Hi there, yes the new engine is cross platform, so the android testing is in effect ironing out bugs in the Apple version too. While the Android version is being released and fully tested with any glitches ironed out, we can continue to add more improvements and then do a test on Apple devices. The advantage with Android is that you can officially do beta testing, so we can open up the test to many players, whereas Apple do not allow you to upload betas and restrict the number of possible testers to a small number.Too lazy to dig up posts but admin said they would first iron out the bugs in the new android servers then let idevices join after. The reverse for current apple severs. So nothing will be merged (as far as what's been said anyhow)
So overall it'll be a big benefit to Apple users to get the Android version out first so that our existing players can then get a high quality, polished and stable game to play.
The new engine has so much potential that we are also now expanding the team again with a new round of hiring to make sure we can get content out much faster and to a much higher quality than anything seen before in the game. I'm very excited for the future of the game.