Well I am an app developer for both iOS ad Android. I think you have a completely distorted picture of the profits of an app. It cost on average aroud $50k to make an app, which means you have to collect around $70k to reach break even. Given the statistics of download and in app purchase, 90 % of all apps are loss making for the developer (but profitable for Apple and Google), and 1 % of the apps make huge profits. That is the harsh reality
For the 2 apps I have published for my own account, I get more revenue from Android (around 60%) than from iOS (around 40%). None of the 2 apps have reached break even. The fact that is search function in the Apple App store is pretty bad, does not help.
More and more companies want to have an app as part of their communication strategy (like they needed a website 20 years ago). Here I make most of my income. These apps are always free for the end user. All companies I work for request iOS and Android versions simultaneously and all detest the app verification by Apple, which is unpredictable and takes too long. That last point is getting more and more important and combined with a lower market share could be driver for "Android first", because it is for companies difficult to setup an app launch event if they don't know when the app will finally arrive on the App store.
Your experience with your two apps doesn't seem to mesh with what's reported elsewhere, which states that iOS leads in dev revenue generation due to paying users. There have been those saying android-first will happen, such as VC Fred Wilson, but they've been saying it for years but it still hasn't happened.
All companies I work for request iOS and Android versions simultaneously and all detest the app verification by Apple, which is unpredictable and takes too long. That last point is getting more and more important and combined with a lower market share could be driver for "Android first", because it is for companies difficult to setup an app launch event if they don't know when the app will finally arrive on the App store.
That's been said every year but it just hasn't happened. iOS has never had the majority market share.
Your experience with your two apps doesn't seem to mesh with what's reported elsewhere, which states that iOS leads in dev revenue generation due to paying users. There have been those saying android-first will happen, such as VC Fred Wilson, but they've been saying it for years but it still hasn't happened.
I guess it depends on the type of app one is developing and the market one is addressing. Currently one of my apps is a life style app only available in Dutch. And because the iPhone has only a 20% marketshare in Belgium and the Netherlands (the 2 Dutch speaking countries), it seems logical that Android generates more revenue. By the end of the month the English and French version will become available, and maybe then the iOS revenue share will improve. Let's wait and see.
Another aspect is more app developers are trying to generate revenue that is not subject to the 30% Apple or Google commission. So it is not tracked at all. One of my apps has a volume discount program for companies with a separate invoicing channel. The moment a company orders a few hunderd dollars/euros, it makes sense to do the marketing and invoicing yourself
Wow that's some really impressive growth considering how many other phones are pumped out each week from competitors. Like other people have mentioned though, marketshare is nice but profit margins are much more important. No other company can compete with Apple on that front.
Well I am an app developer for both iOS ad Android. I think you have a completely distorted picture of the profits of an app. It cost on average aroud $50k to make an app, . . .
I seem to remember that almost every pundit and analyst out there predicted China would be Apple’s Waterloo. They said the Chinese masses would not buy Apple’s premium hardware but would instead opt for cheaper Chinese knock-offs. They said Xiaomi would kill Apple in China.
Do I remember this incorrectly?
Nope you don't, I remember many that said that. Many said worse, the not so well travelled or educated I suspect. Many wrote that very few could afford such luxuries in China.
I remember from the outset of iPhone marketing in China, that Apple was doomed because... #They had no outlets. #The Chinese couldn't afford them. #The Chinese carriers hated Apple. #The infrastructure didn't support the iPhone.
ALL the above are socio-economic factors ignored by analysts and which now are of zero relevance. Apple waited until then before making a major push into China - stores, localised apps, native developers, infrastructure upgrades and, most importantly... the rise of the middle classes along with aspirational tendencies which favour luxury brands. And there is no nation on earth more aspirational than China.
Thank the Lord that Apple understands socio-economic trends...it's that "skating to where the puck will be" thing again.
Comments
Your experience with your two apps doesn't seem to mesh with what's reported elsewhere, which states that iOS leads in dev revenue generation due to paying users. There have been those saying android-first will happen, such as VC Fred Wilson, but they've been saying it for years but it still hasn't happened.
That's been said every year but it just hasn't happened. iOS has never had the majority market share.
"Never"?
Installed base or shipments? Ok, they may have had a quarter or two where they had a lead in shipments.
Your experience with your two apps doesn't seem to mesh with what's reported elsewhere, which states that iOS leads in dev revenue generation due to paying users. There have been those saying android-first will happen, such as VC Fred Wilson, but they've been saying it for years but it still hasn't happened.
I guess it depends on the type of app one is developing and the market one is addressing. Currently one of my apps is a life style app only available in Dutch. And because the iPhone has only a 20% marketshare in Belgium and the Netherlands (the 2 Dutch speaking countries), it seems logical that Android generates more revenue. By the end of the month the English and French version will become available, and maybe then the iOS revenue share will improve. Let's wait and see.
Another aspect is more app developers are trying to generate revenue that is not subject to the 30% Apple or Google commission. So it is not tracked at all. One of my apps has a volume discount program for companies with a separate invoicing channel. The moment a company orders a few hunderd dollars/euros, it makes sense to do the marketing and invoicing yourself
I remember from the outset of iPhone marketing in China, that Apple was doomed because...
#They had no outlets.
#The Chinese couldn't afford them.
#The Chinese carriers hated Apple.
#The infrastructure didn't support the iPhone.
ALL the above are socio-economic factors ignored by analysts and which now are of zero relevance. Apple waited until then before making a major push into China - stores, localised apps, native developers, infrastructure upgrades and, most importantly... the rise of the middle classes along with aspirational tendencies which favour luxury brands. And there is no nation on earth more aspirational than China.
Thank the Lord that Apple understands socio-economic trends...it's that "skating to where the puck will be" thing again.