iOS or Android – Who is it going to be in 2014?

The year’s come to an end, and we’re still contemplating who’s going to win. The iOS Vs Android battle continues to dominate discussions both in the virtual and the real world. This holiday season has given us some useful insights about the Operating Systems, their popularity and people preferences. With the numbers coming in after Christmas shopping, it’s time to join the dots and read the figures to catch a glimpse of what to expect in the New Year.

It’s clearly evident that interaction and engagement have remained a strong point with Apple, on the other hand, the growing user base for Android calls for an urgency to provide meaningful interactions with these users. The holiday season did see a surge for Apple devices as gifts; especially, in the Tablet division. However, Apple is expected to take a blow in the mobile sector this coming year. This trend is mainly attributed to the availability of a wide variety of Smartphones that are available in the market today.

In the Meanwhile, Android has already captured 52.2 percent market share for smartphones, and it expected to gain momentum in the coming year. The challenge for developers in this sector is to come up with more interactive and motivating applications given that Android users have a history for being less active.

As Nicole Leverich, director of corporate communications at Mixpanel puts it – “Christmas day was clearly an Apple day based on Mixpanel’s data. But looking ahead to 2014, we believe that overall it’s going to be an Android year with iOS continuing to win in tablets”

Going on Nicole words, there has been a shift in outlook from OS to devices. With a greater diversity in devices that are expected to hit the market in the year 2014; devices like tablets, phones and phablets that focus on greater consumer activity would take the lead.

“As activity on Android continues to increase there will be an even greater range of devices from Samsung and others that marketers will need to make sure they reach consumers on,” she said.

PCs with a touch of Android

Word has it that several PC manufacturers are looking to provide the ease and familiarity of Windows OS alongside popular Android interfaces to bestow ‘touch- enabled’ experiences to these devices. I must mention that Microsoft had attempted the same with the Windows 8 operating system, though it didn’t go down well with users it certainly has opened up several possibilities. Again the challenge for developers who want to work on this model of providing 2 OS would be to improve the user interactions.

Take the season’s Christmas sales, for example; Apple devices accounted for around 23 percent of eCommerce orders on the 25th of December, as per analysis conducted by IBM whereas, Android accounted only for a 4.6 percent.

So, in the year 2014, we can expect Android apps, ads or any other content to focus on improving consumer interactions compelling users to engage proactively. This will definitely turn the tables on Apple, making Android the most preferred OS by manufacturers. Besides, the cost efficiency of working on open source platforms, consumers would have the benefit of choosing from a wide variety of device designs, makes and models.

On the Tablet Front – Apple’s got it all!

Citing from the Christmas sales again, Apple tablets outdid others as being the most popular gift article. Of the Total sale for tablets on Christmas day, 79 percent were iPads. Similarly, for Thanksgiving iPads had a whopping 74 Percent to its credit. Also, overall mobile activity shows that iOS users outperformed the others.

Current trends show that tablets are a popular gifting article. Those with Wi-Fi did particularly well. The Amazon Kindle Fire was another popular gift this Christmas.

Considering the growing iPad sales, it’s unmistakable that tablets by Apple have become a powerful productivity tool. Surprisingly, Apple does not have an enterprise sales group or even an enterprise services department. Yet, its growing popularity goes on to prove that Apple has far surpassed other tablets in terms of improving productivity and customer engagement. With other manufacturers like Microsoft and Google already catering to that specific niche; it’s obvious that Apple too would buck up and work on this front. An existing head-start to its credit; I wouldn’t be surprised if Apple comes up with a whole new revolutionary product that caters to the requirements of the Enterprise, in the year 2014.

An overall review of Android and iOS

Though Christmas Day revenues showed that Apple devices were popular gifts, Samsung wasn’t far behind. The gap between the two brands seems to have narrowed. Android smartphones continue to be the most sold and popular phone owing to its cost and efficiency on the other hand, Apple phones have created a niche set of high-end user to whom they cater.

The open source factor of the Android platform has definitely tipped the scales in its favor, what is left to be seen is whether they can create an environment conducive to improving user engagement that outdoes the iOS platform.