Let’s be honest: it’s an Android VS. Apple world. Sure, there are other options out there, but Apple and Android will always be the two companies that people love and love to hate. One of the biggest bones of contention between iOS and Android fans is which platform offers the most apps. The last time I checked, there were around 500,000 iOS apps available.

At a recent tech conference in Barcelona, Android let the world know that the popular platform now has 450,000 apps available (and counting). While 450,000 isn’t quite as large as 500,000 Android is certainly catching up quickly. Of course, there are some things to consider when it comes to the iOS VS. Android app countdown, but it’s still an impressive number that Android’s putting up these days. If you’re looking to purchase an iOS phone or an Android phone based on App availability, here are some things to think about.

Do Numbers Really Matter?

The first thing to consider is what the aforementioned numbers really mean. Sure, it’s nice to have a very large selection of apps to choose from, but having more than 500,000 apps available doesn’t mean that you’ll actually use any (or even a fraction of) these apps. Usage aside, it’s also important to think about the two different types of platforms. Android is an open platform, which means that any app developer can add any kind of app to the Android Marketplace. The open app stance that Android has taken has gotten the platform into some virus trouble before, but it’s still a very creative platform that consists of some innovative apps that just aren’t available through Apple’ App Store.

Speaking of the Apple App Store, Apple takes its app availability seriously. All apps that show up in the App Store have to be approved by Apple prior to being publically available. Apple has come under some criticism for this methodology, since developing an Apple app is a lot more expensive than creating an Android app (more money lining Apple’s pockets, essentially), but Apple doesn’t have as many virus problems or bad app issues due to this stringent policy.

Types of Apps Available

The other thing to think about when comparing platform apps is what types of apps you will be using. You might think that you will download as many apps as you can find, but one platform might have an app that the other one doesn’t. For example, if you want to use Instagram, you will only find this all through the Apple App Store (for now). Why aren’t apps available on both Android and iOS? Mostly because developing one app for both platforms is expensive, and developers tend to know how to create an app for one platform or the other, not both.

So, my advice to you (if you are shopping based on app availability) is to think about the types of apps that you want to use, do some research, and find out which platform offers the apps that interest you the most. Whether its 450,000 or 500,000, numbers aren’t really the most important thing to consider when shopping for a phone based on apps alone.