While Android market share fluctuates over time, it still takes up more than 70% of the mobile operational systems market. Taking that there are 8 billion people on Earth and at least half of them have a smartphone, as you’ll see, it’s a really large number.
If you’re interested in entering this field, you may wonder about the Android app development cost. Before calculating it, let’s focus on the mobile market in general and how Android development works.
Mobile apps market: A golden mine
The more the world develops, the more mobile apps for all cases and purposes emerge here. Let’s see some statistical data from Grand View Research to understand why this really is a golden mine. Below, you can see the market prediction for the current decade in North America: as you see, the approximate growth rate is about 14%.
See below to check the app statistics for 2022. The global app market in 2022 is much larger than North American’s and exceeds $200 billion. As it continues to grow, soon it’ll be much larger. Gaming is still the largest share of all apps, almost 40%, even though games share only a fraction of all applications. That’s because games often provide paid features, and people are ready to pay for them as they are highly immersive and sometimes even addictive.
No matter whether you’ll develop a game or something else, for example, a yoga app, you’ll find your niche here. There are hundreds and even thousands of niches if you’ll differentiate each of them precisely. Even games may be divided into multiple categories (strategies, shooters, simulators, puzzles, and much more, and each category may further be divided), so before ideating on which app you’ll create, do this division.
Android apps popularity
Let’s see the excerpt from the table below. As you see, there are really big numbers of downloads, comparable to the total Earth population (more than 8 billion), and Google pre-installed apps, such as YouTube, have even large numbers. So, Android provides a really large field to develop.
Another table below shows why gaming is the most profitable part of the app industry, according to market research. Almost all the most popular paid apps, which you may see on it, are games. Ultra-popular Minecraft and GTA have mobile versions, but many other mobile games are also growing in popularity. While these paid games has much less installs, each install brings a solid sum of money, so, for example, Minecraft developers already earned at least $70 million.
Now, let’s proceed to the Android development basics and then approximate how much the Android app development may cost.
Android development
Android app development proceeds using the Java language, despite there are ways to develop cross-platform apps using frameworks such as React Native or Flutter. There are specific Java libraries for Android, and the mentioned frameworks also provide their own libraries. Another language, Kotlin, is also widely used today: it’s similar to Java and developed based on it. However, Java still remains a leader and has a large number of various libraries.
Android Studio is the official IDE for Android app development. It provides tools for coding in Java, testing, and debugging, so you’ll be fully set up. Also, you’ll use XML (Extensible Markup Language) and built-in UI components to define the app’s front-end. They include buttons, text fields, and layouts. You’ll create your own UI component or use the pre-installed ones to connect in a way you would like.
The back-end development includes data proceeding facilities of your app and features that you’ll implement in it. You’ll define app logic, data management, UI element interactions, and all similar components using Java’s object-oriented options. Eventually, it’ll be a data-processing machine that will bring your app to life.
Also, you’ll need a database to store and manage your app’s data, such as SQLite: it’s another element of your back-end. Here you’ll set up how your app will store data and how they will be used by your implemented features. Interaction with other apps, using APIs and other mechanisms, also will be defined here.
Lastly, you’ll need to test your app on various devices. Android Studio enables you to connect your device to the computer and test the app on it, or you can use a virtual device to test on other Android versions or screen sizes.
Latest trends in Android app development
What must you count on to ensure the success of your application? How can you maximize its value for people? Let’s see a bunch of trending directions for the 2023 Android app development to understand what you may obtain here.
– The Internet of Things includes connecting your app to various external objects. For example, smartwatches and heart monitor devices are tools to measure your body parameters and help you remain fit.
– AI tools, while they may greatly increase the app development cost, are highly universal and greatly enhance your app’s power. Content generation, analytics, search, and chatbots are only a fraction of what AI may bring to your application.
– Focus on usability is a good way to make your app better than others without bother. The more world develops, the more users wait for new apps. Conduct user research and build an app based on their desires and behaviors, and you’ll win!
– On-demand apps are those aimed at solving one specific issue, such as taxis, cleaning services, home or car renting, pet care, and many others. Just search for typical routine activities and design an app for them!
– Immersive gamification with VR/AR components. If you’re developing a game, think about virtual reality and metaverse to be in line with the future. Gamification, however, can be applied for many other purposes and greatly enhance your app’s usability. Think of Duolingo as a popular example!
– Cloud computing: providing a cloud server for customers is a robust solution, as it doesn’t require a lot of space while enabling them to perform complex tasks.
Cost approximation
Many simple apps will usually cost you no more than $30,000 – $40,000. However, each advanced function, such as the generative AI integrated into it or some sensory data processors, will add at least $15,000 to its cost.
Instead, let’s see how we can approximate this number for each case.
– Estimate the app’s features to create the project’s roadmap.
– Estimate the development time based on these features and schedule all tasks.
– Check hourly rates of various developers
– Add additional costs: subscriptions, taxes, cloud storage, testing, and others.
– Add marketing and promotion costs, from content creation to advertisement.
– Add a 10-20% buffer to calculate possible changes and additional charges.
While you may estimate how much your app will cost using others’ approximations, this algorithm will help you to estimate exactly for your case.
Conclusion
Therefore, Android app development is a good way to start your digital business. There are an extremely large amount of niches and sub-niches, so you’ll certainly find something for you. To calculate your app’s price, use the algorithm based on the features you need and then implement it for the developers’ hourly rates. Be sure to conduct market research to ensure that your app will be in need, and you’ll get it!
2023-08-21 15:08:03