology Officers of the companies who run them, consider the phrase iPad app an adequate term when they mean to denote tablet computer app as if Android apps were a skinny stepsister not even worth mentioning and all they have to do is mention iPad app and everything stands up and saluates and feels taken care of? If that's the case, then honestly I don't like it.

It's kind of like how my grandmother used to use the brand name 'Kleenex' when she meant the generic word 'tissues', and 'Frigidaire' when she meant 'refrigerator', always using the proprietary brand name for the most popular model rather than the generic English name for the thing.

What are other ways of looking at this ad above? How common are they? It's one thing to dominate the market but quite another to dominate the language.
 
Last edited:

pbrauer

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Staff member
Sep 24, 2010
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IPad apps do tend to get more press since they have so much market visibility. Does seem to impact android app development one way or the other IMHO.

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rick7

Member
Oct 19, 2011
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So after seeing ads like that do you assume that the developers have not yet created an Android app to do the same thing? Would you assume in a typical situation like this that they eventually will? How long a time lag is there typically? Thanks.
 

rick7

Member
Oct 19, 2011
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I don't yet have a tablet and this kind of thing makes me mad. But I guess this is why there are so many more iPad apps in their marketplace: web developers seem to typically create first and foremost (and possibly only!) for the iPad. People end buying iPads not necessarily because they're better but because Apple has such better marketing power and brand awareness and therefore so many people buy iPads which therefore drives more app development which therefore drives more people to buy iPads...
 

hartlanes

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Mar 18, 2012
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I frequently heard that a lot of that polish has to do with iPad developers using a more consistent interface design than the helter-skelter approach often used on the Android side. Personally i do not have any iPad and android tab but have friends who have both. I would like to say that i have looked pretty closely at both platforms, and with the exception of battery life, where the ipad clearly blows the competition out of the water that is 10 hrs for the ipad vs 3-5 for the android, input goes to android with T-Swipe Pro, external sd card storage goes to android, usb access goes to android, ad infinitum. There are many and very clear areas where the android is far superior to the ipad. I think that its all about the consumer loyalty, it's performance and money.
 

Roger2008

Member
Apr 4, 2012
152
6
...
but typically how long do we Android users have to wait for the sister app?
...

I hate to break this to you, but even where there is a "sister app" the Android Version does not have all the features of the iPhone/iPad version. Case in point is "Dish Remote Access" where you have to view the Schedule and the DVR in Portrait mode only with an Android Device but whenever DISH shows off "DISH Remote Access" on an iPhone or iPad they prove that it can display the Schedule or DVR in Landscape mode.

And if you call up to complain to DISH about that they tell you your device is setup wrong even though everything else rotates fine.

As a side note. iPad DISH Remote Access users complain that that the Video on an iPad has to be watched in Landscape so maybe that will be fixed before the Android users will get to see the Schedule or DVR in landscape mode.
 

userbe1155

Senior Member
Nov 8, 2011
697
55
I believe that the market will change when more android tabs get sold. They are becoming much more affordable at the moment & surely as a result the android os will overtake ipad at some point. I think this is inevitable & as such, more apps will be created for android than apple. All markets are aimed at the best sellers or most users unless controlled by outside interests. At the moment, my sons school uses ipads as they have apps in place to cater for educational purposes. This annoys me as I feel I'm being forced to spend more than I can afford so that my son can keep up with the more affluent kids. I would like to see apps that can mirror the ipads for education on android tabs giving us more choice with what we can afford to ensure our kids don't get left out or feel inferior because we can't afford ipads. His school currently has a scheme where by paying monthly, you can have an ipad but when I worked out the cost, it meant paying over £600 for the 16gb wifi & 3g, which can be bought now for around £320. I hope android can catch up quickly in this dept and kids from lower income families like ours aren't left feeling inferior.

Sent from my M9701 using Android Tablet
 
Apr 22, 2012
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Well if you sense it there is no solid story in it but this is a common business practice to release the high cost product early and then release a subsidiary for low cost derivative to capitalize on the low cost segment of the market.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
Staff member
Jan 6, 2011
5,172
899
Or, alternately, when they say they've released an iPad app, have they actually released both an iPad app and an Android app at the same time but because of the huge dominance of Apple in the market call this double enterprise simply an "iPad app" since an insufficient number of people will even know what an Android App is? And that term "iPad app" is simply enough to subtly signal to owners of tablet computers everywhere that all their tablet devices are covered? If that's the case, one could easily argue that the mainstream web community, or rather the advertisers, officers, web admins and most of all the Chief Technology Officers of the companies who run them, consider the phrase iPad app an adequate term when they mean to denote tablet computer app as if Android apps were a skinny stepsister not even worth mentioning and all they have to do is mention iPad app and everything stands up and saluates and feels taken care of? If that's the case, then honestly I don't like it.

It seems to me this is very frequently the case. There are times when there is an iPad only app and no Android equivalent and there are times when the iPad app comes first and the Android app follows (usually within a couple of months). My feeling is that most of the time you get the iPad app advertisement and then when you click on it you get the download screen which shows you can get the iPad or Android app. It is starting to get better where you see both app listed upfront but it still seems like most of the time "iPad app" is used generically to entice people into a "tablet app" download page where you have a choice between the two.
 
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