5 Good Reasons We Built the Acompli Email App for iOS First
We did the math and the answer was iOS. We share the decision making process that led us to that answer.
Just a few years ago, most mobile business professionals were busy typing away on physical BlackBerry keyboards. Now, the decline of BlackBerry, the rise of BYOD, and decreased IT constraints have given professionals a new choice between iOS and Android when it comes to mobile devices. Android now dominates in terms of reach, but iOS tends to attract more premium users.
For any app developer, choosing which platform to tackle first is a major decision. As the installed base of Android continues to grow beyond that of iOS, the decision about which to choose is growing more difficult. In Acompli’s case, since it took us a year to develop our first market-ready app, we didn’t take this decision lightly. In order to make our choice, we looked at a number of factors we found relevant.
Here’s the thinking behind the process that made iOS the right launch platform for us.
1. Reach: While Android dominates as a platform, the iPhone is still the leading device: over 40 percent of smartphone subscribers in the U.S. use iPhones. This makes it a no-brainer to pick the platform that automatically reaches the largest number of devices. More on this below, as we discuss the next two criteria.
2. Audience: The iPhone is the leading bring-your-own device in workplaces, and Acompli is made for professionals. For example, this is why Acompli uniquely offers tightly integrated calendar and file handling features in its application. Additionally, this is why we committed to shipping Microsoft Exchange support, the most popular email service among professionals, in our first GA release. Regarding iOS’ reach against professionals, 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies use iOS.
3. Differentiation: Overall, we did not choose the business of email lightly. It’s a mature category and all the major platform providers (e.g., Apple, Google, Microsoft) provide their own mobile email apps. With real competition, we had to be sure we could innovate in a way that was meaningful enough to convince consumers to switch from email apps that likely work well enough for them. That’s a “10X” challenge. Comparing the strength of pre-installed clients on iOS and Android, Apple’s email client is harder to improve upon, which meant the need to differentiate would be even greater. Ultimately, however, our research showed that people were deeply frustrated and open to change on iOS. That provided us an entry window. Moreover, as mobile continues to radically change how, when and where professionals get work done, we are only beginning to scratch the surface of possibilities as it relates to mobile email. To us, this meant that not only could we launch with something different, but also continue to innovate and differentiate for the foreseeable future.
4. Fragmentation: Little fragmentation exists in the iOS world. On iOS, new OS versions are automatically pushed to devices resulting in the vast majority of users always having the latest OS. Additionally, there are only a few device variations to account for, e.g., iPhone 4, iPhone 5, iPad and iPad mini. On Android, a developer has to consider hundreds of devices and, as Tim Cook pointed out at WWDC, only 9 percent of Android users are on Kit Kat, the latest version of Android, versus 87 percent of iOS users who are on iOS 7. Much of this stems from middle-man issues (OEMs and Carriers) in the Android ecosystem, who delay, alter or block the distribution of a homogenous operating system. We chose to start with iOS first so we could focus on the core product design with fewer distractions that come with having to solve fragmentation issues.
5. Security: Because of Apple’s app review process, iOS apps are, on average, higher quality and more secure. Greater fragmentation and more lax app approval policies have led to malware on Android devices and even malicious apps available for download in Google Play. Security is particularly important to our customer base of professionals, so it’s important to us, and we wanted to debut on a more controlled, safe platform. Plus, the iPhone 5s in particular has a notable safety feature: Touch ID. While it hasn’t worked perfectly, it shows that Apple is serious about baking security into its devices.
These five reasons compelled Acompli to select iOS as its launch platform. With initial positive reception to our app, we feel validated that we built the right product for the right audience, distributed over the right platform. Furthermore, everything we learn about how professionals use mobile email on iOS will help us better satisfy the needs of Android users as we develop the beta for that platform.
