Building Mobile Apps – iPhone vs. Symbian

Once upon a time, Symbian was one of the most robust, widespread smartphone operating systems on the planet. Today, it’s still widely used, but there are some compelling reasons that you should consider developing your mobile app for the iPhone rather than for Symbian devices. What are these reasons and how do they affect you? Let’s take a closer look.

More Consumers

First, let’s touch on how widely used Symbian is in comparison to iOS. You’ll find conflicting information here. Symbian actually is more widely used, than iOS (outside the US). Symbian is heavily used throughout Asia and in many developing nations. However, it’s on the decline, with iOS rising quickly. What does that mean for you? Simply put, you’ll have access to more consumers down the road with an iOS app than with something designed for Symbian.

More Apps

One area where iOS trounces Symbian is in the number of apps available. The OVI store (Symbian app store) has 10X fewer apps than the Apple App Store. Of course, that means there’s less competition with similar apps, but it also means fewer consumers are going to come looking for your app in the first place. It makes sense – consumers are going to go where they have access to the largest amount of apps (both paid and free). Therefore, you need to make sure your app is available where your users will be.

Symbian Is Dying

Perhaps the most compelling reason to ditch Symbian in favor of app development for iOS is the announcement by Nokia that Symbian will be phased out in the next couple of years. Yes, you heard that right. The platform is dying and will be taken out of the marketplace. That brings up a very good question – why bother developing an app for a platform that’s not going to be around for the long term? Apple’s iOS is here to stay – it’s become too much a part of the average person’s daily life for it to be phased out any time soon. Moreover, the company has never been stronger – you can look forward to years and years of life out of the OS.

As you can see, developing an app for iOS just makes sense. If you must venture into the world of Symbian, do it last. Make iOS your first choice, followed by Android, and then Symbian if you are dead set to explore that market.