Apple's App Store doubles Google Play revenue with only half the downloads, study finds
App analytics firm Sensor Tower is out with their latest report, once more showing Apple's App Store trouncing the more widely used Google Play Store in terms of generated revenue.
Both of the application shopping destinations showed some serious growth during the first half of 2018 as compared to last year. Combined, customers spent $34.4 billion on mobile games and apps from January to June of this year, an uptick from $26.9 billion or 27.8 percent growth year-over-year.
App Store customers spent roughly $22.6 billion in that time frame, which is nearly double Google Play's $11.8 billion. During that time, it had less than half the downloads of the Play Store.
On one hand, it is impressive that Apple is able to so handily beat Google when Android has a much larger global install base, but it is important to note that Google Play is not yet available in China, whereas the App Store is.
Year-over-year, Google Play did manage to slightly edge out Apple, growing 29.7 percent versus Apple's 26.8 percent.
Gaming, in particular, shined, growing an impressive 30 percent year-over-year during 2017, representing 82 percent of all app revenue. Looking at 2018, games grew 19.1 percent in the first half of this year, pulling in around $26.6 billion worldwide across both stores, representing about 78 percent of total app expenditure.
The new metrics continue to illustrate Apple's dominance in the field. In April, Sensor Tower observed App Store customers installed an average of 45 new iPhone apps in 2017, up from about 41 during the preceding year.
Both of the application shopping destinations showed some serious growth during the first half of 2018 as compared to last year. Combined, customers spent $34.4 billion on mobile games and apps from January to June of this year, an uptick from $26.9 billion or 27.8 percent growth year-over-year.
App Store customers spent roughly $22.6 billion in that time frame, which is nearly double Google Play's $11.8 billion. During that time, it had less than half the downloads of the Play Store.
On one hand, it is impressive that Apple is able to so handily beat Google when Android has a much larger global install base, but it is important to note that Google Play is not yet available in China, whereas the App Store is.
Year-over-year, Google Play did manage to slightly edge out Apple, growing 29.7 percent versus Apple's 26.8 percent.
Gaming, in particular, shined, growing an impressive 30 percent year-over-year during 2017, representing 82 percent of all app revenue. Looking at 2018, games grew 19.1 percent in the first half of this year, pulling in around $26.6 billion worldwide across both stores, representing about 78 percent of total app expenditure.
The new metrics continue to illustrate Apple's dominance in the field. In April, Sensor Tower observed App Store customers installed an average of 45 new iPhone apps in 2017, up from about 41 during the preceding year.
Comments
That 26.8% growth rate allays concerns of seasonal or cyclical hardware sales.
Nothing you said makes sense. The fact that they aren't in China means that Baidu or whatever is the search engine of choice, so essentially "some foreign company" is actually profiting from something Google could have done themselves.
As for the story itself, what exactly was the "random and unfounded red herring"? The story is simple enough - the AppStore makes more money than Google even with half the downloads. They theorise that the presence of the AppStore in China (and the absence of the Play Store) may be one of the factors in it.
If you've actually got a point to make, be a little coherent about it:
That's an example of a coherent point.That should have put you on alert.
However, you jumped in and used it four times in three very short paragraphs!
This piece isn't really about Android. It is about the Google Play store. When it says the Google Play Store isn't available in China but the App Store is, didn't it occur to you that removing China from any smartphone tally would seriously distort the numbers?
The linked article only compares Google's and Apple's stores. It doesn't compare Android with iOS in any meaningful way.
In 2016, non-Play Store Android app revenue was sitting at 10 billion dollars. In 2017 it was expected to double and combined Android app at revenues were expected to surpass Apple App Store revenue:
https://techcrunch.com/2017/03/29/app-annie-android-to-top-ios-in-app-store-revenue-this-year/
Now, I don't know the figures for the first half of 2018 for combined Android app store revenue nor the Apple figures without the China numbers but if you want a meaningful platform comparison, the numbers really should take Apple's China revenues off the total or add non-Play Store Android app revenue onto the total.
More bullshit from you-know-know. It’s funny how hypocritical you Android fans are.
Third party Android stores are rife with malware and other security issues. The Android fans answer to this is “Google Play is safe and if you get something by downloading a third party App you only have yourself to blame. Stick to Google Play.”
Yet when they want to compare revenues (to desperately try to come up with a “win” against iOS), suddenly third party stores are included (ALL of Android).
Irrelevant. Yours is the case for many, but doesn’t change the fact that overall developers still favor iOS. Or the fact that overall iOS Apps are superior (esp tablet Apps which are a complete joke on Android).
It's about Google Play Store revenues.
I was replying to someone who was equating Google Play with Android.
There was nothing untoward to be smelled, much less, bullshit.
Nothing hypocritical either and the idea of getting a 'win' is absurd. That makes little sense.
I will agree with your point that given a choice users should stick with Google Play. That store is not always an option with mainland China the biggest altho not only example of that.
If the author's claim is Apple is getting richer from the App Store than Google is from the Play Store, that's 100% unquestionably true and should get no disagreement, tho $3 Billion in gross profit from Play Store sales in just half a year is a nice little contribution to Alphabet's coffers even if it's not up to Apple standards.
Sorry, but do you think you're fooling anyone? You always show up trying to put your spin on things (with a slant against Apple/iOS and in favor of Google/Android).
BTW, the person you replied to didn't say anything about revenues, third party stores or how much is made in China. They talked about developers preferring iOS or that iOS Apps are generally superior. Both of these statements are true, yet you never addressed either of those in your post, and went all-in on third party revenues. The only thing incorrect in their post was that "Android cannot survive", which is clearly false.
Third party Android stores should never be counted for numerous reasons:
1. They are typically self-contained stores serving a particular market.
2. Many of them are "closed", in that they only serve up their own Apps (more common with carriers).
3. Developers rarely place their Apps on multiple third party stores (and wouldn't even have access to the closed stores). If someone wants to target a wider audience and multiple countries, they'd use Google Play.
4. Because of these, third party Android stores do nothing to help the overall Android ecosystem. The only true Android ecosystem is Google Play, just like The App Store is the only iOS ecosystem.
The only valid comparison to make is between Google Play and The App Store. And The App Store is trouncing Google Play.