Eric Schmidt: ‘Android Is Ahead of the iPhone Now’

Speaking of people upset by developers favoring iOS over Android, here’s Eric Schmidt, speaking at the LeWeb conference in Paris:

“Ultimately, application vendors are driven by volume, and volume is favored by the open approach Google is taking. There are so many manufacturers working to deliver Android phones globally,” Schmidt said. “Whether you like Android or not, you will support that platform, and maybe you’ll even deliver it first.”

[Update: Schmidt was slightly misquoted above. What he actually said was, “Whether you like ICS or not, and again I like it a great deal, you will want to develop for that platform, and perhaps even first.”]

“Whether you like Android or not, you will support that platform” sounds a little arrogant, but maybe that’s just me. But it got me thinking. Maybe “whether you like Android or not” is exactly wrong. I think maybe the biggest reason iOS has such strong developer support is that developers like iOS. They use and prefer iPhones and iPads personally, they like Cocoa, and they like the App Store.

The sheer number of Android phones being sold does matter, but I don’t think it’s enough. Developers were clamoring to write iPhone apps before Apple even announced that they were going to allow it.

One Android-toting audience member said he was frustrated to see iOS apps beating Android versions to market. But in part because of Ice Cream Sandwich, “my prediction is that six months from now you’ll say the opposite,” Schmidt said.

Noted!

★ Wednesday, 7 December 2011