This morning, I ran across two examples of how apps and services are still being prepared for iOS first, despite all those Android phones in impoverished regions. There are many reasons for this ranging from the obvious to the even more obvious. iOS users make more money and spend more money on apps and services. Though not oft stated but equally obvious, developers like and use iPhones and iPads. They do their best work on the platform that inspired them in the first place. That is why the iOS-first trend is not likely to change anytime soon. Here are the two examples in the news:

The first example is a game called, "Threes". It has swept the tech nation for the past month. From the first day it hit the App Store, it was an instant success. There is not a single tech journalist or blogger that hasn't praised the game for its excellence. For once, I concur with the pundits. For $1.99, "Threes" is a masterpiece. It is simple to pick up and hard to put down. And until today, it was only available for iOS. 

Unsurprisingly, Android users are expressing displeasure for being treated like the second-class citizens that they are in the app world. If a developer wants to actually make money on an app, they make it for iOS first, if not only. Android users don't like to pay for apps. Even 99¢ apps get pirated on the Android side. $2 is almost out of the question. Also, Android tends to spawn a huge clone culture. Since Google neither respects or protects intellectual property, clones of great apps pop up in the Android store for free. It's tough to make a living developing great apps for Android. That is one of the many reasons that the really good ones only go Android after the money has been made on iOS.

The second example is a major new service from United Airlines. Starting soon on a flight near you, United will be offering a streaming service on its flights. The service will allow passengers to stream in-flight movies directly to their mobile devices absolutely free. It will just be a part of the United app. No special plugins are required. There is only one catch. You guessed it; the service is only available for iOS. Only iPhone and iPad users need apply. Owners of Android devices will just have to hope they are sitting next to an iPad user. Such are the indignities heaped upon Android users. 

After all these years, and all those Android activations, it is still only iOS, and everything else. Android devices still have at least one redeeming quality; at least their cheap.

David Johnson