When the App Store first came into being in 2008 the majority of new apps released were paid apps. Times have changed and more and more app developers are electing to go with free or freemium models rather than charging users to download their app.
Appsfire just posted their 2012: A Year In The App Store review that analyized the 1 million apps that have been sold in the App Store and they found that only 34% apps released in 2012 were paid apps – down from 74% in 2008.
Most developers are now looking to support their apps via ads or in-app purchases, however there has been some debates among developers as to whether those are sustainable models. Appsfire says that 339,164 apps were created in 2012, with 95,468 new developers joining the App Store.
Over 25% of the apps submitted and approved have been pulled, signaling the maturation of the App Store marketas the functionality of apps overlap each other and become irrelevant.. The biggest problem in the App Store is discovery. Only 1000 apps reached the top ranks of the App Store in 2012 and over 600,000 apps never got substantial traction. And while games represent a small fraction of the total number of apps in the App Store (less than 17%), they comprise a majority of the apps that appear in the top 10.
Source: Appsfire
Via: TNW
