We asked successful developers whether in-app sales, subscriptions or advertising work better and which tips future developers should heed.

(Image: Thorsten Hübner)

Apple and Google’s App Store: This is how developers can make money with apps iOS or Android Four payment models App Stores: Help and Obstacle Epic as a champion Conclusion Article in c ‘t 21 / 2020 read Big money for small developers: As Apple 2008 introduced its App Store and Google launched the Android Market, which is now called Google Play, resonated with nothing less than the promise of a revolution. One-man developer booths could suddenly fall back on the same distribution channels as multi-million dollar software companies. There was virtually no pre-selection, only the rules of the app stores had to be observed. For 30 Percent of the sales of each app, Apple and Google also took most of the ballast of marketing and sales from the developers. This way the developers should be able to concentrate fully on their core activities. In the years that followed, Apple and Google displayed huge checks with billions in their keynotes in order to underpin the success of the app stores. The good news was: Look here, dear developers, this money is for you!

In the year 2020 the glory and glory of the pioneering days have given way to increasing disillusionment among developers. Experience shows that the software market has been democratized on paper, but the obstacles to advancement still exist. It is not without reason that the new big names are often old friends. While the game company Epic is arguing with Apple and Google about the amount of the commission on the millions in sales, many small developers would be happy if they even achieved four-digit income. We talked to several developers of small, successful apps about it.

iOS and Android do not speak the same (programming) language. Some tools like Xamarin, Unity or Flutter help with cross-platform development, but the second operating system still eats up resources and training time – something that small developers in particular cannot afford. So a decision has to be made: iOS or Android?

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Sign in and read Register now and read the article immediately More information about heise + Apple and Google’s App Store: This is how developers can make money with apps iOS or Android Four payment models App Stores: Help and Obstacle Epic as a champion Conclusion Article in c ‘t 21 / 2020 read