In a country where 90% of gamers prefer playing the games like rummy, poker and fantasy games on mobile, mobile phone Operating System (OS) preferences are worth a probe. The two dominant forces in this domain, Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android share the bulk of the global and domestic market.

There are contrasting OS preferences when it comes to individual countries. If you are an Indian who is looking to download rummy apps online, it will likely be through the Play Store. But does that make Android a better OS for gaming? That’s where the technicalities come in.

Better Gaming Experience

An operating system is as good as the library that backs it up. With a handful of models to account for, game developers find it convenient to measure the success of a game on the iOS platform. If they find the response encouraging, they rewrite the app to make it suitable for Android. Although not a rule, it is the norm generally followed globally.

But once you do get the game, playing over Android gets easier. Android phones can download games from any source and start to play them locally. But if a game is not on the App Store, iOS users have to rely on cloud service and a strong internet connection to enjoy the game.

However, if you are a fan of blockbuster AAA games like Resident Evil IV, the iPhone’s new A17 Pro chipset can make playing these games a pleasant experience. An iOS device can end up being a console in your hip pocket.

AAA gaming is best experienced on iOS, but what about features that gamers prefer to have on their device? That’s where Android throws its hat back in the ring. With features like active and internal cooling, extra ports and gaming triggers, an Android device typically comes with more gaming options.  

To sum up the technicalities, in iOS you get a wider library of popular games, a console gaming experience on your phone and chips with high operational effectiveness and capacity. Android devices, on the other hand, can pick apps from anywhere, run emulators and help you with your DIY-gaming aspirations. All of these also come with some monster battery mAh for long gaming sessions.

Global OS preferences

What serves as the bedrock of this discussion is the polarising nature of OS popularity across the world. While more than 60% of Americans are iPhone users, Australia is another country with high iPhone users. On the other side of the spectrum, you have India where 95% of the total mobile users are using Android devices.

Looking again across the world, Japan, Canada and Great Britain have more iPhone users, while Germany, France and Italy have roughly 30 to 40% iPhone users. Brazil (81%) and China (75%), dominant demographics in mobile usage, have a significantly high percentage of Android users.

Overall, the use of mobile in gaming is skewed across the dominant gaming populations. While mobile gaming contributes 90% of the market in India, it is relatively low at 37% in the US. The Chinese gaming market has a 62% contribution from mobile gaming.

OS-based Preference Indicators

When it comes to choosing iOS, it is a case of staunch loyalty. Both the leading OSs have strong customer retention ratios. While Android has an 89-91% customer retention, Apple boasts an 85-88% retention. They don’t jump ships either. Only 18% of iPhone users are former Android users. Similarly, only 11% of Android users have migrated from iPhone.

At the end of the day, the response and spending patterns of users matter most to the game developers. A look at the top downloaded games on iOS shows a high user rating of 4.5+. The same check, when done on Android, shows a lower rating of 4. This could also be due to the huge number of game titles available on the OS.

When it comes to gaming revenue, iOS users top Android users in terms of average spend per user. Thus, despite the smaller target audience, iOS remains an attractive OS for gaming developers.

The Affordability Factor

A premium gaming experience is highly valued by all gamers. However, the fact remains that iOS devices are far more expensive than their Android counterparts. The most affordable iOS device would cost you Rs 50,000, whereas Android smartphones are available at a fraction of the same. And these things do matter in India.

Statistically, India is becoming the gaming capital of the world with its bulging gaming population of rural and Tier-III towns. For example if one were to trust the rummy app download stats of a recently new player like Rummyprime, it shows heavy inclination towards Android devices.

So Who Wins

Both iOS and Android have their unique advantages in gaming. But in a country where the fuel efficiency of a car is a bigger criterion than its riding comfort, Android provides the tailored solution. Android devices cater to people from different financial backgrounds. Different financial backgrounds but a common penchant for gaming.

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