5 Things You Need To Know About Before Jumping into Mobile A/B Testing

By Sean Work

As the Android vs. iOS saga continues, most major apps establish their presence on both platforms. Many opt for iOS first, since there are only a few device models (as opposed to the ever-expanding portfolio of Android devices and manufacturers).

Nevertheless, some have been swayed by the advantages of Android. Our friends at Stack Overflow cited iteration speed and first-party support for alpha and beta testing as the main reasons for choosing Android as the first platform for which they developed their native mobile presence.

Even if the platform differences are not immediately apparent to you, taking them into account is key to a successful cross-platform app. It may be easy to assume that what works for one platform will translate into success on the other, but this type of logic will get you in trouble down the road.

In case you’re new to A/B testing, here is the concept in a nutshell:

Source: A/B Testing for Mobile Apps – Coca-Cola Mobile Innovation Workshop

Mobile A/B testing has a big part to play in identifying the differences needed to be successful on both iOS and Android. Here are some of the things we’ve seen that have the greatest impact when testing on the platforms:

1. Demographics

According to this comScore report, iOS users tend to be younger and wealthier: 19% of iPhone owners are between the ages of 18-24 years old (compared with just 16% of Android owners), and 41% of iOS users are in the $100,000+ income bracket (compared with just 24% of Android users).

Android has been shown to be popular with professional and business users. Hacker types also have been drawn to Android because of the possibilities that an open platform offers.

Takeaway: Think critically about the differences in general audiences across the two platforms, and how you can play to those …read more