Why you should focus on iOS Localization

<strong>Why</strong> You Should Focus 

iOS Localization 

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<strong>Why</strong> You Should Focus On iOS Localization 

Table of Content 

Mobile App Localization Is Essential 4 

Local Language For Local People 5 

<strong>Why</strong> IOS Localization? 6 

IOS Localization Is Easier 6 

iOS Users Spend More Money 9 

IOS Apps Earn More Revenue 10 

Entering The Chinese Market Is Less Complicated 10 

It’s Better For Beginners 11 



When <strong>you</strong> start <strong>you</strong>r app localization project, it can be hard to know where to begin. Stop 

stalling and start with iOS. This article explains why. 

If <strong>you</strong>’ve made a resolution list for <strong>you</strong>r business this year, localization <strong>should</strong> be on it. More 

specifically, mobile app localization. <strong>Why</strong>? Because the app market is experiencing explosive 

growth. The number of mobile subscribers globally is close to 4.77 billion in 2017 — and they’re 

becoming more demanding. With millions of apps available, users won’t bother downloading 

<strong>you</strong>r English app if there’s a local version available. Android localization or iOS localization 

have become essential. 

Faced with so many different choices, mobile users are no longer held hostage to the few apps 

that came with their operating system. They don’t need to book a regular flight, stay in a 

standard hotel, or call a taxi to take them to the airport. There’s an app that pretty much covers 

everything and customizes the experience for them. 

According to KPCB mobile technology trends, we’re now way beyond the tipping point of 

internet usage. That means that people spend more time on their mobile devices than their 

desktops. Significantly more, in fact, at 51% and 42% respectively. 

Add to that statistic that 90% of that surfing time is spent within apps, and it’s pretty clear. 

Apps are shaping the future, and it’s a worldwide tendency. The majority of anyone old enough 

to hold a mobile device has one in their hands. But how do <strong>you</strong> make <strong>you</strong>r app popular around 

the world in different markets with varying tastes? 



Mobile App Localization Is Essential 

Recent data shows that there are currently 2.2 million apps available for iOS operating systems 

and the number is even higher for Android. But remember, not all apps are created equal. 

If <strong>you</strong> have a successful app in <strong>you</strong>r home market, <strong>you</strong>’ll already know about the importance of 

user experience. You’ll know how to select <strong>you</strong>r icon, interfaces, colors, popup messages and 

payment platform. And then optimize <strong>you</strong>r titles and descriptions for the app store with 

strategic ASO. 

And if <strong>you</strong> want <strong>you</strong>r app to be a global success, <strong>you</strong>’re going to have to localize it for different 

audiences worldwide. Which means <strong>you</strong>’ll need to study the market <strong>you</strong> want to launch in and 



ask <strong>you</strong>rself a few questions. How big is the potential demand? What are consumer purchasing 

preferences like? What language do they speak and what currency do they use? Does their 

geographic region affect buying behavior? Is their culture similar to <strong>you</strong>rs? Do they have 

different legislation? Ideals and beliefs? 

The Common Sense Advisory found that 75% of foreign language speakers prefer to buy 

products online and in apps in their own language. So, if <strong>you</strong>r idea is to roll out <strong>you</strong>r mobile app 

across the world in English, let me stop <strong>you</strong> in <strong>you</strong>r tracks. Not only will it not be the raging hit 

<strong>you</strong>’re hoping for, but it will also not get seen in the App Store. <strong>Why</strong>? Because even if <strong>you</strong> make 

the (incorrect) sweeping assumption that most of the world speaks English, they won’t be 

searching for an app in English. 

Local Language For Local People 

Let me explain. If a French lady wants to lose weight, she’ll be searching for weight loss apps in 

French, not English. If a Russian man wants to buy a hat, he won’t search the same way as <strong>you</strong>r 

home market users. Optimizing <strong>you</strong>r texts for app stores is all part of the app localization 

process. It’s essential if <strong>you</strong> want to get seen. 

But before <strong>you</strong> think <strong>you</strong> can get away with merely optimizing <strong>you</strong>r app description and meta 

data – think again. If <strong>you</strong>r app fails to meet expectations, it will be deleted faster than it was 

downloaded. 90% of apps, in fact, are deleted within 30 days of download. And only 16% of 

consumers will try an app again — which means <strong>you</strong> never get a second chance to create a first 

impression. (Well, not much of one.) 



<strong>Why</strong> IOS Localization? 

Now let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. If <strong>you</strong>’re ready to start the app localization process, how 

do <strong>you</strong> decide whether to localize for Android or iOS? <strong>Why</strong> <strong>should</strong> <strong>focus</strong> on iOS localization? In 

an ideal world, <strong>you</strong>’ll carry out <strong>you</strong>r mobile app localization for both platforms. You’ll share 

data between iOS and Android and corner the market of smartphone users globally. 

But since we don’t live in an ideal world, <strong>you</strong> may find <strong>you</strong>rself faced with a little stumbling 

block called a budget. Sometimes <strong>you</strong>’ll have a team of developers who prefer iOS to Android. 

Maybe <strong>you</strong> have a personal preference for it, or <strong>you</strong>r research tells <strong>you</strong> that more of <strong>you</strong>r 

customer base uses iOS devices. Whatever the situation, there are several good arguments for 

<strong>focus</strong>ing on iOS localization. Let’s check them out… 

IOS Localization Is Easier 

If <strong>you</strong>’re on a budget or time crunch, iOS localization is a lot easier. OK, so it’s always wise to 

prepare <strong>you</strong>r app for localization for both platforms from the start, to avoid unnecessary 

hassles later on. If <strong>you</strong> create <strong>you</strong>r strings only for <strong>you</strong>r iOS app, all <strong>you</strong>r careful preparation will 

be useless later on, when <strong>you</strong> want to use the files for Android. So, localize for iOS, but don’t 

close the door on Android. 

But, Apple’s latest update, iOS 10, was practically designed with localization in mind. With at 

least five massive updates that make localizing for iOS even easier: 

1 Keyboard is multilingual 

This is awesome news for developers and users alike, as iOS 10 lets <strong>you</strong> use a multilingual 

keyboard. Instead of having to change languages using the globe icon, <strong>you</strong> can type straight 

into the keyboard in any of the languages <strong>you</strong> selected in <strong>you</strong>r settings. You will automatically 

get the relevant autocorrect function for the language <strong>you</strong> type in. Pretty neat, hey? 



2 Localized Number Pads 

As <strong>you</strong> know by now, mobile app localization goes way beyond just words. Units of 

measurements and numbers are important too. With iOS 10, the number pads are now 

localized as well. This is great for phone numbers, credit card numbers, and IP addresses. Just 

use UIKeyboardTypeASCIICapableNumberPad as the keyboard type and the rest is easy. 

3 iOS 10 Loads the Right Language for the Right User 

Localization is a complex process. If <strong>you</strong> only had to deal with the major different languages, 

like Spanish, French and German, it would be a piece of cake. But languages vary from region to 

region. British English is not the same as American English. Castilian Spanish varies from the 

Colombian dialect. They have different spellings, grammar and vocabulary. 

But, thanks to Apple’s latest update, <strong>you</strong> don’t have to worry about localizing <strong>you</strong>r app into 

hundreds of thousands of languages variations. The latest preferredLocalizations bundle from 

iOS helps ensure that <strong>you</strong> deliver the best possible localized version to <strong>you</strong>r users. How? 

Imagine <strong>you</strong> have an English-Speaking user in India and <strong>you</strong>r app isn’t localized into Indian 

English. Apple’s bundle will recognize that <strong>you</strong>r user prefers Indian English but that <strong>you</strong> don’t 

have it available. It will then deliver the next best option, which in this case, would be British 

English. Not only does this speed up <strong>you</strong>r iOS localization process, but it reduces the cost of 

localizing for thousands of different regional variations. 

4 XCode 8 Updates 

The latest updates to XCode 8 work like a safety net to catch <strong>you</strong> from making errors during 

<strong>you</strong>r iOS localization. There are two new settings in XCode 8, called static analyzer settings. You 

can work more easily and be notified if any information is missing. Turn on the “Missing 

Localizability” setting, and if <strong>you</strong> forget to use <strong>you</strong>r NSLocalizedString, <strong>you</strong>’ll be alerted with a 

warning. Similarly, as the name suggests, with the “Missing Localization Context Comment,” 

<strong>you</strong>’ll be notified if any comments are missing. Any better and Apple will do the job for <strong>you</strong>! 

5 Improved Formatters 

Oftentimes, formatters like date, weights, times, etc. can cause the greatest problems when 

localizing. For example, the Chinese date format is year-month-day. So, when <strong>you</strong> have <strong>you</strong>r 

formatters correct in <strong>you</strong>r base language, using a fixed format, this can cause hiccups when it 



comes to another language. This will result in measurements and dates looking strange and 

being displayed incorrectly. 

Fortunately, with the iOS 10 update, their formatters allow for automatic adjustments so that 

<strong>you</strong>r iOS localization won’t mess up <strong>you</strong>r user interface. Use the setLocalizedDate format for 

times and dates. It will localize <strong>you</strong>r formats according to the language <strong>you</strong> are converting to. 

You can also use the NSMeasurementFormatter to cover <strong>you</strong>r bases with weights and 

measurements, from kilometers to energy and pressure. 



iOS Users Spend More Money 

Beyond the new updates for iOS 10, if <strong>you</strong> want further reasons to <strong>focus</strong> on iOS localization, 

<strong>you</strong>r users have more purchasing power. Of course, <strong>you</strong>’ll need to analyze the market for the 

countries <strong>you</strong> plan on launching in. Just as <strong>you</strong> spend time researching <strong>you</strong>r buyer personas at 

home, find out who <strong>you</strong>r international ones are. Correctly targeting <strong>you</strong>r iOS localization 

campaign is essential. 

If <strong>you</strong>’ve identified a potential demand for <strong>you</strong>r product or service and know how to craft a 

message to <strong>you</strong>r audience, <strong>you</strong>r chances of engagement will be higher. When <strong>you</strong> get higher 

engagement and positive reviews, <strong>you</strong>r downloads will increase and <strong>you</strong>r ranking in the App 

Store will rise. 



Think about it this way. If <strong>you</strong>r app requires a fee to download or an ongoing subscription 

payment, studies have proven that iOS users have greater purchasing power in general. There 

may be more Android mobile devices globally, but Apple users are very loyal and more willing 

to spend money on <strong>you</strong>r services. 

IOS Apps Earn More Revenue 

You only have to glance at the Android and iOS revenue models to know which one belongs to 

Google and which is Apple’s. In the Android platform, there is a much greater percentage of 

apps that are supported by advertising. In contrast, it’s much more common for users to pay for 

apps on iOS. There have been abundant studies proving that iOS apps earn more revenue. So, if 

<strong>you</strong>’re looking for greater localization ROI, <strong>focus</strong>ing on iOS is <strong>you</strong>r best bet. 

Entering The Chinese Market Is Less Complicated 

Don’t just look at the numbers before <strong>you</strong> make <strong>you</strong>r app localization decision – make sure <strong>you</strong> 

understand what they mean to <strong>you</strong>. Last year, for example, less than 25% of all Chinese people 

who owned a smartphone had an iOS based operating system. But that 25% was made up of a 

loyal fan base, giving Apple a consistent audience. In 2016, in fact, China became Apple’s 

number one market, outdoing the US by 15% in sales. 

On top of that, entering the Chinese app market through the Apple App Store is much easier 

than taking the Android route. How so? Because the rules for App Store Optimization are the 

same all over the world and there is only one app store to localize <strong>you</strong>r product for. 

Android localization, in contrast, can be extremely difficult in this country. With Google’s 

infamous troubles within the Chinese market, the absence of Google Play translates into a 

fragmented market. There are currently over 200 different app stores in China. And each one 

has its own rules and regulations. If <strong>you</strong>’re planning to be successful in this part of the world, 

<strong>you</strong>’ll be glad <strong>you</strong> <strong>focus</strong>ed on iOS localization. 

Just imagine having to strike up a new relationship each time <strong>you</strong> want to launch with a 

different app store! Going through stringent QA processes and negotiating rates with each 



different one. This is a headache <strong>you</strong> can spare for <strong>you</strong>rself and <strong>you</strong>r company by opting for 

iOS. 

It’s Better For Beginners 

iOS localization is better for when <strong>you</strong>’re starting out and most developers will advise <strong>you</strong> to go 

down this route first. iOS apps have a faster speed to market than Android apps. They cost less 

to develop and localize with iOS 10, and will yield a faster localization ROI. 

When <strong>you</strong>’re starting out on <strong>you</strong>r app localization project, <strong>you</strong>’ll be learning a lot on the fly. 

You’ll need to make adjustments according to <strong>you</strong>r audiences’ reactions. Try new things, add 

new features, fix some bugs. All that is easier when <strong>you</strong>’re <strong>focus</strong>ing on one platform, 

particularly when it’s iOS. 

It’s the best environment for beginning <strong>you</strong>r localization project as it’s less challenging than 

Android. Not to mention that <strong>you</strong> won’t have to figure out how to make changes and apply <strong>you</strong>r 

learning on two platforms at once! You can always localize <strong>you</strong>r app for Android afterwards, in 

fact, it’s highly recommended that <strong>you</strong> do. But start with iOS localization and move onwards 

and upwards from there! 



phraseapp.com 

sales@phraseapp.com 

+49-40-357-187-76 

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