Top iOS apps see sudden drop off on App Store charts

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iPhone SE next gen
Staying visible on the App Store is tough.
Photo: Sam Mills/Cult of Mac

Scoring the No. 1 app on iOS doesn’t guarantee developers an extended stay on the App Store charts, according to a new study that found the shelf life for top apps is surprisingly short.

App analytics firm Sensor Tower found that of all apps which reached the top spot on the App Store during the last two years, 74 percent dropped out of the top 25 within a month. Only 8 percent stayed on the charts for three months.

A total of 53 apps made it to the No. 1 spot in 2015 and 2016. All of them stayed at the top for at least two days. After that, discoverability rapidly declined.

About 68 percent of all the No. 1 apps stayed in the top 25 for a week or longer. Only 6 out of the 53 apps stayed on the charts two months after peaking.

Color Switch, Bitmoji and Snapchat performed the best, staying in the top 25 for 138, 231 and 354 days respectively. Neither Snapchat nor Bitmoji have dropped out of the top 25 since landing at No. 1.

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