iOS Developers Embracing Alternative Mobile Platforms, Shying Away From Mac

piper jaffray wwdc11 dev survey
Fortune reports on a new survey conducted by Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last week in which he surveyed a number of developer attendees to gain an understanding of their development interests. Interestingly, nearly half of the 45 developers surveyed reported that they are also developing for Android, while only a third revealed that they are developing BlackBerry applications.

Only 7% of surveyed developers reported that they are also developing for OS X, indicating that Apple's new Mac App Store and integrated Xcode development tools still have a significant market on the OS X side that remains untapped. A full 93% of iPhone developers unsurprisingly reported also developing for iPad, tapping into the rapidly-growing tablet market as a natural extension of their iPhone and iPod touch businesses.

While the developers unsurprisingly (given their attendance at WWDC) unanimously chose iOS as the platform that is easiest for development and best for monetization, only approximately half of the developers regarded iOS as having the highest growth potential. Even among these dedicated iOS developers, 40% of respondents cited Android as having the highest potential for future growth.

Munster attempts to compare his results to a similar survey of 20 developers conducted at WWDC 2008, but with only a handful of results from that earlier survey providing little detail and the wholesale changes in iOS and the smartphone industry since that time, it is difficult to make comparisons. For example, iOS developer interest in the Mac platform appears to have plummeted from 50% to 7% over the past three years, but it is important to remember the context of 2008 when Apple was just launching the App Store and iOS developers were commonly Mac developers who had begun dabbling in iOS applications. The reverse is now true, with over 400,000 iOS applications available and a number of developers finding that iOS development is a sustainable business on its own.

Top Rated Comments

zioxide Avatar
160 months ago
This is a crap survey. Only 20 people in 2007 and 45 people this year? Thats a TINY sample size.. not even big enough to make these statistics significant.
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
rhett7660 Avatar
160 months ago
This is a crap survey. Only 20 people in 2007 and 45 people this year? Thats a TINY sample size.. not even big enough to make these statistics significant.

I couldn't agree more. How many apps are out there and they only polled 45 people. Give me a freaking break.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
twochoicestom Avatar
160 months ago
If I'd have written a statistical analysis like this for my dissertation. I'd be out on my arse right now.

Misleading headline based on a ***** survey.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
pitouthestar Avatar
160 months ago
This is a crap survey. Only 20 people in 2007 and 45 people this year? Thats a TINY sample size.. not even big enough to make these statistics significant.

Exactly.

I can't believe that serious sites like Fortune publish such crap from Gene Munster.

A 20 or 45 people sample does not mean ANYTHING. But what is even stupider is using percentages on a sample inferior to 100.

Gene Munster, maybe you should look for another job.
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
kalsta Avatar
160 months ago
I'm pro-Macintosh .. hello?
Hello. :)

Apple is pretty decent at making sucessful products, but it doesn't make a lot of them. The Macintosh, the iPod and the iOS are the only successful Apple products. Everything else, every single thing made by Apple has been a failure. Even while Steve Jobs has been at the helm. Both times.
Forgive me, but that did sound a lot like a religious anti-Apple statement. You know, I could say that the Beatles didn't have a lot of successful products — only some songs, and everything else (the films, Apple Records, whatever) was a failure. There may be some truth in that, but my choice of words would be a pretty blatant misrepresentation of the band's success and influence. Wouldn't you agree?
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Consultant Avatar
160 months ago
Wrong interpretation.

Higher iOS developer ratio doesn't mean they are "Shying Away From Mac"

Example

3 iOS dev
1 mac dev
25% mac developer

With an increase in both developer count it could be like this:

95 ios dev
5 mac dev
5% mac developer

Omg Mac is doomed. In reality, the ratio between the two don't tell anything.
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iPhone 16 Mock Header With Dynamic Island

Skipping the iPhone 15 Pro? Here's What's Rumored for iPhone 16 Pro

Friday September 22, 2023 9:29 am PDT by
Are you skipping the iPhone 15 Pro and waiting another year to upgrade? If so, we already have some iPhone 16 Pro rumors for you. Below, we recap new features rumored for the iPhone 16 Pro models so far:Larger displays: The iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max will be equipped with larger 6.3-inch and 6.9-inch displays, respectively, according to Ross Young, CEO of Display Supply Chain...
Update Your iPhone 15 to iOS 17

Warning: Update Your iPhone 15 to iOS 17.0.2 Before Transferring Data From Another iPhone

Friday September 22, 2023 6:36 am PDT by
If you are unboxing an iPhone 15, iPhone 15 Plus, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max today, make sure to update the device to iOS 17.0.2 before transferring data to the device from another iPhone, or else you might encounter issues. iOS 17.0.2 is only available for the iPhone 15 lineup. Apple says the update fixes an issue that may prevent transferring data directly from another iPhone...
iOS 17

Apple Releases iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 With Bug Fixes, Plus iOS 17.0.2 for iPhone 15 Models

Thursday September 21, 2023 10:28 am PDT by
Apple today released iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates for the iPhone and the iPad, adding bug fixes to the new software. The iOS 17.0.1 and iPadOS 17.0.1 updates come just a few days after Apple launched iOS 17 and iPadOS 17. The software, which is build 21A340, can be downloaded on eligible iPhones and iPads over-the-air by going to Settings > General > Software Update. There is a...
Apple Watch Ultra 2 double tap gesture 230912

watchOS 10.1 to Enable Apple Watch's New 'Double Tap' Gesture

Thursday September 21, 2023 12:52 pm PDT by
The new Double Tap gesture for the Apple Watch Series 9 and the Apple Watch Ultra 2 will be enabled starting with watchOS 10.1, according to Marques Brownlee, host of the popular tech-focused YouTube channel MKBHD. The first beta of watchOS 10.1 will likely be available by next week, and Apple announced that the software update will be released next month. Brownlee shared his impressions...