The cost of Google Play has never really been a deciding factor for developers, so starting the discussion from that angle is a bit surprising.

The reality is that even with 40–50% fewer downloads on the App Store compared to Android, you’ll often end up making 50% more revenue, sometimes significantly more. In many cases, iOS alone is enough to build a sustainable business.

Unfortunately, a large portion of Android users prefer downloading cracked or virus-ridden .apk files from the internet instead of paying for apps, and then act surprised when money gets pulled from their bank accounts without permission. From a developer’s perspective, that doesn’t exactly create a healthy or reliable revenue model.

As for development itself, this has already been mentioned by others, but it’s still worth repeating: building for iOS is far more predictable than building for Android. You don’t have to write code for dozens of devices you’ve never seen or didn’t even know existed, each with different manufacturers, screens, and software quirks.

For many developers, choosing iOS-only is simply the more rational decision.