The truth is, the average Android user is not the same as the average iPhone user. iPhone users surf the web more, they’re more willing to buy software, they’re more willing to install and use apps. Some of these stats aren’t even close. What I see as the fundamental flaw in the Church of Market Share doctrine is the assumption that users are users.

Daring Fireball’s John Gruber.

Indeed, that is the truth. For Google, though, that is a non-issue: users are eyeballs for them to sell to their real customers, advertisers. For the rest of the world, app developers included, an Android user will most likely be less profitable than an iPhone/iPad user… But that’s their problem, right Google?

Google wants to sell your eyes for ads to advertisers, Apple wants to sell you a great device. It is just coincidental that these devices make good billboards for ads… Android exists for that sole purpose, that explains why fragmentation is needed (to reach as many segments as possible) even if it results in a worse user experience (nobody cares, they just want to show you ads in as many devices as possible).

So, for Google, a user really is a user is a user is a user. For Apple, it is a customer.

Source: daringfireball.net

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