Apple recently announced its mobile App Store’s 50 billionth download, but that number is set to be eclipsed by Google’s Play Store for Android which is set to bypass Apple’s numbers in October. While 2 million Apple Apps are downloaded each month, Google’s store is serving 2.5 billion.
Why is a strong Android OS important for education?
The continued success and profitability of the Android Play Store is forcing many app developers to start taking the operating system more seriously as a platform. One of the main reasons Android hasn’t had the same influence in schools is that Google’s platform simply hasn’t had the benefit of such a wide range of educational applications. As more developers move towards Google’s growing ecosystem we will continue see more multi-platform applications.
In fact we’re already seeing developers treating both iOS and Android as equally important operating systems, some even prioritising Android over Apple’s platform. The BBC for example now develop applications for both operating systems in parallel where previously only iOS was prioritised.
Not only are we seeing greater numbers of applications being installed on Android but also the profitability of developing for the operating system has also increased significantly in recent months. A stronger Android will result in cheaper devices and increase accessibility to ICT for students.
With Google soon to release a version of their Play Store with curated educational applications the trend for developers to provide greater support for Android will only increase.
Source: The Telegraph
