The war between iOS and Android is a continuous battle with no apparent victor.
But OpenAI made its OpenAI a monopolistic warrior, at least to AI and tech enthusiasts, when it only released ChatGPT to iOS, and not Android.
When it announced the ChatGPT iOS app, to all Android users' dismay, OpenAI did not disclose plans to bring ChatGPT to Android.
It took the company more than just a few months to officially launched the app to Google Play Store.
Initially, when OpenAI announced that it is rolling out ChatGPT's Android app, the company said that people can preorder it first.
Announcing ChatGPT for Android! The app will be rolling out to users next week, and you can pre-order in the Google Play Store starting today: https://t.co/NfBDYZR5GI
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 21, 2023
To use ChatGPT on Android should be pretty similar to using ChatGPT on iOS or on the web.
The basic ChatGPT experience is free, and all users need, is an OpenAI account.
If this basic chatbot isn't enough, users can subscribe to the ChatGPT Plus experience, which gives them access to OpenAI’s best generative AI model and the chatbot’s newest features.
ChatGPT's debut on Android is late. Or to be exact, it's very late, considering that its iOS app was one of the most-downloaded app in the App Store, ever.
During the span of the months, Android users who wish to use ChatGPT, may have felt neglected.
For end users, it's better late than never.
For OpenAI, it's better to be late, rather than give no official release at all.
It’s not like ChatGPT needed special mobile app, because users can always access the chatbot via a mobile browser. But an app provides a cleaner experience making either service easier to use, and when experience is a priority, an app is what most people are after.
ChatGPT for Android is now available for download in the US, India, Bangladesh, and Brazil! We plan to expand the rollout to additional countries over the next week. https://t.co/NfBDYZR5GI
— OpenAI (@OpenAI) July 25, 2023
In 2023, when iPhones versus all Android phones are still neck-and-neck, the competition is always fierce.
But seeing how an extremely popular service was prioritized on iOS makes it seem that developers are still putting a lot more focus on iOS when they create new mobile apps.
The trend still suggests that iPhone is still the place where many popular native apps will be available first.
And it's also interesting to see ChatGPT on Android, because Android is Google's, and Google is one of OpenAI’s biggest rivals.
Google has its Bard chatbot, which is a direct competitor to ChatGPT, and that Google has yet to create a standalone app for Bard, not even on Android.
It's worth noting that another competitor, Microsoft, also has its Bing Chat app on both iOS and Android.
Built right inside the Bing app, it features the same technology as ChatGPT, giving users access to GPT-4, for free.