iPhone users pay average of 19 cents per app, Android users pay just 6 cents
The dominance of free mobile applications continues to grow, as a new study reveals that iPhone users spend an average of 19 cents per app downloaded, while Android users spend only 6 cents per download.
The new figures were revealed by mobile app analytics firm Flurry in a post to its official blog on Thursday. While the average amount of money paid per iPhone download is 19 cents, the figures reveal that iPad owners are more likely to spend money on mobile downloads, with Apple's tablet carrying an average of 50 cents per app.
Android users, meanwhile, are the least likely to pay for software, at just 6 cents per download ? less than a third of what iPhone owners pay, and more than eight times less than the average spent by iPad users. Flurry's data is collected from more than 350,000 applications available on iOS and Android.
Author Mary Ellen Gordon said the data suggests consumers are willing to see in-app advertising in exchange for free content, particularly on Android.
The numbers also show that many developers who test their pricing structure ultimately decide to give their apps away for free. As a result, Gordon characterized in-app advertising is "a sure thing for the foreseeable future."
Another reason for the downward trend of application prices is an increasing reliance by developers on in-app purchases. One study from earlier this year found that 71 percent of iPhone app revenue comes from so-called "freemium" titles, which are free to download but offer additional content through in-app purchases.
Apple's iOS App Store has long been identified as the dominant platform from which developers can earn money for their software. That potential for revenue has made the App Store the default choice for many developers, despite the fact that Android is the dominant smartphone platform in terms of market share.
One study released in May found that the top applications on iOS earn 4.6 times more than those on Google's Android platform. For the month of April, the top 200 grossing applications on the iOS App Store brought in $5.1 million per day, while Android's top 200 grossing downloads brought in $1.1 million per day.
The new figures were revealed by mobile app analytics firm Flurry in a post to its official blog on Thursday. While the average amount of money paid per iPhone download is 19 cents, the figures reveal that iPad owners are more likely to spend money on mobile downloads, with Apple's tablet carrying an average of 50 cents per app.
Android users, meanwhile, are the least likely to pay for software, at just 6 cents per download ? less than a third of what iPhone owners pay, and more than eight times less than the average spent by iPad users. Flurry's data is collected from more than 350,000 applications available on iOS and Android.
Author Mary Ellen Gordon said the data suggests consumers are willing to see in-app advertising in exchange for free content, particularly on Android.
The numbers also show that many developers who test their pricing structure ultimately decide to give their apps away for free. As a result, Gordon characterized in-app advertising is "a sure thing for the foreseeable future."
Another reason for the downward trend of application prices is an increasing reliance by developers on in-app purchases. One study from earlier this year found that 71 percent of iPhone app revenue comes from so-called "freemium" titles, which are free to download but offer additional content through in-app purchases.
Apple's iOS App Store has long been identified as the dominant platform from which developers can earn money for their software. That potential for revenue has made the App Store the default choice for many developers, despite the fact that Android is the dominant smartphone platform in terms of market share.
One study released in May found that the top applications on iOS earn 4.6 times more than those on Google's Android platform. For the month of April, the top 200 grossing applications on the iOS App Store brought in $5.1 million per day, while Android's top 200 grossing downloads brought in $1.1 million per day.
Comments
I wonder what the impact will be when/if a low cost iPhone comes to fruition though. With all the new first time buyers will iOS's per day earnings go up or stay flat seeing as many of these new buyers will be lower income.
True considering most of the top grossing apps on the App Store are "free" apps.
I'd like to see a study that includes those in the metrics.
What about the billions of Android activations per hour?
Wrong :no:
It's billions a day. Only millions per hour.;)
/s
Originally Posted by AppleInsider
Android users, meanwhile, are the least likely to pay for software, at just 6 cents per download - less than a third of what iPhone owners pay, and more than eight times less than the average spent by iPad users.
Many Android users haven't discovered the app store yet.
And the few, proud, loud, freetards? They'll never pay anyway.
Originally Posted by GadgetCanadaV2
What about the billions of Android activations per hour?
They're mostly in China. No-name "whitebox" iPhone and Galaxy clones not connected to any Google service or the Play store. See what happens when all you care about is ad revenue? Chaos.
96% of Google's revenue comes from ads. Do. The. Math.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SockRolid
They're mostly in China. No-name "whitebox" iPhone and Galaxy clones not connected to any Google service or the Play store. See what happens when all you care about is ad revenue? Chaos.
96% of Google's revenue comes from ads. Do. The. Math.
Speaking of China, interestingly, Chinese iPhone users have access to illegal App Store websites to download pirated apps directly on their phones via Safari. No Jailbreaking required. Such websites tend to restrict access to only Chinese IP addresses though. In China, the number is 3 cents per app rather than the 19 cents global average for iPhone.
I used to say that I'd pay for a game, if it meant the ads were removed. But then I bought Scrabble, only to find that the paid version has a clunkier, uglier UI than the free version, and that it endlessly pesters me (thru push notifications) to play the game, and it still manages to work in some advertising. Advertising aside, the paid version is less stable and more buggy than the free version. I really wish I could get my money back, even though it was only a couple bucks.
I did, however, buy a calculator app for $10 which is worth the money, and which I use almost every day. A near perfect emulator for the hp11c scientific calculator of the 1980s. Love it. Works. No advertising. I bought the Mac OS version for both my home and work machines, too, long before there was an iPhone. To be honest, the availability of RLM Software's emulator for the hp11c was large factor in my decision to buy the iPhone in the first place. Too bad hp won't make this calculator anymore. They sell on eBay for twice what I paid for mine back in '81. (And it still works, too.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Gazoobee
The prevalence of in-app purchases, and the fact that those purchases are more often than not wildly inflated prices, makes this study and the graph, kind of meaningless.
Not just that, but it doesn't tell us why people download more free apps on Android.
Are there more good free ones? Or do more good ones paid for by in-app ads? Or ... what?
Also, what kind? Widgets? Themes? Live wallpapers? These types aren't even available on iOS.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KDarling
Not just that, but it doesn't tell us why people download more free apps on Android.
Are there more good free ones? Or do more good ones paid for by in-app ads? Or ... what?
Also, what kind? Widgets? Themes? Live wallpapers? These types aren't even available on iOS.
The top-grossing apps are mostly freemium games with IAP:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/topgrossing
The old windows and macs would likely had been closer to $50, but still dropping closer to these rates now (windows likely slower at dropping).
Quote:
Originally Posted by TeaEarleGreyHot
and that it endlessly pesters me (thru push notifications) to play the game
An app can only send you push notifications if you allowed it to. So to fix your problem, simply turn off the notifications.
If Androiders are less likely to pay for apps, they'd be less likely to pay for in-app purchases.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SockRolid
They're mostly in China. No-name "whitebox" iPhone and Galaxy clones not connected to any Google service or the Play store. See what happens when all you care about is ad revenue? Chaos.
96% of Google's revenue comes from ads. Do. The. Math.
No, they are not. Google only counts activation when the phones connect and use Google Services. They definitely don't count Chinese phones that are using Baidu. I remember reading a while ago, that Kindles are not counted by Google. I expect the new Nooks are since they have the Play Store installed.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Constable Odo
All these numbers are practically useless for increasing Apple's core value. If anyone is hoping for any positive earnings result from Apple, forget about it. As far as Wall Street is concerned, Android is winning by a huge amount. Google is killing Apple in the value department with those billions of daily Android device activations. Android is like those zombies in World War Z, taking over the whole world at a record pace. iOS is shrinking to the brink of non-existence. It's obvious to see that Google's Android strategy is working far better than Apple's iOS strategy. Ad revenue is driving up Google's share value off the charts. That's the main reason why Google's share price is worth more than twice Apple's share price and it's not getting better any time soon for Apple shareholders. Timid Cook ought to be ashamed of himself for running Apple into the ground.
Google is down 5% today after posting its financials, with rapidly declining ad values. And Google still makes more from iOS than from Android. Apple makes 72% of the profits in the cell phone industry, and 45% of the profits in the Intel-PC market -- around 70% of the profit in the whole PC hardware industry if you count iPad! So how exactly is Google, with 1/3 of its profitability, killing Apple in the value department?
(BTW, you do realized that "billions of daily Android device activations" was a joke? There are only 7 billion people in the world.)